| Show LOCATING METALLIC ORE BODIES BY D G NEW INVENTION by G M butler nearly a hundred years ago some experiments were made on the electrical pr properties es of oil with the idea that electricity might be made to serve the prospector little of practical value was learned however until about fifty years later and even then the experiments were directed along lines that gave disappointing results within the last ten or fifteen years however over thirty patents on electrical or finding appliances have been issued in the united states several of them were based on oil the known difference in the conductivity or resistance of metallic ores and the enclosing rocks some on the determination of the position of lines on the surface and the disturbance in the situation of these lines by the influence of ores below while still others were based on other principles that it seems unnecessary to mention here field experiments with some of these inventions were probably never made and most of the electrical processes that were given trials proved so disappointing that the subject of electrical ore finders gained considerable disrepute some of these appliances will doubtless give useful results under peculiarly favorable conditions but most of them have such limited fields of usefulness that they have never received much attention and have been almost forgotten otten 13 swedish device succeeds one at least a swedish invention has been adopted by the geological survey of sweden for the electrical prospecting for unknown ores and for determining the position and extent of those that are not so well known testimonials of undoubted reliability prove that a considerable number of previously undiscovered and very valti valuable able ore deposits have been located by this process not even this method appears to be all that might inight be desired however so the announcement of a new invention along this line developed by the arizona bureau of mines has aroused widespread wide spread and intense interest the details of the apparatus and method that the bureau employs seem to be decided advances over all of them thein the process is related in no way to the use of divining rods but involves merely a new application of well established and easily understood der stood scientific principles the inventor is D G chilson who conceived the idea several years ago after giving a satisfactory demonstration with a crude apparatus he was employed over a year ago as field expert with the arizona bureau of mines to perfect the process and to put it upon a commercial basis experiments carried on in several mining camps durin during b the past few months have been so encouraging and have been observed by so many people that it has been thought best to apply for a patent immediately if further investigations now under way lead to important results other applications for patents may be made a process has limitations the process in in the farm for which patent has bee been i n applied can be used only where sulphide ore is exposed either on the surface or in the underground openings it will not then serve to locate new mining camps but rather to insure the more thorough and economical development of districts where sulphide ore has already been found dean of college of mining and engineering university of arizona in arizona mining journal field experiments prove that by working out from one suc such ore body the location of other sulphide masses may often hi ascertained and that success may be expected to a dist distance anee of several thousand feet from the known sulphide ore not only may isolated lenses or other masses of sulphide ores such as are common along contacts of igneous rocks and limestone be located but well mineralized sulphide veins may be traced under wash and soil sulphide shoots discovered and at least in some cases faulted por I 1 eions of veins or other deposits of sulphide ore located I 1 under favorable conditions it has been found possible bleto to k secure considerable valuable information concerning the 1 approximate size and depth of sulphide ore bodies the process is not applicable to oxide carbonate silicate and other forms of oxidized ores all of them thein have no more effect than so much barren rock or soil it does no seem probable that any data concerning the grade rade or kind of ore can be obtained A great body of ofay py rite containing little or no copper will give results pre precisely cisel like that which a body of rich or wll ivill yield the process has other limitations which it is thought though best not to mention at this time since it is believed tha ha some of them at least will eventually be overcome t will save millions it may appear that a process with such limitations idof is of doubtful value but most mining men agree that anything that will tell where sulphide ore bodies occur and 1 what i is comparatively barren ground will be the means of saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions of dollars and will prevent the abandonment of mining properties until they have been completely exhausted this institution has no intention of using the apparatus and process for benefit of individuals any airy reputable an and responsible resident of arizona is permitted to apply enli N method without payment of royalties or any other charges it is yet to be decided how the patent will be handled outside of the state the apparatus used is fairly expensive and delicate and a high degree of technical skill is required to b get bet the best results it seems therefore impossible that many mining Z 1 companies will attempt to us use e the proc process ess themselves although b some large lar Z e exploration companies ill maydo ay do so individuals or companies will probably eventually be de li to use the process and the nature of the work incensed evolved is such that the cost of such examinations will b dc rather high but low in comparison with the value of th t information that may be secured |
