November 18, 1919.

Oriental (preamble)

Geo. B. Agnew, Esq.,
22 William Street,
New York, N. Y.

Dear Sir:-

At the request of Mr. Foote I have examined the Oriental
and submit the following report to be forwarded to you:

Our time was spent entirely on a study of the under-
ground; the geology shown on surface map being sketched from
Lingren's map in the Colfax Folio. While no ore is in sight the
prospect is an excellent one and is believed well worth the ex-
penditure of $30,000 along the lines suggested, provided that
there can be obtained such an option as will permit of carrying
out the necessary development program before any payments are
made on the property.

Should you decide to take up the option, it is suggest-
ed that nothing be done until next Spring, as it is now too late
in the year to be sure of getting in the necessary equipment be-
fore the snow comes.

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Oriental Mine

**Location** The Oriental Mine is about one mile west of Alleghany, Sierra County, California. It is connected with Nevada City, its main supply point, by some twenty-five miles of good wagon road. Heavy freight (rate $20.00 per ton) should be handled between June and November. A daily stage runs all year, but during the snow months freight is of necessity limited to relatively light packages.

**Production** The only data on past history immediately available is the following statement by Lindgren in the Colfax Folio, (published in 1900) U.S.G.S. "One mile west of Alleghany is the Oriental Mine reported to have yielded $3,000,000 in early days, one pocket containing $740,000."

**Property** A Property Map is enclosed. The surface geology shown is not from personal observation but is sketched, more or less to scale, after the general geological map in the Colfax Folio, U.S.G.S.

**Equipment** An inventory is enclosed. Exhibit B

**Description of Mine** Of the several veins known to be on the property, only the Oriental has been worked to any extent. Some work was done in early days on the Alta vein, the main shaft, now completely caved, being some 200 feet south of the portal of the Oriental Drain Tunnel.

The important feature is the Oriental. This is a very strong vein, carrying from 2 to 10 feet of quartz, with an average strike of N 70 W and a northerly dip of 50° in the

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upper and 30° to 35° in the lower portion. The change in dip occurs, as shown in the cross section, at about the elevation of the 7th level. These dips are in general more nearly true for the central or shaft section than for the western section, which is steeper, or the eastern section, which is flatter. Ore has been found only in areas of disturbance. In places removed from faults, intersections or contacts the vein contains that strong white valueless "bull" quartz which is so characteristic of the district. In general the Oriental is very similar to the Tightner, Sixteen to One and Gold Canon mines.

The map shows that ore was found along two general lines.

(1) At the contact, in the western area, between schist and serpentine.

(2) Along a generally north to northeast line, passing through the rich pocket found just west of the shaft above the 4th level.

In the first, or contact country, the vein steepens and in most places breaks up. In only one place, the west face of #9, does the vein show any strength after getting fairly into the serpentine. Here is in sight a vein carrying 18 inches of quartz, some 30 feet into the serpentine. Every-where else the vein pinches out on leaving the schist.

In the second, or "foot-wall split country" the vein is entirely in schist. Through the middle of the rich stope above the 4th level, passes the line of intersection between

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the main Oriental vein and a foot-wall split, which possibly
has some connection with the Alta vein. It is not clear whether
this is a separate vein or merely the western edge of a "horse".
Certainly something very similar comes back out of the foot-
wall and joins the main vein just east of the "Foot-wall Stope"
(see map and cross section.) This foot-wall vein is an ex-
cellent prospect.

Besides these two main areas and the unexplored schist
granite contact are a few less important prospects. On the
east the main vein is cut off by a north south fault, the
position of which corresponds very closely with the granite
schist contact on the tunnel level below.

On the lowest, the tunnel level, the vein passes rather
too peacefully from granite into schist. This is a prospect,
however, at the west contact. It is hard to understand why
this west face on the tunnel level is not in serpentine. It
is about far enough west to have struck the serpentine encoun-
tered above. This serpentine in the upper levels is probably
a narrow "tongue" from the main belt (some three-quarters of
a mile in width) which is known to lie to the west. This idea
is supported by the fact that the face of the foot-wall cross-
cut on the 6th level is in schist.

**Conclusions** The Oriental is an excellent prospect. In round numbers,
an area of about six acres on the vein has been pretty thorough-
ly prospected down to the 9th level. There remains below the

9th above the tunnel level about as much more area which is
practically unexplored. While "yardsticks" relative to area
have to be used with a great deal of discretion on mines of
this type, it is nevertheless interesting with that if
to note
Lindgren's figure of $3,000,000 be correct, the vein has pro-
duced, per acre thoroughly explored, the very large sum of
$500,000. For the Tightner, a mine of the same type, the
figure is about $90,000. The writer has never looked at a
mine with so high a production from so small an area explored,
and while these old figures on production are usually exaggerat-
ed, there can be no doubt that work on the vein proper has been
very profitable. The very expensive work of driving the main
tunnel could only have been accomplished by a strong bank
account, and it is hard to understand why those who drove it
should have done so little work after reaching their objective.
Thanks to their operations the mine will lend itself to cheap
operation, all of the most expensive work having been done.

The following prospects are especially good:

(1) The schist serpentine contact. This could best be ex-
plored by driving west at the bottom of the incline shaft and
raising on the contact. In addition the west face, on the
tunnel level, should also be driven.

(2) The foot-wall split (see cross section marked A-B of
Foot-wall Stope). There is a stripe of foot-wall vein 100 feet
wide from this stope to the line of intersection west of the

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shaft. This vein lies immediately under the richest part of
the main vein.

(3) The schist, granite contact, while an unknown quantity,
is also a very good prospect. This could be explored in three
ways: (1) The cheapest per foot of contact opened up would be
to raise on the contact itself. (2) A quick result could be
obtained cheaply by drifting east from the bottom of the in-
cline shaft, this should be the contact in 50 feet. (3) The
most useful plan, from the standpoint of economic operation,
later would be to raise in line and connect with the incline
shaft. This last, however, would cost about $5,000 and would
strike the contact in but one place. It is important, moreover,
that this point would not be reached until 75% of this work had
been done. On the whole it seems better to spend a little
money on the first two plans before starting the third. This
main raise, however, should be started as soon as the prospect
shows signs of making a mine, as, although hardly advisable to
start with, it is a good prospect in itself, and will be a
necessity if the property be taken over.

(4) In addition to the three main prospects above, the
following may be grouped as good but of lesser importance:

(a) Extreme east end of the 4th level. Here a raise
can be put up cheaply on the fault.

(b) East and west sides of 6th level.

(c) East side of 8th level.

(d) East side of 9th level.

The first three should be regarded as the main

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Appendix A

Detail of expenditures.

(1) 200' of drifting west from bottom of incline to schist serpentine contact @ $15.00 $3,000
(a) 300' of small raise on contact @ 10.00 3,000
(2) 200' of drifting west on tunnel level @ 15.00 3,000
(3) 300' of main raise @ $17.50 5,250
(4) 500' of small raises and miscellaneous prospecting @ $10.00 5,000
(5) 100' of drifting east at bottom of incline @ $15.00 1,500
(6) Miscellaneous repairs to chute, track etc. 2,000
Total 22,750

Equipment (including lumber for repairs and mine timber necessary for this whole operation 6,000

Say $30,000

Alleghany,
Sierra Co., Cal.,
November 8, 1919.

Equipment at Oriental Mine; Lower Works.

One modern 10 stamp quartz mill with Frue Vanner, concentrator and all motors in place; belts and all tools taken away.

One compressor with 50 H.P. motor; compressor about 4 drill capacity, but foundation rotten and compressor needs overhauling. Compressor house in very bad condition, with foundation and back side of building rotten.

Blacksmith shop with vise and anvil; no other blacksmith tools; shop should be torn down and replaced by new one.

One cook house 40' by 16' in fair condition, but foundation needs repairing; one old cook-range (no good); everything else taken away, except tables and benches.

One two-story bunk house 32' by 16' in fair condition but foundation needs repairing; eight single iron cots with mattresses and one heating stove.

One 5 room Bungalow, Supt. residence, containing one No. 8 cook stove. Bath tub, patent toilet, sink and all pipe connections removed; all electric fixtures taken away.

One 4 room house with no furnishings

One office bldg. 30' by 16' containing one heating stove and one safe almost new, 6' high and in excellent condition; no other furnishings.

One cabin, 16' by 14' containing one old small heating stove.

One two-horse stable with hay loft in good condition.

About 1400' of T rails removed from waste dump, main tunnel and drifts, and taken to the Red Star works.

Two 1½ ton cars.

About 2 dozen picks partly worn out; ½ dozen new shovels; no other tools.

½ ton 1 inch Jigger steel.

There is 2½ inch standard air pipe from the compressor through the Main Lower Cross-cut Tunnel; also 4000' of air pipe, some 2" and 2½" standard air pipe, and some 4" casing from the end of the Main Lower Cross-cut Tunnel, up through the Oriental Shaft and along the surface and then through the Red Star Tunnel.

Equipment at Oriental Mine; Upper Works.

One single-drum hoist with 40 H.P. motor, five-eight inch cable and one small skip. The bldg. over hoisting plant and blacksmith shop are in good condition.

About 2000' of mine poles, spruce and fir, only a part of which are fit to use.

Equipment at Gold Star Mine.

One old building used for boarding house and bunk house; every-
think moved out of building.

3500' of good "T" rails (12 and 16 lbs.); 500' of 12 lb. "T" rails badly worn.

Four old wood cars (no good).

30 pieces plank 2" x 15" x 16' long.

500 good 5' lagging.

One ton blacksmith coal.

One air blower with 9" outlet for pipe.

One 5 H.P. Gas Engine to run Blower.

About 1200' of 9" air pipe.

ERNEST HOWE,
LITCHFIELD,
CONN.

September 11, 1920.

Robert H. Bedford, Esq.,
North Star Mines,
Grass Valley, Calif.

Dear Bedford,

Yours of the 1st re. Oriental only reached me yesterday. I have looked over your report of last November, and, guided by that alone, about all that I can say is that the general features suggest Tightner. This being the case the possibilities, as you say, appear to be highly dependent on the geology, about which we know only a little.

In your report you lay more stress on "contacts" than intersections. About the only purely structural feature appears to be the footwall split and stopes on the No. 4. What the effect of the schist-serpentine contact may be is hard to say until I know what the nature of the contact is. Such shoots as have been found are in the neighborhood of the schist-serpentine contact on the west, yet the axis of the ore-shoot on the west of the shaft does not seem to me to bear a very close relationship to the schist-serpentine contact. That is, it is not parallel nor yet strongly transverse. I feel sure that splits or intersections coupled, perhaps, with changes in dip, have the most benign influence on the veins, so far as ore is concerned. Contacts, if they are not fault contacts, need closer scrutiny. We all know that a vein crossing from, say, schist to serpentine, generally plays out pretty soon. If the schist-serpentine contact were a structural one, i.e., one along which movement had taken place, I should rather expect ore-shoots to be found at or near the contact. If, however, the contact were merely a "tight" one, I should only expect the vein to split up on passing into the serpentine and show no other change on leaving the schists. Unfortunately, on Lindgren's map the capping of andesite, to the west of Oriental, obscures the true bedrock or pre-andesite relations in just the area that we should like information. That is, the smaller serpentine area east of the Oriental may widen out and form a junction with the larger, western, serpentine body under the andesite to the north. Partly confirming this is the body of gabbro which Lindgren shows just west of Forest. This gabbro may well be the unaltered rock from which the serpentine was derived. In other words, is it not possible that the Oriental may enter serpentine altogether in depth to the north? Your map shows that the valuable shoots lay entirely in the schist between the granite and the serpentine contacts with a considerable area west of the shaft and below the 9th level unprospected. That region would seem to be obviously worth looking into.

These notes of mine are of little value because they merely reflect random impressions received on reading your report.

and studying your maps. They naturally check with your conclusions.

When all is said and done, North Star's taking a try at Oriental depends entirely on whether Agnew feels the company can afford the excursion. Take this up with Pagan and get his ideas, which should fairly reflect the financial end of the game. I am sure that Agnew believes in a policy of looking into promising outside prospects. The question is: can we afford it now? I believe that we can to the extent of $50,000 provided the "A" holds out.

Sincerely,