The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1940-04-04

have been uncovered in the Ely terri
tory, according to City Assessor Fred
B. James, who did considerable cruis-
ing himself after he first came to Ely
in March of 1886. Among them was
gold, silver, copper and asbestos.
Leanness of the ore body or mining
costs have kept the deposits from being
worked
Silver Rapids apparently was named
because of a deposit of silver believed
to exist below it, James states. A
drift about four feet wide and 100 feet
long was run across point below the
rapids in search of the metal. Who
engineered the exploration and the
time it was done have never been de-
| termined, he said, although he has
made several attempts to uncover these
facts. The drift and the name were
there when he first set foot in the city.
The Mcintosh mine, now being ex-
plored again, is probably Ely's best
known gold diggings. First worked ex-
tensively in the early COS by baker
named Ed Mcintosh, it was assayed at
the time to run 1884 per ton. Because
of the increased rate on gold, James,
who once worked the mine himself, be-
lieves that it might be a profitable
undertaking. 1t is located west of the
Grant McMahan boulevard leading to
BURNSIDE lake. This mine, like most
other ore deposits throughout this
area, was uncovered in very early
day by the nameless cruisers who
roamed over the Northwest.
The territory adjacent to Eagles
Nest lake has been the site for num-
erous exploration trips for copper,
James, who helped survey the original
townsite of Ely, states. A number of
test pits were sunk in the early COS
but mining operations were never car
ried on to any great extent.
Asbestos has also been uncovered
near Eagles Nest in considerable
quantity. Not as good as that found in
Canada, James said, it is disable for
insulation purposes, and perhaps awaits
only the initiative of some promoter
| to place it in commercial use.
Gold and silver of the float or sur
| face, variety can be found extensively
in the country lying between Ely and
Lake LaCroix, he stated. In the early
days an Indian chief named Blackstone
used to fleece gullible newcomers out of
sizeable sums by promising to guide
them to rich deposits on LaCroix,
James relates. Displaying rich
sample, he agreed for proper amount
to take the prospectors to real paydirt.
During their first night at the lake,
the Indian would disappear, along with
good share of the grub, and the hap
less sucker would be left to his own
devices to search for the metal or re-
turn to Utilization
At Pipestone Falls, where Newton
lake flows into Pipestone bay of Bass
wood lake, the Indians secured the
clay for their pipes, James stated lead
ing to the names for the falls and bay.
This deposit, of course, is too remotely
located to be of commercial value, but
it was of considerable value to the
original inhabitants.
lated, there is a deposit of peat of
considerable extent. OF potential COM
mercial value, it is in two layers, the
first containing considerable vegetable
mater and burning very readily in the
James furnace ON numerous occasions
after being properly dried, and the
second quite black.
Kaolin, or china clay, can be found in
great quantities in the Ely iron mines,
he continued. Commonly referred to as
paint rock, it is colored by iron oxide
Just what possibilities it has as a
pottery clay have never been deter
mined insofar as James knows. The
color would never bleach out, he be-
heveS
The emeralite rock, manufactured
here at one time for roofing purposes
was one of the best of its kind avail
able. 1t has often been suggested that
it be utilized for road-surfacing pur-
poses. Walks in Whiteside park are
built from it. Remotely located from
industrial centers, the product faced
rough going from the start because of |
transportation costs. Bankrupt, the
plant was taken over by the RFC and |
some months ago was sold as junk
A deposit of granite that was worked |
for only one construction job, James |
pointed out, is located near Mesabe, |
about II miles northeast of Aurora |
Red in color, it was quarried solely for
the Auditorium hotel in Chicago, and