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Show 64 NEW ALMADEN MERCURY- MINES, CALIFORNIA. Examined by Dr. 0. Loew, May, 1875. These mines are situated in the Santa Gruz Mountains of Santa Clara County. There is no regularly organized district, but the area covered by croppings is 3 miles long and 500 feet wide. They have been constantly worked since 1840, when they were discovered by the whites. Previous to this date the cinnabar obtained here was in use among the Indians as a paint. The post- office is called New Almaden. The mines are 12 miles from the railroad at San Jos£, to which town a stage- line runs. Cost of freight from that point is $ 2 per ton. The roads are very good. A geological investigation has already been made by Professor Whitney. The trend of the ore- bearing rock, like that of the mountains, is southeast and northwest. There are no regular veins. The cinnabar occurs in pockets and chunks in the ledge, which is partly serpentine and partly quartz, and as " impregnation » of serpentine, quartzite, and sandstone. The main rock in the vicinity is ferruginous sandstone. Tertiary strata extend along the foot- hills? but the mines and the adjacent rock are of greater age, probably azoic. The ores are reduced by roasting, and the mercury distills over into chambers, where it condenses. Water is found at a depth of 300 feet. Cinnabar is the only ore met with. The principal mines are the New Almaden, with a shaft 1,200 feet deep and a tunnel 800 feet long; the Enriqueta, with a tunnel 700 feet long, and the Guadalupe, with a shaft 300 feet in depth. In 1874 the New Almaden Mine alone yielded 11,000 bottles of mercury, weighing 76$ pounds per bottle. There are 6 Post-amente furnaces of old construction, with 18 condensing- chambers, and one Idria furnace of the latest style, with water- condensers. The condensing- chambers are of brick, communicating with each other by channels. They are about 30 feet high and from 10 to 15 feet in length and width. There is but little timber in this region. The Alamita Creek furnishes the necessary water. Deer, quail, and rabbits abound. Domestic animals are abundant, and produce of all kinds is cheap. There are 3,000 people in the immediate vicinity. TJ- BE- HE- BE DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA. Examined by Lieut Rogers Birnie^ jr., October} 1875. The deposits of this district lie about 72 miles a little north of east from Cerro Gordo, on the northern slopes of a spur of the Panamint range, which trends to the west nearly at right angles to the main range, and separates Panamint and Salinas Valleys. Ore was first discovered here by William Hunter, of Cerro Gordo, on July 2,1875. The district was organized July 8,1875. There are now eight locations recorded. The ores are principally carbonates of copper, containing more or less silver. The ledges run with the country- rock, northeast and southwest. The main ledge lies between limestone and granite, the outcrop showing for more than 2 miles. Mineral deposits are found through an extent of 10 miles. Wood and water are scarce, and are brought a distance of 10 miles. Wood is obtained from the higher portions of the spur alluded to above; water comes from one of the tributary valleys of the Salinas. |