Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-04-19
oREGON'S MINERAL WEALTH

The European by vastly increasing the price of all
metals has done great work for Oregon, work that
will be felt and appreciated in the near future IN the IN
creased output of Oregon mines In the early days the
pacers Of both eastern and southern Oregon turned out
notable yield of gold With the working out OF the most
accessible and easily worked mines the industry IN this
state practically dropped. The rich discoveries IN
Nevada followed by those in Colorado and Arizona drew
the miners away from Oregon to the larger and newer
fields 1t was at this time quartz mining took the ead
and Oregon not the map 1t remote from San
Francisco the mining center of the coast and remote not
only in distance but in transportation
There who stuck to the old camps but they
were not UP to date miners having far faith in,
than knowledge of quartz mining They generally had
neither money machinery to handle their products,
and wofuly deficient In knowledge OF working ores
The old mill with its stamps and plates considered all
that was necessary for the saving of the products OF the
ore Base in which the precious metals were held in
the baser worked by the free milling pro-
cess and about all the miner got little Tree gold
caught on the plates Ninetenhs of the values went
the plates and down the creeks Ores that Smed were
treated the any other and some of these shines
travelled far and fast 1t is safe assertion that OF the
ores worked in the Oregon quartz mills up to, say ten
wears ago threeourths of the value at least went down
the creeks the mimen not saving the concentrates
or aings which could under modern methods be made to
pay well for working them over Besides no attention
has ever been paid the mines of the state by the big MN
inc men or companies. Even to this day mining man
can hardly be induced to look at an Oregon mime and yet
it probably of the greatest mining regions IN the
whole country While most OF the mining IN the state has
Of late years been done in eastern Oregon the southern
part is the one which will in time place the state well up
to the front of all the mining states Josephine and Curry
county will set the pace and with Trinity and few coun
ties Of northern California will form the greatest mining
district Of the coast While this wealth will come from
base ores largely "copper" lead and zinc there is abund
ance of free ores though generally in small veins that are
not attractive big companies or capitalists These small
veins are usually pockety" and the old time pros
pectors delight The result is that of these veins
have been explored any Depth for the reason your true
pocket hunter believes has gone deep enough into
the ground when the won't shine on him sometime
during the ay 1t is easier to hunt another strnger than
to dig deeper at considerable expense
The time is coming when southern Oregon will be
eckoned with by the great producers of copper for she
has vast bodies Of it that will permit it being put into bars
more cheapy than anywhere else. Some Columbus of
the mining world will some day land his ship on the
slopes Of the Siskyous and discover new mining world