The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-19

The Bruneau Mining company of
this city, which is the owner of ex-
tensive placer diggings in Mardis
mining district, Elko county, New, is
making preparations to operate the
ground on a large scale on a plan that
is somewhat similar to the gigantic
enterprise now being pushed by the
Gold Creek Mining company at Island
mountain, or what is now called Gold
Creek, which is not far from the Mar
dis diggings.
The Bruneau Mining company was
incorporated four years ago, under the
laws of this state, and the following
gentlemen are heading the enterprise
and are included in the list of officers
and directors:
A. F. Holden, president; E. B. Wicks,
secretary; George F. Downey, treas
urer; c. E. Allen and c. Nj. McIntire.
In the prospectus of the company re-
Gently issued George H. Davis makes
his report as follows:
1 have made personal examination
of your placer property in the Mardis
mining district, Elko county, New. The
plying me for several weeks and in
Guiding a trial run on some 5000 cubic
yards of gravel.
The placers are situated about go
miles north of Deeth, a station on the
Central Pacific railroad, and are close
to the Idaho line. The country is a
volcanic formation, crossed by in
Vulnerable small quartz veins. The
placers lie on both sides of the Bru-
neau river, tributary of the Snake,
and include numerous gulcheS. The
distribution of the gold is general.
A large amount of prospecting was
done in Pennsylvania, Union, Seventy
Six, Waters and Badger gulches, gold
being found from one end of the
ground to the other. Pennsylvania
gulch gave the richest prospects, going
as high as 50 per yard. Waters gulch
came next, giving almost as high re-
suits. In Union gulch 20 prospect
holes, distributed throughout the entire
length of the company's ground, was
sunk to the false bedrock or hard-pan.
The shafts showed the gravel to aver
age about two yards deep. Five gold
pans of dirt from each shaft. taken
from top to bottom of the gravel, were
PANIED out. The result of the entire
100 pans put together and weighed af-
ter having been melted, gave button
of gold of As cents. A cubic yard of
gravel contains about 100-of such pans
of dirt.
A trial run was also made of the
gravel in Union gulch. about 5000
yards being washed with small by
draulic pipe and hose, and net receipt
of gold was obtained, as shown by the
returns from the mint of about 80
cents per yard in gold. In this run it
was estimated that large proportion
of the gold was lost, not being caught
in the sluice boxes AS this run was
largely experimental the rifles were
hastily constructed on the spot, and
they, as we'll as the boxes themselves
and all the other apparatus used, were
crude and very defective.
Seventy-Six gulch and Badger gulch
were not thoroughly prospected, as
the water rising in the prospect shafts
stopped work before bedrock was
reached in any hole. 1 believe, from
the result of the panning of the sur
face dirt and the formation of the
ground, that in Seventy-Six gulch, es-
peciaily near that part near the Bru-
neau river and lying to the north of
the creek, will be found as good ground
as any in your property. In Badger
gulch, about a quarter of a mile from
the river tunnel was driven into
the south bank for a distance of 20
feet, and about one-half a mile higher
up the gulch a cut was run into the
same bank about Is feet deep and go
l6eI long. III DOln OI THESE NOIhl1SS
was demonstrated the existence of a
large ancient channel. coming appar-
emily from the direction of Union
gulch. The edges of this prospected
we'll in gold, and While we were unable
to reach the center of the channel, oW-
ing TO the water coming in, the pres
ence of gold in such quantity on the
sides would be an almost sure indica-
ton of very rich gravel in the center.
Tn, in 20 c-aT- 1-fl
the river, more gold showed up in the
gold pans than anywhere else on the
surface; but, owing to the presence OF
water. as stated above, no shafts of
any depth could be sunk.
The river bottom shows indications
of gold everywhere on the surface. but
the loose nature of the ground and the
being sunk there to the bedrock,
which here seems 70 be very deep. The
fall of the ground in the river valley
is not great enough to admit of ordi-
nary sluicing, but with a hydraulic
elevator all this ground could be easily
and economically worked. The fall of
the ground in the gulches is sufficient
everywhere for sluicing and dump
room, except possibly in Badger gulch,
where some method of elevation, such
as is proposed for the river bottom,
might have to be used in the upper
part; though I think that this could
be avoided by starting at the river, on
the bedrock, and working up. There
are few boulders anywhere in the
gulches or river bottom, and those are
not large. The gravel is easily washed
and the gold readily cleaned In Union
and Pennsylvania gulches. and else
where a large amount of black sand
is mixed with the gravel, which could
be saved by special appliances with
profit An assay of this sand from
Pennsylvania gulch gave S175 per ton,
and another sample taken from Union