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Show I INTER-MOUNTAI- G New Points in Mining Law. Judge W. II. Dickson and Col A. i I I I f V Ellis, of the Salt Lake law firm of Dickson, Ellis & Ellis, have recently returned from San Francisco, where they appeared for the plaintiff in the case of the Carson City Gold Mining company vs. the North Star Gold Mining company, which came up for hearing before United States Judge Beatty, sitting as Circuit Judge. It was an action for trespass, brought to recover $850,000, the value of ores claimed by plaintiff to have been mined by defendant from beneath the surface of the plaintiff's premises. The case involved the law of the apex and the question of extra lateral rights, and is of general interest in respect to two of its features. The defendant's mining ground, in which the defendant claimed the apex of the vein was found, embraced more than sixty acres of land, which had been granted to the defendant by the Government in one patent, the application for the patent having been based upon a great number of locations, all of which locations were made prior to the act of 1872. The defendant was unable to show the locus or boundaries of any of its several locations upon which the patent was issued, and it did not appear from the application for patent nor from the patent itself where any of its several locations was. It was contended, on behalf of the plaintiff, that the question of the defendants extra-laterrights was to be determined with reference to the manner in which the several locations had been laid upon the ground, and that the defendant, being unable to show how they were or any of them was laid, was not entitled to follow the vein beyond the surface boundaries of its patented ground. Defendant, on the other hand, insisted that it was not incumbent upon it to show what portion of its patented premises was embraced within any of its several locations; that the boundaries of the entire tract, as patented, could alone be looked to to determine its rights to follow the vein on its dip. This question arose upon an objection made by plaintiff to the introduction of evidence. The court ruled this point in favor of the defendant, laying stress upon the fact that the locations upon which the patent was procured were made under or prior to the law of 1866. Another question in the case which possesses general interest is this: The evidence, it is claimed by the plaintiff, established clearly that the apex of the vein crossed the south side line of the defendants ground, and that it was terminated, or intercepted, rather, by a dyke or crossing at a point on the northerly side line of defendants premises; that the course or strike of the vein was south 45 degrees east, north 45 degrees west, its true dip being north 45 degrees east. The dyke referred to had little or no dip, standing practically vertical, its course being north 5 Vz degrees east, and the contention of the plaintiff was that, granting that the defendant had any extra-laterrights whatever, it must be confined in following the vein found within the surface boundaries between vertical planes drawn at right angles to al i f i 4 i 4 1 i C. al N MINING REVIEW. the strike of the vein, one through the point where it crossed the south side line, and the other through the point on the north side line where .the vein was intercepted by the dyke, and that all that portion of the vein which lay westerly of the latter plane and between it and the perpendicular dyke had its entire apex outside the exterior boundaries of defendants patented ground extended downward vertically, and that defendant had no right to mine in this latter portion of the vein. Defendant contended that the vein, on its course or strike, did not cross any line of its patented ground, and that it was entitled to follow the vein to the deep between vertical planes drawn parallel to the end lines of its patented surface. These questions the court has taken under advisement. The Art of Assaying. WRITTEN BY PROF. E. M. WADE, S. C. The art of assaying is of very ancient origin. Properly, the term is applied to the quantitative determination of the metallic elements bv means of fire, fluxes and crucibles Drocess called commonly the dry assay" in contradistinction to the methods with the use of acids and other liquid ingredients. The term is now often used to designate either process wet or dry." The subject of this article will be that of the dry assay. The metals now most commonly determined by this method are gold, silver and lead, the other elements, being mst satisfactorily determined by means of wet methods, or a combination of the two. We will now confine the subject further to that of the gold and silver assay. The process in general consists in fluxing" off the gangue matter and base elements with borax, soda, niter, litharge and other substances, and collecting the precious metals alloyed with a small button of lead, and then burning off the lead in a cupel. The employment of any or all of the above substances, and the quantity, depends upon the nature of the ore under treatment. Here comes in the judgment and experience of the assayer. These substances are chiefly employed in the crucible process, which is most convenient for the gold assay, a large quantity of ore being capable of treatment in one operation. Such is often necessary on account of the relatively minute quantity of gold extracted, sometimes almost invisible, and its uneven distribution through the rock. The crucible is a small pot made of fireclay. The ore is weighed out generally about an ounce mixed with the fluxes and poured into the crucible. The crucible and contents are then placed in a furnace and heated until thoroughly fluid, and the lead, 'which has been reduced by charcoal, flour or other reducing agent previously added, settles to the bottom with the gold and silver. A chemical union takes place between the soda, borax and other fluxes and the silica and base elements of the ore, making a fusible slag or glass. When sufficiently melted, the pot is taken out and the contents cooled. The button of lead is broken out, hammered and cleaned and cupelled." The cupellation consists in oxidizing off the lead in the aforesaid cupel a small, round cup, one inch more or less in diameter and as tall, made of bone ash, into which the lead button is placed. The cupel is previously placed in a clay muffle heated to almost a white heat, and kept very hot during the operation. The lead burns awTay and is absorbed by the cupel, while the gold and silver are left in the shape of a small button on the bottom. The button is weighed, the silver dissolved out by means of nitric acid, md then the gold is weighed. The difference in weights gives the silver. Silver is most often assayed by the scorification" process. The ore is mixed wdth granulated metallic lead and a little borax in a shallow clay cup and heated very high in the muffle. The lead is oxidized to litharge partly, which fluxes off the gangue matter, the gold and silver being absorbed by the metallic lead. After the ore is thoroughly fluid, and the remaining lead is of convenient size, the contents are poured out into an iron mould and the lead button cupelled. Both metals may be assayed by either process, but one is more suited to certain kinds of ores than the other. Mining and Scientific Press. Alining Incorporations. Maccabee Gold Mining Company Capital, $300,000, divided into 300,000 Nos. 1 to shares; property, Iron Goose 6 and Syenite Reef Nos. 1 to 4, located in the Peepstone district; president, M. F. James Langton; M. Iloopes; Anderson; treasurer, F. L. Perkes. J. secretary, Hardscrabble Gold Mining and Milling Company Capital, $2,500,000, divided into 500,000 shares; property, Ayrstine Lass, Zoram, Bonanza, Hid-to den Treasure, Independence, Sixteen One, Seven Brothers, Free Coinage, Victoria, Lucky Bill, Chatterbox, Lucky Star, Double Standard, Craig Lode, Iron Crown and Autumn claims, located in the Morgan district; president, James H. Moyle; D. M. Murchie; treasurer, John B. Cummock; secretary, A. S. Fowler. Wonder Gold Alining Company Capital, $5; 000, 000, divided into 1,000,000 shares; property. Old Grover,E. North No. 2 Side. Wonder, Alary E., Alary and Gold Dollar claims, located in Camp Floyd mining district; president, AnGeorge Q. Cannon; Wr. gus AI. Cannon; treasurer, John AI. Can Donnellan; secretary, Lewis vice-preside- nt, vice-preside- vice-preside- nt, nt, non. Al filar d Alining and Alilling Company Capital, $120,000, divided into 40,000 shares; property, placer and lode claims located in the West Alountain district; president, Frank P. Hanlon; James S. Watson; secretary and treasurer, Henry D. Browrn. Ibex Gold Alining Company Capital, into 250,000 shares; $250,000, divided vice-preside- nt, property-- . Ibex, South Last Ibex, Chance and Gold Run lode claims, located in Detroit mining district; presi- dent, Lafayette Holbrook; S. F. Alount; treasurer, W. S. vice-preside- nt. AIcCornick; secretary, Frank D. KimLll. Alining Company Capi-into 200,000 shares; divided $500,000, operty, six lode claims in S.the Camp lovd district; president, Ewing; T. II. Duke; secretary id treasurer, H. J. Dininny. Cyanide Gold Alining Company Cap-i- l, $600,000, divided into 300,000 shares; in operty, nine lode claims located e Peepstone mining district; presi-;n- t, W. A. Wright; iseph U. Eklredge; treasurer, James ington; secretary, A. C. Sadler. $o00t-- 0, Sego Alining Company Capital, divided into 500,000 shares; prop-t- e eight claims located in the Peep-onmining district; president, John1, Sunnyside ce-presid- ent, vice-preside- nt, y, Headland; treasurer, Frank A. Gun- |