The Arizona sentinel., 1901-07-24
EA' FORTUNA MINE.

In the early days of gold discovery of Califor- nla, lo4o, when the news reached the gold miners of sonora, there was general exodus of the able-bodled men who were able to get away northwest to the new Fl Dorado in California and the state Of Sonora contributed many men to the mining population. They took the old road, which was known as the ''canlino real '' from EStancia and Altar northweStward nearly parallel to the gulf, following the mountaiS ridge known as tEe Gila range, just north of our present boundary. The road led to Yuma and SIpaSsing the Gila range they went Nii.,;n . few feet or yards of a vcTy ned ,St outcron of quartz which no enc seemed to consider of sui. hclent Vaiue 70 merit any attention. That hum Dle and insignificant quartz outcrop is today fine outcrop of the great Fortuna mine.
 H1s situated on the westward slope and nearly at the Dase of JneTange of mountains called on some or the ola maps the Giia range. This trends northweSterly and reaches nearly to inc Glla river at the point now known as Biaisde1I The railway in its course to Yuma passes around the northwest point of this range Where the rocks are exposed at that point tbo,, are mostly of homogeneous granite of cJroyy color and weathered out at the surfaces, which however, are much pitted as if by decomnoci' tlon of some soft substance. But beyLrI these loW-lylng hills of granite there are big outcronS or rock which to the experienced eve indicate stratlneo 1ormations They are indeed strait ned Ter the bulk of the range Southward and Southeastward is composed of regular Stratified lamlnated, hard gneiSSic rock. use inc yror1
 Rnelsslc m very general and comprehensive sense, for you can describe these rocks with much more accuracy if you localize them oS mica states and hornblendic states. with in.er polatlons or quartzite beds, especially in the upper part or the series, with green stains SIIn posed to be stains Of copper and decomposition of copper ore, which they probably are oi Inougn there are peou1iaritieS of color and some yeiloW colors, which indicate to me the presence of some other mineral, possibly, tel lurium- which by its decomposition has eiven these colors The fact remains. however tb.t the ouIlon rom the upper part of the vein con talnS more copper than it now contains +, tp. lower levels of the mine. The worIIinoc Irb;c5, nave been carried on here have develoned o conoltlon or things which could not be foretold rom an inspection of the outcrop The vein Or lode appears to be chimney not a contino ohS-sfe o5dy nor continuous vein with an ore Dooy or chimney or chute upon it. As re- marked the outcropplng points indicate that this ore body O-
 The vein is remarkable first in this limited out STOP; second m It's continuity iE,aepth, it's con nnneo satisfactory rfchnessS and the promise if gives of n ichrnent by further Yei5s diT,oinc into l. on the foot-wall sides +-e some 1actS Tn regard to t8c product or yield: me ore paid from the surface The product or ore extracted up to the time has been about e0 tons per day, which is sent to the 2O-Starnn mill eacn stamp or which crusheS about tons-in every twenty-four hours. The extraction is cnlehy and largely by power drills force oI 50 men is employed by this mine and mill me greater part of the labor underground and mining IS done by compressed air. Yne lode I was told, was 6 to l5 feet wide. This large space permits the use of power drills to great adVantage. In the material hoiSted there are fragments Of the wall rocks, some of which are thrown out but many pieces pass through the mil. They would prefer to reject most or this wall rock. but it would take more time and ex- penSe than 1t does to mill it, and there is a chance Of some of it containing gold. From these 80 tons of rock crushed daily the average product is perhaps S4s.OO0 worth of gold per month. Some months they have produced as high as 800 600.
 in the region Of the Fortuna mine the forma- rlonhs appear to, be wholly of mica slate and noFEe.ence SlGts' with some arenaceous layers lke oid representations and CuartZites The mine Is surrounded by black hornbleDdic states and mica states, dipping soutfward and southwestward at an angle of about 45 degrees ana these states are very evenly laminated ridge after ridge.