The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-11-04
GOLD IN SIBERIA.
Area of Deposits Three Times Larger
Than That of This Country.

For lone period of years the United
States produced more gold than any
other country in the world and Aus
tralia ranked second. The Transvaal has
suddenly risen into prominence in the
last decade, passing Australia in the
race in 1885, and the United States two
or three years later. Russia was cred
tied with an annual production from
1880 to 1895 of from $4,000, 900 to $780,
100000. and she thus kept pretty close
to Australia for a time. When the
Transvaal came to the front Russia
dropped to the fourth rank. and the
Yukon production in 1900 enabled Canada
to force her back to the fifth. That she
will long remain there, however. is
doubtful. The greater part of Russia's
gold comes from Siberia. and the latter
has apparently only just begun to show
what she can do. - it1 .5Hi..
Charles Wells Purington, in the En-
cheering Magazine for September, de-
scribes the mining methods pursued in
Russia's ASiatic possessions, and he in
cidentally remarks that while the gold
bearing area of the United States, in
Guiding Alaska. is only 265,000 square
miles. that of Siberia embraces $4,000.
He ntimates that in at least a part of the
value is but little realized. Thus far
only the placers of Siberia have been
touched and these are worked in the
most primitive and wasteful fashion.
With improved machinery, Americans
are able to mine advantageously a gravel
bed yielding cents in gold to the cubic
foot In Siberia 33 cents is the minimum
below which it is not feasible to go.
With modern apparatus and methods a
far greater profit can be secured from the
placers, while quartz mining promises
handsome returns in many places.
Mr.. Purington regards the existence of
gold bearing veins that would justify
extensive mining and milling operations
in Siberia beyond question. He made
number of examinations during a period
of Is months and saw ''lodes in many
parts of the country which If worked
would pay large returns" The produce
ton Of the Transvaal in 1899 was nearly
$50 900, 900. and G. F. Becker, high au-
thority in such matters. has estimated
that something like $10O,O0O,O0O year is
assured for 80 years, provided that peace
is restored. Mr.. Purington ventures the
prediction that the annual output OF
Siberia for 30 years will be $500 600 If
American machinery and methods are in
PRODUCED there.
One of the deposits which Mr.. Puring-
ton examined was in the Ackinsk dis
trict, lying to the west of the Yenesee
river and about 100 miles north of the
Trans-Siberian railway. The mines are
owned by a native, who is exceptionally
progressive. He took party of visitors
into prospect tunnel to allow them to
inspect the ore. There they found small
particles of free gold in the rock. apart
from the quartz of the vein, while the
latter showed on it's face strings and
masses of native gold in startling
abundance. The vein was about eight
feet wide, and had been exposed for
height of six feet.
Whether or not the visitors betrayed
suspicious of raising or sailing" does
not clearly appear. But to meet such
possibility the proprietor put in blasts
at several points where his guests d.
rected Specimens were taken thus ex-
posed. and these were ground in NOR
tar and panned. In every case gold was
found, often at the rate Of hundreds OF
dollars to the ton. Further examination
of the vein for 200 feet showed free gold
we'll distributed along the whole dis
lance Sailing thus appeared out OF
the question. The proprietor's books,
kept by government order. showed
that $1,000 had been taken from this
vein in four months. only Is tons day
| being crushed. And Mr.. Purington adds:
'That the deposit described is not an ex-
ceptional character in Siberia could be
| proven by the citation of numerous ex-
amples."