Ashland weekly tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1919-1924, 1921-09-14

I
Is abundant on Red Mountain, which
obtained its name from the color OF
the thoroughly oxidized soils, derived
from 1t and similar highly ferrugin-
ous rocks. The serpentine is cut by
seams, some OF which are occupied
by chlorite and other tale. On the
eastern peak of this mountain, some
of the serpentine is derived from the
alteration of amphibolite.
These dikes make their appearan-
ce very abundantly in Josephine
county. 1t is found on the ridge to
the north of Ellltt creek, at Slski-
you Gap, at the Ramsey mine on
Slate creek, on Walkers Mountain,
Mt Pitt Mine on Jump-off-Joe creek
at the Gold Coin mine on Coyote
creek, on Peavine Mountain and at
the Gold Bug mine on Mt. Reuben.
It was late in 1919 that the owners
of the Highland Quartz mine of the
Gold Hill district were puzzled on re-
ceiving from the smelter company a.
report of the mill run, that the ship
ment besides containing l4.12 ozs
of gold and 3.24 ozs OF silver also
contained 0.S2 OF. platinum. The
ore giving this result was taken at 4
depth of 100 feet in the mine. The
foot wall of the vein is mingled With
Schist and Granite, while the hang
ing wall is made up OF serpentine,
schist and granite.
Near Gold Hill
According to Parks and Swartley,
of the Oregon bureau of mines, the
Highland group of mines are situat-
ed twelve miles southwest of Gold
Hill, on the right hand fork Of Foots
creek, at an elevation Of $500 feet.
1t was first worked about twenty
five years ago. The present work
ings are confined to the oxide zone;
the old workings being more extern
sive. The vein strikes northeast and
dips about thirty-flve degrees south
east, and the country rock is mica
ceous sandstone.
The owners of the mine in an at
tempt to discover the source OF the
platinum found in the shipment, gave
the walls of the vein thorough pan
and assay test and found no trace
of platinum, and then looked to the
vein matter for the source. The
vein matter is mingled with three
hues of quartz, rose, amber and blue.
The blue colored quartz, more dense
in its composition than its compan-
ion quartses, is pitted throughout
with small cavities, which are lined
with black, sooty mineral, and
filled with decomposed irony mat
ter, In crushing and panning this
blue quarts invariably gave results
with a high per cent Of platinum,
while with the reports of the local
assayers, the results were still bet
ter.
Advised OF Discovery
The Highland mine is equipped
with three-stamp mill, plates and
! 4hx1S foot Fru Vanner table, and
in saving this platinum unaware, the
1 ordinary sodium-mercury amalgum
was used. The field survey of the
Oregon bureau OF mines were ad-
vlsed of this new discovery, which
occurred since their survey OF the
mine in this district, and they In
, tended to make thorough examina-
tion of the deposit, but while In the
region, forest fire swept over the
} mine, destroying the buildings and
, the underground works, making II
unsafe and they have left the work
, to some future time.
Startling values in platinum were
uncovered in Curry county last year
! Assays of the ore were made in Ban
don and at two or three offices In
San Francisco. One San Francisco
J company made returns that there
was no platinum values in the ore
, but the Bandon assay showed as
, high as twenty ounces to the ton
: One San Francisco concern sent word
J that the ore indicated from ten to
, eighteen ounces. II is claimed tha'
these deposits have been traced FOL
nearly twenty miles, from northeast
to southwest, ending In the vicinity
of the mouth Of the Skies river. The
: find created quite stir at the time
! and many claims were staked in the
: Stutsman section, so named from Guy
1 Stutsman. who discovered the mos
: productive platinum deposits in thai
5 region. He had been employed ir
D the workings of the Inman Mines
: company for several years in sluic
s ing the gold on the Skies river. and
s was we'll versed in the saving OF plat
/ mum in the company's diggings. Hi
1 find in a territory twenty to twenty
|. five miles from the main Curry