The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1918-11-09
.UNEVIDA SAVING METALS
LOST IN COMSTOCK ORES

mountain cleft, centers one of the
most interesting and romantic
phases of the story of the worlds
greatest bonanza.
Here began, in the early '60s, an
outpouring of wealth that has no
parallel in history. Throughout the
earlier years of the Comstock the
ores, taken from relatively shallow
levels, contained more gold than sill
yer, in ratio of about 60 to 40 per
cent of value. Ore sent to the mills
on the Carson river was sorted to
minimum value of 500 per ton
and records show that the Vivian
and Santiago mills ran for months
together on ore assaying $1,000 per-
ton. Primitive methods then in use
recovered an average of only 60
per cent of the precious metals, the
remaining 40 per cent, together
with many thousands of tons of
quicksilver used in the amalgama-
ton process, passed into the river
bed with the mill tailings.
Sharp bends in the river caused
the tailings and their rich content
of metals to deposit in the form of
sand bars which have not been dis
turbed by freshets or high water.
This is proved by the heavy growth
! of large cottonwood and other trees
on the bars. While the mills were
still operating some hand sluicing
was done near the tail races, with
good results, but efforts were con-
fined to recovering the gold and sill
ver Quicksilver was worth then
only about $35 flask of
pounds, as against the current quo
tation of $120. In former years
school children from settlements
down the river made their spending
money by panning the gravel for
nuggets of amalgam and small,
primitive dredge, worked over 20
years ago near Dayton, recovered
$141,0GO from the sands along 400
feet of the river.
Estimates based on government
statistics of ore treated and metals
lost place the value of gold, silver
and quicksilver in the river bed at
$25O,OOO,OOO. John w. Mackay
and other bonanza kings of the
Comstock realized the value of the
river bed and discussed measures to
recover the lost metals, but it has
remained for an association of pres
ent-day mining men to first apply
power, supplementing the simplest
form of placer operation, to the saw
ing of these metals.
Beginning in the early COS ore
from the Comstock mines was haul
ed by teams to the mills of the I'm
ion Milling & Mining company, own
ed by William C. Ralston of San
Francisco and Senator William A.
sociated in many large enterprises,
later built the Virginia & Truckee
railroad. Through period of
many years came the steady stream
of precious metals in ore to the
Santiago, Vivian, Merrimac, Bruins
wick, Morgan and Mexican mills
and to the end continued the heavy
loss in metals.
Title was early obtained by the
Union Milling e Mining company to
a stretch of six miles along the Car
son river bed, embracing the sites
of the mills, this ground having
been patented under the half-breed
scrip provisions. Long after the
mills had ceased to operate John
w. Mackay, convinced that the river
bed held vast recoverable wealth,
suggested to his friend and associ-
ate, Senator A. B. Lewis, a promi-
nent Utah mining man, that they
engage jointly in project to recover
the lost metals, but Mackoy's death
prevented carrying out this plan.
The undertaking was revived, how
ever, by the Unevida Gold Mining
company, of which Senator Lewis is
president, and a test plant was in
stalled some time ago to determine
the practicability of large-scale plac-
er operations. Results obtained in
washing the sand and gravel of the
river bed have been nothing less
than startling. q
From holes at or below water
level the gravel and sand are raised