The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-03-26
VAST ORE DEPOSIT
IN BEAVER COUNTY
Peacock Copper Opens What
May Be Mountain of
Lead Ore.

What appears to be a mountain OF
lead ore has been discovered on the
property of the Peacock Copper Con-
solidated Mining company. in Beaver
county. Enough Of the ore has already
been uncovered to almost assure a
great concentrating proposition. and,
II indications of it's surface extent and
increased richness prove correct, the
deposit is literally mountain of ore
which should average at least 10 per
cent lead and fifteen ounces in silver,
with considerable copper and gold.
The first intimation Of the character
of the formation OF that particular
mountain was gained by Manager L.
T. Block when he visited the property
about two weeks ago. He happened to
break off a piece of protrudiag lime
stone in an unprospected portion Of the
property, when ne noticed that the
broken surfaces were filed with lead
He then cleared away a space of sew
eral feet square, to find that every
thing, as far as he could go with pick,
was ore, and a number of shots we're
fired, with the same result. Mr.. Block
at the time gave out nothing concern
ing his discovery. but he directed the
men at the mine to do extensive
trenching over the area which appeared
to be all the same formation.
Returning to the mine a few days
ago, Mr.. Block found, he says, one
opening forty feet across and several
feet deep which is all in ore. Another
space twenty-four feet square, some
distance away, shows the same condi-
ton, while a number of open cuts COW
ering a large area show that the de-
post must be of vast extent; indica-
lions are that it is 600 feet wide ard at
least as long as 1t is wide.
Lies Between bikes.
The deposit apparently lies between
two parallel bikes, one of porphyry, the
other mOnzonite, which cut northeast
and southwest through the great lime
stone zone. which extends nearly two
miles in a westerly direction from the
Horn Silver mine-the Peacock Copper
Consolidated group being about one
mile west of the Horn Silver. The nat
ural theory is that the mineral solu-
lions were fed through the porphyry
dixie into the great belt of soft lime
stone, with the result that the entire
body has been largely replaced by the
mineral.
The limestone, or ore, occurs in strait
fed form, Mr.. Block says, the strata
dipping into the mountain from its
southeastern side The strata are from
few inches to two feet in thickness,
and one stratum may carry lead and
silver, wEile the next one is likely to
carry copper and silver, with less lead.
Assays of what Mr.. Block took as rep
resentative samples of the two kinds
of rock gave these values:
Lead, 40 per cent; silves, 36.S ounces;
gold, 20 cents.
Copper, 2.15 per cent; lead, So per
cent; silver 1876 ounces; gold, 40 cents.
At no place explored, Mr.. Block says,
is the metal-bearing rock covered by
more than a few inches of soil. The
exposed portion of the rock looks like
any weather-beaten gray limestone,
with no indication of values. But that
condition is only skin deep, as it were:
when the rock is broken seams of metal
are found all through it, considerable
portions of large chunks Of the rock
being almost solid galena.
Improves at Depth.
The greatest depth attained in the de-
posit at the time Mr.. Block left the
mine was about eight feet, and he says
that conditions improved noticeably
even at that depth. One of the posi-
bilities of exploring the deposit is the
nndlng OF large chambers of solid ore,
although only the present conditions
extending over the large area promised
is required to make 1t one of the nota-
bic mines of the age. The situation is
favorable for mining with steam SHOW
els to considerable depth, and the prop
erty is almost within a stones throw of
a railroad. With a large enough mill
on the ground, a stream of high-srade
concentrates could be sent out thar
would swamp the smelter of ordinary
capacity-always provided, of course,
that the deposit is what it now appears
to be.