The San Francisco call., 1899-07-10

1 some pubHShlng when the state PRINTER
! gets around to it amid the crush of work
/ that will follow two years lack of offl-
! cia, printing in all departments Of the
! State government.
| When the office will enable the Mining
Bureau to issue mining information is not
known. but State Mineralogist A. S.
Cooper will find out this week.
The bureau will not be able to do all
| the printing that has been planned be-
cause the last Legislature set definite
limit for each State institution, allowing
the Mining Bureau $1,000 worth of work
at the State Printing Office in addition
TO the $4,000 for two years support. ThlS
will not make the publication Of all the
county mining registers and maps posi-
( bic and Will limit the output of bulletins
The mining registers will be the chief
publications of the bureau during the
coming two years. The energy OF the
| bureau has for the past two years been
mainly expended on these registers, the
field work having been confined to the
oil and asphalt fields. There have been
| about twenty of the county registers com
pleted ready for printing, giving tabulat-
ed information regarding all the produc-
ing mines, etc, of each county ana &C
companied by elaborate maps giving the
geOgra ply, topography. mines, water
powers. etc, on the scale of four miles
to an inch. But $1,000 will allow only a
few TO be published now so that ihese
convenient and valuable works Will LOT
some time include only portions OF the
mining regions. These registers ana
maps have been corrected by special dep
uties appointed in the different countles
There are now twenty-three OF these
county representatives of the bureau un-
der appointment for the purpose or sup,
plying the bureau with information anu
not for scientific or other field work. Inc
existing appointees are as follows;
AIameda-AIack Weber. Oakland.
AmadOr-H. ". H. Penniman, San Andreas
Butte-H D. Gage, Cherokee.
dreas
contra Costa-Thomas McMahon, MaTtinez.
El Dorado-CharIes Webb Howard. Nashville
Fresno-George Hoxie, Fresno
keru-W. r. MaCmurdO BakersneId-
Les Angeles-W l. Watts, San Francisco.
Neyada-G F Trs4 Grass Era ~. ralIey; nd5co
Placer-Ivan II. Parker, ColfaX.
Plumas-John A Edman. Meadow Valley
san Benito-E. F. McPhall, Hollister.
San Luis Obispo-George S. Story, san Luis
santa Barbara-J X Harrington. Santa Bar
santa Cruz-T. H. Wolfe. santa Cruz.
Shasta-M. E. Dittmar. Redding.
Sierra-Frank r. Wehe, Downieville.
Siskiyou-J. NJ Davidson, Fort Jones
TrfnityNW. s I,owden weavervllle.
Tuolumne-E. II. Barton. Sonora
The State Mineralogist will issue no BIZ
ennial report as had been the custom OF
the bureau before Mr.. Cooper's appoint
ment but as many special bulletins as the
funds will allow will be issued One will
be a report on the oil fields of Los An
counties, by w. L. Watts. who has been
working in that field for about two years
and who is now in San Francisco com
piling his report.
Mr. Cooper will himself prepare bull
letin on the general oil and asphalt re-
sources of the State James II. Means,
who is about TO make second visit 10
the COalinga and other oil fields Of the
San Joaquin Valley. will prepare a orlet
report thereon. to be accompanied by a
map of the Oil City field. A delayed re-
norf on the geology of the Randsburg re-
gion which was studied by Mr.. Means
nearly two years ago, will also be issued
bulletin on chlorinatlon ana speCldI
report on the interesting use OF OIL as fuel
in the furnaces OF the Selby Smeltlng
Works. where oil has recently been sue
cessfully substituted for coke, are also in
Governor Gage has not yet appointed
the field deputies required by the last
Legislature, and nothing definite can now
be said as 10 the field Work 10 De done
in the mining regions
During the present week the prospects
of the mining exhibit at the Paris Expo
sition will take shape. Victor Haikes,
who has charge Of the mining DEPART
ment of the United States display. Will
be here and will settle the amount or
space 10 be given California and the ma
tiIre and extent of the exhibit. Charles
O. Yale who has been appointed by the
2
of the States mining exhibit here and in
Paris is permanently in the mint service,
but will probably serve if he secures
leave of absence from the Treasury De-
partmert The Union Iron Works is con-
sidering the proposition OF bulldtng a
complete miniature stamp mill TO De
shown in operation
Probably three-fourths of the gold
produced in California has for years
=
to nav the same price and make the same
charges as at the Mint. On gold 200 and
an ounce supplemented by an alloy
charge Of cent per 800 worth Of gold,
by a charge Of l cent per ounce
where there is 10 per cent Of base metal
in the bullion, and by deposit charge
of 81 per $1,000 or less. When Selbys de-
posted refined gold they were charged
cepted as ready for mtnting, for when no
charge is imposed. The profit of the re-
finer thus came from the charges as fixed
Now the Mint authorities have. as has
been told in the press, reduced the
main charge from s cents TO cents,
king the charge the same a all the
mints and assay offices. 1t was stated by
a representative of the Mint Bureau that
from the private refineries direct to the
Mint But now Selbys have reduced their
charge cents, and will continue to make
the same charges as the Government.
They thus expect TO retain the business
at Iessened profit and to continue ref1n
ing the bulk of the gold produced on the
Pacific Coast. Last year the amount so
received and refined amounted TO over
$50 900 900 The benefit to the miners by
the reduction is not much, but it will
count to the large producers at cents
per ounce.
Another scheme to recover gold from
sea water has been launched. It is in
London and is probably a chimerical
swindle An electrical engineer is report
ed to have invented an apparatus which
will recover the gold from the concentra-
tions of ship condensers at sea. There is
enough on the surface OF the idea TO make
II alIuring. but at 2 cents worth of gold
per ton Of sea water n ship would have
to condense a good deal of sea water to
concentrate enough gold to pay for oiing
the apparatus. This recalls that the most
rational scheme in this line has been
evolved by an assayer at the San Fran
cisco Mint He proposes to start with
the hittern of the salt works around San
francisco Bay. at which immense guam
titles of salt water are yearly evaporated.
THE bittern. or residue, which is thrown
AWAY is shown TO contain 81 worth of
gold or more per ton. and he wants cap
ftal 10 rig up an electrical apparatus 20
utilize ii.
The Man on the Automobile is coming.