Show STRIKE IN THE minneapolis one of the finest strikes of the year was made in the minneapolis mine on cracker creek within a quarter of a mile of the town of bourne the property is under bond to E sanderson smith and found by S H fenner the curious feature is the low values found during the first few feet of prospecting on the lead in fact this is characteristic of most of the big leads in the camp near the surface and the fine showing in the minneapolis will be a great incentive to others who hold claims in this district another a peculiar feature is the fact that little attention has been paid to this side of the creek many believing the pay ore was confined to the north pole lode or the smaller parallel leads close to it the formation is slate and porphyry but whether the lead is confined to the black slate or in the contact between the two formations is not yet determined but all present evidence indicate indi f aate another big mine for the district the developments from the beginning to work as to the variations in values are curious and interesting the drift tunnel has followed the lead apparently for feet and at the breast is now about fifty feet below the surface there was one foot of absolutely barren quartz to begin with the first assay twenty four feet in gave 63 cents in gold the next 80 cents the next tests were 4 and 8 up to 12 and 14 here again a barren streak was encountered while the pay streak for the last fifteen feet which is not less than two and one half feet in width and on the increase with only 0 one ne slate wall in sight makes it at once the finest prospect opened up to date the concentrates from this streak up to the breast give 1663 per ton in gold and the crude ore 1550 per ton the pay is decomposed slate and porphyry giving little or no indications to the eye as to its value but in the pan shows gold as coarse as that often found in placers this lead pans well on the surface in places for feet and was recently turned down by a wise party who knows all about it and such are the mines and possibilities of sumpter district miner sumpter oregon |