The Arizona sentinel., 1902-01-15
LA FORTUNA MINE.

In the early days Of gold disco rery of Califor- mia. lS4s, when the news reached nc gold minors of Sonora, there was a genera exodus Of the able bodied men who were ape 10 get away northwest to the new Fl Dorado in California and the state of Sonora contributed many men 10 the mining population. They took the old road, which was known the ''caInino real, ' from EStancia and Altar northweStward. nearly parallel to the gulf. following the mountain ridge known as the Gila range, just north of our present boundary. The road led to Yuma. and in passing the Gila range they went within few feet or yards of a very modest outcrop of quartz which no one seemed to consider of sui fcient value to merit any attention. That hum hle and insignificant quartz outcrop is today the outcrop of the great Fortuna mine.
 It is situated on the westward slope and nearly at the base of the range of mountains called on some of the old maps the Gila range. Thir trends northweSterly and reaches nearly to tn tiila river at the point now known as BlaiSdel The railway in its course to Yuma paSsc around the northwest point of this rang Where the rocks are exposed at that point thc are mostly of homogeneous granite of gra color and weathered out at tho surfaces which however, are much pittcd as if by UecompoSi tlon of some soft substance. But beyond theS, Dw-iying hills of granite there are big outcrop of rock which to the experienced eye indicatc stratified formations. They are indeed strait fled. for the bulk of the range southward and SoutheaStward iS composed of regular Stratifed laminated, hard gneiSSic rock. use the wor6 ''gnelSSlc" Tn a very general and comprehenSiv1 SenSe for you can describe these rocks witt much more accuracy if you localize them
 
 polationS of QuartZite beds especially in tn. upper part of the series. with green stains sur. posed to be stains of copper and decomposition of copper ore, which they probably are, al though there are peculiaritinS Of color, anG some yellow cOlorS. which indicate to me thr presence of some other mineral. possibly. tel lurltlm, which by its decomposition has givel these cDlorS The fact rn-nainS however. tha! The bullion from the upper Tart Of the vein cen tai1s more copper than it HOW contains in the lower levels of the miEe. Tie workings which have been carried on here have developed 9 condition of things which could not be fore;olc om Gn inspection of the outcTop. The vein CT lode appears to be a chimney. not a contino- GUS ore body. nor a continuous vein with an ore body or chimney or chute upon it. As re- marked the outcropping points indicate that there Is no very great longitudinal extension of this ore body
 The vein is remarkable first in this limited out. crop: second, m its continuity in depth. it's con. tinued satisfactory richness and the promise i; gives of enrichment by further veins dipping into it on the foOt-wall sides.
 Some facts in regard to the product or yield: The ore paid from the surface. The product or ere extracted up to the time has been about & tons per day, which is sent to the 20Stamp mill each stamp of which cruSheS about tons ir every twenty-four hours The extraction lS chiefly and largely by power drills. force of 80 men is employed by this mine end mill The greater part of the labor underground and mining is done by compressed air. The lode. @as told, was to l5 feet wide. This large space permits the use of power drills to great advantage In the material hoiSJed there arc fragments of the wall rocks. some of which art thrown out. but many pieces pass through tho J1ill. They ,-Ould prefer to reject most of this wall rock. but 1t would take more time and ex penSe than it does to mill it. and there is . chance of some of it containing gold. From these 80 tons Of rock crushed daily the average product is perhaps siS0O0 worth of gold pel loonth Some months they have produced as high as So0.0O0
 In the region of the Fortuna mine the forTna tionS appear to be wholly of mica slate apC hoTEblende slate. with some arclaceouS layers Ike old micaceOuS SandStOneS and quaTtZiteS The mine iS surrounded by black hornbendi, states and mica states. dipping SOuthward anC southYeStward al an angie of about 45 degrees and these Slates are very evenly lamiaated ridge after ridge.