Show prospectors N em JI FIND 1 MECCA ECCA IN LA SAL S district promises in future to rival butte batte anaconda and other great mines nes I 1 la sal mountains in southeastern utah 13 one of the most interesting parts of the state from f rom many points of view viea in a it recent issue of the grand valley times A al rogers of aloia says he the la sell sal mountains theologically geologically considered present the most surprising and inviting field to the prospector the miner and investor of any like lik area earea in the united states the group comprises fourteen prominent peaks ranging in height from ten thousand to fourteen thousand I 1 1 feet altitude and numerous laser ones olneq all of which are composed mainly of the various igneous rocks of the porphyry family chiefly of dionte diorite and rhyolite with numerous us ribs of andesite and and occasion occasional beds of in a fw places may be found domes of porphyry showing that the upheaval which formed this range came from great depth as the surrounding sedimentary formation here exposed by erosion is of great thic thickness kiess the permian sandstones jurassic and jura jurn beds for instance show a thickness of over eidt hundred feet and the pliocene and miocene beds are of unusual thickness as corn compared pared with ith those formations along the continental divide und and adjacent thereto those immense igneous mountains in forcing their way through the thick sedimentary beds have caused great displacement in the latter and in places have carried up A ith them large bodies of the sedimentary sediment edi ment ary which appear like of metamorphosed sandstones and dolum itic lime stones and occasional beds of carboniferous and argillaceous hales thales dolomite good sign in nearly evry case where dolomite is found associated with the igneous formations fori rations where it was carried ludw ird by the upheaval it I 1 li i accompanied by a dike or rip of mineralized andesite which is ally much richer in felds pathetic properties than of the siliceous these dikes generally constitute what arc are locally termed lodes or veins and are generally of immense size and consequently of rather low grade in values particularly is is this true where the low values are ire of gold A noticeable condition of these gold bearing veins is that in most cases the values are accompanied by telluric fluorite and I 1 syl sylvanite anite with ith occasional bundles or pockets of and the gold bearing ve ris are not confined to U any particular area or district dittri ct of the la sal group but arc are found on every mountainside and every gulch owing however to the average low grade of the orp ore the macce and dearth of transportation facilities the development hag been greatly retarded but a few of the determined prospectors have held on with bulldog tenacity and arc are beginning to show to the world that the la sal moun bains contain a greater amount of from ten dollars to thirty dollars cy aiding gold rock than can he found in any like area irea in the world kibbon ribbon quartz nor is gold her only treasure numerous veins of large size and wonderfully derf der ully fully high grade copper properties art arc oaly awaiting tran transports tion and treatment to show that there is a competitor in the field that will equal if not excel butte anaconda bingham and all the other red metal producers in the country the most distinguishing aad for many years the most puzzling feature of the la sal region was the immense quantity of what was locally known as the ribbon qua az z alaf placer er deposits surrounding these mountains fabulously rich placer ditt of disintegrated quartz has been known for years to suri round the la sala recent development work vork has P proven roen gevond all question that this was but the eroded selvage of positively three and probably five blanket veins of this material which is in reality a quartz in the form of immense intercalated sheets some of which are demonstrated to be over oer thirty feet in thickness these are probably enriched by the percolation of aun auri ferou sly impregnated thermal waters er s during the formative period of these mountains much aluch more in fact volumes might be written about the wonderful resources of the la and the preface of the story not then be found it will take generations generation i of intelligently directed labor to demonstrate and centuries to exhaust their treas areg |