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Show I REPORT MACE OK RYE PATCH MINES Prof. Bowcn Describes Geology of Silver Bell and Alpha Properties. THERE IS REASOX TO PREDICT GOOD FUTURE ! i I Millions of .Dollars Produced From Upper Levels in flu; Early Days. Professor C. R Brown. geologist :iud chemist at flic Brigham Young college at Logan, relumed recently from Rye Patch, Nov., whore he made an examination exam-ination of (he Silver Bell and Alpha mines J'or local capital. It was on the strength of Professor Bowen s report that the Rye Patch Consolidated Mining Min-ing company was organized to operate Ibe'so two noted old producers, and inasmuch in-asmuch as the management has run into sonic splendid shipping ores within ten days of beginning of activity, the report, re-port, in part, will be of interest to local circles. The report shows a reserve of ores still evident in both rhe old mine workings work-ings which in every way promises a production pro-duction ihat will rival the record of forty years ago, as is evidenced in the following; ''The ore occurs in stringer veins in fractured zpucs in the limestone. These , Hlringcr veins lead into chambers or pockets, some of great size, from which pay ore was taken. The vein filling in the fracture ones consist of quart;: and ealciro in si ringers from a fraction ot" an iiu-li ro two or three inches in thickness. These varied zones vary from one ro si.v feel where observed in The old workings. The metallic values consist of oxidized ores of silver and lead with small amounts of copper ear-bonate ear-bonate ami some galena. The ore occurs oc-curs mainly in the quarts veins in the softened c.Iay-liko limestone. The veins din westward with the formation, but not at so great an angle. The roofs it the ore chambers generally show a pitch of 12 to 1-1 deerices. while the for- j inn t ion dips at about MO degrees. As wilj be inferred from the foregoing, the deposits are of a pockety character and ii is on those pockets that dependence is placed for pay values. Outside the j pockets the stringers themselves carrv alues varying from $25 to $200 per loni but when the entire width of the fissured zone is sampled, the values fall too low to be profitable. Per-haps Per-haps in some cases enough could be J saved tojwy wording expenses. J ''The following assays give the value j per ton in silver and the "width of the sample, first, for the entire width of the veined surface, and, second, for the stringers only: $ feet, 4 ounces; 5 feet, -l 10 ounces; o feet, 0 ounces; feet, 10 ounces; fi feet, 4 ounces; 2,o feet, R.-5 ounces. For the stringers. .'1 inches, 266 ounces; "; to 1 inch, 210 ounces: 3 j inch, 40b' ounces; 4 inches, 21(5 ounces; -J inches, 10 ounces. In addition to j the silver values the assays will sliow v gold from a trace to .$3 per ton. The above assays represent, samples taken from the fissures leading into and away from the worked out chambers, also wliore encountered in development tun- ( oucerning the probability of encoun-tering encoun-tering other ore chambers iii the future, Professor Bowen says: "Prom a knowl-edge knowl-edge of the conditions under which sueh chambers are formed and from the j coutinuance of like geological condi- j tions throughout the unworked portions of the property and into the properties beyond, there is no apparent reason j why other chambers should not be opened up. So far as the workings j have gone, there is no apparent falling off in either ihe frequency or size oi the ore bodies. Jn fact, some of the 1 largest chambers were opened up just J betore the mine closed down. The ore Hl bodies lie with their long dimension parallel to the strike of the limestone and follow the fracture zones in the limestone-. The outcrops of the lime-j lime-j stone, the porphyry and the well-dcvel- oped enlcitc and quartz veins can be H traced continuously throughout the length of the claims. The ore bodies H thus far worked occur near the por- Hj J'hyry dike. Tt is therefore believed j that other ore bodies may reasonably H be expected to occur iu the limestone H near the porphyry above the water level. As no workings have, yet gone B below the water level, it cannot be KV definitely stated what, will be encoun- ftW tered there, but, it ma- be expected that the oxidized ores will gradually j give place to the sulphides and that Hj the rich chambers will give way to Hj more constant and uniformly minernl- j ized zones. Iso chance in the character J of the ore is yet ooservable even in the deepest workings' j Concerning the early reenrd of these j mines, Professor Bowen says: "The Alpha and Silver Bell properties are claimed to have been worked for about j thirteen years about, forty years ago j and to have produced in that t'ime about. 1 $10,000,000, the records of which, it is said, can be had from the bullion ns-say ns-say office nt Carson City, New Be-cause Be-cause of litigation that arose between the two companies over the apexing of veins the mines were closed down pend-ing pend-ing settlement. They were never again orked, partly- due 'to the demonetiza-tion demonetiza-tion of silver and imrtly due to the death of the original holders and the passage of the property into the hands of heirs. The above statements are current among the residents of the dis-tnet, dis-tnet, but are not verified from rec-onla, rec-onla, as the writer had neither the tluie nor opportunity for such investi-Ration investi-Ration However, C. D. Rav, who has snout some four years in limiting up the titles to the claims, affirms that the above statements are correct as nearly as he can ascertain." Regarding the present condition 'of the properties, Professor Bowen says: "The two worked claims are opened by three tunnels extending into the hill lrcm the west end of the claims, par-allfling par-allfling the veins. The longest tun-. tun-. nel is about, 500 feet long and the short- est, which is on the lowest level and twenty-five to thirty feet below the upper tunnel, is about 150 feet, long. The third tunnel is about 200 feet long and lies between the other two. flio three tunnels are connected hv winzes and raises. Everything adi'a-cei.t adi'a-cei.t to these tunnels has bfeeu stoned out. It is reported that, 40.000 tons of ore passed through the mill, which is located at the railroad station at Kvo Patch, four miles away." |