The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1900-05-15
DEEP MINES,
Custer County's Deep Mines and Rich
Mining Districts--Their Geology
and Future Importance--The a.p.
horse-Clayton Belt.
by R. N. BELL
Continued from last week.)

horn mine, around the town of
Bayhorse, are situated some verv
fine lead silver properties, among
which the principal producers
have been the Beardsley, Excel
sior, River View and the Silver
Brick mountain mines. Most of
these, with the exception of a
few small leased properties, are
idle at the present time. None
of the groups mentioned have
reached vertical depth of over
800 feet, and their aggregate
production already exceeds $2,-
000,0O
These veins are steep pitching
fissure or fault planes, cutting
through the gently tilted beds of
blue grey crystalized lime and
dolomiomite and shale. The
limestone beds have been very
much fractured and dolomitized,
brecciated and re-cemented to-
gether. The pay ore is uniformly
high grade, averaging for the
entire camp, fully 40 per cent.
lead, and one to three ounces of
silver for each unit of lead. 1t
is usually a mixture of galena,
hard carbonate and sand carbon
ate of lead, associated with chlor-
ide sulphide and bromide of sill
yer, manganese, carbonate of
iron, and occasionally a little
zinc.
The ore occurs in thin seams,
lining the walls of the assures,
and occasionally makes into
pockets, and great irregular bon.
ANA chambers of clean ore. One
of these chambers on the Beard
sley- Excelsior group, produced
nearly one-half million dollars
worth of silver and lead ore.
Although the arrangement is
; different. people familiar with
the geology of Leadville, will
recognize in the above brief out
line, the principal elemental con
ditions of Colorado's most fam
|, GUS camp, with the single, bul
most important exception of the
horizontal porphyry dikes.
: The serrated. fractured anc
brecciated bluffs of carboniferou'
lime and dolomite in which the
principal lead mines are situated
: and which are filed with a net
: work of lead manifestations, II
\ their immediate vicinity, appea,
( particularly devoid of porphyry
! Yet their condition is such a
+ might have been produced by
; the steady intrusion OF lgneou'
; matter into their foundation
: LAYERS. and the subsequent sol
) fataric eminations that would D.
( ant to follow it. And as a mattel
: of fact, the belt of foothills
: thanking the lime formation, ar
: underlaid for miles, by at leas
) two intrusive sheets of BLOCK,
( porphyry, or porphyrite, 10 to .
: feet thick, whose prevailing UNI
: and conspicuous mineral consu'
5 uents, point almost conclusiver er,
: to their origin in the main ven
Z of similar igneous matter me mea a
: the head of the canyon. Inc
( are exposed by occasional on.
s groupings in the small ctGis tI;s
: cnttipg Streams that drain tins
: double mountain uplift, and 4, a
: one point the upper porpnfyr pSog for
< sheet is exposed within ooO ,! ies
= of the lowest outcropping IL I'M
( horizon, but its actual contact
8 obscured by debris. o,tore
J If the fractured and "a ai'ere III
& condition of this lime belt We
. brought about by, and suosequel e,
< 70 the intrusion of these porpnSi
S sheets, s then the prevalent IL mnr II
II eralization unquestiona9lya y tha. G
e from the same source. Anu nobabl ,,,
=. conditions point to a PrUJd poJdt
& underlying resource OF IooG G1s ore
K tUasIos tpat NAV prove to be of enormoI n! .So
g extent o,St and commercial impo
r. tance. ..uos,;no and
= might say, pronounced LvSs'a, Sss a
rsSSuld parsntIy Il been overlooked BY vi Il
. tne baye made bad Charge of its develo ho,
5 ment. No attempt m~G ,,~5ersit
& made to open up the the u uf intr
s. of these beds, or dlkes ooint. GI