Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-04-07
ORES OF ALMOST
FABULOUS VALUES FROM
THE LA PLATAS
Large Samples Received in Denver
That Represents From 100000 to
S15o.ooo in Gold Per Ton-Rio
Grande's Special Rates.
lDenYer POSI-

OF intrinsic value completely over
shadow the most extravagant stories
that have been told by the people of
any mining district in the world save
those that came out of Boulder coun-
ty in the early days of its tellurium
discoveries. In this consig Rment
there was one block about seventy
five pounds in weight which will run
/ 100 ounces gold to the ton; another
of forty pounds that will yield twenty
or more ounces of the same metal. and
still another weighing about twenty
pounds which was literally covered
with beads of gold brought out by
roasting. There were other samples
the size OF your hand. which assay at
the rate of $4,000 gold per ton. with
smaller ones worth twenty to thirty
ounces. There was one quite large
sample that gave by assay s15O,0O0
twenty to thirty ounces per
ton. This was from a mine call
ed the Durango Girl These were so
literally covered with gold from roast
ing it seemed as if they contained
little else than yellow metal imbedded
in slight matrix of quartz. All
these samples came from the recently
opened mines of the La Plata region
within three or four miles of James
Doyle's camp on the East Mancos.
accounts of which have appeared in
late editions of the Post
On the 18th of March this depart
ment gave the story of the now fam
GUS Neglected mine, sent down from
&c
there. In view of the interest in
the mines of the Southwest recently
awakened, it is deemed wise to re
peat the salient points of that nara
tive. The Neglected" says our cor
respondent, lis one of the oldest loca-
tions in the district. located about
twenty years ago. Outside of doing
the annual assessment work nothing
further was done until 1897, when a
shaft was started. This was carried
down to about eighty feet, and since
that time different leasers have had
the property, sinking and drifting un-
til the shaft reached a depth of 200
feet. The present owners took
lease and bond on the property last
May. Improvements were made,
lew machinery added and the mine
sooi steady gait as small shipper.
In this ordinary work of drifting
cross rim was encountered, and here
is where he mine began to be a great
producer. For more than three
months no stoping has been done, the
product from drifting keeping twenty
to twenty-five mules busy packing out
he ore daily While | am unable to
get exact returns. feel safe in assert
ng that the ores shipped range from
ten to 200 ounces gold. all shipped as
one class.
That very rich ore is being sent
20 the Durango smelter is generally
known to the mining people here,
some of the specimens which have
been. given out to friends being the
richest ever shown from a district
which is noted for as valuable tellur-
ium ores as have ever been known
20 the mining world.
The history of the Neglected mine.
beginning with its discovery. is pa
thetic for the density OF ignorance
which has characterized several eff
forts to do something with it. 1t was
large vein, five to six feet at the
op, Part of the ore was rich, part
Of it milling stuff; probably all of it
contained sufficient value for milling
in almost any Of the other districts
covered with tale and clay. present
ing the appearance of mud-splashed
rocks. Finally several mill men un-
dertook to master the problem. but
one after another the failed The
present owners have made the mine
pay for itself and their mill besides
other large surface improvements
Had intelligent assaying been kept
up as it is done in all mining districts
where practical people engage in min
ing effort, the one of Colorado's great
mines four years ago. There is no
other district in the state where the
labor of skilled assayers is needed
more than among the tellmriums and
sulphides of the La Plata district. AS
sayers unacquainted with tellurum
ores have failed in the beginning here
to find a button in the result of test
ing such ores that had a value of S2O,-
900 to 100000 per ton. In one in
stance a button representing value
per ton of s26,0O0 gold was Whitfield
out of the bone ash. The La Plata
district has been retarded in many
ways, but never by lack of merit
The Orc Fino camp, in which the
Neglected is located, is at the head of
Junction creek directly east of and
near the foot of Mount Lewis. in the
La Plata chain. On Mount Lewis
are situated the Columbus, Ashland.
Parole and other mines, all save the
Columbus, which has been worked to
depth of $50 feet, mere prospects.
The Southern Boy is owned by c. e.
Mcconnell of the Smelter City bank
of Durango. which contains tellurium
ores worth anywhere form $4,000 to
$4,000 per ton. A crosscut tunnel
is now being driven to cut the vein
at depth of about 600 feet,
Back of Trimble Springs, a health
resort very beautifully situated just
above Durango on the Silyerton
branch of the Rio Grande railroad,
miners are opening up a vein which
Al