White Oaks eagle. (White Oaks, N.M.) 189?-190?, 1899-03-23

sight; the miners familiar WIN !.
Silver Reef, Utah, know that
some white sandstones and drao |
clay shales contain high-grade sill
yer ores. And so in endless va
ricty of form and occurrence the
miner from each region looks for
the characteristics with which he
is familiar. While the prospector
may locate anything to which his
notion inclines him, he locates
much that is worthless and doubt |
less passes much that is valuable,
where the technically educated
mining engineer would probably
recognize the worthlessness or
the value of any particular occur
renee were his attention directed
to it; but, as previously stated, he
is not prospecting. 1t is rarely
that the technically educated, ex-
perienced mining engineer makes
mistake by condemning a valua-
BILE mine though he may admit
some possibilities for some unde-
veloped mines which never mate
rialize. In all undeveloped mines
there is an uncertainty and the
element of chance cannot he dis
guised. Often too great willing
ness to take the risk results dis
as,rously. When the Common
wealth mine, in Cochise county,
Arizona, was in the prospective
stage ii was visited by technically
educated mining engineer, who,
after examination, purchased the
property for u large sum. Those
familiar with the history OF the
mine know no mistake was made.
| The existence of tulluridc rich in
! gold at Cripple Creek was made
known through the discovery of
aoat by n technically educated
mining engineer, who recognized
the telluride.
Since, then, gold is found in
paying quantities in such "a variety
of rocks, of 50 many different
geological ages, and is associated
with such variety of minerals,
| it may be considered unwise to
pass any rock by wiehodt atten,
ton as unworthy of notice. Within
the personal knowledge Of the
writer gold aud silver occur in the
United States in almost every kind
of rock known to science, with
the exception of feldspar-basalt
and rocks of that extremely basic
type and obsidians or vitropheres
and rocks of the extremely acid
type. Undoubtedly quartz is the
mineral most commonly associated
with gold, but gold also occurs
with calcium carbonate, feldspar-
garnet, in aggregates of mica
scales, in hornLlende, in coal, and
in states, in granite, sandstone,
limestone, diorite, andcSite, rhyo-
lite, and, in fact, in every variety
of rock. Some dykes are gold.
bearing without showing any con.
siderable alienation or silicifca-
tion. 1t would seem, then, that
the prcspector should test every
rock formation whether familiar
or not. The men who made the
first quartz discoveries at Rands
burg, California, were dry wash
ing for placer gold, and, it is said
knew so little of mines and MN
cral veins that as they approached
the groupings of one of the mos
famous veins in that camp, in The
course of their placer work, used tC
sit upon the outcrop and eat thei
lunch, little dreaming that iht
blackcned honcycombcd rock
were rich in the very metal the,
were striving under such difficult
ties to obtain. OF the great arm,
of prospectors who are foun'
throughout the mining regioI
are, perhaps, comparatively fcv
{ who would not recognize a veil
when they saw one, but sue
N