ENGINEER TELLS

WEAVER MINING

DISTRICT STORY

Giving an accurate and dependable information as can be obtained and as true and authentic statement of conditions and facts that come from many sources, E.J. Eddards, for 45 years a mining engineer, declared Weaver mining district south of Prescott to be the most promising mining district in the state.

The Weaver district is situated about 16 miles northeast of Wickenburg and extends from the old Congress mine at Congress Junction to and including the Monte Cristo mine. "This report," he writes, "will have as much of the history of the district as has been gathered by the writer from the few people remaining in the district who were in the early days."

Mr. Eddards' report follows:

The Weaver District

It is reached from Phoenix by the Santa Fe railroad, 80 miles to Congress Junction, which is situated at the west end of the district, thence southeast by wagon road to the termination of the southeasterly end of the district to the Hassayampa river where the mineral belt continues on to and beyond the famous Monte Cristo silver mine on the southeast, a distance of 16 1/2 miles.

In this great belt of gold and silver bearing quartz veins are located the famous Congress mine, the Yarnell mine, the Johnston mine, the Octave, Ziegar, the Independence, Blue Bell, the Powell group of four claims, the Black Rock, Ltd.,the Leviathan group of four claims, the White group of 16 claims, the Unita group of five claims, the Mildred group of 17 claims, the Ring Cone, the Mardis, and Alvarado of two claims - all of which are justly noted for their persistency in depth and the productiveness of their values. Mining is engaged in during the entire year in this section, made possible by favorable climatic conditions and good transportation.

The ore bodies are of good size, and the character of the ore and the topography of the country make for good low grade mining. The chief natural resources of this region are its minerals; in fact without them, most of its area would be a great desert waste.

Drainage of the area is southerly from the water sheds of the Weaver range. Consequently numerous streams cut the higher gold bearing zone in and near its origin and flows southward into the Hassayampa river.

Gold is found in quartz veins, placer deposits, and pyritic rocks. Quartz veins are found in fissures or openings in the country rock and have been variously classified. The auriferous rock of these veins consists usually of quartz, gold bearing sulphides are found in the quartz and near the surface where the sulphides have become oxidized. The gold is free and amenable to cyanidation and amalgamation.

In the early history of mining operations, one of the greatest drawbacks was the scarcity and high cost of fuel, the only fuel available being the meager growth of mesquite and ironwood which often had to be hauled by wagon. With the present railroad facilities, the fuel problem is being met, through the installation of Diesel and other similar types of engines and the use of petroleum.

In a desultory manner and a irregular intervals the pioneers carried on mining operations for many years under the handicap of insufficient capital, inadequate facilities, long wagon hauls to the railroad, lack of knowledge of modern methods of mining and treatment of ores, with the result that their products were disposed of at a low price and in an unreliable market. The Santa Fe railroad, recognizing the importance of these different camps and their great future; built a branch line to them from the junction of the main line from Ash Fork. While the railroad was eventually carried through to Phoenix the main incentive to its construction was the business which was obtained from the Congress mine and other mines in this district.

RICH HILL

Rich Hill is a spur of the Weaver range of mountains which forms a part of the southern escarpment of the Colorado plateau. Quartz veins traverse this hill in an east-west direction and there are mines located upon the flanks of the hill.

It is a granite intrusive cutting the primary schist and is traversed by metamorphose deruptives, including diorite, rhyolite, and granite porphory. The strike of the beds is east-west and at right angles to the axis of the mountains.

It was the scene of the oldest and most important placer discoveries ever made in this country and one of the richest ever made anywhere. The presence of placer gold on the southern slopes of the Weaver range was probably known as early as 1860, but it was not until some years later that there was discovered the first of the greatest deposits of coarse gold, whose subsequent explorations have caused the steady development of the Weaver mining district and the growth of the towns in that section of Arizona.

Past History of the District

In 1862 Pauline Weaver and Jack Swilling and a man named Peeples for whom Peeples Valley afterwards was named, discovered what was afterwards known as the Weaver diggings near Stanton. The discovery was made by accident. On the top of a high mountain flat, on the surface, were discovered the richest placers ever found in the United States. One of the parties, having lost an animal which had strayed up on this table top mountain - later known as Rich Hill - went in search of it and discovered coarse gold. The ground was immediately staked and was worked. It yielded, it is said, within a small area, something more than one million dollars. This table top mountain is worked till this day. Weaver Creek is still worked to some extent and often large pieces are brought in and sold to the store in Octave, bringing from $10 to $40 each. A large sum has been accredited to this district by the express companies and the United States mint, but it can safely be stated that the yield is double this amount, because a great deal of gold was taken from these placers and never reported. This condition existed because in those times no systematic means was employed in gathering statistics and a correct estimate would be impossible.

The placer mines were worked in a crude and extravagant manner by the first discoverers, with the result that they have been worked over a second and a third time though the following years by Mexicans and other foreigners.

William A. Farrish, a mining engineer of Denver, Colorado, and a recognized authority in making a report on a quartz mine in 1892 speaks of the placers as follows in The Arizona Mining Journal:

Placer gold was discovered in the Weaver gulch in 1863 and, with those on Rich Hill, supported population of Americans and Mexicans numbering from 1,000 t0 2,000 fir several years. Following their discovery, the bed of Weaver Creek was worked. Since that time the highest and more difficult and expensive portions remaining have been and are being mined by Mexicans to some extent, what number are thus engaged and with what success are not known, but there are two peddlers at Congress Junction whose trade depends upon these diggings and they have become wealthy. The Rich Hill placers on the summit of the mountain, where the Johnson lode crosses, were discovered the same year and are said to have yielded more gold than any placers of the same depth and area ever discovered in the United States. It appears to be clearly established that the gold found in these placers has amounted to several millions.

In the immediate vicinity of Rich Hill are a number of quartz mines, many of them old discoveries, and some of them extensively worked at one time with a notable production of gold, but abandoned in later years for various reasons. Among the mines referred to is the Octave, with an accredited production of $2,500,000, which was profitably worked to a depth of 2,300 feet of more when the vein was cut off by fault. This caused the shutting down of the mine, lying idle for several years and final sale by trustee to a new company. After the new owners acquired the property they undertook to recover the vein beyond the fault and their efforts have been rewarded by finding the vein in its old time form, carrying good commercial values. Long levels have been driven in the new ground disclosing new large ore bodies and arrangements are being perfected for mining operations on an extensive scale. There is now blocked out in the mine in this new ground $400,000 worth of ore.

The Johnson mine, extensively worked at one time and noted for the production of very rich gold ore, caved in, burying its owner, whose body was never recovered. The ground, patented, has been allowed to lie idle by the heirs who live in the East and who are not mining people.

The Zeiger mine is another extensively developed mine whose owner met a violent death, was closed down, and has not since resumed work. The writer does not know where the present owner resides. This property has a tunnel driven in end-wise on the vein, 1,000 feet which disclosed large bodies of milling ore and beyond the end of this tunnel, two shafts have been sunk from the surface to considerable depths, showing good ore. On the northwest or upper end of this unit lies the widely known Congress mine, with a record production of 16 million dollars. This mine was continuously and profitably operated for a period of 20 years. It was closed down in 1910 for reasons other than lack of ore or value of the same. Within the last year the Sonora Development company of Los Angeles has taken over this plant and is now engaged in a great manufacturing enterprise in as much as it is successfully recovering the gold content from the huge mine tailings whose metallic content is comparable to the great fortune taken from this property by former owners. The Congress mine began production in 1884 and up to 1906 had produced about 16 millions in gold and silver, cessation of operations being accredited to excessive freight rates, then $14.60 per ton as against $1.65 at the present time. It is said that exhaustive sampling and measurements show that there are approximately 2,500,000 tons of mine tailing dumps on the property from which the new mill is extracting 84 percent of the assay value of the heads. The first carload shipments of concentrates returned an average value of about $80 per ton in gold and silver.

The capacity of the milling plant is being enlarged as rapidly as possible and when completed will have a daily capacity of 500 tons. With this tonnage capacity, it is estimated that it will require seven years to treat the dump ore.

Charles McKinnis, prominent in mining circles in the West, was formerly manager of the Caledonia mine at Kellogg, Idaho, with a dividend paying record of $4,382,868 is president of the company, G.L. McKinnis is vice -president, D.A. Carson is secretary and treasurer. These men, with George Wyman mine manager, and John Carson comprise the board of directors.

On the southeasterly or lower end of the belt is the now famous Monte Cristo silver mine, whose remarkable development of high grade and native silver ores has astonished the mining world. The Monte Cristo vein has been opened to nearly 2,000 feet on its dip as also in length. Its native silver ore is the richest mined in the United States today and most probably in the world. The property was recently sold to C.C. Julian of Los Angeles for one million dollars. It is now being placed on a large production scale.

The Congress mine has been explored and productive to a depth of 4,300 feet; the Octave mine, to a depth of 2,300 feet; the Monte Criso, to a depth of nearly 2,000 feet.

From the monte Cristo on the southeast end of the belt are connected mines and prospects all along the belt. All of them have more or less work and all of them show commercial ore and if taken hold of by capital there is not any of them but what can be brought into dividend paying properties and with not too great an outlay of capital. The owners of most have the aid of capital to bring their properties to a paying basis. The owners of various properties that live in the district would be glad indeed to assist any one coming into the district and would show them every aid and give every assistance to reliable parties who wish information by writing or by personal visit.

Such men as Fred Lyman, storekeeper and postmaster at Octave; George Myers, owner of the Independence mine; Mr. Reese, hotel keeper in Congress Junction; L.I.White superintendent of the Mildred Mining company at Stanton; Thomas Dillon, owner of the Ring Cone mines; and myself. All of the owners of the district are cleaning up their properties and getting them in shape for examination by any mining men wishing to see them. There is a daily stage carrying mail six days a week from Congress Junction to Octave. There are apartments in Octave where people wishing to examine property in the district may stop.

There is a great deal of placer ground that is virgin in the district yet, but it will have to be hydrolyzed. Water for hydraulic purposes, however, can only be had at a distance from the district and the cost of getting it is prohibitive to present owners of placer ground.

Timber has to be hauled in as there is no timber grown on the mountains here. Plenty of it can be had at Prescott and Flagstaff. Prescott is 58 miles distant, where any kind of mining equipment can be purchased as reasonable as any where in the state.

George Tomason and Mr. Black of Octave have leased the waters of the Octave mine and are placering on the placer property owned by Mr. Tomason. Their work shows what can be done with a small amount of water. At its vest this flow is not more than four inches, and yet good work has been done and is continuing. By storing this water in a small reservoir and holding it for a night and sometimes for a day and night, they are then able to run the next day.

With a three-quarter inch nozzle they break their dirt. Even at this rate they make fair wages for all the time put in on the ground. I am mentioning this to show that any one having a small flow of water in this district can make money out of the placers of this field.

The Arizona Power company of Prescott, whish has a contract with C. C. Julian to supply electrical energy to his Monte Cristo mine, is fast completing the line. This line first strikes the Weaver mining district at the Yarnell mine thence down Antelope Gulch, and through the Mildred mining property to the Octave mine. The line runs through the center of the district and all of the properties mentioned in this report can get power from this line to run any properties in the district. This, of course, will solve the fuel problem and brings this district up today as far as motive power is concerned.

I have lived in this district for a year and a half, and have made a close study of the miners here. I have been over the mining world and have had 45 years experience as a mining engineer. I have never seen a more promising mining district anywhere or a better place to invest in the mining business.