The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 18, 1897, Page 5

THE SAN FRANCIS River improvement and restraining dams A Federal Department of Mines. Revision of the Federal mining law and co-opers with other mining States theref eeded State mining legislation. The mineral lands bill. The M ning Bu au. The n international gold mining convention. Working of low-grade ores. Electricity in mining. Election of officers. A California mining exhibit at the Paric Exposition I3 \ HESE are the chief uubiec(s | which will come before the sixth znnual convention of the Cali- j or Miners’ Association which wi emble in Old Fellows’ Hall this son for a two days ses- sion. hey constituie an important pro- gramme tor what gives every promise of being the biggest and m successful con tion the association has held. The lines of effort along whicn this great or- g on is proceeding m a great deai to the mining industry, and only | less directly to the pub! 1y, for the of the m is a e factor in he general welfare. It is expected that about 500 delegates, CO CALL, MONDAY. OCTOBER 18, 1897 | interest all who have any concern with | | mining. Professor S. B. Christy of the | College of Minesof the University will | | talk on “The Keduction of Low-grade | Ores” and W. F. C. Hasson on *‘Electric- ity in Miming.” R'ver improvement in its relation to hydrauiic mining 1s the theme oi largest immediate interest. What is done will be | in the direction of bastening the constric- | tion of restraining dams, for which money ! | is ready, in agreeing with the valley | interests on a plan for securing jointly lar-e appropriations for dredging the | navizable rivers and providing for addi- tional dams. Every energy of the associa- tion willb e put behind this plan. | Thoe rapidly growing demand for a De- | partment of Mines and Mining in the Cabinet, which was started by the associa- tion, Will be urged, and steps will be taken to secure closer and more systematic co-operation with the miners of othe: States in behalf of this and other broad measures, including the needed radical revision of the Federal mining laws. The miners are feeling good in these days of a new mining presperity and the awakening wiil be refl:cted in the conven- tion. The convention attracts more pop- ular interest than any preceding one has | done because of the new generai interest | {in gold mining itself. Throughout the | | State men of large and small means are | | zoing into mining and the industry is re- | habilitating deserted towns, enlivening every highway in the mining regions, starting new railroads, increasing popula- tion and cutting a very large figure in the | general prosperity of the State. The pro- duction of the gold mines of California had fallen to $12,122,800 in 1893 and last year it exceeded $17,000,000. it “This sixth miners’ convention I expect to be the largest and most important we have held,’”” he said. interest in the association fore, and the subjects coming before the convention this vear are of great impor- “There is a greater than ever be- tance to the industry. I hove that the convention will be a very strong force in aid of ihese things. I am sure that the permanency of the California Miners' As- sociation is assured, “It has had » very successful career and done a very great deal for the industry. To-day it is more prosperous than ever in its history, “Conditions and needs will change, but the association will be an organization that wiil look after the interests of mining, aud there will always be much to do. | There is a great deal to do and a great deal needed jusi now. ‘“I'ne association has accomplished a great deal, as a review of its hisiory in outline will show. It begar in 1891 when towns depopulated ana mining, es hydraulic miniug, deserted. Tbomas B. Everett of Placer County sug- gested to J. A. Filcher of the Auburn Herald the caliing of a meeting to see if something could not be done for hydraulic mining. The meeting was held Novem- ber 18, 1891, and a county convention was calied for a few days later. “There was a committee appointed to prepare an address to tue State urging relief for the mining industry, and the ex- ecutive committee decided to call & meet- ing of leading men in San Francisco with a view to calling a State convention, Well, just sixteen men couid be got to that wmeeting with all the importance of the in- dustry to San rancisco. Nobody was ine terested in the miner and the old hostility of the debris.agitation was still alive, ““We were discouraged. but staved with it and on January 20, 1892, Leld a conven- tion here that proved a remarkable suc- pecially "hen mining was atits lowest ebb, with mining | weulth. In Amador County alone there has been over $4,0.0,000 thus invested. “*Another fact worthy of attention is the development of old properties and the sinking of shafts on quariz veins every- where throughout the Siate to greater depth. Of some piaces it has been said that ‘the mines go down but the miners do not,” Tuey do in California, and are proving that in nearly every part of the State deep mining is profitablee. The Kennedy mine in Amador County is now approaching a devth of 2400 feet: the Idabo mine at Grass Valley, Nevada County, is 2187 feet in depth. These two { mines are mentioned, being weil known | gold producers, having in their lifetime turned out nearly $25,000,000. | | | State and nation for this year, I believe some of the newspaper figures are exag- cerated. Last year California produced $17,181,562. It is probable that California’s | zold product for 1897 will approximate $20,000,000. This, I think, will be about | one-third of the product of the Uuited States for this calendar year, and one- twelfth of the product of the entire world. “As to the probable go.d yield of the | restraining dams for which $500,000 has been appropriated and available for some years will be built soon unless the miners interested can find some way of doing something with a sharp stick. | The miniog community has been ex- | pectantly waiting for the Government | engineers composing the California | Debris Commission io go shead and in | the absence of a definite statement from | those gentlemen it has been somewhat vaguely understood that they were about to do something. A year ago it was ex- pected that this year would see sites se- jlected and construction beguun. Some months ago 8 committee from the Miners” Association held a conference with the engineers, and_though they got no defi- nite inf ation they feit slightly en- couraged. Major Davis, however, again dashed the hopes of the miners by the announce- ment, made to a CALL reporter on Satur- day, that the transfer of Captain Gilleite to anot er field and the coming of Cap- tain Heuer will further delay the plans, and to an uncer time. *No, the commission has not yet formu- lated its plans,’” he said. “It is impos- sible to say when they can be decided on. | We have a great deal else to doas well. Captain Giilette had the matter mainly in band, as far as making the necessary in- vestigations were concerned, and his leaving will probabiv deiay things some- what. There are d:fficulties in the prob- lem, and a good deal of xtudy is necessary. Tae question of location 1s one. For ine stance, there 1s a question whether one dam shoula be located at Dagu -rre Point, below Marysville, or at the Narrows, a | few miles above. The matter of founda- cess. An awakening and a revulsion of (eelu\_g ~eemed to come about. At that meeting we invited representatives of the Anti-Debris Association to meet with us and they came. We assured them that we wanted nothing conflicting wi.th their interests, but only to secure harmouny and their co-operation in coing something to TeVive an industry representing an invesi- ment of $100,000,000 of capital in which the prosperity of a region depended. They met us half way and both interests united in preparing a memorial to Congress. We found a general readiness to assist us. We began a systematical and persistent cam- paign, which finally resulted in the pas- sage of the Caminetti Law permitting the restricted resumption of hydraulic min- ing. “That was our firsi and great achieve- JACOB H. NEFF, Who Retires From the Presidency After Five Years of Service. representing the gold-mining counties Itis expected to reach $20,000000 this and generally elected by county m‘ners’ associations, wiil be in attendance. A preat many reached the city yesterday #nd last night, but the majority will not arrive until to-day. Nevada County, the banner mining county of the State, will send filty delegates. Los Angeles County, which has no or-anization, will have a small representation. The convention will be representative of the entire mining poopulation of the State, as well as of its test character and intelligence. The wishes of the miners regarding the mat- ters enumerated will be formulated, and the strong force of the Miners’ Associa- tion will be set aclively behind the legis- lative and other measures in which the miners are interested. The election of officersisexcitinz a good deal of interest among the members. J. K. Neff, who has guided the association as its president since the start and who Curtis F. Lindley, Chairman of the Commi tez on Revision of Federal Mining Laws. was not allowed to retire last year, will ositively step out,.and for the place John Daggett, Haro!d T. Power, John Mc- Murray and Jud;e Walline are the most | prominently mentioned. Ex-Stete Min- eralogist Crawford may possibly succeed Julian Sonntag as secretary. Zir. Sonntag has no ambition to retain the labor and is spoken of for vice-president. An orchestra will nhelp out the life of the convention and this evening the con- vention will rest from discussion and lis- | vention and the history and accom plish- ten to two illustrated lectures, which will | year, with a much greater increase due in { the near future from the development operations now proceeding busily every- where. There are now about 15,000 mines | in the State, and they represent an enor- mous inveetment and outlay. The inter- est for which the association cares is the most important single one in the State, and the remarkable success of the associa- tion in the past five years isa promise of | the great influence the present convention will exert. THOSE AT THE HELM. The following are the officers of the sociation and the members of the commit- tees who have done the work of the organ- ization during the past year and whose reports will be beard to-day: J. H.Nefi, president; 8. K. Thornton, vice- presiaént; W. W. Montague, treasarer; Julian Sonntag, secreiary. Executive committee—El Dorado, H. E. Pickeit, A. H. Tenbroek; Tuolumue, E. C. Logtus,'W. J. Sharwood: Plumas, J. H. Rob- erts, Saumuel Cheene: Trinity, John McMur- ray, Fred Beaudry; Nevada, J. 8. McBride, E. J. " Rector; Calaveras, Mark B. Kerr, F. F. ‘Thomas; Yuba, Jumes O'Brien, Joseph Dur- fee; Sierra, F. R. Wehe, J. O. Jones; Banta Clara, R. R. Bulmore, C. C. Derby; Siskiyou, Andrew G. Meyers, Albert H. Denny; Placer, | Harold T. Powers, F. Chappeliet; San Fran | cisco, Tirey L. Ford, Thomss Barbour. At | Iarge—W. W. Montagiie, R. McMurray, R. B. | Thomas, Andrew Carrigan, John M. Wright, | W. C. Ralsion, S. J. Heudy, Dan T. Cole, Louis G ass, Cnarles G. Yale, ™. R. Church, | Equire Mooney, S. B. Christy, E. Co eman, E | A. Belcaer, John Scott, Georee E. Ames. | o Hospitalsfor sick and d ssbled miners—Felix | f‘,n;r;r siet, R W. Thomas, Frederick Zeitler . Jackson-and Thomas W. Jeffers. D. Revision of miniug laws—Curuis H. Lindley, A ketts, C. W. Cross, T. L. Ford, J. F. Halloras, W. 8. Keyes, Ross E. Browne, Henry Pic 1d Frederick Senrls | Legisiation — Tirey L. F H. T. Power, | Louis Gless, G. H. Burnham, E. H. Chapman, S. B. Christy, F. R. Wehe, W.'F. Prisk and W, Deal. inance—Andrew Carrigan, Daniel T. Cole F and Louis Sloss Jr. | _Minerai lanas—A. H. Ricketts, J. F. Hallo- n, Harold T. Power, E. H. Benjamin and E. ottus. Advisory to debris commissioner — C, Cross, John Spaulding and Mark B. Kerr. —_———— PRESIDENT NEFF’S REVIEW. His Glance at the History of the Asso- ciation and What It Has Done for the Industry. Jacob H. Neff, who was one of the orig- inators of the Ca.iforn:a Miners' Associa- tion, and who has so ably served as its president and chief guiding spirit for the five years of its existence, yesterday re- viewed the prospecis of the present con- | ments of the association. ment. Later we secured appropriations of 0,000 from Congress and the Legi lature. There are now about 240 bhydrau- lic mines in operation under the law. “‘While the rehabilitation of hydraulic mining was the original purpose, the ob- jecis of the association were socn broac ened and its field extended. The mineral lands bill and all that has been accom- plished in the direction of its pessage is due to the California Miners' Association that originated Two or three years t. ago we originated the demand fora Cub- | inet officer wuich has since been taken up by other associations and congresses and become a general one. The present gen- era! movement for a revision of the Fed- eral mining laws was started by us. Asa resuit of our work and success other im- portant miners’ as-ociations have been formed in other States. “Tue association and its conventions have served to bring mining here to the notice of the public and investors. Its dignitied and conservative c ourse and its success bave won popuiar contidence and respect for mining men. which makes such a wondertul contrast with its condition when the organization | was formed. “1t has drawn the mining men together and made them a force that is heeded, and Lias taught the miners that they m be awake and belp themselves. Its success has come through the united efforts of the mining men and the great assistance of the merchants and manufacturers of San Francisco, who have given it strong and liberal moral and finaucial support. Be- fore the miner could not secure redress or relief vy his single-handed efforts. United the miners’ appeals are heard. *Perhaps the millennium Las not wholly come as between the miners and the farm- ers, but if we can arrive at a plan on which we can work together for our common good we will stand more chance of get- tng what we ask from Congress, and unity of action and fairmindedness have, Ithink, been substituted ior controversy and litigation, debt, and will have money to prosecute 1ts work. We have the support of the press, and our pecple should continue to have it. Every member of the association has reason (o be proud of it for what it has done.” THE PRESENT PROSPERITY. J. F. Halloran, editor of the Mining and Scientific Press, and an active member of the execut.ve committee of the associa- tion, yesterday gave the following re- view of the situation of the gold-mining industry at the present time: “Probably tne most noticeable feature of gold mining in California this year is the discovery by foreign investors that as much money is to be made b7 developing prospects as by buying ‘going’ mines. The large amount of money beinz purin the mines of this Btate by San Francisco men demonstrates their faith in what is now the chief industry of the common- _ BED OF NORTH FOrRK OF AMERICAN RIVER r In various ways | | it nas aided in the revival of the industry The association is out of | swarmed through the mountains and de: paradise, and hi- opportunities for succ the world. There are many thousand which have never b ern Ualifornia. en the old mother are daily locating claims. As it general new mine to the point of production the The chief reason for the great increa men of small something good has un active market cess, and the life 1s healthful and roman perseverance: pecting outnt, sach as may be encou K'amath to the Colorado. intelligently prospected. get the capital 10 develop and operate it. claim found it next to impossible to get a buyer. ¢oid-mining. Now with this world-w eagerly seeki able ant legitimate field for a poor man’s energies. PROSPECTORS ARE SWARMING TO THE HILLS. There has not been a time within a generation when so many prospectors serts of the State as now. Thousands of these pioneers of the industry are threading every region where gold may be found, and there will be many more next year. This State is tue prospector’s ess are as great as in any zold region of s of square miles of promising country This 1s especially true of North- lode region is alive with prospectors, who Iy takes from one to three yearsto get a effect of the discoveries now being made will not be materially feit by the total output for that time. se of prospectinz is that now a man with a claim whosze development shows it to be valuable can readily find a purchaser or Five years ago a poor man with a good Very few wanted to invest 1n ide turning to the gold fields capital is g such investments. Throughout California wen of wealth and means are now looking for mines, and the prospector who ftinds ready for 1. Prospeciiagis an honor- It offers fair chances of suc- ntic, but it requires intelligence and long The accompanying picture is from a photograph of a typical pros- ntered along mountain trails from tne | The world’s gold product for 1896 was | about $218,000,000. ~There wili be a prob- able incresse in the South African go'd yield of $7,000,000; in that of Australia, abproximately, $3,000.000; in the United States T estimate an increase of $6,000,000 —chiefly in Califorsia ana Colorado, and elsewhere an increase of §6,000,000. **Another noticeable feature in Cali- fornia gold mining has been the great amount of preparatory work in hydraulic enterprises, more especially in the north- ern part of the Siate, where they are un- vexed by the debris problem. ~Foreign and State inve:tors are putting a very large amount of money into hydraulic plants. During the vast six months con- siderable attention has heen directed by the Mining and Scientific Press to the establichment of dredging machinas, which have proved so hnancially success- ful in New Zealand, tue conuitions being the tame in this State, with the exception that our streams are richer. “Invention is keeping pace with the de- mand, and there never was a time when legitimate gold-mining, wnich is purely a business proposition, wasdone so cheaply, accurately and intelligently as at the present time. Sofar as my observation extends Californiais still in the lead in this as in otner matters. While in some casesmill men prefer to adhere to prece- dent, asa rule considerabie pr de is taken in leavine i1he tailings too barren for profitable reworking. “More stamps are drorping and more roller milis ievolving in 1897 than in 1896. In the southern part oi 1he Siate espe- cially there is a great iucrease in this re- gard, and recent developments in Somth- ern California go far toward sustaining the idea that deep mining there will be found as profitable as in other parts of the State.” -— THE DAMS MUST WAIT. There is no present prospect that those tions must be carefully studied, and so on. Yes. 1 presume if an adequatée dam were {tailings a good many hydraulic mines | above could be allowed to op=rate without | builting individual dams of their own.” When the zreat interest ot the miners in the matter was mentioned, Major Davis | observed: *I wish the miners would get up a plan of their own.” Tbere remains for the miners the possi- bility that by next year the Government engineers will have decided where and Low to build the dams, and that by the beginning of the next century their bene- fits will reach them. 3 I' is nearly five years since the appro- priations of §250,000 each were made by Congress and the Legislature. Since then the exp:nditure of the money ba;awaitea only the decision of the Government en- gineers as to where and how to build them. They have had a great deal else to do. There bave been changes in the per- sonnel of the commission and they are still making up their minds. The commis- sion has cranted 240 permits for the opera- tion of the hydrautic mines at which the owners have built dams to impound their tailings. The large dams to be built at public expense would give a great impetus to hydraulic mining and add mil- lions to the gola production because many bydraulic mines above them would be al- | lowed to resume operations. The wonder- ful slowness of the Government is exas- perating to the miners. Had the matter been placed in the nhands of a special com- mission of engineers with nothing else to do but to decide speedily en plans and then let contracts a great many more hydraulic giants would now be playing on the vast gravel beds of the Sacramento watershed. Hydraulic mining 1s now yielding about $4,000,000 a year in the State, but most of it comes from the watershed of the Klamatb, whdre there are no restrictions, ana comparatively littie of it comes from the region of Nevada and adjoining coun- ties which once yielded nearly $10,000,000 annually from bydraulic mining. — BED OF MIDDLE FORK OF AMERICAN RIVER. GOLD THAT LAVA HAS DEEPLY BURIED. The industry has a peculiarl little has yet been done, on, the extent of these buried y large field for future deveiopment in tiis State in drift mining, In a former age there was a d flerent system of watercourses in the Sierra the gravel in these streams became as rich in go.d as did the beas of the later streams, wh placer gold. The-e ancient watercourses wr == buried beneath imm ‘nse lava overflows, ancient river gravels, which are worked by drifting in and following them along bedro greatly varying conditions under which these rich gravels are found and worked. Whil gravel beds is sc immense that hardly a start at even pro: there is a great future for this form of mining in California. Quartz miring is now a mo: in which comnparatively Nevada gold region, and ich have yielded a billion dollars in and under these lava caps lie the ck. The cut illustrates one of the a good deal of drift mining is going specting them has been made, and re cttractive field for capital, and it may be many years Lefore there comes a very zeneral and active attempt to exploit these deposits. built on one of the riversto impcund the | NE of the most striking and im- portant features of present-day mining in California isthe new- ly-acquired xnowledge that the veins of the mother lode do not pinch out as they go down, but that their values are permanent with depth. This realization has brought about an era of deep-mining in this State, and from now on the increase 1n production will be brought about as much or more by going down in old mines than by the discovery and development of new mines asexten- sive as this latter operation is becoming. The shaft in the Kennedy mine is now down about 2300 feet, or nearly half a mile of vertical depth, and sinking is steadilv going ahead, The Kennedy is now the deepest go/d mine in America, though there are much deepsr shalts in copuver and other mines. The deepest gold mines of the world are in the Bendigo district of Victoria, Aus- tralia, where operations have gone to 3000 feet below the surface and are still profit- able. There is no question that this depth will be equaled or surpassed in the mother lode in the comparatively near future. The deepest workings have given no indication that the quartz veins will run out or lose their average richness at any depth to which mining on them can be economically carried, and it seems a certalnty that California is destinea to exhibit the deepest profitable mines in the world and the boldest mining operations. Those interested in California mining were a long time learning this lesson, which was not learned until within the past two or three years. A very few years ago the mother lode region was dotted with fifty and more *“played out” old mines, which had been abandoned after having yielded millions. In all of them the shafts had reached places in the veins where the ore shoots seemed to have end- ed ana the values of the ores had grown so small that they did not cover the cost of mining and milling operations, which were so much more expensive than now. So, old mines which had been famous were abandoned to fill with water and to rust and decay. It was the general theory that the ore pinched out in the mother lode veins at a few hundred or 1200 or 1500 feet. But the old Champion and Providence mines were resuscitated as a gamble and people were surprised to see them become rich again at a little depth below the old workings. There were similar experiences with other mines. The Rawhide kept holding out as great depth was reached. A striking objectlesson came along a year or so azo when in the old Kennedy a rich ore body was encountered at between 2100 ana 2200 feet. This was an important thing and it drew the attention of mining journais and mining men in London and | elsewhere, though it attracted little popu- lar attention at home. These things gave new confidence in California mines and prompted mining men o take a new in- terest in old mines and to see what there was in them. Oune of the most recent and striking demonstrations of the new trath was tho experience of the Gwin mine a few months ago. This old mine had vielded several miilions to its former owners, and haa lain idle and full of water for several years. Senator Voorheis and some asso- ciates securea a bond on the mine at a comparatively low figure, and went to sinking a new shaft not far from the old one, which had reached adepth of 1200 feet. They strucka large body of pay ore, ana last summer ran into a streak of wonaerfully rich ore, of which no definite figures have been given out. The Gwin, instead of being a played-out mine, has resumed its former prestige and promises a great record. the old one is being pumped out. At the Providence mine large preparations for sinking to great depths are just being made. A plant capable of operating a shaft 1000 feet deeper than the present workings or tp over 3000 feet is being in- stalled. Sinking to greater depth is now rapidly going on in every one of the ‘deep” mines of the State. But the new tendency to go deep on the mother-lode veins is also shown in a good | many mines of moderate depth. There | is faith that the large investments neces- sary for extensive development down- | ward will be rewarded and the ventures | are being made, as they would not be | with the old fear that there was nothing | to go after. Ata large number of mines | present depths of 500 or 1000 feet are being extended with the expectation of doubling the depth as fast as possible. This recent demonstration of the perma- nent value of California gold mines has | come with the new and general goli- | mining fever, and has greatly helped the | disposition of capitalists here and abroad | to invest in California mines. It hasalso added to the market value of mother lode mines of any stage of development. An important factor in this general re- suscitation of old mines and the rea tiness to spend fortunes in deep development has been the great lessening of the cost of mining operations by the cheapening of processes, materials, etc., which has come with the application of inventive genius and scientific skill to the industry and the disposition to make goid mining a legiti- | mate business and not a gamble. The development operations now going on in sicking and tunreling to great depths on the mother lode represent the investment of millions of dollars. Asfrom one to three years is required for such ce- velopment work before the point of pro- duection 1s reached, the effect on the total production will not be largely felt for that time, THE MINERAL LANDS BILL. There are nearly 300,000 acres of yet un- patented railroad land in this State, much of which is mineral land. The unpatented land lies mainly in Northern California along the line of the Oregon and California raiiroad in Siski- you, Shasta and Trinity counties. This is a great mineral region with a great mining future before it. Iis rich quartz | The new shaft is being continued and - " h i i I 15,000,000 Nox:r;\jTAR 2,809 FT.OMN INCLINE IDARO 2.200 FT. DRODUCTION CMPIRE 2,400 FT.ON INCLINE PROVIDENCE 1900 FT. CHAMPION 1,900 FT, i S e Comparative Depths of Some of the California Mines Which Are as Rich Below as They Were Above. ledges have as yet been but slightly de- veloped and the region, difficult of access and travel, has been but Jittle prospected in an intelligent and effective way. The Mineral Lands bill seeks to create a Fed- eral Commission which' shall select and reserve to the public domain all unpat- ented sections in this grant which are mineral in character allowing the railroad to select other lands instead,