The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-05

Recently there has been a great revival In the development of the gold fields of Alabama and tie prospect of getting out the yellow metal in paying quantities is attractive to capitalists. For many years it has been known that gold exists in Eastern Alabama counties and the fields have been worked in desultory manner. New equipment and up-to-date methods have enlarged the opportunities of making money out of the Alabams gold mines.
 Having in view the entertainment oi the prospects for profitable gold mining in Alabama, c. w. Mitcham, E M and C. E., was commissioned by The Adver- tiser to explore the gold fields and give the results of an investigation by a scientist and expert. hr. Mitcham has just been elected to chair in Auburn Formerly he was in the employ of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railway Com pany, and his knowledge of metallurgy, mineralogy and geology is broad. The result of his explorations and investiga. tions follow:
 Alexander City, July 1, 1903. . Montgomery Advertiser:
 AS per instructions I arrived in Alex ander City Monday. June 9. and have spent one week in an investigation of the gold mining industry in this section.
 The properties I visited are situated in Tallapoosa County. about six miles from Alexander City, the nearest railroad sta- ton, and are in what is known as the ''Goldville and Hog Mountain Gold Belt" This forms part, and Is near the south west terminus of what is termed by Dr. Becker of the United States Geological Survey, ''The Georgia Belt of the South ern Appalachian Gold Fields"
 Right here it is interesting to note that the area of the gold region of Alabama is about 4,425 square miles. including parts of Cleburne, Clay, Talladega, Coosa. Chiffon, Elmore, Tallapoosa, Macon, Lee, Chambers and Randolph Counties. These figures are from reports of Dr. Smith, State Geologist.
 Beginning at FIillabee Creek six miles northeast of Alexander City, the Gold vile belt extends northeast through the counties of Tallapoosa, Clay and Ran dolph. I will only desoribe the part in Tallapoosa County, all of which I was unfortunately not able to get over.
 The country rock, as shown by expos ures on the surface, includes talcon and mica states, schists and gneiss graduating, insensibly, into granite. The surface rock is slate and is underlaid by granite and gneiss, which in many places are ex- posed by erosion. The general strike of the rocks in this formation is northeast and southwest. and dip to the east or southeast. This is the general structure of the Appalachian Range, of which this formation may be nsidered the south west extremity. This general structure, however. varies slightly in detail, as will be noted further on.
 History.
 Gold was discovered in Alabama in 1880, and some mining was done in this district a few years afterward; but authentic his- tory dates from 1s42. in which year a mine called Log Dit' was in operation, and was located near '. here a mining camp was soon established and called GoldviIle. From lis camp the district took its name. The early geological sur vey of Alabama (Toumey. 1S54), states that $30.000 in gold was extracted from Log Pit by the crude methods then employed, which saved only the coarse gold. It is stated by people in this dis trict that the $30.000 mentioned in Pro lessor Toumey's report, was taken from the old dump or tailings. and that in re- ality several hundred thousand dollars were taken from the old workings at GoldvilIe.
 The operations of these early miners were confined to the placers and free mill ing ore, or the ore at, or near, the out crop of the veins. When the depth be- low which the ore was oxidized was reached, sulphides were encountered and mining on that vein ceased. as they had no means of extracting the gold from the refractory ore, or sulphurates At this and other mines near Goldville, which were worked at that time. the refractory ore was encountered at depths of twenty to seventy-five feet, and sometimes they could go as deep as 100 feet.
 During the working of Log Pit," the Birdsong, Ely, Mahan. Ulrich and other smaller properties were found to carry gold. The most notable and profitable of these was the Ulrich property, now a part of the Cameron property.
 The work at Goldvifle was carried on very successfully until the great discov- cries of gold in California in 1S4S and 1649, when moved by the marvellous re- ports of the rich placers, nearly the en- tire population gathered their tools and joined in the exodus to the New Eldorado.
 Dr. Ulrich at that time lived on the east side of Hillabee Creek, and owned parts of sections 1, 5. and g, and the place was called the Ulrich, or Dutch Bend Place. The Doctor cultivated a large plantation and vineyard and pro- duced wine in considerable quantities. In excavating a cellar in the hillside for storing wines he cut two veins which he supposed to carry copper. (they do carry a little chalcocite( and shipped by wagons 15 or 20 tons. and was informed by con signee that it was auriferous. He after wards opened on several veins near by and thus employed his slaves when not at work in the vineyard or cotton fields He erected very crude three-stamp mill, the stamps being made of wood and shod with iron. an iron plate serv- ing as disc. This mill was operated by water power He afterwards increased the number of stamps to five, and work Ing with this primitive machinery, he mined the ores and extracted only a small percentage of the values from them His work was. of course. confined to the free-milling ores and he worked them by open cuts and by tunnels high up the hills, near the outcrop of the veins He also sunk one shaft 100 feet deep near the mill. but this struck the granite and he