The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-11-09

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in especially contriyed sleeves. First,
however, the matter carrying the pre-
cious stones was placed on a rocker
and run through graded selves so that
the different sizes of sapphires could
be taken out separately.
Improved Mining Methods.
In the early days of the industry
the washing was done in careless
manner, with the result that a consid-
cradle percentage of the gems were
washed over the rifles on to the
dumps below. To recover these stones,
as we'll as the many which also went
over the rifles in Jumps Of undis-
solved corundum and clay, dams were
built across the coulees which re-
tanned practically all of the solid lead
lmatter The following year, when
the corundum had had time to dis
lintegrate through the action of the
heat of summer and cold of winter,
these dams were sluiced out and many
more of the sapphires were caught
in rifles.
In those days an effort was made
to fork out of the ground sluice the
bigger Jumps of corundum and the
space between the sluice boxes and
the sides of the cuts were usually fill
ed with loose boulders, which, after
standing for year or two until they
had softened to a crumbling point
were again shoveled into the rifle
boxes where they readily dissolved and
dropped their sapphires into the ricles.
In the course of a few years the
available hill sites for hydraulic min
ing had been exhausted, and in the
meanwhile tunnels had been run into
the lead under the open cuts, and a
vast quantity of sapphire dirt" was
extracted from the lead In this manner.
But finally the available tunnel sites
were exhausted and 1t then became a
necessity to sink shaft and follow
the lead by means of drifts run at
various levels from the shaft.
Under this method of mining the
lSdppHiI6 bSdlill6 iidtlCl 10 Uiou6At
to the surface and run out on tressels,
| forming dozen or more dumps, and
these, according to the hardness of
the part of the lead matter that Is be-
ing worked, are allowed to stand until
they have had time to disintegrate
from the action of the weather. Then
they are run through sluice boxes and
over rifles as before, but in a
thoroughly precise and scientific man
ner, so that there is today practically
no loss of stones as in the old days.
The sapphire brine is under the
management of C. T. Gadsden, who
las had charge for Is years.
Mr.. Gadsden has made exhaustive
Experiments with the process re-
covering the sapphires, and has work.
ed out the detail of the equipment so
carefully that practically perfect re-
suits are obtained in the mining and
washing of the stones.
Marketed In England.
In the first days of the sapphire min
ng all stones classed as culls, which
were beneath certain size and weight
were thrown away as valueless. Years
ago. however, these We're all gather
ed up again to be used for watch jew
els, mechanical instrument manufact-
turing and other purposes, returning a
years back Mr.. Gadsden installed a
big revenue to the company. Some
concentrating plant on the property
which eliminates most of the matter
which is caught in the rifles with the
Isapphires. After the gravel contain
ing the tiny sapphires has been wash
ec and put through the eoncentrators,
il is shipped to England and sold there.
The larger sapphires are picked from
the gravel by hand, and these also are
Skipped to England None of the pre-
cious stones are marketed in the u. s.
by the company. Those that come
back to this country to be made up
tito jewelry inone form or another are
bought in London by American gem
merchants.
Due to the war In Europe, the mar
ket for sapphires in England, France
and the other European countries has
been temporarily wiped out, so that
aside from the gems purchased for the
United States and South America very
few sapphires are being sold today
For this reason the famous Fergus
county sapphire mine has been work.
ed very little for two years.