The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-05-02

nian mining fiei d during the week has been
strike IN the deep levels of the old GWfn mine
fin Calaveras County. Every occurrence like
this along the mother lode is a new evidence
of the great truth that has begun to take root
that the veins OF that great gold region do not
a pinch out at a depth OF few hundred feet,
but that mother lode mines are apt to be as
rich at great depths As near the surface. The
future mining development and gold product
OF the mother lode is largely dependent on
the deep mining OF the veins. The Provi-
dence Champion, Rawhide and Kennedy have
lately taught the mining world that there is
no known limit to the depth to which high
values extend, and new example like this
one from Calaveras Coun ty serves to strengthen
confidence in every mother lode mine and TO
stimulate capitalists to go deeper and find
riches. AS the mimi world sees mine after
mine that had been abandoned for a genera
ton rewarding with rich ore the enterprise
that will sink below the old workings, conf
dence in the permanent value of the worlds
greatest gold field Increases, and capital in
search of Legitimate investments turns to Cali
fornia with greater Willingness.
But short time ago the Kennedy surprised
the mining world by yielding q rich ore body
O. depth of some 2400 feet and now comes
the Given with its rich yield at depth of
400. only 200 feet dee per than the level at
which opera tions under the old regime were
suspended more than a generation ago. This
new DEVELOPMENT follows fast on the division
few days ago of dividend Of $4,000, result
ing from the operations on the new levels
There IS no limit in general way, as far as
man has discovered, to the depth at which the
mother lode quartz veins continue to pay and
with the recent realization of this it is prob
able that in a lew years California will be the
great deep mining gold field of the world.
The Bendigo district, Australia, first demon
strated the deep values of quartz lodes and
the deep mining operations in that district of
Victoria has had its effect in encouraging
similar operations here. There for many
years, and until comparatively recently, there
existed as did here the belief, tostered by
theorizipg biologists, that the deeper the
vein the less gold there was in 1t. Now there
ere more deep mines in Victoria than in any
gold field of the world, and number of
| mines are being profitably worked at depths
| approximating 5000 feet The deepest paying
| mine In the colony is just now the New Chum,
| In which reef Is feet wide is being worked
| at depth of 2S7S feet and last year the divi-
dends were 931, 1856. The deepest shaft is
| that in the $50 mine, which is down 1910 fee t.,
! at which depth reef showing gold has re-
| Gently been intersected. Scores of other mines
| from operations below $500 feet. These les
sons and the ones being afforded here mean
| much to the mother lode.
| The hydraulic miners are in state of anx.
| ious expectancy as to what the Federal engi-
neers are going 10 do about spending $500. 900
on large restraining dams and when they are
going to do it. The government engineers
would die before they would say definitely
where any of the dams wou d be located and
where they expected to begin building and
there is no news for the lining people be-
yond the general information that both the
State and congressional appropriations are
now available, that the dams Will be built and
that the three Federal engineers comprising
the California Debris Commiss sion, Colonel
Suter, Ma jor Davis and Go plain Gillette, have,
in association with the Safe Debris Commits
sioner, John F. Kidder. practically decided on
the ltcltions desired and the plans.
Their reticencei is proper enough. All sorts
of enterprising people are anxiously nursing
! projects 10 use the water power of the dams,
and announcement of dam location be-
| fore the land is secured might put various
| bstacles in the way. Then the plans of the
| engineers must be approved at Washington,
| and they will not be made known until after
| such approval. The commission is required
| to submit complete detailed plan for the ex.
pc nditure OF the entire amount of money pro-
| vided, and this takes time. Two weeks ago a
| committee of the Miners Association had O
| conference with the engineers, but they did
| not learn whether the project would reach the
! stage of construction this year or not or where
| any dam will be built. The committee offered
| the assistance OF the Miners Association in
securing required land or in other matters.
The dams contemplated by the law are re-
straining dams to hold from further descent
| the debris now in the river from any cause
and ara not meant to provide big catch basins
into which hydraulic miners may proceed to
wash the hills. In theory each hydraulic
miner must restrain his taiIings by dams OF
his own as now. But as the hydraulic m ming
operations in the watershed of the Sacramento
are wholly regulated by the discretion of the
engineers whose DUTY is 10 prevent new tail
ms from filing up the navigable streams be-
low, the existence of large restraining dams