Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1897-10-23

berg mines, and through the Uncle Sam
and Hamburg mines further 20 the south
ward. II faults all formations, but is it.
self nowhere fsulted or dislocated so far as
can be determined. 1t has been traced
upon the surface and is identified under
ground by It's filings OF rhyolite, ore,
ledge material aud composite of rhyolite
and clay, the latter having been produced
by atlrisiOn where the walls are close to-
ge.ber or nearly so. IL has a most import
ant bearing on the present structure OF
Ruby Hill and the country 10 the south
ward, a. also on the relation OF the
ore bodies to each other. Throughout its
entire course i. is found to be the key to
the structural problem Of the Ruby Hill
and Prospect Mountain minerslized zones.
Ths country southwest, 90 the footwall
side OF the fault, has been raised several
hundred feet relatively to the hanging
wall. 1t is probable that there was up
heaval and subsistence, but that The latter
exceeded the former. Taken in connection
with all OF the mines to the southeast, II Is
found TO be q fault plane along which the
whole southwestern country has been
raised from 500 TO 1000 feet. There can
be no question that the key 90 the problem
Of deep mining In Ruby Hill and Pros
pect 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 e~front" and "bsck" limestone. The
latter forms q wedge which, taken through
the Eureka Con. mine, extends from the
surface downward to near the 18th level
end lies between the qusrtzite, the face OF
which has a mean dip OF about 40 degrees.
and the fault fissure, which dips at an an
gle of about 70 degrees. This, which we
shall cali the upper wedge, lies on the
southwest or footwall side Of the assure
and has been raised in this locality about
1,400 feet relatively above the lower wedge
aud nsrrows 10 g thin edge at its lower
extremity. IL 10 remarkable for its crushed
and broken condition. II was in this
wedge that sl OF the tremendous ore bod
les which made Ruby Hill famous in the
early days OF the district we're mined.
The exploration Of the front limestone,
which o~verlies the fault TO the southwest,
has not been sufficient TO determine
whether either large deposits or any ore at
all NAV be found in il. From the narrow
part OF the upper wedge, downward. as
seen upon the 18th and 18th levels. az well
AZ upon the 1,200-foot crossut from the
LOGAN shaft, below tho I4th level OF the
Eureka Con. mine, the face OF the quartz
tie forms the footwall OF the fault, the lat.
ter maintaining it's dip at an angle of 20
degrees, the same as il does above. Below
the 18th level, with its thinest edge upper
most aud its form inverted, ~ 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 il crushed and shattered in
precisely the some manner, and. subse-
ouent to the upheaval and subsistence
along the fault line, was doubtless an I'M
divided part OF the block Of limestone
which forms the upper wedge.
The future Of Eureka District will de-
pend largely on deep level mining; not
that the levels near the surface are OK
hsusted 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
were excsvated in the big chambers of the
upper wedge.
The exploration oftbe lower wedge would
require the expenditure of large sums OF
money. no doubt-perhaps hundreds OF
thousands, possibly millions Of dollars;
but when IL IL remembered that the Eu-
reka Con. and Richmond mines have alone
paid over ten million dollars in dividends
and made q number OF people wealthy,
aud when ii Ia further borne in mind that
the ore 10 known to enter the lower wedge
Of limestone and to go down below any
depth yet attained In Ruby Hill. 1t is not
unreasonable 20 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
prosecuting 10 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 un.
willing 20 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.
1t Ia e 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-fifth OF the sums that we're paid for
the cumbersome plant which now stands
idle at the LOGAN shaft. II is probable
that
THE True WATER LEVEL
OF the Ruby Hill lode. II there is such .
thing. has not yet been encountered. This
is q moot question. The principal flow OF
water that was encountered in the 1900.
foot crosscut from the LOGAN shaft came
from the qusrtzite, 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 ministerial. The limestone itself
ia 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 its greatest volume, fully seven feet
In width OF ledge material was encountered
between a wall of intercalated shale and
qusrtzite, in direct connection with the
farft and akont shraa faat ~ &hak rraa