Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1901-04-19

| TIE Advocate Is constantly receiving
from ali parts of the country, letters
asking the above and following qucs-
tIons. To answer correspondents. to
give reliable. accurate and authentic
Information, ana to further advance
our great interests, is the object Of this
article:
IL gold found at lIIllsboro In quartz
veins or IN placcrsy Ia both, but prin-
cipally in fssure veins. Between two
and three hundred claims have been lo-
lated on these veins which show pay
ore at the surface and the work done
ON these varies from mere assessment
holes to the principal mines that have
been developed to II depth OF 800 feet.
What Is the nature OF the ore! Cop
per and iron sulphidc and some com
paratve!y free milling quartz. With
depth the ore becomes smelling and
concentrating material. The percent
nce Of copper In the ore shipped TO tho
smc.tcrs Is from one to twelve units
In concentrates sometimes rs high ns
twenty units. silica In crude ore from
forty to elghty-nvc. Smcltcr ccrtiii-
Gates show the ore to carry from two
to fourteen ounces Of gold. from three
to sixty ounces silver. The bulk of the
ore and concentrates shipped, however.
Will average about SD per ton.
Has there been any large production?
The Opportunity group has produced
-, 600 tons OF ore and over hnlf n mil
l.cn dollars. The Bonanza mine 1000
toas and S20D.O0o. The Richmond 5.OoO
tons ond over y.uo,OtD These arc the
largest lrodacca3 so far.
Are the milling facilities good? rrnc-
tcully they nre not the saving hns
been from nifty to scventy.flve per
cent al the best. A modern custom
mill liz badly needed and fortune
awaits the parties who viii build one.
Sufficient water and m Ideal concon-
t.niing ore, with proper appliances
ninety to n.ncty-iivc per cent. would bo
the saving.
VIII the owners let so easy, or do
they wan. TIC carthy They are rons-
onnble people, but they are not giving
away their mines, or giving bonds on
longtime rlInbovs. During the pnst
two years some thirty mines have been
o,i ttt nd N MI
tho highest price puid wns $iI,UOO.
That mine has become the largest pro-
duclng and the l~st paying In the d.s-
trict and the owners would now ask
very large sum. The greatly i'm
proved price Of copper nnd lower
smelling rates have OF late been very
beneficial to these mines. With good
custom mill the progress would bc
rapid.
Whnt are ore frcights7 From the
mine to the IL Faso SINE Tier from SO
to 81 per ton; from mine to mill u
cents to $40 per ton.
Whnt Is the geological formation?
An cruptivc country rock. by the cx-
p,rts clnsscd ns Andcsitc: the ore veins
nre found accompanying dIkcs Of fine
grained felslte and blrdscye porphyry
which cut through the country north
east and southwest. Most Of the veins
nre fairly easy working Oh drift con
tracts prices have been from SO to So
per foot. Incline shafts on vein are
chenply driven. but vertical shafts In
country rock have generally been found
very expensive.
IL there much snow In winter? Not
enough to swear by: the climate. win
ter and summer. In. from miners
point OF view. perfect. No snowslldcs
and no pneumonia for the miner 10
dread.
Is there much placer minIngi There
ia an extensive placer field which Ii
open to locators and there nre always
some men at work who make from ~
to 50 per day. An occasional nugget
brings up the average. or course some
men are luckicr than others. here ns
elsewhere. Most Of The gold Ia found
within a few feet Of the surface. The
miners scoop up The pay streak dirt
and run II through dry washing ma
chimes The nearest wnter In distnnt
five miles and abouf 400 feet below the
gold level Several companies have
been formed 10 work these placcrs on
n high scale. but the immense cost OF
bringing In sufficient water has made
the project appear Of doubtful profit
new company has recently been or.
ganized 10 exploit this field with a ma
chine Of the Bucyrus type-this is
probably the very best method and
likely 10 succeed.