The record-union., 1899-08-27


by steam or water power and used fol
working the tailings from mill There
are several other forms of mills fol
crushing ore from mines, and some
with rollers are used where the rock is
not very hard.
There are various forms of placer, Oh
surface gold mining carried on in diff
ferent parts of California The beach
mining is rather peculiar feature II
many places along the coast the mag
netic iron sands. or "black sands" as
they are called, carry an appreciable
quantity of gold. and many of the
ocean beaches have black sand mines
stratum of white beach sand is remov-
ed, and the lower, heavier stratum OF
black sand is washed in sluices. 1t is
difficult to save the gold because there
is so little difference in the specific
gravity of the particles of black iron
sand and the fine, light, fiaky gold
Quicksilver is used in the sluices. The
black sands are also washed in a ma
chine called "tom," the sand being
elevated by a Chinese pump and passed
through this appliance. The large
toms handle about 200 tons Of sand in
IWenly-IOuT nOuTS.
These sands often carry a small per-
centage of platinum which is also saw
ed. The beaches are richer at some
periods than at others. When the
winds throw the ocean waves at a cut
ting angle along the beach, the sands
are concentrated by the wave action,
the lighter being carried away, and the
| auriferous black sand being in a more
concentrated condition. These sands
usually do not contain more than fron
| rs cents to 81. so per ton. but sometimes
rich patches are found.
River bed mining is carried on at
many of the mountain streams. In some
places extensive fumes are built to
carry the water of the whole river dur
ing certain months when the river is
low, and the river bed issthus laid bare
so the gravel may be handled and the
gold obtained Along the klamath and
some other rivers the miners build
wing dams. so as to divert a portion
of the water and leave a small section
bare. Then they put in current wheels,
which operate pumps to take the water
out of the ground they are working,
and thus obtain the auriferous gravel,
ETC., and wash it in sluices, getting the
gold. At high stages of the water this
kind of mining cannot be carried on.
From all classes of gold mines the
average annual product of the State
for the past forty-eight years has been
about S26, 100000 the total output OF
gold since 1S49 having aggregated ST.
314.176.65S. The annual yield is now
between S16,OOO,OOO and SIT 100000. In
view of the many developments and in
vestment of capital, the annual yield is
expected to reach 100000 before
long.
The conditions under which mining is
carried on have changed materially for
the better The mining country has
been more densely settled, means OF
transportation have vastly improved,
machinery has been perfected ana
cheapened, all supplies have become
cheaper, and radical changes have
taken place in the systems of mining
and of handling and treating ores.
High-priced officials and supernumer-
aries have been done away with; there
/ is a closer system in conducting oper-
ations; and all the appliances neces-
sary are not only more perfect but
| cheaper. AS a result of all these fac
tors, ore is now mined and milled at a
much less cost than formerly, and
mines that twenty years ago would run
a company in debt can now be made to
pay a handsome profit. Each year has
shown a gradual reduction in cost, and
improvement in the method of treating
ores, and with every dollar off this cost
hundreds of mines have been added to
the list of producers. The successful
treatment at low cost of the rich auri-
ferrous sulphurets found in the ores of
nearly all our quartz mines, has been
an important factor, as at one time
little attention was paid to them,
whereas now all mills are equipped with
appliances for saving them for ultimate
treatment, in addition to the ordinary
methods for saving the free gold.
There is plenty of opportunity for in
| vestment in the gold mines of the State,
but this should not be undertaken by
those unfamiliar with the business, ex-
cept upon the advice of persons of ex-
perience. Even those long in the busi-
ness, and who have invested large
sums, do not purchase properties or in
terests in them on their own judgment
alone, but employ skilled experts to
make examinations and reports. There
are so many conditions to be taken into
consideration that it is foolish to in
vest money in this kind of property
without very careful examination in
| advance.
While the principal product of the
mineral world in California is gold,
there are many other substances mined,
which swell the total valuation of the
mineral output of the State to up
wards of $27 100000 year. Several of
these products are not mined in other
States. Quicksilver, for instance, is
nowhere else mined on this continent,
and since we began working it Califor-
MIA has produced upwards of SIS, S,000,-
GOO worth, and continues to produce
it at the rate of over a million dollars
4 a year.
During the last seventeen years the
total silver product has been over $50,
100000.
All the borax in this country comes
| from California and Nevada, and
eleven-twelfths of this product is from
California. The annual output of this
substance is valued at upwards of
81, 100000.
The State produces more rock asphalt
than any other, and is the only one
yielding natural liquid asphalt. Mag
nestle, used in paper manufacture and
for furnace Innings, is mined here only.
The only product of chrome in the
United States is from California, and
all the antimony is from this State and
Nevada The only platinum found in
the United States is taken with the
gold from the beach black sands of the
auriferOuS gravel mines