Show E black B I 1 ac lake mining district bistre R in rbt boise bell 1 statesman I 1 this district is in washington county idaho and is approached from weiser over the pacific idaho northern railway to council then by a first class daily stage connection it is 50 miles to the mountain view mining district better known as the black lake district where the property of the ford company is located on one of the the tributaries tributa ries of rapid river the last twenty miles of the road is built through the rugged peaks of the seven devils range it was built at the private expense of the ford company and is a monument to their energy and enterprise the geology of this district is unique and deifer different ent from any other gold district in the state the formations are almost exclusively clu blu plutonic igneous rocks di orites and green stones the principal mines of the company are are summit and the maid of erin perfect fissure veins that stand nearly vertical the former is deve developed lopea to a depth of feet by adit tunnels and a 60 foot it carries average values of 10 to 20 per ton two to five feet wide it is still completely oxidized and does not show a semblance of base mineral even at its deepest point and strange to say very little free gold in the pan but is essentially a chanid ing proposition the maid of erin is a larger vein ot of hard white quartz 5 to 10 feet wide well sprinkled with iron pyrites and containing average values of from 8 to 12 in gold during my visit the property was operating a handsome little littie mill and cyaniding cyan iding plant of 50 tons a day capacity connected to the mines with a traveling wire rope tramway feet long with one single span of 2000 feet across black lake the manager of this plant was making refined gold bullion from his cyanide product right on the ground by a simple process of cutting I 1 out the zinc with acid in a wooden tub and melting the resulting precipitate into brightly yellow bricks of high grade gold bullion thus avoiding the risk delay and expense of the usual method of shipping the cyanide products to some eastern refinery I 1 saw a result of this work in the shape of a beautiful brick of lordly yellow gold as large as a building brick and it was with most sincere regret that I 1 read ot of the destruction of this complete plant by fire five miles north of the above described property on another rugged tributary of rapid river the iron springs gold mining company was working a large force of men Und under erthe the management of co C F macey this company was operating a sawmill and putting up a group of comfortable and co commodious m camp buildings the property of this company comprises 33 claims and bears the ear marks of de ve loping a gold producing property of very consider considerable ible caliber its principal mineral feature is a m mammoth ammoth fissured zone of gangue that is anywhere from 20 to 25 feet wide and contains average gold values ranging from 7 to 15 per ton the property already has about feet of tunnel development and is now being equipped with a large double drum hoisting pant of allis chalmers machinery capable of sinking 2000 feet this plant was all on the ground on october 1 and is probably completed and in operation by this time A new three compartment shaft is to be put down 1000 feet five miles farther noth on still another tributary of rapid river is situated the rankin nitra nitre aad process plant which was idle at the time of my visit owing to the absence of its manager who was called out to weiser as a witness on a law suit surrounding these three principal properties the rapid river tributaries tributa ries contain dozens of very handsome prospects and prospective mines some of which are said to conta contain inore tore of sensational value in passing down rapid river canyon a marked contrast regional development of igneous rock is by two belts of pure gray crystallized limestone along the contacts of which on the oregon and johhson properties some very intelligent mining development work is being prosecuted with most encouraging results and the whole of great extent and exceptional pro promise |