The evening times., 1900-02-10
GOLD Mines IN VIRGIlIAl
A Claim That Many Can Be Work
ed With Considerable Profit.
Boston Capitalists Engaged i'm Put
ting i'm a New Plant With ImprOv-
ed Machinery Near Culpeper-A
Nugget Worth SISO-The Yields of
Various Shafts i'm Former Years.

CULPEPER, Va. Feb. 10. - What is
known as the "Peninsular' OF the Kappa
hammock and Rapidan rivers is historic. il
| having been the scene of several battles
during the civil war. Another point OF in
terest in this section is the gold fields, in
the Rappahannock Valley, near the mouth
of the Rapidan River. In this immediate
| vicinity can be found large number of
gold mines, which are the Franklan, the
Randolph Liberty, Kelley, Pollard, Wyck-
hoff and Tedyard, in Fauquier county the
| Rappahannock, the Eagle. Ratt1esnake, and
Monroe in Stafford; the Goodwin and Gold
Flat, in Spottsylvania; the Vancluse, VIII
derness. MulviIle, Grasty, and Whitehall,
in Orange; the Powhatan, Dry Bottom.
Culpeper, Enterprise, Ellis, Eva, and
Pennsylvania, in Culpeper.
The principal form of the gold found in
these mines is in pyrites of iron in con-
nection with sulphur and antimony. Prof.
J. A. Holmes says of these mines in a
book recently published These gold
fields are well worth development, for there
are sufficient evidences of a remarkable
output, and that of the Virginia mines to
date amount TO So, 200, 000." Prof. Chou
man, nearly sixty years ago said in his
book of practical mineralOgy: There are
numerous golGfields in Virginia and North
Carolina, which, If not equal to those of
California at present, will certainly in the
future. when properly worked, be of much
greater importance" Other testimony is
from MIR. c. W. S. Turner, the mining ex-
pert, who last year Investigated these
nt. 4 GAlA il Ia.
These mines are certainly capable of a
great outcome; the gold TO a great extent
can be easily mined
The Culpeper mine, which is now work
ed by Boston capitalists, was some time
ago purchased of Baltimore parties. This
mine comprises 325 acres, and $50 600 was
the price paid for il. Mr.. II. j. Clark. who
is the superintendent for the Boston cor
poration and one Of the owners as we'll is
busily engaged in putting in a new plant,
the cost Of machinery being, he said, $25,
000 minus the cost of putting all of 1t in
place. This mine, he said. had the most
improved machinery.
Mr.. Clark, who is an old Colorado miner,
is the first man in all this country, it is
said who tested and used the cyanide
process in mining, and this will be the
first test he will make in the Culpeper
mines He said that in inspecting the Gull
peper fields he met with new encourage
ment, and that the Culpeper fields were
sure to be paying property. He also ex-
planned that by this cyanide process the
gold and other fine minerals are dissolved
and drawn off in liquid form from the val
ueless matter, then precipitated, and re- |
turned TO the former solid state"
Further he said. that the indications in !
the Culpeper mines were far better than
any he had seen in Colorado. A short F.
time since Mr.. James w. Smith, living in |
the vicinity OF this mine found nugget |
OF gold for which he readily got $3.50.
There are a number of other mines |
where gold was mined previous to the 7
civil war, and in some of which shafts !
are now being sunk $50 feet deep. Among |
these the Whitehall, in this county, yield !
ed slo0. 600 worth of gold in one summer. !
United States gold statistics show that be |
fore 1860 there came from the Culpeper /
mines s.. 300, GOO. AS much more certainly |
found its way TO the mint by private par |
ties and manufacturers. The earliest min |
ing in the Culpeper fields was in 1924.