The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-24
MINING BOOMS
NORTH AND EAST

The northern mining region, comprising
Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou counties, is
fairly booming from end to end A very
general activity was not noticeable until
last year, when prospectors and capital
lists brought this rich and promising min
eral region well to the front
While there are a number of old and
good mines in it, so extensive is it and so
full of hidden mineral-bearing veins that
1t is practically virgin ground. For many
years mining" suggested rather the old
history of It's famous placers than a great
field of present activity. The facts that
most Of it's ores are base, that there had
been many failures to work them in the
past and that transportation facilities
were meager helped retard the develop
ment of the mineral wealth. There must
be many mining locations made and
claims developed for every one that hap
pens to turn out a big mine, and then it
is not the few great mines but the many
small but profitable ones that most stimu-
late life and prosperity.
Throughout last year there was a
swarming of prospectors in every promis-
ing part of this huge region. Hundreds
of claims were located and on scores more
or less development showed riches enough
to warrant investments by capital. Money
began to stream in by small or large
amounts, and this spring there are prob
ably hundreds of new quartz claims in
these three counties on which steady de-
velopment is going on. One hears Of COM
paratively few.
This year will surely see a great in
crease in the number of prospectors, in
the number of claims on which shafts or
tunnels will proceed and in the number
of mines and prospects sold or bonded.
The snow still lies on much of the ground
which prospectors will seek in this area
Of thousands OF square miles, but pros
pectorS are abroad by thousands. A miner
returning to Redding from Trinity Center
last week met on the way thirty-seVen
prospecting outfits going in over that
road to scatter over Northern Trinity
A correspondent of the Redding Free
Press writes from Bragdon, on the Trim
ity: ITO see so many teams and pedes-
TRANS going north reminds us of the Cof-
fee Creek boom of '97. Many of the
hardy looking men who pass here are
men that have locations in that neigh
borhood and are going up 10 develop
them. Others are in search of undiscov-
cred wealth, while few are just going
to the high mountains to look out for
but there are many going that way.
Correspondents of Northern California
papers generally report a somewhat ac-
tivity from Eastern Shasta and Siskiyou
to Del Norte County, where much pros
pecting will also be done this year.
Then news of sales of mines, of strikes
in mines under operation or development
and new enterprises, new mills, etc, is
abundant.
From along the upper Trinity River
lively reports are weekly things. Two big
dredger propositions nave just come to
the front. About tWenty-siX bar and
other placer claims reaching down the
river from Braddons have been bonded
for six months. The parties contemplate
putting in a dredger and repeating the
success of the big dredging enterprise at
Poker Bar Then Trinity Center COM
work two miles from that. place.
The Keswiek Mountain Miner tells
vaguely Ct big scheme EN- to buy the whole ed
the townsite and hydraulic 1t to bed
rock. This was great camp, and town
member The gulches about were rich,
and promising quartz mining district
adjoins' it now. The sleepy Old place is
in a mining region with a future The
might pay to work. Indeed, it prospects
we'll and there as elsewhere the people
hunt the streets for nuggets after rains,
washed away very soon.
H. c. Woodrow. mining expert from
St. Louis; has been L, experting various
ing the last two weeks. Among them are
the Bacchus, Trinity and the Butter
mine. Mr.. woodrow shipped a car of
ore from the Bacchus to the Keswick
smelter.
According to London news the Noun
tain Copper Company operating the
great Iron Mountain property and the
Keswick smelter, has set aside $S75 ,000 to
be expended in improvements and ex
tensions this year. The company pro-
poses to hustle all the copper possible out
of the ground while prices are high. and
will greatly increase he scale of its on
erations on its rich property, that can
not be exhausted in many years. The
company now ships the matte from the
smelters to its refinery in New Jersey.
The success of this company is shown by
the fact that its profits for 1898 were
$4,000 The stock sells abroad at S35
share, which represents valuation of