Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1897-09-04

A4Au IA 4AAANC
ward. Il faults all formations, but Is IT.
self nowhere fsulted or dislocated so far IS
can be determined. Is has been traced
upon the surface and Is identified under
ground BY its filings Of rhyolite, ore,
ledge material and composite OF rhyoiite
and clay, the latter having been produced
by a~ttrition where the walls are close to-
gether or nearly 20. II has a mostimport.
sus bearing on the present structure OF
Ruby Hill and the country 10 the south
ward, a. also on the relation OF the
ore bodies 10 each other. Throughout its
entire course ii is found to be the key TO
the structural problem OF the Ruby Hill
and Prospect Mountain minerslized zones.
The country southwest, on the ootwa
eide OF the fault, has been raised several
hundred feet relatively TO the hanging
wall. IL is probable that there was up
heayAl aud subsistence. but that the latter
exceeded the former. Taken in connection
with all Of the mines to the southeast, II Is
found 10 be q fault plane along which the
whole southwestern country has been
raised from 500 TO 1900 feet. There can
be no question that the key to the problem
of deep mining In Ruby Hill and Proc
psct 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 s'front" and back" 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 assure, which dips at an an
gle OF about 20 degrees. This, which we
shall call the uppe wedge, lies on the
southwest or ~iootwsll side OF the assure
and has been raised in this locality about
1 400 feet relatively above the lower wedge
and nsrrows 10 a thin edge at : lower
axsremity. II ia remarkable for its crushed
aud broken condition. II was in this
wedge that all OF the tremendous ore bod
les which made Ruby Hill famous in the
early days OF the district were mined
The exploration OF the front limestone,
which o~verlies the fault to the southwest,
has not been sufficient to determine
whssher either large deposits or any ore a.
all msy be found in it,. From the narrow
part Of the upper wedge, downward, a.
seen upon the 18th and 18th levels. as well
as upon the i,200-foot crossut from the
LOGAN shaft, below the 14sh level OF the
Eureka Con. mine, the face OF the quartz
tie forms the ~footwsll Of the fault, the lat
ter maintaining its dip at an angle OF 7C
degrees, the same as ID does above. Below
the 18th level, with its thinest edge upper.
most and its form inverted, as 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 in
precisely the some manner and. subse
quent to the upheayal 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; moi
that the levels near the surface are OK
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 nc
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 excavated in the big chambers OF the
upper wedge. -.
The exploration ofthe lower wedge would
require the expenditure of large sums o.
money. no doubt-perhaps hundreds OF
thousands, possibly millions of dollars;
bat when it is remembered that the Eu
reka Con. and Richmond mines have alone
paid over ten million dollars in dividends
and made a number Of people wealthy,
and when ID lie further borne in mind that
tka Ara Ia knamn a. nkor AhQ lnwaP vadOf
Of limestone and to 60 down below any
depth yet attained In Ruby Hill, II Is not
unreasona able to believe that deeper ex
plorstion in the lower wedge would pay.
The only reason given 10 the public by
the Eureka Consolidated management for
not sinking the LOGAN shaft deeper and
prosecuting TO the lode below the LOGAN
1200.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 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
commended with and all OF the material thai
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 we're paid for
the cumbersome plant which now stands
idle at the LOGAN shaft. II ia probable
that
THE TRUE wATER v
OF the Ruby Hill lode, il there is such .
thing, has not yet been encountered. Thi'
is a moot question. The principal flow OF
water that was encountered In the 1900
foot crosscut from the LOGAN shaft cam
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 seepsge from the surface,
but was immaterial. 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 quartzite 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 q wall Of intercalated shale and
qusrtzite, In direct connection with the
fault, and about three feet OF that was