The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-06

1t will take some time yet and the
expenditure of a large amount of
money and labor before the formation
at Mercur can be determined to a GER
tainty, and the truth of this assertion
is being verified almost daily.
The tenderfoot that labors under the
! impression that all that he has to do
TO find ore is to sink. a shaft anywhere
in the district is certain to find out that
he is mistaken, and he is likely to dis
cover the fact that the mineral ledge
| that underlies a greater portion of the
district is barren in spots.
This condition of affairs has been
demonstrated several times in the
camp already. much to the chagrin and
annoyance of the interested parties,
and developments within the past few
months bring to the surface another
illustration of the assertion made above
regarding the barren condition of the
Mercur deposit in places.
In the early history of the develop
ment of the Golden Gate the promoter
of the enterprise almost gave the prop
erty away after sinking a shaft in
which he failed to find ore Suisse
quent work, however, demonstrated the
fact that the shaft passed within a
few feet of a large deposit of good
milling ore. The same experience was
met with in the Marion, and 1t was
afterwards found that the abandoned
workings in this property were but a
short distance from ore at the time
that work in them was discontinued.
Mention was made in these columns
yesterday relative to the finding of ore
in the Wonder mine, which adjoins
the Golden Gate, and this verifieS the
statements made above as to the les
sons to be learned regarding the form
alton of the camp.
In the Wonder, the shaft was sunk
to the depth of $50 feet before it was
discovered that the mineral bearing
zone had been passed at the 450-foot
level. and now the company is driving
a drift in the hard lime just below the
ore, and it will not be long before the
drift will encounter the ore body on
its dip. when il is believed that the
gold values will increase. About 100
feet above the first or top vein was
cut into and values of $1.50 in gold were
obtained, but it was believed at the
time that this was only a pocket of
ore and it was not noticed. Now, how
ever, there is no reason to doubt but
that this was the regular vein, and
that within few feet the values will
materially increase. AS soon as the
it is the intention of the management
to begin the exploration of the top
vein. and in doing this work the Off
GERS of the company are confident that
the property will soon be classed as a
milling proposition.
The Hecla is another instance of the
necessity of experience in looking for
gold in the district of Camp Floyd.
In the Hecla the shaft was sunk to
the 5S0-foot level without the discovery
of ore. and the outlook for the pro-
moters of the enterprise was anything
but bright. A few days ago, however,
G.. r. Boutwell,. who is becoming quite
familiar with the formation of the
camp, and who is largely interested in
the property. went down the shaft. and
at the 4T0-foot level he tore away the
of the shaft and discovered |
that in sinking the same the men had |
passed through the vein, which. al |
though barren at this point, shows the |
same cherry lime and other character |
istics of the pay ore of the camp There |
is no doubt but that this is the vein |
and now a drift is being run north at |
the point of discovery, and it is only !
a question of time before the Hecla will |
rank as one of the producers of the |
camp. The ledge, as exposed in the /
shaft, is from 40 to so feet in width.
and the indications are that this ground
is just as valuable as the Brickyard |
and other prospective properties in
Mercur.
After taking into consideration the
of the Wonder and the
Hecla, there is seemingly good rea-
son to believe that in the East Golden
Gate the vein has been encountered,
but that the shaft has been sunk be-
ow it, as it is well known fact that
n doing this work fair values in gold
we're obtained from time to time.
Another lesson learned in the pros
1ecting for ore in the Camp Floyd dis
.rict, is that the ledge should be fol-
owed on its dip. The Omaha, on the
vest dip. was practically abandoned
because of the fact that the ore was
eft at the surface, and the owners of
he property had arrived at the con-
,lusion that il had been lost when it
vas discovered that the workings were
below the values, and this discovery
ed to the finding of large deposits III
he La Cigale, the Daisies and other
-aiua BILE west dip properties.