Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1902-02-13
About Thunder Mountain.

The locality known ~ lnunuer
Mountain il situated near the center
of the southern half of Idaho county,
in high mountainous region, where
/ the waters of the western tributaries Of
the Salmon and the STRAINS flowing
southwark into the northern tribua-
ries Of the Payette river take their
rise.
The locality is approximately ls5
miles in a northeasterly direction from
the city OF Boise, and about an equal
distance from the mining districts IN
the Wood river country, and ITO miles
southeast OF Grangeville.
The mountain itself is one OF the
the lowest OF the elevations in the
mountain district where it is located.
| The peculiar formation and the char
acter OF the deposits found there are
among the wonders Of geological dis
coveries. For distance u several
miles in length and between limits OF
from 300 to 400 feet ia width body
OF highly mineralized matter is found,
every portion Of which, so far ~ has
been examined and tesied, gives val
ues averaging from So To IS per ton.
This does not Include the value Of the
rich pay streaks that have been en-
countered, which go away up into the
thousands Of dollars er ton. These
rich pay streaks are found scattered
through the mass Of mineralised mat
ter ut irregular intervals. As yet the
mass has been penetrated only 20 IA
depth of 1870 feet with the result that
the values increase regularly with the
depth attained These values, though
apparently low 40 far exceed the cost
of reduction that the estimsted profits
are almost incalculable. This, taken
into account with the practically in
exhaustible quantity Of milling ma
terial so easily mined and so easily
brought To the places of crushing and
reduction, places the results beyond
the power of computation.
One str king peculiarly OF the for
mation around Thunder NJ untain i
that nothing resembling what can be
properly called well defined ledge
has yet been found. The whole is II
conglomerate mass with an average
width of 300 feet and without we'll
defined limits of any kind; on the
contrary, everything indicates that the
entire mountain is the result of the
violent action OF waters OF II primeval
interior sea or lake. Specimens Of all
the runway rocks as well as OF all the
sedinentary formations OF the earth s
crus's are mere found-mixed in indis-
eliminate confusion. All the gold thus
far found has the character of placer
gold-that is Of gold that has washed
and worn by attrition with the rocks.
Speculations are cheap, but it Is
safely within the possibilities to pre-
dict that when the greatest possible
depths have been attained there will
he found immense deposits OF virgin
placer gold, but slightly mixed with
sand and gravel. In the meantime,
we have to accept and operate upon
the everything mass, which, with what
is known and from present indications,
will keep our miners busy for the next
; fifty years at least
Within radius of % miles from
this central minerallzed belt at Thur
der Mountain, and in every direction
from it discoveries are daily being
made, and new mining operations are
being inaugurated.
The field is so vast, and the results
already secured are SO new aud start
ling that it is difficult to wri soberly
on the subject. Every body who goes
and takes look at the scene comes
back saying; at is the biggest thing
on earth"
] Comparatively little is known about
Thunder Mountain as yet The mary.
elous revelations will come next sea-
son, with the advent Of the iron horse
into that region, and with the clean.
ups of the mills that are going in
Idaho Free Press.