Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1897-09-18

berg mines, and through the Uncle Sam
and Hamburg mines further TO the south
ward. Ii faults all formations, but is IT.
self nowhere fsulted or dislocated so lar as
can be determined. 1t has been traced
npon the surface and is identified under
ground By its filings Of ~rhyolite, ORE
ledge material and composite OF rhyohte
and clay, the latter having been produced
by sttrition where the walls are close TO-
ee.her or nearly 30. 1t has q most import
ant bearing on the present structure OF
Ruby Hill and the country TO the south
ward. IS also on the relation OF the
ore bodies to each other. Throughout lis
entire course it is found to be the key to
the structural problem Of the Ruby Hill
and Prospect Mountain minerslized zones.
The country southwest, on the footwali
side of the fault, has been raised several
hundred feet relatively to the hanging
wall. IL is probable that there wss up
heavsl aud s~uosid51ce, but that the latter
exceeded the former. Taken in connection
with all Of the mines TO the southeast, 1t 10
found to be a fault plane along which the
whole southwestern country has been
raised from 800 TO 1900 feet. There can
be no question that the key to the problem
Of deep mining In Ruby Hill and Pros
pect Mountain will eventually be found ID
the Ruby Hill fault.
The limestone Of Ruby Hill 10 civided
into two sections, which we will designate
the front" and "back" limestone. The
latter forms a wedge which, taken through
the Eureka Con. mine, extends from the
surface downward to near the 18th level
end lies between the quarfziie, the face Of
which has a mean dip of about 40 degrees,
and the fault assure, which dips at an an
gle OF about 20 degrees. This, which we
shall call the uppe wedge, lies on the
southwest or footwsll side Of the assure
and has been raised in this locality about
400 seet relatively above the lower wedge
and nsrrows 10 a thin edge at it's lower
extremity. It is remarkable for its crushed
ana broken condition. II was in this
wedge that ali of the tremendous ore bod
les which made Ruby Hill famous in the
early days OF the district were mined
The exploration OF the front limestone,
which o~verlies the fault 10 the southwest
has DOT been sufficient to determine
wbether either large deposits or sny ore at
ali NAV be found in IL. From the narrow
part Of the upper wedge. downward, as
seen upou the 18th and 18th levels, as well
az upon the i,20O-foot crossut from the
LOGAN shaft, below the 14th level OF the
Eureka Con. mine, the face OF the quartz
tie forms the ~footwsll Of the fault, the lat.
ter maintaining it's dip at an angle OF ~
degrees, the same as il does above. Below
the 18th level, with its thinest edge upper
most and its form inverted, as compared
with the upper wedge. but situated upon
the northeast or hanging wall side OF the
fault is a
LOWER WEDGE OF LIMESTONE
Identical in character with the upper
wedge. This is crushed and shattered in
precisely the some manner, and. subse
quept to the upheaval and subsistence
along she fault line, was doubtless an I'm
divided part of the block OF limestone
which forms the upper wedge.
The future OF Eureka District Will de
pend largely on deep level mining; no
that the levels near the surface are ex-
hausted Of ore, for on the contrary, there
are hundreds OF the smaller mines and
prospects OF the district capable OF pro
ducing the precious metals that are seldom
or never talked about; but there is NO
question OF doubt among the experienced
miners who have worked on the deepest
levels Of Ruby Hill that there are bodice
of ore TO be found in the lower wedge OF
limestone as valuable as those which
were excavated in the big chambers Of the
upper wedge.
The exploration OF the lower wedge would
require the expenditure of large sums oil
money. no doubt-perhaps hundreds OF
thousands, possibly millions Of dollars;
but when it ia remem bered that the Eu
reka Con. and Richmond mines have alone
paid over ten million dollars In dividend
and made q number OF people wealthy,
and when ID Is further borne in mind that
the ore is known to enter the lower wedge
Of limestone and to go down below any
depth yet attained in Ruby Hill, II Ia moi
unreasonable to believe that deeper ex
ploration in the lower wedge would pay.
The only reason given 10 the public by
the Eureka Consolidated management for
not sinking the LOGAN shaft deeper and
prosecuting TO the lode below the LOGAN
1200-foot level. was that the machinery
upon the LOGAN shaft was inadequate for
the dual requirements Of draining the mine
Of water and raising the material broken
underground to the surface; they were IN
willing TO continue draining the hill OF
water unless one or more OF the companies
that were operating in Ruby Hill would
divide the burden OF expense with them.
It Ia a settled fact that the machinery was
defective for the general requirements OF
the mine, but the volume OF water to be
contended with and all OF the material that
could have been broken in the mine could
have been raised to the surface with ma
ohinery that should not have cost over
one-ffth OF the sums that were paid for
the cumbersome plant which now stands
idle at the LOGAN shaft. 1t is probable
that
THE TRUE WATER LEVEL
OF the Ruby Hill lode. il there is such Q
thing, has not yet been encountered. This
Is a moot question. The principal flow Of
water that was encountered in the 1900.
foot crosscut from the LOGAN shaft came
from the quartzite. which was uselessly
penetrated, but IL proper measures were
taken, that flow could be easily stopped.
The balance of the water came from the
shsle in the main hanging wall Of the lode,
as we'll as from seepsge from the surface,
but was immaterial. The limestone itself
Is comparatively dry. which fact has been
amply proved upon the lowest workings OF
the Richmond mine, which are deeper than
the bottom of the LOGAN shaft. Before
the quartzite was broken into In the LOGAN
1200-foot crosscut, when the water came
in in its greatest volume. fully seven feet
In width OF ledge material was encountered
between q wall Of intercalsted shsle and
quartzite. In direct connection with the