The Republican journal., 1904-10-13
Quartz Veins in Maine and Vermont.

| In northern New England some in
terest has recently been shown in the
exploration of quartz VEINS containing
precious metals. During the field sea-
son of 1908 DR.. George OTIS Smith, a
| member Of the United states Geologl
cal Survey, visited two Localities where
search for the yellow meta! was being
prosecuted. Under the heading quartz
Veins in Maine and Vermont, he has
recorded the results OF his recODnals
sance observation in an article in the
Surveys recent bulletin (No. 225) en-
| titled contributions to Economic
Geology, 1903"
One of these districts IS In western
Maine and the other is IN southern
Vermont. Though separated by ap
proximately 1876 miles, the two districts
have some points of similarity. The
veins occurring in both places are be-
lieved to be typical of the ore deposits
that occur throughout this general re-
gion.
The mining property in Maine upon
which the most development work has
been done during the past year is stu
ated in Milton Plantation, IN Oxford
county. A group of high hills which
here encroaches upon the valley OF
the Androscoggin river includes Mount
Zircon, the most prominent height OF
the vicinity, and Mount Glines, some
! what lower knob, on the slopes of
which the mining work has been done.
The northernmost of the quartz veins
prospected on Mount Glines is we'll
defined fiSsure vein composed of quartz
and varying amounts of talcose ma
terial The sulphides, galena and py-
rite occur in scattered punches in the
vein, which varies in width from IL
feet to less than 2 IL feet. Several
smaller veins have been located on the
same slope of Mount Glines, but these
are not worked. Vein No. 6 is being
developed by shaft. This vein is SINH
lar in composition to No. l. A thick
ness of over feet is exposed. The ore
minerals are galena and pyrite, which
occur both in punches and in a fairly
distinct streak, inches wide, near the
northern side of the vein. Assays from
the Mount Glines property have been
reported as indicating values ranging
from $50 to S49.6S a ton. These assays
were doubtless made OF picked materi-
al. Samples taken by DR.. Smith and
assayed by DR.. f. T. Allen in the Sur
vey laboratory show not even trace of
gold. All the assays indicate that the
ore is in no sense bearing, and
even in the best assay the silver con-
tent is no greater than is to be expect
eG in galena ore. Further develop
these veins contain copper and lead in
profitable amounts.
In the town of Pittston, Kennebec
county, Maine, prospecting for gold has
been carried On for many years. The
development here is in the pegmatitic
veins, sheets and masses in the mica
schist of the region. Assays made of
picked samples from the principal open
ing in the pegmatite showed no traces
of either gold or silver.
DR.. Smiths observations in Vermont
are like those which he made in Maine.
Within the last fifty years more money
seems to have been spent en- mining
operations in the towns of Plymouth
and Bridgewater than has been real
lied from these efforts. Since 1859
work has been done, at various times,
on the Taggart vein near Bridgewater.
Ore has been taken out here that was
reported to yield s32 in gold to the ton.
Assays made in the Survey laboratory
indicate a value of over So, but the
sample assayed represents the richer
part of small ore body. All the value
is i'll silver, copper, and lead. The alb
Sence of gold is suggestive, in view of
the high gold values claimed for this
vein.
The only gold known to have been
mined at anything like profit in south
ern Vermont is that found in the gravel
deposits of Plymouth, and the extent to
which that mining was profitable is
doubtful. The essential feature in the
question of the occurrence of gold in
Vermont is the economic value of the
deposits. That is at least sufficiently
! we'll understood to make extravaganza
speculation entirely unwise.