The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-04-27
COMsT0CK STILL
HOLDS TREASURE

At certain periods in the long
and diversified history of mining on
the famous Comstock lode, at Vir-
ginia City, New, the engineering
problems Of handling the treacher-
Gus floods Of hot mine waters and
the problems involved in the strug-
gle for financial control of the mines
have seemed to outweigh all others
in determining whether the work.
ing should be carried still deeper,
but even more fundamental has
been the geologic problem Of the
persistence of the ores with increase
in depth. II rich silver ores were
deposited wholly or largely from
solutions that ascended from sour
ces far below the surface deeper
exploration is fully warranted. II
they own their richness to action Of
descending surface waters on ores
that originally contained relatively
little gold and silver, then there is
little to encourage deeper mining.
The steady progress in metallurgy,
by which more metal Is recovered
from low-grade gold and silver
ores, has given lage practical inn
portance to the question of the per-
sistence in depth of ores Of this
class. No thoughtful observer ex-
poets q revival of the golden and
silver age Of Comstock mining, for
the tremendous fracturing which
created the channels that made ore
deposition possible was more ex-
tensive near the surface than at
great depths. Nevertheless, the
roots" of an ore deposit SO inn
mense are by no means small, and
the Comstock operators have in
recent years shown their confidence
in the existance of deep-lying bodies
Of workable ore by draining a large
part Of the lode to and below the
2,900-foot level.
In spite of the detailed studies
that have been made of the geology
Of the Comstock lode very little con-
crete. tangible evidence has been
presented to show the variations
in tenor or composition of ores far
below the surface, and little infor-
nation has been available for COM
pairing the results of primary depo-
sition with those Of downward en-
richment in the formation Of the
richer bodies Of ore. Yet as down.
ward enrichment has evidently been
effective in many silver deposits a
tacit belief in its potency at the
comstock lode seems to have be-
come current among many geolo-
gists and mining engineers.
The early geologic work Of King
and Becker on the Comstock lode
was done before, the development
Of the theory Of enrichment of ores
through the agency Of descending
surface waters. Later observers
have made only brief examinations
Of the lode, under conditions that
were most trying because Of the
high temperatures in the mines.
Finally, as most Of the ores are
fine grained, it has been impossible
to determine the relations Of their
constituent minerals by observation
with the unaided eye.
Recently E. S. Basin, Of the
United States geological survey, de-
partment Of the interior, has made
a microscopic study Of the Com
stock ores and in his report, pub
lished as the Geological Surveys
Bulletin 1850, entitled "Bonaza
ores Of the Comstock lode," he con-
cludes that in the ores from depths
greater than 500 feet, which in
clude most of the bonanza ores Of
the lode, the silver is practically
all in primary minerals. Descend
ing solutions Of surface origin pro-
duced a large increase in the silver
content of certain ores obtained
within 500 feet or less Of the sur
face, yet even at those depths a
part Of the silver is contained in
primary minerals, and some rich
ores taken from slight depths show
ed no secondary silver minerals.
Gold, so far as observed, is primary
in all ores.
Although the deeper parts Of the
lode probably contain no ore bodies
comparable in size and richness to
the great bonanzas Of the past, yet
the primary origin Of some of the
rich ores encourages deeper develop
ment.
or 20 inches annual precipitation
without the aid Of irrigation. Al