Arizona republican., 1901-08-12

The group as a whole is not especial ly rough. being rather undulating, but the surface over nearly the entire area is much broken by almost innumerab!e rock croppings and prominences of all shapes and sizes, These croppings do not appear to be in ledge formation. but project in the form of great de- tached masses and boulders without any regularity whatever in the manner of their emplacement. EverWhere they show vivid green In color, and examination shows them to be largely carbonates of copper, oxides of copper and oxides of iron, of all kinds and grades, the carbonates predominating. In the Impressions between these mass es of croppings. the surface is earth which evidently has been formed to considerable extent from the decompo- sition of the rock croppings. Judging from fs appearance. and is strewn over with small pieces of float of the same general character as the rock. This earth or dirt. however. is very superficial, and it Is only necessary to dig a short distance be fore rock closely resembling the surface croppings is en- rounte red. Assays of this surface rock made after returning to Jerome, snow that it will run on an average SIX per cent in copper. and Mir. Mitchell is or the opinion that there is enough or II in sight to fully justify the installation at once of a 100-ton blast furnace on the property and the commencement or smelting operations on a substantai scale. The cost of freighting to and from Santa Ana would be more than ov srcome by the cheapness of both labor and fuel. The established wages of drill men is $2 per day in Mexican money. or $l in gold. Outside men re- ceive sl,75 per day, STA cents in gold. Hard wood for steam can be bought at $2.50 per cord in god.
 The work already done upon the property Is not extensive. vertical shaft has been sunk to depth Of Do feet. An examination of the walls or this shaft shows an exceedingly irregu- lar formation and multlform characters of rock. varying from rich sulphides or copper near the, surface, to a blue slate imprs gnatei to some extent with quartz, streak5d with sulphides at the bottom. Assays of the ore taken from the upper part of the shaft run from 4 to 10 per cent copper. It is the in- tsntion of the company to continue the shaft ata depth of 100 feet. and then drift through the ore body. A large foi ce of men 1t now at work.
 It s impossible for any person to look over this group. to walk over anu among the masses of minerallzed rock and note that characteristic greenlsh appearance everywhere in evidence, without forming the positive conviction that underneath his feet lies hidden an immense body of copper ore, greater perhaps, if the indications count Tor anything, than has ever yet been un- covered. He cannot be brought to the belief that this copper ore came from any other source or direction than be- low. nor that the visible copper in the ore was deposited upon the crest Of the hiu where the ore occurs, by the acton of any surface stream. But though he will coneiu6e his inspection Of the Mon tana Verdi with the firm conviction that a little development work will demonstrate what appears now so eVi- dent. 1t Is not until the visitor reaches the San Jose group. the other property of the company. and makes his exam ination, that he fesls warranted in say ing that the company has mine the character of which as such Is assured
 The San Jose group lies northwestern ly of the Montana Verdi, a distance of about 55 miles. and is approximately 65 miles from the Gulf of California. Sa Sonora railway, by an excellent wagon road. Distance S5 miles. There IS also a good hard road from Tucson, l25 miles. The regular cost of freight ing from Santa Ana to the mine Is S2o in Mexican money, or slO in gold, per ton. The elevation of the property was not ascertained exactly. but must be from two to three hundred feet low
 CT than the Montana Verdi, or from 100 to 1900 feet above sea level. The group comprises 16 pertenencias, or about l90 acres. Like at the Montana Verdi good timber is within convenient distance, and water for operating plant and for domestic purposes IS available. In fact water sufficient for smelling purposes has been encounter
 
 face formation Is entlre,y different from that of the Montana Verdi, being characterized by well defined ledges having a general easterly and westerly trend. Across three of the largest or these lodges lying parallel and appar- ently constituting parts of a single formation, 1t Is probably 300 feet. Nearly all of the work upon the group has been done upon ledge or vein which may be readily traced for over 2,0O0 feet on the property. and crops boldly for distance of 1,400 feet Its average width at the surface Is eight feet. and it dips 69 or 70 degrees north, and has every appearance both aDoVe and below the surface. of true Assure vein. Upon this a shaft was sunk by the former owners of the property to A depth of 161 feet. At the 5O-fcot level A station was cut on the northerly side of the shaft back to the center of the vein which had inclined away from the shaft until at this point only about one-ha,f of 1t was in vein matter prop CT. A winZe was then sunk twenty four feet on this vein when water was struck in such quantities that 1t could not be handled with their double wind lass. and the winze was abandoned A drift or tunnel was then driven hori- zontal!y on the ledge from the station for a distance of over 120 feet. In this drift the vein shows width Of from seven to nine feet, and is plainly trace able it's entire length. The vein mat ter is quartz. feldspar and tale. The copper occurs In the form of cha!co- pyrite and bonite. Assays of average sanonles across the drift and for its