The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-03
CALIFORNIA MINING AFFAIRS.

The State Mining Bureau has got fully
settled in its new and attractive quarters
in the Ferry building and during the week
Curator burden opened the museum to
the public. The number of visitors al
ready shows an increase.
The field work of this institution and
its publications are pretty well known
but not much is known of it's interesting
inside work, which in direct and private
way reaches with more or less benefit
thousands of people interested in mining
While its general affairs are under the
able direction of State Mineralogist A s.
Cooper the benefits of the bureau are di-
rectly dispensed by expert employees who
are well known in the mining world
One interesting feature of the work is
the laboratory, which IS in charge of E.
Is. Preston, who has been with the bureau
for so many years. Part of the business
of the laboratory is to make free assays
for any Californians who send In rock
samples which they want TO know about.
To prevent too much competition with
the professional assayers the bureau may
give only qualitative and not cumulative
analyses. The samples are assayed and the
owner Is told what they contain. but not
the percentage of each component or how
much the rock is worth per ton. This an
alysis, however, is often all that is need
ed and may be worth more to a miner
than assay for gold alone. Any prospect
or in the State who wonders and guesses
and hopes about what Is in his puzzling
ledge may find out free of cost by bring
ing, or mailing samples. Since the recent
nnd OF rich telluride ores on Coffee Creek
there has been great amount of pros
pecting for tellurides, which few Califor-
MIA miners know anything about, and
many samples have been sent in for an
alysis. Each prospector learns whether
or not telluride, gold, copper etc. is in
his ore; In this one way the State has
aided thousands of prospectors who were
in doubt about their finds.
The number of such analyses made
varies from thirty to fifty per month
While gold ores predominant, every min
eral in the State gets represented. With
in the past month Fuller's earth from
San Bernardino and Kern counties, cop
mineral water, coal, etc, have been re-
ported on by Assayer Preston.
But these Tree. analyses are but a slight
part of the mining information for which
the mining public constantly draws on
the bureau. There is d constant stream
OF questions on every conceivable mining
topic and some that are incOnceivable.
From ten TO fifteen letters of inquiry
come a day and every hour some
body is dropping in to ask in person,
yearly and the i number of people person
are from California and are supposed TO
be, but the line is not drawn close.
Librarian Jacobs receives and answers
most inquiries and 1t keeps him busy, but
IISTS are 6lHOTS ABOUT VINO are pretty
sure to know this or that Mr.. Preston
and c. Mathyas have travelled every
county in the State for years for the bur
eau and they and Curator burden, James
Means Statistician Yale and others have
been giving miscellaneous information for
years and have encyclopedia funds of
pointers Then there is a reference
library Of several thousand volumes to
consult.
Recently an Eastern woman wrote to
know about John Doe, who went to min
ing here in 1874 There is a constant in
Quiry about mining law and especially
the law Of locations. Every grade of min
ing intelligence is represented. Many
want to, go into mining, and want to
know what books to read. Many want
to know where to go to prospect. There
the whole northern region. The value
of mica, California iron ores, hanging
walls, the cyanide process, Lassen County
for diatomaceous earth and how to cheap
ly settle mud in bOrax solutions contain
ing magnesia were among the many sub
jects of inquiry received in March, Metal
lurgical difficulties of every sort are pre-
scented. Peculiar difficulties in gold mill
ing how to build an arastra, the grade
nation are other samples. Inquiries come
from all over the world, for the reputa-
ton of the bureau is high and widespread.
The other day there came from Sydney
query as to the greatest depth kaolin has
been found in Australia and elsewhere in
the world, and Mr.. Jacobs will try to
Women interested in mining are fire.
quent -inquirers, and expert mining en-
gineers as well as green prospeCtors are
constantly served While the bureau is
not at ali a mining school. every practi-
cal inquiry made is answered and thou
sands are helped to success in develop
ing the mining resources of the State
1t is at the free service of the public,
and If information cannot be given or one
wants to know too much, the inquirer is
told where to find it. In the develop
ment of the broadening oil fields Of the
State the bureau has recently done an
especially valuable work.
1t may be observed that in the bureau
but two employees besides the State Min
eralogist receive as much as $3.50
month. and there are men of high tech
meal attainments and much mining ex-
perience who are paid less than wharf
myers and policemen.
For the coming two years the bureau
has its usual appropriation Of 900 a
wear and the State Mineralogist has
planned a large amount of scientific field
work and much to be published. And
with the increased activity in mining the
personal demands for its practical help
fulness will be increased.
Colorado and Arizona have just estab-
lished State mining bureaus patterned
after the California one, the former
State enacting the California law almost
verbatim.
One of the claims in Shasta County
which has acquired local fame because
of a recent strike" is the Daisy Belle,