The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-02-22
Death Valley Yields Salt.

Slowly but surely, inch by inch in
the face of drouth and intense heat,
man is solving the mysteries of Death
Valley, and, one by one, its hitherto
unlocked treasure vaults are being
thrown open to add to the wealth of
the world. There is gold, in large and
in small Quantities, throughout the
length of the valley, particularly at
Skidoo and other neighboriny CAMPS
in the Panaminta; there is copper ut
Greenwater; enough borax to supply
the entire world for many year. and
now it seems probable that the district
will soon be known as a large pro-
ducer Crock salt.
These salt deposits are found in the
foothills of the Avawatz mountains, at
the southern end of Death Valley and
within sixteen miles of the TOnOpah
& Tidewater railroad. There are fur
distinct bodies known as the Death
Valley, King, Salt Basin and Jumbo
salt mines. The salt appears to lie
in ledge form with well defined walls,
particularly on the upper or hanging
side. The deposits have been we'll
known to prospectors for many years,
but it was not until the completion of
the railroad that they assumed any
commercial value. Years ago some OF
the material was freighted to the mill
in use on the property when 1t was
mined for its high surface values CT
silver.
The Death Valley mine consists of
eighty acres, and it is upon this ground
that the larger part of the present de-
velopment of the deposits has been
done. The showing is 500 feet wide by
1000 feet in length. the salt being
covered with wash gravel and mud to a
minimum depth of ten feet. Where the
salt has been most exposed to the ele-
ments 1t has dissolved and mixed with
the mud and gravel, forming an incrus-
tation harder even than the rock salt.
The development consists of numerous
open cuts, tunnels and shafts, all PEN
etrating the surface incrustation and
showing pure salt in the faces. 1t is
estimated that there are 100000 tons of
salt already exposed in this deposit.
The King mine lies one mile to the
north of the Death Valley property,
and shows salt over 100 feet in width.
traceable for 1000 feet. In one PLACE
the rock salt stands fifty feet above the
surrounding formation. The Salt Basin
property lies one mile further to the
southeast on what is really continual
ton of the King deposit. Two miles
further southeast is the Jumbo mine,
showing body of salt seventy-five
feet across.
1t is estimated that at the present
time 5000 tons of rock salt are import
ed into California from Liverpool and
sells to jobbers at about SIG per ton.
OF this amount probably 1,5O0 tons
come to southern Califrnia and Arizo-
ma, where it commands prices well over
$40 The owners of the Death Valley
deposits claim that their product is
very hard, firm and fine grained, and
in every way equal to the Liverpool
importation. 1t is probable that $780,
600 tons of sale are made on the coast
each year by evaporation, this prod
uct being used for table salt, hide salts,
ice cream salts and glazing salts. Salt
for packing meats, fish and fine dairy
butter, and which must be particularly
pure, is brought to the coast from
Germany, New York and Liverpool.
ba bi0b T1riza Of life tho n q