THE 3I0RXING OREGONIAX, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 190S. E TO TO No State in Union a tei Variety of Mineral a 4 " 111 ' JtV ? v v Aa ' r - Sill Neill, PreHldrnt Kumpter Derenop- mt I.HTUf . A, the. close of the year 1907 the con dition of the mining campe in Kastern Oregon, the district em bracing Baker, Grant and Malheur coun ties. i much more satisfactory than at any time in the past three or four years. One of the facts verifying this conclu sion is that the smelter in Sumpter has been able to run for a period of several months longer than any time since it was established. .The ores which have made this possible came, very largely, from the districts contiguous to Sumpter. Over on the east side of Baker County, through what are properly known as the Eagle Valley and Snake River districts, tributary to Baker City, the metropolis of Eastern Oregon, a number of copper properties have undergone partial de velopment during the past Summer, which indicate that a very large number of vast deposits of low-grade ores exist In those sections. Further south, in the Mormon Basin country, one big property has reached a stage of permanent pro duction. The property is known as the Rainbow, and is operated by a close cor poration, composed of Portland people. From general accounts this mine is now producing at a rate of about $26,000 a month. The success of this property ha caused much development work in that vicinity. Still further south, in the Malheur sec tion, desultory development on quarts holdings has progressed; but most of the attention bestowed on mining by the people of that district has been devoted to the shale lands where oil and gas Indications have caused surprising re- W'JthiA 5. " v 1 - yyf I V r4 yik M "W(,l.rf'f. V 8 x "will I Is owned by Portland people, and for many vejr steady work has been carried on. developing immense deposits of cin nabar ore. experimenting with the procest of extraction and building equipment. Mr. Dennis, the manager, has worked out a special process of his own for treating this ore. and has perfected what Is con sidered the most successful method of cinnabar treatment In .the world. The company is now putting the finishing touches on a large-capacity plant of this kind, complete with all accessories, -including modern electric-power plant, etc. Brief! v. the mineral values of Lane County may be summed up as having been already "discovered-develoued-and -demonstrated.' We have minerals in wide variety, including many not named In this article- Among the more im portant, and we might say staple ones, practically every one is "in sight" In our mines in enormous quantities, there being now blocked out, ready for Moping, hundreds of thousands of tons of ore, which will pay. and pay well, with the extension of proper transportations fa cilities to the different localftiei. NEW MINES OPENED IN SOUTHERN OREGON Gold Plaeeni Flrt. Worked SO Year At, Still Yield Well Fntnre I.Ira 1m- Quarts. Br H. 1. Andrews. ferretHry Grants Fas, Commercial Club. S" INCE the early 50s mining has been carried on to a very considerable ex tent In Southern Oregon. Placer mining at its Inception In Oregon was confined to the methods which were In - SO v4 -4. V LANE COUNTY MINES .. T3IVE RICH PROMISE Blue River and Itoliemla Distrieta IVlbulary to turc Scene of Great Activity Iturlne IIKIT. Bf H. C. Mahoa. THE mining Industry in T,ane and the early 60s. when prospecting for Linn Counties had its beginning in placer gold whs carried on along sev eral of the smaller streams tributary to the Willamette and Mc-Kenzie rivers. Colors were to be found, ano anil may be found, for that matter, in the sands of almost everv stream throughout the foothill- and mountain regions in both tne Cascade and Coast ranges, but placer de posits of any consequence were never dis covered. A small sluice-box equipment was put into operation, some 40 years ago in the now well-known Blue River mining camp, and for a number of years parties of men were engaged in washing gold from the beach sands aiong the Western border of Lane County. This enter prise yielded quite handsomely at times, considering the small outlay necessary, but lias now been abandoned. This early exploitation served a two fold purpose: It furnished a satisfactory t opportunity for operation to that pioneer I of the mining industry, the prospector Iand old-time placer miner, and also dem onstrated to future operators that the mountain region of this entire county is 'J 4 " 1 k V 5 x, i,'- ' at -k MAM -t T f 5 latter 25 miles southeast of Cottage Grove, on a fork of the Willamette River. A branch railroad Is being built from Cottage Grove to the camp," some 18 or 20 miles of which is now in operation. 60-ton plant on the Great Northern in the same district, the very .extensive equipment and power-plants of the Ore gon Securities Company in the Bohemia district, and others. In all the larger Several hundred different claims have ; properties in these two camps, many of been staked and are being developed in each of these camps, nearly every one of which yields free gold on the surface. This feature has proved an especially favorable one, in that it makes return which have never, as yet, installed value- saving machinery, deep development work has been enrried on, with the. result that magnificent bodies of rich ore have been exposed, and are being blocked out, the ports to bo brought from there by men formerly prominent in the Sumpter dis trict. The mining regijn from which comes the greater portion of Oregon's output of gold is that which is popularly de scribed as the Sumpter district. It takes Its inception at Rock Creek, extending on a line south 40 miles to the old placer streams In Grant County out near Susan ville. John Pay and Tralrie City. Em braced In that territory are four or five big producing mines and some 30 or 40 smaller ones, all of which in 1907 made shipments to the smelter at Sumpter. Notable among these are the North Pole, Columbia, Imperial, Pyx. Present Naed and the Standard. The smaller prop erties In the agnresate have produced probably as much as the large ones. In round figures this territory probably produced JTiO.OOO in gold during 1907-. The number of men employed in the mines In this district will approximate 1000. On of the causes of contldence in the future, an attribute that is peculiar to this zone, has been the almost startling return of values in the old Red Boy. late in November, after months of work, at a depth on the level that Is knows as the Blacksmith tunnel. Since that time work has progressed to such an extent as to demonstrate a remarkable value In the " vein which is from seven to eight feet wide and will give backs of i00 to M0 feet. From comprenenslve tests. It Is indicated that the values run from J3S to 110 a ton. The facts concerning this property indicate that it will go to a state of permanent production which means much to the entire territory. The parties in control are also the ones chiefly interested in the Fremont Power Plant which was completed In October of this year and represents an investment of probably J30O.O0O. The power generated by this great plant will be distributed over the entire Sumpter district. This means mucb econ omy In all future development work, wherever it goes. It has been demon strated by the use of a small portion of It In the present work at the Red Boy mine. The electric drills employed there went through rock at a cost of $10 a foot, which otherwise costs from 135 to .". The introduction of electricity will do away very largely with the extensive equipment also permit prospectors to tap the wires and get their properties into shape with out the necessity of heavy expenditures for machinery. It will also settle a very Important question in the matter of fuel. The Fremont power plant was evidently designed very largely lo furnish the "Juice"- with whlch to drive the jved Boy's machinery. The transmission line has been extended into the Bourne dis trict, however, and contracts have been made with several managements, notably the North Pole, which will result In the electrification of their entire plants. Next season, I am Informed, the company will probably extend its transmission line Into the Greenhorn, Cablevllle and Quartz hurg districts. Several managements in those territories have asked for the pow er, and with the return of confidence in their sections It will probably place them In the position to make contracts. During the year 1907 more legiti mate, honest, labor was expended on a number of properties that were on a flota tion basis than was expended during the coin-gathering period. The result is shown In several sections, particu larly at the Standard mine. In the Quartzburg district. From present In dication this property jvill now be equipped with the machinery that will give it a very heavy output of concen trates for the smelter and keep Its large mill busy for some years to come. And further evidence of the return of confidence In this section was made manifest a few weeks ago by the pur chase of property in the Cablevllle section, adjoining the imperial, by Portland people who are "planning at the present time for extensive devel opment work early In the Spring. Sev eral miles south in the Greenhorn sec tion another sale of what Is known as the BI-Metallic has been made to Cin cinnati parties. The development work on this property has exposed a body of ore containing uniform values for which milling: treatment was necessary to put It on a profitable basis. The owners are now Intending to Install a plant on this property early next Spring. it Is now quilfi certain that the fiumpier z 1 Va5X- 5. i'Ss wW" Involved in steam plants, and i fi J, ? - ' KUkZ "J"v" ' I"" V'4" " . fi i C H IBS A " 11 .11 n-ri. Jiuiiiiii 11 mi "it 5 Valley Railroad wijl be extended from its present terminus some 20vor so miles to Susanville. during the coming Summer. It can be seen that this move on their part their part wu.1 have a very wholesome effect on the mining industry, as in the vicinity of Susanville "are a number of partially developed and one of two proven properties which contain Iron ores much desired at this time by the smelter and which have hitherto been unsuccess ful owing to the great expense In Vflvrd Is lone wagon ba,uu- mineralized to a greater or less extent. Later exploration of a more thorough and scientific character have revealed in sev eral localities extensive mineralized zones, carrying scores of large and well deflned ledges, rich In gold, silver, cop per ar.d lead. The principal camps so far developed are the Blue River and Bohemia, the former located 30 miles east of Eugene, on the watershed, between the McKenzie and Calapooia rivers', and reached by .Sd -KBgon load Jfsup ugeaa. and the possible almost from the start, and with a small outlay for equipment, thus enabling the different owners to open up their properties largely with the returns from their own ground. . Aside from the small equipments above referred to, there are several large and more complete plants, chief among which are the Lucky Boy, 40-stamp, -mill in Blue River district, with a modern 503 horsepower electric power plant on the McKenxie River. 7 miles away; the 100-ton plant on the Treasure property, and the extent, richness and permanent character of which is already demonstrated. 'The ore In these deeper workings is, of course, base in character, and cannot readily be treated on the ground .but Is ot sufficient value to Justify shipment as soon as transportation facilities are pro vided. The Black Butte quicksilver mine, a property of which Lane County may well be proud. Is located 12 miles southeast of Cottage' Grove, near the head of the Coast Fork of the Willamette River. It vogue in the early days, viz.: . Washing in pans, then the "rocker." later the "Long Tom," and still later the sluioe box. We now have the hydraulic "Giant." with Its powerful stream, boriusr Into the foundation of deposits of gravel which lie in the beds of ancient river channels, thus causing them to cave off in huge masses, when they are torn apart and passed on through the flumes and sluices, leaving the precious yellow metal In the riffles to be gathered up, -melted Into "bricks" and shipped to the mint for coinage. Many millions of dollars have been taken from the. gravel beds of Southern Oregon. The principal districts which have contributed to this enormous wealth are the Waldo district. In Josephine. County. In which the Old Sailor diggings were located, which produced as high as $500 a day to the man. and the Sucker Creek and Althouse districts. In the same county, which include the famous "Briggs strike" of two years ago, and which have added millions of dollars to the wealth of the country. At the pres ent time placer mining is successfully be ing carried on at Galice Creek, Grava Creek. Louse Creek, Williams Creek, Wolf Creek and on the Applcgate, Rogue and Illinois Rivers. The large placer mines in operation at the present time are the Logan & Sim mons and Deep Gravel Mining Com pany's properties. In the Waldo district: the Columbia, at Graves Creek: the Old Channel Mining Company, at Galice. and the Sterling mine, in Jackson County. Quartz mining Is now jtaking the lead In Southern Oregon. Rich gold and cop per mines are- being opened up in nearly every section of the two counties men tioned.. The copper mines are attracting the attention of capitalists all over th country. In Josephine County, the Waldo Smelting Company has been operating 100-ton smelter for the past three years, employing 150 men and 20 six-mule teams in hauling in coke and bringing back matte. The Alameda Mining Company, at Ga lice. Josephine County, Is opening up what 1s destined to become one of tha largest copper mines In the world. Dur ing tire past year upward of 100 men have been employed In the mine in addition to several large crews who have been en gaged in building a wagon road up to the mine. This road Is now being ex tended down toward the mouth of Rogua River by the United States Forestry Serv ice, thus opening up a country rich In minerals and timber. There are several rich gold and copper mines being devel oped In this district, including the Gold en Wedge, Oriole (which is at present In litigation) and the Pickett Creek copper mine, all in the same mineral belt, which includes the rich Chetco section, which is verily a prospectors' paradise. Jackson County was the scene of very extensive placer mining in the early days, Jacksonville, the county seat, be ing the only town In those days In Southern Oregon. The Blue Ledge cop per mine Is now the chief center of at traction at this point, being situated just across the state line In California. . In the Gold Hill district are many promising quartz mines In course of development, notably the Tin Pan, Br&den and the Bill Nye, as well as the plant of the Champialn DredElne Com pany, which is being very profitably operated in the Foots Creek district.