Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-11-08

Fergus County, Mont, possesses. one
Of the most remarkable mines in the
world-the Yogo sapphire properties
in that the precious stones are found
in regularly formed veins like gold,
silver and other valuable metals,
| whereas in other communities dia-
| monds, sapphires, opals and the other
! buried treasures are found in pockets
or clusters.
| The sapphires are found scattered
/ all along the lead or vein, and, as in
any kind of mining, there is much
dead work as we'll as frequent rich
strikes. LaSE month, for instance,
five blocks of ground were worked;
| from one 10000 carets were extracted,
while from another of equal dimen-
! sions only "A carets were taken, and
! the cost of working the block from
which the 10000 carets were secured
was only about ona-tenth Of that
working the other four blocks, from
which 5000 Carets were realized.
The sapphires are found in per-
pendicular lead of dry clay with wall
rock on either side, and as this clayey
| formation is mined it is thoroughly
washed and the gems extracted and
picked over. They are of all sizes
and various degrees of excellence, but
the amethystine gems continue very
rare.
So far the company has worked
down only fifty or sixty feet, but pros
pecting has been done to a depth
three times as great, and there ere
sapphires all the way down. The
deeper they go the harder The forma-
ton becomes, requiring greater eX-
| posture to cause disintegration. Al
dirt that is worked over this year
will be exposed through the late fall
and winter to the action of the ele-
ments causing disintegration, and
next year will be washed over again
in the sluice boxes, and there may be
extracted as many gems as were
found this year.
Through the summer many gems
are thrown aside as culls, but men
are left at the mines all through the
winter, and they devote their spare
time to sorting over the culls. There
would, however, be no danger in leav-
! ing the mines unguarded through the
winter, for nature protects them.
After the water freezes no one can
extract the sapphires from their hard,
clayey bed. The company secures it's
water from a point twelve miles dis
tant from the mines, conveying it by
bitches and fumes. The supply of
water this season has been smaller
! than usual owing to a light snowfall
last winter, but it was not necessary
! at any time to suspend operations
About forty men are constantly en-
| ployed at the Yogo mines.
The output for this season will be
very large, and some particularly fine
stones have been secured. The larg-
est stone yet found at the mines was
discovered early in June of this year,
and it weighed nineteen carats. The
demand for the sapphires is constant
| ly increasing and the supply is insult
| 6cient despite the fact that many in
! diyiduals are also engage in mining
them at various spots along the Mis-
souri, river, in addition to the Yogo
mines.
All the stones are shipped direct to
| London, where many Of them are cut,
while Others are sent to Antwerp for
| that purpose. But about half of the
product finds it's way back to the
United States, several large American
companies having contracts with the
English firm to which the mining com
pany sells its product. The duty on
the cut gems is only 10 per cent. The
actual mining season is from April 5
to Oct. 81, or until the water freezes.
There is no indication that the
mines are playing out; on the con-
trary, they seem to be getting richer.
AS a by-prOduct, considerable corun-
dunn is being mined, but this will be
valueless until a railroad shall have
been built to the mines, Fergus county
being the only one in the state unac-
qauinted with the iron horse.
Corundum is worth G10 per ton in
London, and is used in the making of
emery wheels, etc. Thousands of
tons Of this mineral are now lying on
the dump" awaiting cheap transpor-
tation, and even should the sapphires
become exhausted the railIbad would
make the mining Of the latter a most
profitable undertaking.