Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1906-02-24
Origin of Klondike Gold.

cutting the SchlStS OF the 'hlonulke |
series. The veins are small and the |
number destroyed and concentrated as
pebbles and boulders in the valley
bottoms is almost incalculable. The |
high-Ievel white channel gravels have
a volume, on. Bonanza and Bunker
creeks alone, of nearly 500, 000,0 900 Gu.
yd., and nearly half the deposit consists
of quartz grains, pebbles and boulders
derived from veins: This figure, large
as it is, represents only a fraction of
the vein material destroyed, as the
volume of the gravel was originally at
least a third greater, and further al
lowance must be made for the large
percentage of quartz ground up and
carried away. The total production of
the camp will probably approach $780,
OOO, 1000; the average gold tenor of the
quartz, therefore, did not exceed few
cents to the ton.
The derivation of the placer gold
from quartz veins, as pointed out by
Spur in regard to the Fortymile dis
trict, is evident from the character of
the grains. The greater part of the
gold occures in irregular fattened discs
and bulbs similar to those in the VEINS
Many of the grains and most of the
nuggets enclose quartz, and few are
themselves enclosed, in quartz. Peb-
bles and boulders speckled with gold
are also occasionally found. A boulder
from Bonanza creek, near Discovery,
weighing 60 o., contained 20 or. gold.
Additional evidence of the detrital
origin of the gold is afforded by its
worn character in the creeks, while the
younger grains and nuggets found in
the gulches are always rough and an
gular The richest quartz, so far dis
covered, occurs near the head of Vic
toria gulch, a tributary of Bonanza
creek. The partially decomposed slide
rock which covers the surface of the
hillside below the quartz outcroppings,
contains colors of gold, and it is signi-
ficant that Bonanza creek is rich below
the mouth of Victoria gulch, and prac-
tically barren above. Victoria gulch is
itself gold-bearing, and the gold obtain
ed from near its head is sharply angular.
1t is not inferred from this that all the
gold in Bonanza creek came from Vic
toria gulch, as none of the heavy gold
has travelled far, and the valley was
probably repeatedly enriched from
veins along it's course and from the
older gravels; but that some of it was
so derived seems certain.
While the greater part of the placer
gold has been derived from broker
quartz veins, a small percentage may
have been precipitated from waite,
carrying gold in solution. A boulder
was found in one of the workings OF
Miller creek, the upper surface o.
which was partially covered with thin
specks and scales of crystalline gold
The crystals were arranged in dend
ritic manner. Some of them wer,
firmly attached to the rock and Others
separated easily from it. The angle
of the crystals were sharp and Shove,
no wear of any kind, while the boulde
itself, quartz-mica schist, was wei
rounded. The gold evidently did no
belong to the rock originally, and tn
only explanation of its occurrenc
seems to be that it was taken up b
some solvent and re-deposited on tn
surface of the boulder. A number @
thin specimens of nearly unworn crys
talline gold, often deedritic in structur
have been found on Eldorado and othe
Klondike creeks, and they may hav
originated in this manner. The bulky
octahedral crystals (the common cry.
talline VARIETY were probably derived
like the nuggets, from veins. Sever
specimens of these have been obtaine
from the Victoria gulch quartz
Quartz veins are exceedingly abun
ant in the schist of the Klondike serie
and also occur, but more sparingly,
the Nasina schists and il the Moos
hide diabase. The veins, as rule, a
small and nonpersistent, varying
size from mere threads up to masses
quartz 100 to 200 fit. in length and fro
four to six feet in width. Large vel
occur occasionally, one on the Yulx
river, below the mouth of Carib