The Goldfield news. [volume], April 29, 1904, Image 1

About The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911

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“All that’s New and True of the Greatest Gold Camp Ever Known”
i. No. 1. \ Goldfield, Esmeralda County, Nevada Friday, Ap il 29, 1904. Price 10 Cents.
he Greatest Gold Camp Ever Known--lts Story
presenting the first issue of The
.field News, the‘editor deems it
give a gem "<>1 resume of Gnld
, miues tind prospects from the dis
y to the present. Most of this will
. old story to some readers but there
>een a large demand for extra copies
is issue, which will he sent to many
are unfamiliar with the district,
history will give a good idea of con
s as they exist today, and enable
ilrer* to follow subsequent develop*
- intelligently.
'his article is written in theconserva
ve manner for which the writer lias
*11 often complemented, aid there is
attempt at a flowery or boom story.
»e 3r, facts and figures are presented
to the intelligent mining man, are
quent than the most vivid word
ire is some magic in the very name
ml which creator enthusiasm. It
■en so since the dawn o’ civilization
mbtless will he so in the end of
It j.s oroU.hly on this account that
gold is found hi a new locality it
i awakens hopes of ''onanza fortunes
>ich subsequent development* do not
ifv. Of the many gold minii.,- camps
>• i have sprung up in the past
ie have a better showing for Ha
unt of development than Goldfield,
mldti. Id has " made good. ”
'lie hopes of a few months ago have
iia* eases become realities and new
e being created as prospecting
< . ,iicf giv.s forward.
••• a litth over a year go that Har
miler a’d Will Alan-1 . t wo young
who wire lorn in Nevada, pros
u-u m mo wtf> ursi e«tue-» iuu vjraiiu*
■ district. but which is now known
‘he. (ii>hlfield mining districv. They
1 some very rich ■ float ” of black
and spent, some time hunting for
ge ironi which it came. This
is not found until recently, but
discovered a Ii dge on the Sand
mini which was i2ti feet in width
.pies tain n clear across averaged
•i ton iii free milling ore. The flint
pt quiet until Slimier and Marsh
•rfeeted the locatin' on .neter.
for the Gran :pa Company. in
Harry Rang-.y. Torn Kendal! ain’t
were infected with tlie two iocat
>ve mentioned. Wh ;u the i ew.s of
bine became ki. >wn a ,r. ' as
and many elaii s -t-’ ,
i respect in,. was done at me tinu.
r in tlie hummer A. I>. A'.'ers and
J. llart loca ed the (Jombinut on group
r themselves aud others. In tne fall
ney started to work seriously and soon
iitd up good ore in several plae s.
rt sold Ids interest and T. 1). Murphy
»ed Mvera. They ran a tunnel fit* feel
which opened up two big ledges, one 14
s t wide which averages $f>(’ per ton in
‘ r (■ milling gold ore oleai across. The
and ledye is ei :at feet wide where
■ned in the tunnel aud t lie whole eight
net were better tha i ? lot) to the ton just
•t wa broken di u.
COMBI' •’’•ON '.IN • .’•S Foil ITSELF,
lol.ltield was not . ro rn at that time,
1 liotwithstandiiu da splendid show
the owners, o , Vober 16,1903.
glided theCombii itiou to Chicago aud
1< n capitalists, ■ v-pre- 'nted by L. L.
k. The boj id run- for a year aud
or a total), ice , $75,000, the ini
iyi»a" 1 i r $50 0. As a matter
t i mine wiliest Patrick and
■s '. ties but this first payment of
. . aider f e terms of Uieir bond
*> ' < 'red to w s.k tile property,
d '• '*i*6 1> percent royalty on
• "l. As . ue royalties are
1 1 purchase price, the pay
em n an. from that source
I i :iey bt cola*- due.
• sunk >i ue eight foot ledge
-I n '.'u s feet and drifting a
; as - prie • was pro
'v P and o'" rock that
.t of 'he f>xS shaft was ore
' lu $100 ti many hundreds
U)!j .
e '* ‘‘,1 * "■ 'mb ation is now
1 - several him-1
1 u • t the three different
lin v5 fool !*ael . crosscut
’ r; J "f 55 feet aud m 1 li; ,. wall was
mi. -one who vi-’ ts »u preserve
WHAT TWO PROMINENT MINERS SaY OF GOLDFIELD.
R. A. Varr, a prominent mining man of Sumpter,
(trefoil.who has operated extensively there and at Mercur,
Utah, Ely, Nevada, and the Seven Devils District. Idaho,
has been in Goldfield for several weeks carefully exam
ining its resources. He is a competent judye ami has
taken sufficient time to form his judgment, which must,
therefore, carry yreat weight. lu au interview with a
News reporter, Mr. Marrsaid:
“I have been here over a m mtli now and have visited
a number of the camps around Goldfield and Touopuh
I am strongly impressed with the large number o iegiti
mate mining investors already in the field. Anyone hav
ing property of merit and caring to dispose of it, will
find it unnecessary to take it outside of camp, as the peo
ple who have already made money in mines of the dis
trict are ready and willing to re-invest.
“I am particularly impressed with the new camp of
Goldfield, the future possibilities of which no one can
foretell. There are already live properties that are pro
ducing shipping ore and a number of others that have
ore of high grade and it is simply a matter of develop
meat when they will join the lis of shippers. This is
certainly a remarkable record for a camp less than six
months old and where shipping ore means that it runs j
better than 81(H) per ton.
“The two deepest mines, the Combination and tic
Jarmary, have unusually large ore bodies and some .r
the highest grade rock is coming from the lower level.'
At a depth of 140 feet the rock in the Combination
changed from an oxidized ore to a sulphide. This i.-,
considered by all to mean permanency and depth of
values.
“The mineral area is of large extent and is crossed by
prominent dykes having an ^ji>tfrly aucL westerly trend,
the general formation being porpb^rjr. The work up to
date seems to demons r >te the existeuoe of a network of
• - f» -C-j, .* ' rv I•.r rt . ,
out tie-district. Earn day Icings fogth a new strike
and these strikes are extending ovei*a much larger urea
„han was first expected.
' i here are already nearly, if not quite, 20;)0 people m
the district, and leasing and prospecting u'e being car
ried on with great activity. Goldfield is fast changing
from a city of tents to a town of permanency. Water
has been found in abundance near Diaraoudtield and
Goldfield, aud there are two pipe lines carrying water
through the streets of Goldfield and Columbia. This
camp is more fortunate than its neighbor, Tonopah, in
having it large supply of timber so ne It* miles away.
“I was very pleasantly surprised to find accornmoda
tions atnl living exceptional v good find prices very rea
sonable. lt» as also a rather new experience to be in a
camp where it is no uncommon tiling for a prospector to
go out in the morning to work and c mrj home a1 night
a rich man from having struck pay ore in his workings.'
“Again, it was an agreeable change coming from four
feet of snow to si hind of summer, the weather in Gold
field as a general rule being very delightful I am told
that the heat is not excessive even during midsummer.
“The opportunities presented in tins camp for capi
talists are very great. Property can usual y be gotten
li >'I of c .ciisojiabl terms, and as Roon as the mining
w ,rld fuly realizes tie importance of Goldfield many
property's now lyn g idle for want of capital for devel
opment, ill be op tied up and join the list of producers
It is the dm >st u lanimous opinion of competent mining
men whc have visited Goldfield that the mines will not
be contir *d to e ght or ten in number, but will extend
over an rea sr, miles square.”
A. C.' fly »r. of San Francisco, is another mining man
of note vhi. is now in Goldfield. In the following, Mr.
Taylor ias kindly given the readers of The News his
jmpresaons :
“Havug been requested to give my impressions of
Goldfied after being a few weeks on the ground, L am
pleasedto state that through the courtesy of Mr. Mitch
ell of t!e January it was my pleasure to visit their won
derful iroperty, which is at present equipped with two
Davis rhims for hoisting, i hey are set abou 6b feet
apart aid each is run to its fullest capacity. At the at)
foot shtioii there is a drift run westerly for a distance of
8a feet which is several feet in width. In this drift men
were r a'ing, and at the bottom of the shaft, which, at
this di e is 112 feet deep, men were cross cutting eacli
>. v fi a the bottom, which was tlien a total distance of
ia ec. . ml nothing in sight but ore, and from all differ
ent pa >f the mine the ore was hoisted and dumped
m ik i * to the sorting floor, out of which there
in f b to 4 )l) sacks tilled each day with shqiping
ore, \» e i < rries values better than $2)1) per ton. This
to m. seer, il marvelous. A close observation of the
dump ails ti tisclo.sc a pound of waste, and I have been
tolu il ere ha- lever been one hoisted.
“T e Com .nation j.n: ; >n • iry on the east, t
hast! same mracter and g, re of ore. The shaft on
4h -* reached the 1 juy. level and the liest
-.'l-4 Pc-Iim ». twftr w, ^ut.p> V .ICO
whirl.is just, north « • •< •’ cul>.natron, ha. i
won ■ ■ ul cropping '• gth of tlie claim
iu wheii ".lull. an . nut rua ..ell into the liun
d i edit
Vjuitu or the J umb j comes the clarence, winch has
a good vein of shipping ore. North of this group is the
Hed T*p and Sandstorm, each having a line showing of
high ,radeore, this making a belt of country fro n Myers
Mouit; a on the south to Columbia .Mountain on the
north, that is at the present stage of development the
1110s' a- mg field for exploitation. The reason for
that : t.o doubt on account of tlie tirst discoveries being
made:u this locality, which were so rich every one feit
like keeping m close to them. Hut to the north and east
of tin-shipping mines, are many large and well mineral
ized «|turtz porphyry ledges, which, no doubt will lie the
meaiiiof producing many mines, possibly a January, but
I thoyht hardly probable, after passing the1 dump of
the latter and looking at nearly 5000 sacks of §200 ere
piled i p dongside a small mountain of mill ore.
**Siiee knowing the values of the ore in sight in the
mines of Tonopah and Coldfield, my impressions are
that tic desert of Nevada justly deserves to he called tlie
“JewelCasket of America.’”
a reputation for conserva'ism it iso’* safe
to s iv wh it thi r».> feet will average,
lmt every foot will pay to mill and much
of it is of the hi*?h value, below which the
management will not ship. The lowest
yrade ore ever shippe 1 fr >m the Combin
at ion want t$ll>' to the ton in carload
lots, the highest 8>-t per ton, and the
average lias been nearly SHOO per ton.
In addition to the shipping ore there are
three grades of ore piled on the dump,
the lowest of which will probably average
&u'• per ton. While exact figures are not
at hand, about §1 It,Odd worth of ore has
been shipped from the Combination and
the value of the ore on the dump is sev
eral times that amount.
in connection with tlit* fntuie of the
mine, as well as of t!> nldtield district,
the most important development is the
fact that at a depth of 140 feet the char
acter of the ore changed from an oxide
to a sulphide, with the high values still
maintained. Mining men generally con
cede that the change proves that the
ledges will go down to a great depth and
hold their values. It is the most eucour
aging feature of a district where there
are few discouraging features.
THU Jl'MItO MINE.
At the time the mine was bonded the
owners of the Combination were: Harry
Ramsey. T. 1). Murphy. A. 1). Myers. \\.
S. Elliott, Jus. H. Forman and L'ri 13.
Curtis.
the Jumbo was the next mine to be
opened at Coldtield. The J umlio is lo j
cuted one fourth mite east of the Combi- 1
nation and was originally owned by
Kernick, Taylor & MeCleland. John
Mclviine. the well known mining man,
who is associated with Charles M.
Schwab and other eastern capitalists,
now owns tin interest. There tire
nuuse sur ace croppings oi: the Jumbo
ledge and when first opened up, at a
depth of fivts feet, there were 1U feet of
ore, one half of which avenged S275 to
the ton, the balance being a good grade
of mill ore. The shaft has been sunk to
a depth of over 1UU feet, the most of it
being ill milling ore that will go from SID
to above SOD per ton. The bottom of the
>haft is wholly in ore which will average
S<» i per ton. la a drift from the bO foot
|>oim in the shaft, a short distance out, a
body of high grade ore was encountered
\\ lien first struck, a sample taken clear
across the fact* of the drift went 5*1,
1B7 o2 per ton in gold. This high grade
lasted for six feet, when ore going from
5*-0 to $;>0 was again encountered. Tin
whole six feet of high gratis averaged
better than SfiOO per ton At the lUU-feot
point a drift shows three feet >f the ledg.*
that averages a little lets H'-.ci $U)o ; i
ton. A crosscut at this point proves tin
ledge to 1 e ’2 feet wide, «. u 1 it lays be
tween perfect walls.
A visitor recently took a sa. e across
the dump for 70 feet and it •B-say • 1 b22d
to the t> u. Another sample was . ken
around the bottom of the dump for
feet an*l the assay was £.>2*5 per
About a mouth ago two leases >
granted on the dumbo and 1 «th liav
good show ing. Zina and asi-iciates ui
I
covered the ledge in a trench on their lease
and 3 feet of the ore avera-ed $200 per
ton. A shaft has been sunk and tin1
ledge tapped at fifty feet and ore is now
being sacked for shipment, the screen
ings averaging $125 per ton. The lease!
of Shields, Parham, White «fc Co., has
also encountered some shipping ore, but
the most of it has been of mill grade up
to date. Another lessee has just started
to work and lias uncovered the ledge at
a point about 4(H) feet north of the main
shaft, and from present appearances it
will prove the richest strike ever made
on the property.
The Jumbo is now owned the by Jum
bo mining Company, rceei tly incorpor
ated. The company has placed some
of its tr-asurv stock and will soon start
inking a new working shaft to a depth
of 5l)t) feet, and there is little doubt that
the Jumbo will make one of the big pro
ducers of the district.
IlONANZA LEASES.
About three mouths ago the leasing
system was inaugurated ;.t (Joldfit hi, the
first being given on the January claim of
‘lie Goldfield .Mining (' mpauy, to Ken
dall, Reilly, Jones and I’atriekT Before
a w >ek had passed ore of shipping grade
was i iug piled up and enough develop
ment has l»een done in three mouths to
p'ove tf . the lauuary is destined to he
one of :g gold mines of the world.
Jhe imlieatious of the January
argut ould make a good sheep
-.me h*V" enfy of water, but the
I, Ige wu. 'd at a depth of onl\
18 inches. When first opened up the
rock ran $80 to the ton, hut after a few
shots were put in, or*; running from $100
to $ >MU per ton was encountered. In
sinking the main shaft the first 50 feet
over 50 t ons of high grade ore going bet
ter than $200 per ton were taken out, to
gether with 125 tons of mill ore that will
average nearly $50 per ton.
The main shaft is now down 112 feet
and at this point a crosscut shows the
ledge to be 35 feet wide and lint one wall
is in sight. Every pound of rock across
this 35 feet will pay handsomely to mill,
while there are several good streaks of
shipping ore in it. A se. ond shaft has
been sunk to a depth •(' 100 ‘net 1
drifts connect the two at ti> 5't r a.;
112 foot points. A tliir - in ft is sun k I
a depth of 30 feet. All Hi
drifts aie ir the same p
At present writing i re are 1~5 i
ore, going betier tliai $200 per ton, sari- ■
ed and awaiting sliipri -ut at the inmi;
and there are about o.U'iu tons‘of mill ore
on the dump which will average a at"
850 per ton. Specimen assays Have gone
as high as 82,040 per ton. Up to AJiii! ;
25th, 8100,0 >0 worth of shipping ofe had ‘
been produced by the lessees, and there
is at least 8150,000 worth of mill ore on
the dump.
The incorporators of the Goldfield
Mining Company, which owns ♦ lie •!an
uary,are: H.T. Hradgon, A. C. Eiseu,
R. L. Johns, B. H. Clark, J. R. Duf
field and W. M. Stansbury.
i>•;('(> t \nr.F Bovivn.
Shortly afte Kendall and isaociau
struck it on tin Jauuary, se raJ leases
w«”-p let on the Florence group, wh’ch is
„«viiea by xveruiua, 1 ayloi i u.. 1,
Lockhart i l r>arker. tin ' hi mg
a e ri ilroad man or Denver.
< m the lease ot iieuuessy, .,mgneiu.
Nixon ami Sweeney, ore was found close
to tin* surface, specimens of wlr-.cuvent
as high as $S0'l per ton. The J/edge was
broken up, and a shaft was /sunk 50 feet
through the porphyry. Wllen the ledge
was tapped by a crosscut, ,the ore ' as
found to be, in the main, low grade.
Drifts were run 40 feet each way but De
values did not improve. The lessees then
sub leaded to Smith. Athearu, Durgin
and Elkins These boys had g me but a
few feet when they opened up a high!
grade ore shoot which promises to eclipse J
for richness anything found in the camp.j
Two anil one-lialf feet of the ledge wi! (
go above $500 per ton, and a four pouudf
sample which w is taken across IS inches!
assayed $0,120 per ton. Some of the pan .
nings have indicated much greater values,*
one, which was made recently, leaving
$2.50 worth of gold in the pan from a
small piece of rock.
The writer took a visitor to the lease
yesterday and had him break samples
from across 12 inches of the face of the
drift. He panned a small portion and
got a string of coarse gold as long as ins
finger. He hail followed closely the press
reports from (.loldfield for some months,
he said, and came prepared to sec big
things, but that such a panning from
an average sample was considerably big
ger than anything he had reason to ex
pect.
The lessees are now in 20 feet on the
rich shoot, and as the pay streak is wid
ening out iu the bottom of the diiit, il is
probable that an enormous body of this
ore will be found with further develop
ment
The average value of 31 sacks tilled
Momlav was $5(5') per ton. Besides the
liigli grade there is a goo l b >d> of lower
grade which will pay to mill.
L. Ij. Patrick and assi bites, Cook
Bros., Slitnmel and Barnes and L >ck hart
and McClelland have leases on the Flor
ence. and are now going after the ore
with renewed vigor.
The shaft on the lease of Cook Bros.
A Co., next to the late strike is now
down hi feet and will doubtless catch
the extension of the rich ore shoot with
depth.
rtlK HKD TOP.
At the base of Columbia Mountain and
about do >0 feet north of the January and
Combination Capt. Bradley, auotli.r
lessee, has made a rich strike on the Be
Top claim. He had been to work but
Continued on next paged