The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-21
Developments at the Old Inde-
pendence Camp.
GEOLOGICAL FORMATION
Rich Ore From the Standard - Mines of
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Natural
Bridge Company-Inter-
estiug Talk.

l
Standard correspondent with the request
| that he favor the reporter with his views
| on the mining operations now being car
| ried on in the camps on the Boulder Mr..
| Murdoch is very conservative and level
! headed man and is little disposed to
| favor anything that savors of booming
| the mines. However, at the earnest solic-
itation Of the newspaper man he consent
| ed to answer few questions regarding
| the outlook and in reference to the for
| nation on the river from a technical
standpoint. The Boulder country has
| never been described from a practical
miners standpoint in newspaper arti-
| Gle and the information secured from Mr..
Murdoch will doubtless prove of consid-
| cradle interest to the people Of this sec
| ton of Montana at least:
What do you think" asked the repor-
| ter, ''of the recent developments of the
| old Independence campo
| ITO a person who has made careful
| study and examination of the formation
| in that district, replied the gentleman,
| "the f1attering mill returns and rich
| strikes are a source of no surprise.
| In the first place, the character of the
country is distinctly volcanic. The huge
| bikes of eruptive rock which traverse
| the mountains in many places in that vi
| entity would lead, the most skeptical to
| the belief that somewhere in that neigh
! borhood there were valuable deposits of
| mineral. The porphyry bikes in that dis
| trict are in many instances themselves
| heavily mineralized but so far as know,
carry no commercial value
Are not the bikes Of which you speak
often mistaken for ledges?" queried the
| reporter.
THAT is true said Mr. Murdoch, " and
in some instances they are worked to
| profit. but this cannot be said to be the
general rule. Generally speaking. valu-
able ore deposits are in some way ASSOC
ciated with these bikes, which frequently
furnish the key to the situation and, If
Systematically followed, lead to the devel-
opment of valuable mines
| "A miner of experience can tell You
| that where there seems to have been a
concentration of erup:ive forecasts a favor
| able place to prospect: further than that
he cannot advise. This theory has been
verified in nearly all the noted mining
camps in Western America. 1t has been
proven at Independence, where mines of
| phenomenal richness are known to ex-
! ist."
How far is Contact from Independ-
| ence.' was the next question.
| Contact lies % miles below Intepend-
ence at the mouth of the Boulder coun-
| try Aa
| Now, Mr.. Murdoch asked the report
er, 'is the geology of the Natural Bridge
| district near Contact similar to that of
| 1ndependence?' 44g
mo, sir; it is radically different. The
formation in and around the Hidden Trea-
| IDdpnaO1anra ic ND
| porphyry. AT the independence mine
| across the gulch we find trap and por-
| phyry. while underlying them all is a
| bed of quartzite. The mines near Con-
/ tact are found in the Oldest formatio in
=, Park county, the states and schsts, while
| in some cases the quartz lodges are found
| associated with porphyry. Now. sir. II
| the history of great mines and the teSti-
| mony and opinion of learned mineralo-
gists gees for anything, We surely have
| no cause for alarm at Contact. DR.. Kirk
| Rose of the Royal School of Mines Lon
| don, one of Englands most famous min
| eralogists and mining experts. has said
that the ideal formation for gold is slate
| and schist.' We find this formation in the
great mother lode of California. We find
slate and schist in many glaciers which
| deposit their precious metals in Alaska
! placer mines. We find them in the Bald
Butte mine near Marysville and they are
seen generally throughout the Black Hills
and especially in the Homestake mine.
In the face of thse exemplifica tons of the
correctness of the theory that slate and
schist is the ideal formation for gold. we
have indeed no apologies to offer for the
Natural Bridge district.
why sir, | took one piece of rock
from the Standard mine, which I am OPP
Grating, one-half the size of your fist,
from which 7 pounded s16.7 Is in gold. Dur
ing the past six months I have pounded
out with hand mortar over $3.50 in gold
| from little pieces selected at random.
This rock I packed 30 miles on the can
tel of my saddle and made money out If
1t, but there are thousands of tons of ore
in that mine which cannot be worked
with that primitive machinery. I have
already crosscut a ledge of quartz and
schist 25 feet at the depth of $50 feet"
why have you not equipped this mine
before?" was asked.
| Here the gentleman smiled compla-
Gently and stated that he been quietly GO
ing over the mountains for the past year
or two with a fine-toothed comb SO to
speak, locating the ore bodies and deter
mining their course, and that when he
equipped property there would be nc
question about the success Of the venture
Il am hunting mine for myself" he
said. mot one to sell to some specula-
tors
Have you no obstacles with which ia
|
porter.
"a recital of my recent experience will
probably afford a comprehensive reply to
that question: said Mr.. Murdoch ''The
former owners of the Standard mine
who were prominent among Livingston
citizens. had driven tunnel some so feet
on the ledge when a fault plane was en-
countered, which left them totally in the
dark as to further development. They
drove ahead about 25 feet through coun-
try rock with little or no encouragement
and they threw UP their hands in des-
pair
i should like to know what you mean
by a fault plane" said the newspaper
man.
"A fault plane is the displacement OF
one body of rock by another which re-
places it."
How did you proceed in the face OF
this difficulty, Mr. Murdoch"
Il ran crosscut and in less than q
feet encountered the Vein in place At this
date l have merely cut into the ledge