Old Mines of Southern California: Desert-Mountain-Coastal Areas Including the Calico-Salton Sea Colorado River Districts and Southern CountiesFairbanks, Harold W. (Harold Wellman)
History
Old Mines of Southern California: Desert-Mountain-Coastal Areas Including the Calico-Salton Sea Colorado River Districts and Southern Counties
Fairbanks, Harold W. (Harold Wellman)
Geology -- California, Southern; Mines and mineral resources -- California, Southern
The quantity is large, the variety abundant, and the beauty approaches
that of rare onyx. With these unusual conditions surrounding the
deposit, its marketing should become an industry of no small importance.
The difficulties of transportation are not insurmountable.
LIME AND GRANITE QUARRIES.
Near Oro Grande and Victor several lime quarries are in operation,
constantly giving employment to quite a large number of men. Lime is
burned in large kilns, which finds a ready market in Southern
California. Granite is also extensively quarried near each of these
places, and used for building material, curbing, and paving blocks in
Southern California cities. This industry employs, all told, about one
hundred men.
THE KENT MINE.
Three miles from Hinkley Station, on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad,
between Barstow and Mojave, is located the Kent Mine, a vein covered by
two claims. A shaft 80 feet deep and some superficial development have
exposed the ore, which varies from 3 to 10 feet in width. The gangue is
a rather fine-grained, granular quartz, containing galena and lead
carbonate. Assays in gold and silver are obtainable anywhere in the
vein. The highest grade carries lead 70 per cent, gold $25, silver 24
ounces. Some of the ore assaying low in lead contains gold and silver in
paying quantities.
The property is in a prospective stage only, but is promising. Water can
be obtained near the mine, and fuel is but 8 miles distant. The owner
bonded the property in May, 1892, and it is at this writing being
developed by the prospective purchasers. The ore is of such character
that by sorting a milling ore may be obtained, the high-grade lead ore
making a very good smelting material.
THE BLACK HAWK DISTRICT.
Three years ago the Black Hawk District, 40 miles east of Victor, on the
north side of the San Bernardino range, attracted considerable attention
through the extensive operations of an English syndicate at those mines.
Development was in progress at that time, and it was planned to build a
sixty-stamp mill. The quantity of gold rock, however, proved to be
smaller than had been anticipated, and a small experimental mill was
built; but from a short time after the completion of this mill to date
all operations have been suspended, and the probability of the
resumption of work is not bright.
The gold occurred in a reddish oxide of iron in bunches and stringers
scattered through a crushed zone of limestone, lying along the flank of
the mountains. A party, who for a time was in charge of the property,
informed the writer that he had worked the rock without sorting, had
endeavored to sort it, and had tried screening it, but that
notwithstanding every precaution was taken, he had concluded that it
could not be made to pay. The gold-bearing rock was quite rich, but it
occurred in too small quantity to make it profitable.
SILVER REEF DISTRICT.
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