The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-11-24
MONTANA sAPPHTREs.
one Of the Most Remarkable Mines
In the world.


In the world.
Helena Correspondence Of the -. Louis
Globe Democrat.
Fergus county Montana. possesses one
OF the most rsmarka bse mines W the world
the Yogo sapphire properties-in That
tho precious stones are found IN regular
IS formed veins like gold silver and other
valuable nstals. whereas in other commu-
nsiea diamonds. sapp6lres opals. ard
the other buried treasure are found in
pockets or clusters Consequently a de-
scripiion % this unique mine and its
mode of operation villa prove Interesting.
The sapphire ore found scattered al
along the lead or vein and. as 10 ans
kind 81 mining there - much dead.
work. ne we'll as frequent rich strikes.
Last month for instance. five blocks Of
ground were worked, from one ide01 car
ats were extracted while from another
~ equal dimensions only - carats were
taken and tho cost % working the block
from which the 1000 carais were secured
was only about one-teuth that of working
The other four blocks from which SOD
cnr1ts were realized
The sapphiros are found in o perpcndic-
ular lead OF dry clay with wall rock N
either side. and. as this clhycy formation
is mined ~ D. thoroughly washed ana
are o. all sizes and various degrees u
excellence but the amethystiue gems con-
tinue very rare. 50 far the company has
worked down only hfty or sixty feet. but
prospecting has been done 70 deEth
three times as great and there are cap
phires all the way down. The deeper
they go the harder the formation be-
comes. requiring greater exposure 20
cause disrtegrstion. All dirt that =
worked over this year viii b. exposed
through the late fan and winter 10 he
action OF the elements causing 81 nt--
grafton. aud next year IL viii be washed
over again in the siuice boxes. and there
may be- extracted as many gems as wert
found this year.
Through ne summer many gems arc
thrown asidc az culls but men are LEFT az
the mines all through the winter. aud
they devote their spare time 10 sorting
over thc cu!ls. There would however.
be no danger 10 leaving the mines un-
euar5od through the winter for nature
protects them. After the voter freezes.
no one con extract the sapphire from
their hard clayey bed.
The company secures IT'S water from q
point twelve miles distant from the
mines. conveying 1t by bitches and flum s.
The supply Of water this season has been
smaller than usual owing to light
snowfall lost winter. but it was rot nee.
essary AZ any time 20 suspend operations.
About forty men are constantly employed
az the Yogo mines.
The output for this season will be very
large. and some particularly fine ston -s
have been secured The largest stone yet
found AZ the mines was discovered carly
in June OF this year. and IL weighed nine
teen carats The demand for the sapphires
is constantly increasing. and the supply
is insufficient despite the fact that many
individuals are also engaged la mining
them at various spots along the Missouri
river. In addition 20 the Yogo miaes-
An the stones are shipped direct 10
London. where many of them are cut.
while others ere sent 10 Antwerp for
that purpose But about half Of the pro
duct finds It's WY back TO the United
states several large American companies
having contracts with the English firm
10 which the mining company sells its
product. The duty on the cut gems IS
only 10 per cent. The actual mining sea
son IS from April Is 20 oct 81. or until
the water freezes.
There s. no indication that the mines
are playing out. On the contrary. they
seem 20 be- getting richer As a by-pro-
duct. considcrah BILE corundum Is being
mined but this viii be valueless until a
railroad shall have been built TO the
mines Fergus county being the only one
in the state uuucquaiuted with the iron
horse Corundum O. worth 40 per ton in
London. ana IL used Ia the making Of
emery wheels. etc Thousands Of tons OF
this mineral are now lying on the dump
awaiting cheap transportation, ana even
should the saghires become exhausted.
the railroad would make the mining OF
the latter a most profitable Undertaking