Birmingham state herald., 1897-02-21

all that can be desired, and crystals of a larger size than are usually exposed in mica mines occur a the depth Of seventy feet, and also nearer the surface, In fact crystals of mica would square as large as 10x12 inches have been mined, while 6X1 inch crystals were taken out in quantity. The product was sold to dealers for use in stoyes
 Soon after becoming interested in the mica mines the present company com portion of the property, using q diamond drill for testing the virgin ground for the purpose of ascertaining whether the vein of gold-bearing quartz was contin- uous in deeper levels than had already been reached. This prospecting work proved satisfactory, ard operations were next carried on by sinking working shaft at point about sixty feet east of the old workings At a depth of eighty feet the vein was cross cut and proved to be twenty-six inches thick. Work of running drifts in beth directions along the strike of this vein is now being done.
 During my recent visit I examined this vein and found it to contain some of the highest grade ore taken out in Alabama.
 A shot fired while I was present threw out quantity of ore, in nearly every piece of which native gold was visible to the naked eye. embedded in the quartz. Assays of ore from Pinetucky have often yielded from $50 to over S200 per ton, and from the appearance of the ore be- ing taken out from this drift it will cer- tainly prove richer than have ever seen in the mine previous to my last visit.
 The present operators have abandoned the old methods practiced there in the past, and propose to mine on scientific principles by running drifts in each di- rection along the strike, and stopping overland instead of undephand. The re- suit of the last work determines that a body of ore in sight can be measured up which places the value of the prop erty beyond all doubt. Towards the south these new workings will open up an area of virgin ground of a width of about 100 feet on the dip of the ore body at the narrowest point between the old workings and the present shaft which width already increases in that direction, because, as l stated earlier in this arti cle, the mine has been worked out to shallower depth by former operators along the line strike of the vein in southerly direction than was attained in the immediate vicinity of this old 55-foot shaft. Therefore, when the drifts on the present level are run the body of ore which will be actually blocked will con- tain large quantity of ore in sight. To- wards the north, or, to be exact, north northeast, along the line of the strike, the ore body has been exploited to very limited distance by underground work ings, although the outcrop had been
 
 distance, as is demonstrated by the open pits and damp piles; consequently, in that direction the virgin ground to be exploited is of greater width than in the opposite course.
 The fact that the ore body has in- creased in thickness at this low level over the average thickness at the fifty five feet level is very encouraging, and will if this increase is maintained along the line of strike prove an important factor in minimizing the cost of mining in the future.
 Nearly 200 feet further to the east the ore body was cross-cut by the diamond drill workings at depth of 145 feet.
 The present plant of the company com prises a 10-stamp Fraser & Chalmers mill, steam hoist and pumps, to which will at once be added en air compressor fully equipped with receivers and drills The richest portion of the ore will proba- bly be shipped to smelters, and the lower ore treated by amalgamation, the pulp concentrate chlorinated at the company s own plant, as soon as the necessary con- centrating tables, furnace land chlorina- tion plant are added to the present mill.
 The ore from the present level carries a considerable proportion of sulphurets, the value of which, until test is made, is, of course, problematical.
 VIM. M. BREWER,
 Assistant Alabama Geological Survey.