The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1915-10-30

Pine county has added one of the
rare minerals to its producing list.
and this, too, to such an extent that
it has begun to attract the attention
of the outside worlG.
Perhaps there are comparatively
few of our residents hal realize that
the mining and production of tung-
stem bearing ores is rapidly becom-
ling n of the chief industries OF
this county.
On properties that six months ago
did not employ a single person there
are today more than 100 men en-
ployed and three small concentrat-
ing mills at work on this character
of ore. One of these is the proper
ty of the United States Tungsten
company at Tungsten, 20 miles to
the south of Osceola. Here there
are more than 40 men and a mill at
work treating tungsten (hubernite)
ore.
At Sacramento Pass there have
been more than 80 men employed
the gerater part of the summer IN
mining and sorting for shipment
tungsten (scheelite. ore. On this
proprty at the present time, which is
being operated by the Doyle Mines
company, composed of local and
California capital, there is also a
small concentrating mill in opera
ton reducing the crude ore into a
commercial product. One carload OF
high grade has already been shipped
from the property, and another Is
now being accumulated.
At Bonita, on Snake Creek, in the
eastern part of the county. the j. d.
Tilford property has been taken over
by a California company and placed
in a state of production within the
past few months. Here there are
now more than 40 men employed
and a small concentrating plant has
been completed and put in operation
in reducing the scheelite ore to a
commercial product.
The most recent discovery OF
scheelite ore, which bears promise OF
becoming a producer, is situated
II miles south of Osceola on the
north side of Willard creek in the
granite formation, and was made by
C. w. Gaby, A. ID. Meyers, X.
C. Davis and w. j. Stewart. The
original discoveries have located
eight claims, on each of which there
is some showing of ~scheelite, and
-. or, a~ronn1 in dnin0 tho
preliminary work or the claims, and
incidentally sorting out and sackine
fer shipment all the high grade stuff
extracted. This discovery, it is
claimed, is one of the best surface
showings to be found in this secriU~
of the state, since it lies in the for
nation that is the most favorable
for the existence of tungsten bearing
ores in any form.
In view of the fact that there is
so much activity and interest being
taken in prospecting for, and in de
%veloping tungsten bearing ores in
this county, and the extremely high
price that the mineral is command
ing at this time, it might not be
amiss to further aquaint the gen
eral publ, with some of the uses
to which the mineral is being put,
and also as to the of its in
crease in value.
Probably the European war has
done more than any other n Trims
to cause the price of the mineral to
increase five fold. Heretofore Ger
many has been not only h largest
producer. but also the largest con-
sumner of tungsten in any form. Since
she has been excluded from the mar
kets of the world, the demand for
the mineral has caused search to be
made elsewhere to supply the mar
ket. until now the United States
alone practically controls the worlds
production of tungsten.
The principal use to which tuna
stem. or rather tungstic acid is be-
ing put is in the manufacture OF
hieh-power guns. armor Tor all
classes of battleships and in many
electrical appliances; for instance
we now rave the tungsten filament
light globe which justifies but half
the electrical energy and produces
twice the light power.
The tremendous demand for this
mineral, both at home and abroad.
has caused its price to advance sky
ward until at the present time ores
carving 60 per cent or better in
tungstic acid have a market value or
-..lJr q no, n1un1
The ore occurs in nature in -four
forms. namely: Hubernite, wolfram
tie. ~ferreberite and scheelite. n
three former are used principally in
highly tempered steel on account or
their being tungstates of iron. while
the latter, being the most suscept-
ibla to chemical treatment on &C