Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-08-12
HAVE STRUCK 1T RICH.
South ottumwa People Have Good
Zinc Lead in South.

Zinc Lead in South.
According to news received from
Buffalo City Ark, the Moark Mining
Co., composed of Ottumwa people, has
struck rich zinc lead in that vicin,
ity.
About January /, J. e. Hull of South
Ottumwa was sent to Arkansas in the
interest of twenty residents of South
Ottumwa, who had organized the com.
pany. Mr.. Hull was instructed to in
vestigate the zinc mining in what is
known as the Buffalo district, and if
the outlook was favorable, to secure
some land there for the company. He
made thorough investigation of some
ten or twelve mines within radius
Of twelve miles around Buffalo City.
He did not depend upon the fairy stor-
les which are heard in every mining
camp in America, but visited the mines
in person; he saw the ore in the shafts
and great piles of it upon the dumps.
The mills, the crushers and the jigs,
for working the ore were there also.
The one thing lacking was transporta-
ton, a railroad to carry the products
of these mines to the markets, but this
was in sight The Missouri Pacific
had let contracts for the extension of
their road from Batesville to Buffalo
City. The work has been pushed
through the spring and summer, and
the Missouri Pacific will be running
cars into Buffalo City within ninety
days. The cars are coming and the
mines are now preparing for business.
The outlook being very favorable Mr..
Hull secured 40 acres of land about
the center of this group of mines
The Moark claim is situated on Cow
creek, one-half mile from Buffalo river
and three miles from Buffalo City on
White river. Up the Cow creek from
the Morak Co. claim, a distance of one
half mile, on the same side of the
stream, and at about the same level,
is the Bonanza mine. On this property
is cut into the mountain and shaft
about fifty feet deep, from which 500
tons of pure zinc We're taken, sold and
shipped to England. Two weeks ago
the owners of the Bonanza concluded
to make a drill test of their property.
A core drill has been used which
brings up solid core of the rock three
inches in diameter. The hole was start
ed at a point away from the cut and
shaft, down the creek toward the OF
tumwa claim. A core drill was an ex-
pertinent in the hard rock and the Pc
culiar formations in that section. Many
of the miners asserted that it would
not work but their theories and calam-
ity walls are no longer heard in the
camps around there.
The drill is great success, bringing
up the solid cores, and shows just
what is below the surface to a certain
ty. 1t has also demonstrated another
thing-that the Buffalo river and Cow
creek valleys are underlaid with the
thickest and richest strata of zinc ore
ever found in this country, or any 9TH
er country The drill struck the ore
bed at depth of forty-one feet from
the surface, and the last letter from
there says that the drill had passed
through fifteen feet of rich ore and was
still going down, and besides the rock
is much richer than that found in the
Bonanza shaft and cut, assaying so per
cent, or one-half pure zinc. These late
developments have made the Ottumwa
investors in zinc feel good. They have
a shaft started and are now contract
ing for three-inch hole to be put
down from the bottom of this shaft a
distance of one hundred feet. They ex-
pect to strike the same ore bed found
at the Bononza. The zinc market is
steady, strong and active in South OF
tumwa, at least. The Ottumwa stock
holders believe that the hidden wealth
is yer ynear the bottom OF their shaft,
and they are going down after it, If
found with the drill, then the shaft
work will be resumed.