Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-06-24
ARKANSAS GOLD
 STRIKE" FADES
Government Geologist Finds Ore Essays 52 Cents
 a Ton.

Prospecting for the precious metals has been intermittently carried on for
 many years in Yell county and else where in Arkansas, and last March re- ports were received by the United States geological survey that several rich prospects had been located. G. S. Rogers, a geologist of the survey, was immediately detailed to investigate these reports and by taking reliable samples for assay to determine the probable importance of the strike . His report indicates that none of the prospects are of economic importance and that while small pockets of ore may possibly be found in this region there is little chance of developing a mine
 Prospecting is most active in the district south of Bluffton and Gravel ly, two small towns on Fourche river Island railroad Several hundred claims have been staked in this dis trict, although on only about dozen has any development work been at tempted. These prospects were visit ed by MT. Rogers and according to his report most of them show nc signs of mineralization other than little crystalline quartz and pyrite (fools golO. Several of the prospects, how ever, are located on true veins that fill old Assures or faults by which the strata are cut and along which gold bearing solutions, if there were any, might have risen. It was claimed that assays made of selected specimens of the ore from these prospects showed from $2 to S152 a ton in gold. Seven of the most promising prospects were Wherefore sampled, great care being taken to gather reliable average ample of what the prospector himself considered his best ore. Despite the high returns claimed, the gold shown by assay of these official samples in no case eceeds 52 cents ton, and in most of the samples it is cents or less. No more than trace of silver
 was found in any of the samples. The material as shown by these assays is
 far from being ore, although it prob ably represents fairly well the average
 run of the veins.
 Some Good Indications.
 The rocks in this district are of the
 stratified or sedimentary class, being niferous age, and are about twenty
 miles distant from any known outcrop
 of igneous rock It is well recognized
 by geologists that important deposits
 common in stratified rocks except 1 where the rocks have been directly af- fected by igneous activity, and there ! fore it is not to be expected that ore in important quantity will be found l anyhere in this region. At the same ! time there or geologic indications 1 that dikes of igneous rock may under | lie the surface at no very great depth and that solutions carrying small
 amounts of gold may have emanated from these dikes and have ascended
 through the old fault Assures, deposit ] ing small pockets of ore at certain
 favorable points. Thus there is very
 we'll substantiated claim that a small
 amount of the ore from one of the prospects ran as hig has $51 ton in ! gold, although the official sample, ta- ken entirely across the vein at a
 somewhat greater depth, showed only 6 sents to the ton. That it is vain to
 expect any important deposits as re-
 suit of the intrusion of such deep
 seated dikes, even if their existence is
 granted, is shown by the fact that
 even if their existence is granted, is
 shown by the fact that ever where the 1 igneous rocks reach the surface, some twenty miles to the south, there are no gold deposits of value.
 Copper Prospects at Steve.
 In addition to the gold excitement near Bluffton, considerable prospect ing for copper has been carried on near the village of Steve, about fifteen
 miles to the east. Several shallow shafts have been sunk on supposed
 copper "leaGs,' and one drift has been
 driven to a depth of 112 feet. Four
 samples of the so-called ore were
 tested for copper in the survey lab
 oratory but showed only the faintest traces, less than a cent to the ton.