Show american amer ican fork canyon BY GEO E HEMPHILL the year 1915 was ushered in in the american fork mining district utah with more mines working a greater number of men at work more ore developed and ready for shipment and a greater activity than has been witnessed in this camp in more than thirty years the development work carried on luring during the past year gave the operators a greater insight into the formations mat ions ore depositions and mining methods than during any other year in the camps history arrangements have been made for the employment of the greatest number of men in the district than for many years and present indications show that every old property in the camp c amp has either started work or made arrangements to do so within the next few weeks for the first time the roads to the mines are being kept open and shipments being made during the winter months during the past year there has been much more and well directed development work done than at any other time while the canyon has produced aver over in metals it hast has come mostly from the surface or from ore bodies that were exposed or were near the surface in the soluble lime in the early days of the camp a great deal of float in the form of large boulders of ore was broken up and hauled to the smelters shelters sm elters the quartzite in this district has heretofore not generally been supposed to contain ore of commercial value As a consequence mining and prospecting was done principally in the lime beds overlaying the quartzite and very little attention was paid to the large northeast and southwest fis auers and porphyry dykes which can be traced on northeast through alta and into park city penetrating both the quartzite and lime beds recent developments however have proven that wherever these fissures or dykes penetrate the soluble lime a replacement has taken place and large bodies of carbonate ore have been deposited the er erosion ision of this soluble lime around these ore bodies has caused the float which is found in the district whenever this ore bearing lime is in place and has not been eroded large bodies of commercial ore may be expected it has also been proven during the past two years that these fissures and dykes extend down into the quartzite and carry the values I 1 As in the alta and big cottonwood districts there is a close association of the porphyry dykes and the mineral bearing fissures wherever the northeast southwest fissures are cut by an east and west break ili there ere is nearly always a concentration of values and thus far the large ore bodies salt salts lake city have been found at these country is broken up in a series of block faults and the mineral b earing bearing fissures are this district and easily traceable through on north to the alta and the cottonwoods Cotton woods for the first time in the history of these camps american fork alta and big cottonwood ton wood there has been more of a study than at any conditions of the geological time since ore was first discovered in them the U S geological survey has recently issued bulletin no 1 dealing with the geology of this camp which can be secured free of charge upon request to the director of the survey at washington D C this was prepared by three engineers of the department part ment besides that several other geologists have written reports upon this interesting district As a rule american fork district carries more gold values in its ore than is found in either alta or the big cottonwood districts the ore from the miller hill mine in american fork has always carried more than an ounce in gold when the sunday mine was discovered the first as say ran over to the ton and 80 in gold was taken out of a small pocket on this property in the early seventies the mines of american fork were quite active this was at the time that the cottonwoods Cotton woods were booming but activity stopped in 1885 when he town of alta was destroyed there has always been more or less work done don in the canyon but it has only been within the past few years that any concerted activity has been undertaken in the developing of the mines there results have been beyond what was expected and conditions are now such that the year 1916 promises to bring out more producers and a greater amount of ore than has ever been seen in the camp in the past american pork fork has always been regarded as a very promising country it was through the activity in this section of T utah that the first railroad in utah county was built it extended up into the canyon as far as deer creek and a smelter was built in the canyon in the seventies to treat the ore mined in american fork this smelter was run by the late edmund wilkes and was active for several years the railroad was used to haul supplies up to tile the smelter and to carry bullion down the canyon the pacific mine the pacific mining company operated under a lease to the fissures development company has driven a tunnel 1000 feet and has opened up a fissure fourteen feet in width in places in the quartzite and has developed a large body of commercial ore the shipping ore averages 50 ounces in silver and 50 per cent lead and so some 0 per and gold the company has a at pro pres 81 eight teams hauling ore to the railroad ra 2 broad tw american fork and by spring expects 5 have a sufficient tonnage blocked out thi keep a large force of teams busy hauld ore at the same time the company cornman Y Is ig al a le developing a large tonnage of milling 0 at and the opinion of those familiar with ith tl d property is that it can no longer be classe 10 as a prospect but has sufficient tonnage ald t to put it into the class of delew a mines the Beller ophan the Beller ophan property located at thi th 0 head of maryellen mary ellen gulch has also opener up a large fissure known as the yanke fissure fifteen feet in width in the zite which shows values of ounces i silver the company has not as yet don much development work but every indies indica tion is that the ore is in place and that b spring there will be a large tonnage d ready for shipment this fisser can be traced southwest through the mary man ellen earl eagle and brooklyn groups an all into the wasatch range property the wasatch range this property is located at the head of silver flat gulch and is traversed by the til yankee fissure which recently has been bee opened up in the Beller ophan and crosses through the earl eagle and brooklyn groups into their ground the control of the wi wa satch range is held by the chipman inter inte ests in american fork and salt lake an and has been held by them for a number 0 c years in the upper part of the ahe some development work has been carried carrie on and three feet of high grade ore opened ocene up A lower tunnel is now being driven to t cut this ore at greater depth this wor work will be completed in the near future chice will allow the company to start shipments shipment the company is financed and prepared to t work throughout the winter and will ui 1111 be added to the list of shipper within a few months the earl eagle the earl eagle property comprising te ten claims a consolidation of the clipper sil si ver king and steele groups has perhaps more backs in the soluble lime than an oil other property in the district as the ore or bearing lime on this property is from 80 feet to feet thick the lime not havin bavin j eroded as mu much ell on this property as i other parts of this district this lime bein protected by a capping of hard blue 1 lime the company is now driving a tunnel which chic will tap the same large fissure as has bee bed side si e opened up by the Beller ophan on one or on t the and the wasatch range company and gi other at a distance of feet feet ie ing a depth of between goo feet to in the ore bearing lime and at a P 00 west and where it is intersected by an east fissure it is expected that the ya yankee akee sure will be cut this east and west sure on the surface shows a large blowout of carbonate ore at the junction of the two fissures in addition to the large fissure there are two porphyry dykes crossing this property running parallel with the main fissure the first one is about eight feet in width and will be cut by the tunnel at a distance of about feet and at a depth of feet the other one is about forty feet in width and will be crosscut by the tunnel at a distance of about 1200 feet and a depth of 1000 feet considerable high grade ore was shipped from the latter dyke when the property was owned by the clipper silver king mining company the company is working two shifts in the tunnel and it will cut the first porphyry dyke with the tunnel in about feet more those who have examined this property believe large ore bodies will be developed at the intersection of these dykes and fissures by the tunnel as well as on the contact of the lime and the quartzite which will be reached at about 1000 feet from the portal of the tunnel this property is being worked under the management of C W earl who was with the knight interests during the development of beek beck tunnel and the colorado ore bodies in tintic gintic and was formerly with the horn silver property at frisco utah the texan the texan mining company also owns a valuable group of claims on old miller hill which lies between the maryellen mary ellen gulch and the main canyon and joins the old miller property it is being worked under the management of chas tyng who with his associates in 1907 operated a lease on the miller property and took out upwards of it was during that time that lie he acquired and located the property now owned by the texan mining company this property contains the deepest lime of any on this hill the company is driving two tunnels to cut some large ore bearing fissures in this soluble lime and is working two shifts at each of the tunnels it is expected that during the coming year the tunnels will have reached their objective points where they will undoubtedly develop large bodies of high grade ore the dutchman mine the dutchman an property also on oil this hill is being operated by the wild brothers leasing company during the past year this company has been driving a tunnel to cut a fissure at a depth which in the levels above yielded good ore this has been completed and has opened a nice shoot of ore which the leasers leaders are now sacking ready for shipment the company is also sinking on the ore shoot which continues to improve with depth the dutchman mine has been a steady producer for a number of years but has generally been operated under the leasing system the ore generally makes out from the fissure in the bedding planes in the lime the whirlwind the whirlwind mining company adjoining the Dt property is also preparing for extensive development work and is now driving a tunnel to open up the same fissure as is now being developed in the pacific property this company expects by spring to have opened up the ore in the fissure which should make it one of the producing properties of the district in the past this property has shipped considerable ore mineral flat mining alethe at the mineral flat property at the head of the canyon has been carried on for several years under the leasing system in the upper levels of this property considerable ore was opened up and shipped in order to avoid the water a lower tunnel was driven but has not as yet developed any large bodies this property is owned by the knight interests it is understood der stood that by spring plans will have been made for an active development of this ground the bay state across the canyon from the dutchman mine is the estate of the day bay state mining milling developing company consisting of eighteen claims at this property work has been carried on during the year and the development consists of three tunnels of a combined length of about feet of sixty five feet crosscut one raise of twenty five feet and a shaft which is down forty feet the fissures which have been opened carry lead and silver values A new tunnel has just been started which will cut the ore deposit at a depth of about feet and should intersect the ore fissures running through the property this company is pushing work during the wint winter er months there are a number of properties in the canyon which have planned work early in the spring and there is little doubt but some of these will be heard from before the end of the year among these are the stewart ontario smuggler brooklyn globe gem ace waterfall eudora maryellen mary ellen and others i i for the first time development work is being carried on in a miner like way efforts are now under way toward getting ore at a depth which should show much larger ore bodies and a greater extent of with plenty of power close at hand and better facilities for mining there is no doubt but that development work will be accomplished much more quickly than has before been seen there much new machinery will be added at the properties to take care of the low grade ore that is being developed A number of mills will undoubtedly be built and plans have already been completed for one in conclusion it might be said that american fork starts the year with greater prospects and more capital than at any time in the past with only a small development it has produced millions and with the backing of some of the best mining operators in the state there is no doubt but that the year 1916 will see heavier shipments and a number of dividend payers from this district |