Potosi journal. (Potosi, Mo.) 1894-1929, 1901-02-27

ic:tt nus Dfeil IDua4. however, Il
Ilondale in Washington count,
l and the St.s Joseph limestone ap
pears at the sniface for :, consider
! able distance up the Big River ia
to Washington county beyon.
Irondale.
The statement that the Bonn,
Icrre aud Flat River ore bodie
are very Well defined and proven
is correct. 1t is only "a few Iear'
ago that the only disseminated dc
posits in st. Francois county were
thought to exist at Bonne Terre
where they were opened by the St.
Joseph Lead Company about 1864,
and the first ventures into the
Flat River district in 1ss9-'9C
were looked upon as "wiidcat'
schemes. The Central, Dcsloge
and Doe Run properties, located
there became productive aud pro-
titabIe, and more recently the
known extent "t the district has in
creased by the explorations of the
Columbia, Federal, Union, Derby
and other companies. Similarly in
Madison county the Nine LA Mo,,e,
near Fredericktown, has been i,
producer OF lead for more than a
century, but ii is only within two
or three years that anyone has had
the courage to engage in system
attic prospecting in that vicinity;
the result has been the develop
ment of II promising new producer
in the Catherine Lead Company.
1t is therefore improper to ded uct
the conclusions that the dissent
mated deposits do not exist in Wash
ington county, because they are
Every well defined and proven" in
St. Francois, in as much rs that
premise is mistake. On the
other hand, Professor VIM. Bull
lock Clark is unwarrented in ex-
pressing the opinion that the Flat
River and Bonnie Terre mines are
opened on mineral zones which
trend toward Washington county,
although it must he conceded that
he is not alone among geologists
who think that disseminated de-
posits exist in St. Joseph limestone
of that country and give plausible
reasons for their opinion. The
fact Is that nothing definite is yet
known as to the existence or non
existence of the disseminated lead
ore in Washington county. The
question is to-day practically where
it was i'll 1892, when Arthur
Wins:ow wrote bulletin United
States Geological Survey, No. 1872
on 1.-The Disseminated Lead Ores
of Southeastern Missouri" page
29): "a glance ut the map shows
that all the deposits 50 far developed
are beyond the area of the Potosi
limestone, and drillmen are of the
opinion that the ore does not occur
in disseminated form beneath that
cherry rock. This may he the
case, but the faci is hardly demon
strated yet, as inherent difficulties
III drilling have prevented holes
from being sunk through these
rocks. If, however, it proves
true that these great ore bodies as
IL whole are restricted to the country
whence these upper rocks have
been removed, or, in other words.
where denuda,ion and sub-aerial
decay have been greatest, then
this is significant fact. 1t is in
entire harmony with the writer's
hypothesis of the origin of the
ores" This is to say that the only
scientific reason that can he assign
ed in support of the idea that
disseminated lead ore does not exist
in the Potosi limestone, is one that
hangs upon a theory as to the
origin of those ore deposits, which
theory has not been proven. In
this connection it is noteworthy
that the PIN shaft of the Columbia
Lead Company, recently sunk,
which has discovered great ore
body, passed through Potosi
limestone, and drilling on an
adj djaccnt property shows about 100
feet Of Potosi limestone-i. G. ,
limestone with flint and ''mineral
blossoms throughout it.
Prof Clark's report to the
American Lead and Barytes
Company is considered by those
who are well acquainted with the
geology Of Washington county
lead deposits to be an accurate
representation of the conditions
thereof us shown by the present
development, although his opinion
as to the probability of discovery
of deeper disseminated deposits is
too optimistic. 1t appears to me
conservative, however, to say that
a mineral district, which has known
resources in lead and barytes that
can he exploited profitably and has
a possibility IF discovering dissem-
inateddelmsit by systematic explor-
alton with the diamond drill, is not
Il bad district for prospecting
venture. The price to be paid for
a property within its limit is
another matter. In expressing
! this opinion ! have NO particular
reference to the American Lead
and Barytes Company; it applies