The San Francisco call., 1904-02-13


State Mineralogist Aubury. With it
is issued a map of the county, which,
like those supplied previously for other
counties, gives an abundance of de-
tails relative to county mineral loca-
tions, the trails and roads by which
the same are most directly arrived at,
the distances from towns and means
of transportation.
Mariposa is a large county. It's
area is 1880 square miles. In 1903 its
assessed value was S2,270,146. The
population was APO in 1900. That is
probably about the present popula-
ton. The county extends from the
edge of the San Joaquin Valley in an
easterly direction to the summit of
the Sierras, a distance of about sixty
miles. The area embraces the drain
age basin of the headwaters of the Mer-
ced River. The elevation ranges from
about 500 feet above sea level to about
1000, with an average in the min
ing region-which is the most thickly
populated part of the county-of about
1000 feet
Mining is the principal industry of
the county. Several mills are kept
running TO turn yellow pine and sugar
pine groves into lumber. The higher
and more mountainous part of the
county is little developed. The tim
Der thereon is protected by the Gov
ernment. The gold the county yields
comes almost entirely from the free
milling quartz bodies of the mother
lode.
The lode consists Of several more or
les continuous quartz veins. 1t enters
the county near Penon Blanco and can
be traced in a southeasterly direction
nearly through the county. Its aver
age dip is about 65 degrees toward the
northeast. There are scattering mines
to the west of the mother lode, some
of which have produced gold and cop
per. In what is known as the east
belt the greater part of the mining
operations east of the mother lode
have been carried on. The veins are
found on the east belt in varying sizes
and positions. The east belt bodies are
smaller than those of the mother lode,
but they are of higher grade.
METHODS OF MINING.
OF the several methods of mining
that have been in vogue in the county
the State Mineralogist reports:
Placer mining which originally. opened the
countys resources. is now practically given
up. as most of the gravel deposits have been
carefully washed. Pocket mining supports a
considerable number of persons. and many
small pockets are taken out during the year.
Such properties require but little outlay or
capital and often held unpatented and
worked by the owners or under royalty. Hy-
draulic mining has never achieved much i'm
portance in the county. although there are
bodies Of gravel which could be washed by the
process. Granite. marble and limestone are
found in abundance.
In the operation of mines and mills wood
and water are depended for power. Wood
is becoming exhausted in many places and
costs from 81 to 50 per cord delivered at the
mines FcIectrfcitv is being used bv the Mari
posa Commercial and Mining Company on the
Mariposa grant. They generate their own
power from the waters of the Merced River
at Bagby Most OF the quartz mines are
worked through inclined shafts. which follow
the vein Opening the veins by vertical shafts.
however has not proven always practicable.
The ground ordinarily stands well and timber
ing is thus not expensive. Such timber as is
needed along the mother lode comes mostly
from the pine regions TO the east.
In 1901 gold to the value of s5O4, 1928
was produced, silver worth $47S7 and
lead sSOSO. In 1902 the mineral pro-
duction of the county included $63l, AIS
in gold, $3.50 in silver and $11,94O in
copper.
The Dunsmuir News tells of a great
deposit Of tale not far from Dunsmuir,
more commonly known as soapstone.
The property will be mined. One COM
pany owns $50 acres of tale bearing
land.
According to the Calaveras Pros
pect deposit of good marble has been
found in Calaveras County near Doug
las Flat.
Three miles of the Cottonwood Creek
gravel beds have been bonded by a
dredging company that will search for
gold.
A company is being formed to open
up copper deposits in Nevada County,
near Newtown.
The Grass Valley Tidings says that
recent purchases. added to previous
holdings, have given the Allegheny
Mining Company. operating near the
town of Allegheny, Sierra County. ITO,
acres of mining land in one continu-
Gus strip between five and six miles
along the keystone, Red and Blue Lead
channels.
The Nevada City Transcript reports
that the Oriental tunnel has tapped the
ledge at a distance of $500 feet from
the tunnel mouth. Fifty-three men
are employed at the Plumbago mine
At the CASTOR Ridge mine siXty-five
men are working. The force at the
Union Blue Gravel mine includes
eighty men.
MINES ARE TRANSFERRED
Transfers of mining property are re-
ported by the Tuolumne Independent.
John DAILY has sold to j. f. and F. II.
Baker the Sunny SIDE quartz mine near
the junction of the North Fork and
main Tuolumne River. w. V. Connally
has sold to the Admiral Dewey Min
ing Company a quartz mine. E. r.
Trefethen of Alameda has sold to Hat