The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-30
Old Imperial and Biscuit Extension Mininq c.
OLD IMPERIAL MINING
AND MILLING CO.

The fame OF Nevada once rested upon
This situation has passed. The larger
fame that the future will bring, giving
her the name of the worlds treasures
house, will depend upon the produce
tion of at least the three precious met
ais, the yellow, the white and the red.
The silver of Nevada once saved the
national credit, and though such i'm
portance may never again be reached,
silver will once more become one of
the chief factors of NeVada's pros
Perity.
The camp of Cherry Creek, in the
heights of the Steptoe valley, attracted
many adventurous spirits in the days
of Nevada silver mining. The Star,
the Exchequer, Ticup, Mary Ann, and
Others yielded rich ores to the miners
efforts so easily that systematic min
ing was not thought necessary. Though
metal extraction is as old as Tubal
Cain, yet the advanced science of min
ing, as we see it practiced today, is
very, young indeed. The owners of the
Cherry Creek properties kept little or
no surplus on hand for development
being isolated also by hundred miles
from railroad, nearly all supplies COM
ing by team twice that far from Utah,
machinery costing fabulous prices, nat
.urally they found mining exceedingly
expensive. When silver fell to less than
half its former value, the most ac-
acessible ores having been gouged out,
Ihe mines Of Cherry suffered the fate
Tsof Nevada properties generally.
But the isolation OF Cherry Creek is
past. The discovery of copper ore in
limmeasurable quantities at Ely, fifty
miles south, drew. and is drawing, the
largest and most wealthy interests of
the country to its development The
Nevada Northern railroad has been
built from Cobre on the Southern Pa
cif1c to Ely, and at Duck Creek, be-
tween Cherry Creek and Ely, large
shelters are being built. These will
form the best market possible for the
Cherry Creek ores.
The Old Imperial Mining & Milling
company owns what is looked upon as
probably the largest mining property
of the district. It covers a great ifs |
sure vein, two miles in length, and out
of one of its claims the Exchequer, |
approximately 100000 worth Of ore |
has been taken. This was all free mill |
ing, and was extracted by means of a |
tunnel, below which the workings ex- |
tended only about forty feet. The ore |
farther down was sulphite and not |
workable by the amalgamation mill |
OF the nine claims of the group some |
are patented, and the rest are in pro-
cess Of being patented.
FORMATION.
The vein Hes between quartzite and !
PoFPiyTY, and is from 20 to 100 feet t
wide. The gangue OF the vein is quartz. /
stained with oxide Of iron and carbon /
ate Of copper. The entire ledge shows i
naturalization and much is of either Il
shipping or milling grade. The ore has II
been found richest in the hardest Il
quartz, and where the quartz IS not SO Il
compact there is evidence of water H
teaching This has carried the metal Il
downward and deposited it by a process II
of natural concentration below fine II
ground water level. On the south end
of the property the lode of the Star
Inine, another great producer, crosses
the Exchequer lode on Old Imperial
ground. This intersection of two rich
veins is doubtless the location of p
great body of high-grade ore.
Development.
The operations OF the present owners
have been confined mainly to the de-
-geiopment of the New Century claim
on The north side OF Esxchequer canyon.
They have a shaft down 270 feet, and
extensive drifts and cross-cuts. Much
high-grade mineral has been encoun-
n