The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-10
SNAKE RIVER GOLD
IS VERY INTERESTING
Government Has Looked Into
Riches Found to Exist
Years Ago.

The existence Of gold in the gravels
! forming the terraces along Snake River
and it's tributary streams has long
been known. AS early as 1862 attempts
We're made by various prospectors to
extract the shining colors or gold fakes
from the coarse gravcls and fine sands
along the streams, some of the earliest
workings above the Grand Canyon of
the Snake being in Jackson Hole, north
OF Gros Ventre River. In recent years
considerable prospecting has been done
along Snake and Fall rivers, but very
little real development work has been
carried on. Claims have been located
and staked out. but only enough work
has been done to hold them.
In the summer of 1906 a Geological
Survey party engaged primarily In
study OF the various coal and oil beds
of Uiuta county, Wyo., gave incidental
along Snake River. and preliminary
report on this subject has been pre-
pared by Mr.. Alfred K. Schultz, with
whom was associated in the field Nessrs.
f., e. Smith, b. A. Iverson and II. e.
Schleuter
The Investigations Of Mr.. Schultz
and his party were confined to that part
of Snake Valley lying in central Uinta
county. Except for a narrow strip
along the eastern margin, the entire
area is n succession of rugged peaks
and ridges. cut by numerous gorges and
canyons whose walls are in many
places nearly perpendicular. Elevations
range from 500 feet along the Snake to
II 500 feet on the crcsts of the Salt
River and Wyoming ranges, which
parallel each other across the area IN
a direction east Of north and west or
south. On the northeast are the Gros
Ventre Mountains, extending east south.
east and west-northwest. and connected
with the Wyoming Range by the Ho-
back Range,
The placcrs along the Snake comprise
both stream md bench deposits. None
of the stream placer deposits wlthlh
the area are at present worked, ana IN
only two localities are the bench
placers systematically mined Tho
metal in all these placers is Hour
gold of high degree of fineness, but
the placers show locally great yarla-
tions in the character and occurrence
of pay streaks.. The map. presented ny
Mr.. Schultz, in connection with his
report shows the distribution OF inc
placer workings along the Snake be
twee nthc Davis diggings in uinta coun-
w. Wvo.. and Miner, Idaho, and the
paper discusses briefly the Idaho hold
ings. particularly those near the govern
ment dam at Minidoka. THIS dam mas
raised the water over an duldN'hI u!!S,'
terrace known as Diamond Bar, which
represents an old river bed and con
tains some of the best values In hne
gold along the river. Already n com
pany has been organized for the pur-
pose of taking advantage of the faVor-
able situation created by the govern
ment irrigation enterprises.
Samples of Snake River concentrates
were examined by the United States
Geological Survey at Portland, Ore, IN
connection with the experiments Oh the
heavy placer concentrates OF the Pa
cifc slope, to determine their value IN
other metals and minerals besides gold,
and nearly all yielded from trace to
an nppreciable amount of platinum
Two or three enterprises now on foot
along the Snake will test the prac-
ticability Of saving possible by-products
of the placer gravels IN addition to
their gold contents, and the result Will
be watched with much interest; for II
in any way platinum can be made AN
important factor of the output, with
any margin of profit. the country at
large will be benefited. since there arc
billions of cubic yards of these low
grade gold and platinum bearing
gravels along the banks of the Snake.
Mr.. Schultz's IS report, which appears
in the Surveys Contributions to
Economic Geology. 1905 contains n
large amount of valuable information.
Persons interested should apply to the
Director of tho United States Geologi-
cal Survey at Washington, ID. c., for
n copy of Bulletin No. BIS, which Will
be sent free of charge.