Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1897-12-18

III ~ u 4
berg mines, and through the Uncle sam
and Hamburg mines further 20 the south
1t faults ell formations, but is IT.
,elf nowhere fsulted or disloca,ed so lar as
can be determined. II has been traced
mon the surface and is identi1ed under
ground by its filings OF rhyolite, ore,
ledge material and composite oil rhyoiite
clay, the latter having been produced
bv sttrition where the walls are close TO-
or nearly 30. II has q most import.
ant bearing on the present structure oil
Ruby Hill and the country TO she south
az also on the relation OF the
ore bodies 20 each other. Throughout I've
ept;re course il lie found to be the key 10
the structural problem OF the Ruby Hhi
and Prospect Mountain mineralized zones;
The country southwest, on the footSaii
side OF the fault, has been raised several
hundred feet relatively to the banging
wall. IL is probable that there was up
heaysl and subsistence, but that the latter
exceeded the former. Taken in connection
with all OF the mines 10 the southeast, lis
10 be q fault plane along which tne
whole southwestern country has oeen
raised from 500 to 1000 feet. There can
be no question that the key TO the problem
Of deep mining 1 n Ruby Hill and Pros
nee, Mountain will eventually be found IN
the Ruby Hill fault. -
The limestone Of Ruby Hill is divided
into two sections, which We will designate
the 'front.' and "bsck" limestone. The
latter forms 9 wedge which, taken through
the Eureka Con. mine, extends from the
surface downward to near the 18Th level
end lies between the quartzite, the face oil
which has q mean dip OF about 40 degrees
and the fault fissure, which dips at an an
gle OF about 20 degrees. This, which we
shall call the upper wedge, lies on the
southwest or footwsll side of the assure
and has been raised in this locality about
1.4OO feet relatively above the lower wedge
and nsrrows 10 q thin edge st Its lower
sx,remity. Ii is remarkable for its crushed
and broken condition. II was IN this
xedge that all OF the tremendous ore bod
les which made Ruby Hill famous In the
carly DAYS of the district were mined.
The explorssion of the front limestone.
which o~verlies the fsuls TO the southwest,
has mot been sufficient 10 determine
whether either large deposits or any ore at
ali NAV be found in il. From the mario"
part Of the upper wedge. 81
seen upon the 18th and 14th levels, "a Wen
az upon the 1,200-foot crossut from the
LOGAN shaft, below the 14th level oil the
Eureka Con. mine, the face OF the quartz
tie forms the footwall OF the fault, the lat
ter maintaining its dip at an angle OF ~
degrees, the same as il does above. Below
the 18th level, with its thiDest edge upper.
most and it's form inverted, IS 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 ID
precisely the some manner and, subse
auent to the uphesval and subsistence
along the fault line, was doubtless an IN
divided part of the block oil limestone
which forms the upper wedge.
The future OF Eureka District will de-
pend largely on deep level mining not
that the levels near .he 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 bodies
Of ore to be found In the lower wedge OF
limestone as valuable as those which
we're ~e1cavated In the big chambers OF the
upper wedge.
The sxoloraiion OF the lower wedge would
require the expenditure Of large sums OF
money. no do~ubt-perhaps hundreds OF
thousands, possibly millions OF dollars;
bot when IL 10 remembered that the Eu.
reka Con. and Richmond mines have alone
paid over ten million dollars In dividends
and made . number OF people wealthy,
and when ID Ia further borne in min that
she ore is known to enter the lower wedge
OF Limestone and TO go down below any
depth yet attained In Ruby Hill, Ii 10 not
unreasonable TO believe that deeper ex.
ploration In the lower wedge would pay.
The only reason given to the public by
the Eureka Consolidated management for
NOT sinking the LOGAN shaft deeper and
c~rossoutting to the lode below the LOGAN
1900. 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.
II is q 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
chinery 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. It is probable
that
TRUE WATER LEVEL
OF the Ruby Hill lode. IL there is such .
thing, has not yet been encountered. This
IL Q 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 II proper measures were
taken, that flow could be easily stopped.
The balance OF the water came from the
shale in the main hanging wall of the lode,
az we'll as from seepage from the surface,
but was immatsrial. 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 qusrtzite was broken into in the LOGAN
1200-foot crosscut, when the water came
in In it's greatest volume. fully seven feet
in width OF ledge material was encountered
between q wall Of intercalated shale and
quartzite. In direct connection with the