The Marble times and Crystal silver lance., 1901-05-10

The Mining and Scientific Press
tersely remarks that u mine is not ex-
clusively work of Nature. Nature
provides raw material in metal-bear-
ing deposit more or less remote from
the point of desired use. The metal is
more or less in mechanical and chemi-
cal combinations with minerals that it
must be separated from before it is
available. From this raw material
man and money build the mine.
Money, which is the conserved physic-
al energy of many men. and man, the
intelligent force that plans and con
trives with money to build in the raw
material the structure, which built, is
then mine. The struggle to make a
short cut to wealth through the dis
covery of mine, the finding OF a
treasure created and buried by nature,
has enormously increased the number
of people who are prospecting every
where through possible and even i'm
possible areas for valuable mineral
These newcomers to the industry are
not miners and to their inexperience it
seems very simple. They have only to
find the place where the valuable min
eral indicates its existence. Then is
fortune-the fortune they have sought
their own. In reality, they have only
found possible raw material for a
mine. The float that pans gold, the
groupings that show mineral, the speci-
mems that give high assays, only in
dicate where there may be raw mater
ial; they are not surely even the be-
ginning of mine. Some money and
some knowledge must first be used to
determine if there be even the begin
ming. Much delay and disappointment
can be avoided by recognition Of this
fact Miners, as rule, do recognize
it: but the newcomers, seemingly, have
to be disappointed, not once, but many
times, before comprehending this funda-
mental fact. The people who rushed
from other avocations than mining to
Alaska and the Northwest to find for
tune in the mines, are those who most
need this knowledge of what mine
really is, and how, and at what cost it
is made. These well-intentioned peo-
pie have devoted their energies to the
locating of claims, not to the making
of mines or mine. AS a consequence,
vast areas of land we'll worth careful
prospecting are practically Withdrawn
from exploration. In some exception
al instances u surface showing justiiies
cash purchase by capital: but the
tenderfoot locator does not even make
surface showing, just however ex-
pecting to sell as if it was developed
mine. What he should do first is to
open the surface either by cross or
longitudinal stripping, breaking into
the solid lode formation at many
points. Assay many samples and es-
tablish the surface extent of apparent
payable values. Next either tunnel or
sink one or more shafts in the apparent
payable surface. These things done
there is then sufficient in sight if values
continue underground to invite the
assistance of capital in carrying the
risk of the further exploration and
opening which may make the mine.
All this examination and preparation
consumes time and requires labor. In
the short season of the North one or
two claims or single group is the
practical limit of prospector's ability
Location of more than this is simply
time and energy wasted by scattering.
Efforts to find in any locality the raw
material for mine must be concent-
rated to be effective and particularly
must they be so in Alaska.
Two of the largest engines in the