The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1908-02-20
GOLD IN RIVER
AND WALLS OF ABODE.


Enterprising Americans are tatl,.
fortunes out Of the most unernec,as
places and material in Mexico co.
the indianapolis News, The Gusns'
iuato River contained millions Of All
lars Of wealth. which remained 4,
plain sight Of the Mexicans for nearly
two hundred years without any stsns
being taken by them to profit bv I,
1t was left to b. g. spillsbury. Of Nav
York, a mining engineer, to dIscovo,
the existence Of this fabulous weaitb
and, acting on his favorable report =
strong company was formed to tres,
the hundreds OF thousands Of tons ~
waste ore or tailings which had basn
dumped into the river during the last
three centuries. II is called the en-.
anajuato River Mining Company and
its concession obtained from the gov.
eminent covers seven miles Of The
river.
This company has been operating
the "slime beds OF the river. as thew
are called, for some time, and the re-
suits obtained are far beyond the
expectations Of the men interested
in the enterprise. It is stated that
the river contains millions Of dollars
of ore values and amalgams, which
are being recovered as rapidly as DOS
sible by the company.
Guanajuato is one of the Oldest
mining camps in Mexico. In the six
teenth century there were thirty
seven mills in operation on the banks
of the Guanajuato River for the
treatment Of ore. In those early
times the method OF treating the ore
was very primitive, and the waste Of
precious metals was enormous. All
this waste was dumped into the river.
where it remains to this day.
The records show that the reduc-
ton mills along the river treated on
an average 100000 tons Of ore a
year for a period Of three hundred
years. This accumulation OF waste
values in the river during this long
period was enormous. The sands are
impregnated with gold and silver,
and it is a comparatively easy matter
to extract the values under the mod
ern method of treatment.
1t was only a short time ago that
an American mining man with an IN
vestigating turn Of mind made the
discovery that the mud or adobe
bricks used in the construction OF the
houses in the ancient quarter Of the
city OF Guanajuato contained big
values Of gold and silver. He imme-
diately purchased all Of these old
buildings, and they have been raised
and the metal values extracted from
their walls. 1t is stated that there
is hardly a building IN Guanajuato
which would not yield a small for
tune If its walls were torn down and
put through the reduction process.
The early Spanish miners confined
their operations to the ore bodies Of
the greatest richness. They merely
scraped the surface, so to speak.
When the Americans entered the
Guanajuato camp five or six years
ago they found many Of these ancient
Spanish mines lying idle and only
awaiting the application Of modern
and methods to make them
rich producers. Many millions q
dollars have been invested in develop
ing these properties as well as new
mines which have been opened up
by Americans. All the principal
mines In the district are now owned
by Americans The newcomers have
introduced the modern business
methods Of their own country into
the sleepy, town, and the Mexicans
are having an awakening such as
they never imagined would bestIT
them.