Show TESTS ON GOLD BARS Government Conducts Investigation on Snake River RiverA RiverA A report on placer clams claims above aboe the Minidoka dam on Snake river w was s re recently centy made at the request or of the rocla maton matlon service by L C Gillett and W Yo L Walker under the direction of Dr David T Day of the United States geological SUrey survey and la is now on We tie In inthe the tho office ot of the reclamation service er cr 1 in Washington whore any one Interested ml ma consult i it The investigation of this gund ground was wa undertaken last MaJ May and Juno In order to ascertain It Its mineral value before i it became submerged b by the backwater or of the dam A plan to dredge this ground ha has lately considerable attention from promoters promoter and already one company ha has been or organ organized gan ed and several everal clams claims near the lower end of the tho backwater have ben been put pur purchased chased with a a view to the Installation of a dredge The claims prospected were those des desIgnated by bJ D W V Ross supervising engi n acer er or o the r reclamation service and eng were situated along the Snake river above the Minidoka dam which Is six mies miles south or of the staton station of Idaho As the water was already rising when the In began the bunt built of oC the work was done dono In the ner near neighborhood of the tho theold old workings In order to determine the value or of the gOund ground that was as formerly considered profitable and to determine whether tile the claims made were tre true The values alues were found to be very cr irregularly distributed and In but few case cases equal to the claims made by those In Inthe Inthe the land Many Test Pits Sunk The prospecting was accomplished by bymes mes means ot of test pits panning and sampling the sample samples being to Ore for treatment and assay The nurn num number ber of test nis Bits dug was 1 The Tho In information formation gained 1 the fIeld test tests and asay assay or of samples Is 15 rot such a as to place specIfic on an any particular claim but the results derived give the average values carried by the tho gounds grounds over which the pis pits were distributed These pits were re so 50 located as to ta sent the tho portions ot of the claims ad and those In the banks adjacent cent to old workings are ot of special value be beIng being Ing Indicative ot of the character and value of removed material upon which holders may ba bare e their claim claims Gold Is Fine I It wa wits found that In general the the values were vero concentrated in the thc bottom ot of the loam and the upper portion of the under underlying lying gravel and the pis pits were carried sev several ral feet foot bel w this pay dirt This surface soil or sandy loam Is common and ranges Jn In thickness ss from two to twelve or more teet feet The iol gold was everywhere of such tine fine flo rIke particles that I a large percentage of it passed through h a screen For each pit a record was kept showing te the nature ot of the ground and the of the panning Samples weighing from 7 75 to poUnd poUnds representative of the gaye gravel were taken from each pi pit ad and also numerous samples or of orthe the loam and the gavels gravels below the pa pay dirt dirt These were shipped to Portland for treatment and the thc results of the as assays says are arc given In this report Range of Values OccasIonally the values Jue for tor Individual pt pits averaged the entire pit a as high is as t 31 n a cubic yard but th more ore common values ranged front five to twenty n ii cubic yard while ver very few fow pit pits cent were absolutely barren ot of value values No other mInerals ot of any commercIal Importance save gold were ere found In most nothing wa was encountered to interfere wih with dredging or other mining operations The rock rocks are in gen general general eral no larger tha than a mas mans head al although although though in a a lew places large enough to makl make trouble were found An ot of topographic maps to together together gether wih with the lop logs ot of the pits wi will Ind cats cato for tor the various locations the eleva elevation ton tion or of the th gravels above noral normal water level or above the high h water ater Jevel level re suiting front the darn backwater |