The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1915-03-25
Nome Miner Here Testing
the Placer Deposits on the
Salmon and Snake.
DRILL SENT TO MINES
Portland Man Investigating the
Clearwater Quartz and
Placer Showing.

Pete Cavanaugh. an old-time Nome
miner. arrived IN the city the first of
The week from Seattle, and today
CThursday) sent to White Bird a drill
TO be used in testing the magnitude
and value of the Salmon and Snake
river placer deposits. The machine
VIII be operated by a gasoline engine
and win be set up first on the Lyon
bar near White Bird. representa-
tive of the parties interested in this
project has been on the ground for q
time looking over the, situation and as
result Of his Investigations the pres
ent thorough tests are to be made Of
number of properties on both the
Salmon and Snake rivers.
The richness of the gold bearing
sands of the Salmon river has been
weh known and proven since the early
sixties. when the miners OF Warren and
Florence used to drop down there to
winter and cradle out good wages while
they were resting up for the next sum
mefSs run in the camps In the hills.
The difficulty experienced in making
good in the river country has bean in
the deposit there being largely what is
known as flour gold,' I'D Is too fine
to be saved by the ordinary processes.
Could some inventive genius hit upon
device whereby anything like the real
values carried in those sands could be
saved. he Would aoon haHez. hot "a fame
and fortune thrust upon MN.
l. II. Ball, OF Portland, has been in
the city for the past ten days looking
Into the conditions over on the Clear
water. He is representing moneyed
men who are desirous OF knowing the
true conditions in this large and rich
but little advertised mining section of
central Idaho, of which State Engineer
Bell has had many favorable COM
ments to make in his annual reports
for years past. Mr.. Ball has visited
the Evergreen and Dewey mines just
east of town, with Mr.. Wagner, and
has gone carefully over the old Fisher
placers over in the Meadow Creek sec
tion.
There are reports coming in from all
sections of a substantial revival in
mining interest, which Is good to hear
about.
Washington College Trying to Solve
Problem.
The school of mines at the Washington
State college has taken up anew the
matter OF treating the black sand with
a view of discovering a process that
will successfully and profitably recover
the gold found in the rivers of the
northwest. The college has been work
ing on the sand tests for a consider
able period and the investigations have
now reached a state where the school
authorities are anxious to secure samp-
les of sand from the various sections
where gold is found in the river depos
Its. Francis A. Thompson, head of the
school of mines at the Pullman State
college, has written a letter asking that
samples of black sand concentrates
ranging from so to 100 pounds be sent
to the college to be used in making
tests. He says:
1.-THE extraction of gold from black
sand of the Snake river and its tribu-
taries affords a problem as old as the
west itself. Much has been written
about it in general way and some
valuable investigations have been car
ried out without however reaching any
very positive results.
"The metallurgical laboratories of the
} state college have decided to tackle
r the problems afresh and considerable
: work has been DONE but we desire to
obtain as great variety of material
! as possible and would ask you to give
this letter publicity with view that
: interested parties in your neighborhood
s may have an opportunity to send US
samples of so to 100 pounds of black
! sand concentrates for investigation as
l. gold content.
= be given fun publicity"