The Arizona sentinel., 1903-04-08
LA FORTUNA MINE.

In the early days of gold discovery of Califor- mia lS4S when the news reached the gold miners of Sonora, there was a general exodus of the dble-bodied men who were able to get away northwest to the new Fl Dorado in California. and the state of Sonora contributed many men to the mining population. They took the old road, which was known as the ''camino 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 a few feet or yards of q very modest OutcrOp of quartz which no one seemed to consider of suf- ticient value to merit any attention That hum ble 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. This trends nCrthweSterly and reaches nearly to the Gila river at the point now known as BlaiSdell The railway in it's course to Yuma passes around the northwest point of this range. Where the rocks are exposed at that point they are mostly of homogeneous granite of gray color and weathered out at the surfaces, which, however, are much pitted SS if by decOmpOSi- tion of some soft substance. But beyond these lOw-lying hills of granite there arc big outcrOpS of rock which to the experienced eye indicate Stratified formations. They are indeed strait fled. for the bulk of the range Southward and SoUtheaStward is composed of regular Stratified, laminated, hard gneiSsic rock. use tho word ''gneiSSlc,' in a very general and comprehensive sense, for you can describe these rocks with much more accuracy if you localiZe them as mica states and hOrnblendic states, with inter poldtionS of quartZtc beds. especially in the upper part of the series, with green stains. SUD- posed to be stains of copper and decomposition Of copper ore, which they probably are, all though there are DeculiaritieS of color, and some yellow colors. which indicate to me the presence of some other mineral, possibly tel lurium, which by it's decomposition has given these cOlOrS. The fact remains, however, that the bullion from the upper part of the vein con- t9inS than hp lower levels of the mine The workings Wh .ch have been carried on here have developed a condition of things which could not be foretold from an inspection Of the outcrop The vein or lode appears to be chimney, not a contino- ous ore body, nor 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, in its continuity in depth. it's con tlnued satisfactory rich eSS, and the promise i gives Of enrichment by further veins dipping nto it on the foot-wall sides
 Some facts in regard to the product or yield The ore paid from the surface. The product CT ore extracted up to the time has been about so tons per day, which is sent to the 20-Stamp mill, each stamp of which cruSheS about 1 tons in every twenty-fOur hours. The extraction is chiefly and largely by power drills. A force of 80 men Is employed by this mine and mill. The greater part of the labor underground and mining IS done by compressed air. The lode was told, was to l5 feet wide. This large space permits the use of power drills to great advantage. In the material hoiSted there are fragments of the wall rocks. some of which are thrown out but many pieces pass through the mill. They would prefer to reject most Of this wall rock but 1t would take more time and eX- pensc than it does to mill it. and there is a chance of some of 1t containing gold. From these S0 tons of rock crushed daily the average product is perhaps S4S,OOO worth of gold per month. Some months they have produced as high as Sa0.0 .000.
 In the region of the Fortuna mine the forma- tionS appear to he wholly of mica slate and hornblcnde slate. with some arenaceouS layers Ike old micaceouS SandStoneS and QuartZiteS The mine is surrounded by black hOrnblendiC states and mica states. dipping Southwdrd and SouthweStward at an angle of about 45 degrees and these states are very evenly laninated ridge after ridge.