The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-31
NORTH GEoRGIA's GOLD MINES.
New Methods Make LOw-Grade Ores
Prn1tnhIe to work.


Canton, Ca, Dec 2s.-Many years ago,
when the gold mines first worked in Geor-
gia, the machinery used was crude and
simply built mostly of wood and only a
fraction of the gold was saved by the pro-
cess then known. Chemistry or skilled
labor had little to do with it, the work
being done by main sirens sab and awk-
Wardness. And as a matter of fact only
the richest mines and those easy to get at
were worked, and when the miners got
down to water level, where sulphurets
came in, they stopped and worked along
the body Of the veins until exhausted to
water level.
Now the conditions are different. Science
steps in and tells the miner that those
sulphurets carry a large per cent. of the
gold contained in the vein and show him
how 20 extract it; and with that informa-
ton comes a big revolution in gold mini
ing.
Mechanical skill has improved the mills
for crushing so that now a larger per cent.
of ore is reduced to a finer pulp and more
free gold is saved in proportion than ever
before, and with the chlorination process,
as improved my Adolph Theis, practical
German chemist and miner. the gold from
sulphuretted ores can be saved up to SO
per cent. of an assay yield.
BY means of these improvements ores
that yield only SO per ton can be worked
with a small profit.
At the Creighton mine the entire cost
of mining milling and chlorinating the
ore is $40 per ton, and many mines in
Georgia under more favorable conditions
for handling and reducing the ore could
be worked at less cost than is required at
the several mines now running and using
the chlorination process.
A recent issue of the Denver (Col) Re.
publican says 1.-The Georgia ores are all
low grade, and now that low grade ores
are proving attractive on account of the
great Improvement in machinery, there is
a renewed interest in the Georgia mines
which bids fair to render that region fair
ly productive
During the past season a number OF
Georgia engineers have been in Colorado
studying our methods of treatment and
the next year or two will witness the re-
opening of several Georgia mines with inn
proved methods that will insure a profit
upon the ores of that state"
The above is encouraging, coming from
the great mining state, where the average
miner speaks only of the Rockies and
the great west"
With the mines in Georgia so favorably
situated, one would think that all the idle
mines would be taken hold of and be ac-
lively worked at once, but these new con-
ditiOn that have come in are not so gen.
orally known, and spectators are slow 10
take hold of new processes in new locali-
ties, for old as mining is in Georgia. ID is
new TO many that there is a gold belt
running across the state with numberless
claims along that belt that will pay from
50 to 500 per ton in gold. And there are
many who think that the gold mines of
Georgia are worked out, because they were
abandoned for the California fever in
20" but that is a grave mistake; the
veins are hardly opened yet and these
that are sunk on show we'll defined veins
with gold bearing quartz of varying de
grees of yield.
The old-time miners confined their la
bors mostly 10 the placers, of which there
were many scattered all along the bet, in
fact almost every stream along the entire
belt carried gold in paying quantities, and
often places were struck that rivaled the
big yields of the early days in California.
From one mine in this county, Chero6ees,
there was taken not over $1,000OO0 on a
mile square, and from another mine within
seven miles of Obanton two more took
out, with an old-fashioned 'long tom" in
one afternoon seven pounds steel yard
weight about $3.50 pure gold.
These extensive deposits on the sur
face are proofs positive to the
practical miner that there are
gold bearing veins beneath that feed these
placers, and that being so generally diff
fused among the belt, there must be an
extensive system of gold-bearing veins in
Georgia.
Just now more development work is go
ing on in Georgia than ever before, and
the reports are very encouraging all along
the belt.
Some recent work here in Cherokee
county is attracting wide attention. and
from which it is fully expected that the
coming summer win see greater activity
in ming than ever before.