Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1901-04-26

from vii parts of the country, letters
asking the above aud following qucs
TONS To answer correspondents. tt
give reliable accurate and authentic
Information. and to further advance
our great interests, is the object OF this
article:
Is gold found MT IIlllsboro In quartz
veins or In placcrs. In both. but prn-
cirally in tissure veins. Between two
ani three hundred claims hnve been To-
lated on these veins which show pny
ore at the surface and the work done
on these varies from mere assessment
holes to the principal mines that have
been developed to depth of 900 feet.
! What Is the nature of the ore. Cop
per and Iron sulphlde and some COM
parntiveiy free milling quartz. With
depth the ore becomes smelling and
concentrating material. The percent
age Of copper in the ore shipped to the
shelters Is from one 10 twelve units
Ia concentrates sometimes ms high as
twenty units. silica in crude ore from
farty to eighty-hve. Smelter certifi-
Gates show the ore to carry from two
Ia fourteen ounces Of gold, from three
to sixty ounces silver. The bulk of the
ore and concentrates shipped, however.
VIII average about $40 per ton.
Has there been any large productioni
The Opportunity gronp has produced
II CtD tons Of ore and over half a mil-
irn dollars. The Bonanza mine 1000
teas and S2oa,0o0. The Richmond 5000
tons ond over S2Nn.CD These are the
I'M grst PRODUCERS so far.
Are the milling facilities good? prac-
tically they are not the saving has
been from fifty to seventy five per
cont. al the best. A modern custom
Lllll Is badly needed and fortune
awaits the parties who VIII build one.
Sufficient water and mn ideal eoncen-
tra;ing ore. with proper appliances
ninety to n.nety-five per cent. would be
the saving.
VIII the owners let 70 easy, or do
they want the earth? They are rcas-
enable people, but they are not giving
away their mines, or giving bonds on
longtime rainbovs. During the liasi
two years some thirty mines have been
sold, mostly around Amlmas Peak. and
tho highest price paid was $1,000
That min- -as become the largest pro-
ducing and the best paying in the dis
trict and the owners would now ask
very large sum. The greatly I'm
proved price Of copper and lower
smelling rates have of late been very
beneficial to thcse mines. With good
custom mill the progress would be
rapid
What are ore lights? From the
mine TO the El Paso sm, tier from so
10 " per ton; from mine 10 mill 10
cents TO $50 per ton.
What IL the geological formation?
An eruptive country rock. by the ex-
ps'rts classed as Andesitc; the ore veins
are found accompanying dikcs Of fine
grained felste and bldseye pofphyry
which cut through the country north
east and southwest. Most OF the veins
are fairly easy working on drift con
tracts prices have been from 50 TO SO
per foot. Incline shafts on vein are
chcaply driven. bur vertical shafts In
country rock have generally been found
very expensive.
Is there much snow IN winter: Not
enough TO swear by; the climate. win
ter and summer, is, fron a miners
point Of view. perfect. No snowslldes
and no pneumonia for the miner to
dread.
Is there much placer mining? There
Ia nm extensive placer field which In
open TO locstors and there are always
some men at work who make from ~
to IS per day. An occasional nugget
brings up the average. or course some
men are luckier than others. here as
elsewhere. Most OF tho gold Is found
few feet OF the surface. The /
miners scoop up the pny streak dirt
and run It through dry washing ma
chimes. The nearest water Is distant
five miles and about 400 feet below the
gold level Several companies have
been formed to work these placers on
a high scale, but the immense cost of
In sufficient water has made /
the project appear of doubtful profit +
A new company has recently been or
ganized TO exploit this field with ma
chine Of the Bucyrus type-tiiis II
probably the very best method ana
likely TO succeed.