The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-08-11
THE PORTS GOLD NINE.
\ Large Force Of Men at Work Deyel-
oping and Re-opening the Nine

\ Large Force Of Men at Work Deyel-
oping and Re-opening the Mine.
When some sixty years ago a peddler
discovered native gold in the daubing OF
the cabin of john Ports, a country shoe
maker in the northeastern corner Oh
Franklin county, he little thought that
gold production OF upward of two NIL
lion dollars, derived from surface wash
ings alone, would follow and make the
Ports mine one of the largest producers
of surface gold in the South, as well as
enrich old John Ports and many mem
bers of the well known Aston, Plumber
and Williams families, Of Warren and
Franklin counties.
No machinery except experimental or
trial plants has ever been placed upon
this property, and none OF the VEINS from
which the surface gold came, and only a
fraction of the surface or gravel mas
been worked Lack of water without
pumping plant has prevented operations
ON large scale4by the small operators.
The Ports company was formed IN
Raleigh, early in July, 1899. Its ON
GERS. as already announced are y. w.
West. president: John A. Duncan, Vice
President: Henry f. Litchford Secreta-
nv and treasurer: Il. w. Lyon, general
manager. and r. l.. and X. t. Gray
attorneys. with principal offices in Ra-
leigh and office of the general manager
at Ransom's Bridge, n. G.
The company has secured control and
possession of the Ports gold mine. A
large force of men are at work develop,
ing and re-opening the mine, and erecting
a small stamp mill and stirring plant
for demonstrating the value of almost
unlimited reserves of good, pay, free
milling. hard and soft quartz ores and
placer ground area which systematic de-
velopment is proving in sight.
In the course of sinking some fifty
openings upon the property during the
past months number of new rich quar-
IL veins, VARYING in thickness from
to feet, have BEEN discovered Nearly
every piece Of the ore taken from one OF
these shows gold to the naked eye and
will average a very high free milling
value.
The great white blanket vein lying
nearly fiat for some distance near the
surface. and whose average thickness
is over ten feet has been proven in good
pay for over one mile in length More
recent developments have added 30 per
cent. to its width before it takes its true
pitch downward making its development
near the surface over 300 feet in width
or an equivalent of shaft over 300 feet
deep with one half mile of level in
the vein at its bottom.
The red placer ground formation en-
tends over several hundred acres, which
is inter-sected by veins of quartz of
various sizes and each cubic yard of
which contains an average of one quarter
to one third of a ton OF free milling
quartz, besides the loose gold i'm the red
placer ground itself. from which kind
of soil most of the gold heretofore pro
duced has been taken. 1t has been eX-
tensiyely opened up by a series of pits
and its known a11ya of pay ground near-
ly doubled in extent and proven to a
depth of more than twenty feet thereby.
In former washing operations the
quartz ore could not be crushed and
gold extracted and was thrown out in
piles at the head of the sluice boxes
along the various streams where the
washing was carried on.
Conservative estimates place the tom
mage of these rock piles on the Ports
property at 250.000 tons already mined
and of an average value OF over $500
per ton.