The Sumpter miner. [volume] (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905, 1900-05-09
MISTAKES OF
PRoSPEcToRS.
Overlook Good Thing fc
Lack Of Information.

prospecting, written by prospector.
The following, one Of the series, will be
found Of special interest to MINER readers:
Many prospectors, especially those In
quest Of free gold, overlook valuable
claims by putting too much dependence
upon the mortar and pan. While, as a
general rule, ores In gold.bearing districts
show some free gold, It does not follow
that all the values lie In that portion that
Is obtained in the horn.
Ores containing silver values may at
the same time contain enough gold that Is
not free, to justify terming them gold ores.
Again there are great many ores In
which the gold, though practically free, is
In such a fine state Of division as to show
not even color by the horn test.
Some ores rich In gold would not be
noticed by regular prospector, for the
reason that 1t has more the appearance Of
country rock that would be supposed to
carry gold.
Some Of our richest mines have as gan.
que rock ordinary brown or iron.stained
limestone. Some have as matrix nothing
but common brown or iron.stained por.
phyry, which may be In the shape Of
small ledges few feet In width or In
large dykes or reefs 80 to 100 feet wide or
even wider, still they carry gold values
sufficient to make them good paying
mines-in fact, almost any kind Of rock
may carry gold In profitable quantities.
Another class Of mines, that the pros.
pector looking for gold would be very apt
to pass by as beneath his notice, are those
Of such magnitude that the very idea Of
their being worthy Of investigation would
be considered by him as preposterous.
Large belts Of schist containing numerous
streakS and lenses Of quartz, although
apparently barren, may contain gold
enough to make them veritable bonanzas.
The gold may be free or the veins may lie
wholly, or nearly SO, In small particles Of
sulphurets widely disseminated through
the country rock, or In either. The major.
ity Of the dividend paying gold mines Of
today are just such propositions. They
to be sure, mostly low grade, but they
are the kind Of mines that capital Is look.
ing for.
There are also waiting to be discovered
and opened base propositions that most
prospectors consider as worthless, simply
because they are base.
II the prospector Is Of the free gold type,
he will not even know that they contain
gold at all, but will let them lie and move
on to some section where the ores are not
base. II he happens, INSTEAD, to be man
who considers It worth while to have the
ore assayed, he will know that the bases
carry high values enough perhaps to make
them profitable, providing they were free,
but as the ore Is base he passes on.
Where the latter makes his mistake Is In
not considering the fact that in this age Of
machinery and improved appliances so.
called base ores are made to pay profit,
whereas few years ago were the same
values In the shape Of free gold they could
not be handled at profit.
1t Is well for a prospector, before start
Ing out, to consider that mine will pay:
First-Though small II rich enough,
though Of low grade II large enough. The
exercise Of a little judgment will enable
him to determine the medium Of the two
extremes. He must leave large margin
In determining the relative limit In size
and richness Of his ore body. Better far
be prejudieed against the probability Of his