The San Francisco call., 1904-11-26

but whether not all is fit for dredging the
Dispatch is not prepared TO say, although Well
ton of these lands will pay to dredge
DREDGERS CLIMB HILLS.
Concerning recent peculiarities of
gold dredging in Butte County the Oro
vile Register says:
When the dredger field was opened near
this town it confidently asserted that the
tract where dredgers could work to advantage
was limited. There was only a certain dis
trict where the big boats would work the sand
and gravel. This was changed greatly when
some new tracts tested. The 81 Gro
showed that land on the bluff could be worked.
and then a new aspect was put on the race
of dredger mining. Recently good deal or
and If the sale Of the same goes on there
will be dredgers built TO work the lands on the
the land of Henry Downing, together with sew
eral other pieces
Some of the land is so high that it will be
necessary to work the tracts in sections One
dredger viii be on the ground floor. as It were,
another in the second story and a third on the
roof garden 1t would be a curious sight to
see three dredgers one at the base and an
other half way up, while the third was on
top of hill. and all working, digging for gold.
At this rate all the bald hills south Of Oro-
Vile and almost down to Palermo are liable
TO become dredging ground.
The Associated Oil Company has
moved largely on the Los Angeles mar
ket, and the Los Angeles Times says:
In entering into the local oil industry the
Associated Company has not only obtained
control Of the Salt Lake Company's wells, but
has also acquired the entire plant Of the Oil
Storage and Transportation Company through
which 1t will handle the sale and distribution
in Los Angeles The plant is at Alhanbra
and Bloom streets, where there is tankage to
the amount Of 10000 barrels ar and at d which ;i
the business of purchasing and storing oil
from the local fields and supplying 1t to the
consumers. This business will now be taken
over by the Associated people represented in
this city by c. A. Garfield. a director Of the
combine.
Now under way is the work of putting in
a pipe line from the storage plant to the
Salt Lake wells, franchise for which was
This line will be used by the Associated to
bring oil to the city. large force OF men
is now at work
The statement published in the Times few
days since that 1t is not the intention of the
Associated to bring more Bakersfield oil here
at the present time was confirmed recently
company, who pointed out that with the pros
poets of oil going up at Kern River 1t is not
able price unless the combine is either able 10
produce II from its property or make I'M
mediate low contracts with independents. 1t
is not believed that it can at present get
sufficient from its own properties to supply
any very large contracts here, together with
those which it already has with the Southern
Pacific and In San Francisco. If this is the
case it is thought to be very likely that the
combine will be seeking to acquire other prop
critics in the fields south OF the Tehachapi
and that it will also do business as pur-
chaser of oil from Independents here as 1t does
at Kern River, McKittrick and Coalinga
where, it is already the main factor In the
fuel oil business. At McKittrick it has
disputed sway; at Kern River 1t has 90 per
cent Of the production and handles large
amounts of independent oil. and at Coalinga
IL has acquired the Southern Pacific pipe lines
and is branching out most extensively. Sew
xx-alI- inf mad oil ha
opinion that within a comparatively short time
the Associated will be occupying as Important
a position in the southern fields and market
as 1t already does in the north
GRAVEL IN CALAVERAS.
NJ. P. Boag writes in the Mining and
Scientific Press the following about the
gravel mines of Calaveras County:
The deep gravel mines of Calaveras County
are ancient river beds which be traced
for miles through this and adjoining coun-
ties. Their is Influenced in the
least by the mountains and valleys at the
present day. The rivers had defined channels
in the bedrock The whole country then
overf1owed with lava, covering up the streams.
The depth at which these channels are found
varies with the locality. The gravel in the
channel Is from few feet thick to several
hundred. All, or nearly all Of this carries
gold. The richest is mostly found on the bed
rock. though deposits of rich gravel have been
found just under the lava Gaping The gravel
consists principally of decomposed serpentine,
schist, granite quartzite. slate and quartz.
This decomposition. especially Of the serpen-
tine. has formed a clayey cement, binding tha
pebbles and powders OF quartz so hard that
milling is necessary TO release the values The
usual practice in milling in this neghborhood
Is to dump the it comes from the
mine onto inclined grizzly. The fine sep
arates and goes directly to the storage bin.
The Jumps fall onto horizontal grizzly. The
largest of the quartz powders are sorted out
by hand and thrown over the dump. The
clayey chunks are broken up with hammers TIL
all will pass through the grizzy into the bin.
Twenty stamps of the Baliol mill,
near Sutter Creek, will be moved to the
Lampheer mine, at Spring Gulch, near
Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County, to
be operated
The Kelsey Gold and Silver Mining
Company has resumed work on the
American River, near Kelsey, Ell Do
rado County.
Progress is reported in the opening of
the Chicago mine, near Nevada City.
The mine has been idle number OF
years.
1t is reported that a coal lead has
been found in Sacramento County on
the Biggs ranch, near Folsom.