Image unavailable: PROSPECTING DIAMOND DRILL.PROSPECTING DIAMOND DRILL.
Occurs in crystals and irregular angular masses; cannot be scratched by any other mineral or the file; brilliant lustre; feels cold to the touch; when rubbed on the sleeve exhibits electricity for hours; retains the breath but a short time; often tinged yellow, red, or green; gravity 3.5.
Value.—Used for jewelry, lenses and for cutting glass.
Localities.—Found in gold-regions, in river-washings of sand and pebbles; usually with coarse gold, but deeper down. Rutherford, Cabarras, Franklin and Lincoln Counties, N. C.; Hall County, Ga.; Manchester, Va.; Cherokee Ravine, N. San Juan, French Canal, Forrest Hill, Placerville and Fiddletown, Cal.
Occurs in granular masses, sometimes with bluish crystals; looks like fine grained iron ore; breaks with uneven surface; scratches quartz easily; very tough; brittle; gravity 4.
Value.—Used extensively as a cutting and polishing material.
Localities.—Found generally in limestone or granite withMagnetic Iron Ore. Chester, Mass.; Newlin and Unionville, Penn.; Macon and Guilford Counties, N. C.
Occurs in square crystals and in masses; glassy lustre; powder white; brittle; crackles when heated and then shines in the dark; does not effervesce with acids; is not scratched by marble; gravity 3.
Value.—Used as flux in glass and iron works.
Localities.—Found in limestone, granite, slate, etc., often at lead-mines. Blue Hill Bay, Me.; Westmoreland, N. H.; Putney, Vt.; Southampton, Mass.; Trumbull, Plymouth, Middletown and Willimantic, Conn.; Muscolonge Lake, Rossie and Johnsburg, N. Y.; near Franklin, N. J.; near Woodstock and Shepardstown, Va.; Smith County, Tenn.; Mercer County,Ky.; Gallatin County, along the Ohio, Ill. Castle Dome District, Ariz.
Occurs crystallized and in masses; generally made of coarse grains; brittle; powder dark reddish-brown; heated with soda turns bluish-green; dissolves in muriatic acid; gravity 5.
Value.—An ore of zinc.
Localities.—Found in limestone withGarnetandZincite. Hamburg and Stirling Hill, N. J.
Occurs in crystals and masses; brilliant lustre; brittle; easily broken; powder, when finely rubbed is black; can be cut with a knife; heated it gives off sulphur and melts; dissolves in nitric acid leaving a white powder at the bottom; gravity 7.5—or a little heavier than cast-iron.
Value.—The main source of lead (yielding eighty per cent), and also smelted for the silver it contains. Used also in glazing stone-ware.
Localities.—Generally found in limestone withIron Pyrites, zinc-ore, etc. That found in slate is richest in silver. Abounds in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Arkansas; Rossie, Wurtzboro, Ancram, Macomb and Ellenville, N. Y.; Lubec, Blue Hill Bay, Bingham and Parsonsville, Me.; Eaton, Shelburne, Haverill, Warren and Bath, N. H.; Thetford, Vt.; Southampton, Leverett and Sterling, Mass.; Middletown and Roxbury, Conn.; Phœnixville, Charlestown, Schuylkill, Pequea Valley and Shannonville, Pa.; Austin’s and Walton’s Mines, Va.; Cabarras County, N. C.; Brown’s Creek and Haysboro, Tenn.; Chocolate River, Mich.; Ingo County, Cal.; on Walker’s River and Steamboat Springs, Nev.; Castle Dome and Eureka, Ariz.; Clear Creek County, Col.; Virginia City and Red Bluff Lode, Mont.; Cache Valley, Utah.
Occurs in crystals with four-sided faces; often nearly round; deep red, which growsdarker by heat; rarely yellow; also in brown masses; melts at a high heat; brittle; not scratched by a knife; glassy lustre; gravity 4.
Value.—The clear deep red and yellow varieties are used for jewelry; the massive brown is ground for “emery.”
Localities.—Found in slate and granite rocks. Bethel, Parsonsfield, Phippsburg, Windham, Brunswick and Ranford, Me.; Hanover, Franconia, Haverhill, Warren, Unity, Lisbon and Grafton, N. H.; New Fane, Cabot and Cavendish, Vt.; Carlisle, Boxborough, Brookfield, Brimfield, Newbury, Bedford, Chesterfield and Barre, Mass.; Reading, Monroe, Haddam and Middletown, Conn.; Rogers’ Rock, Crown Point, Willsboro, Middletown, Amity, and near Yonkers, N. Y.; Franklin, N. J.; Pennsbury, Warwick, Aston, Knauertown, Chester, Leiperville and Mineral Hill, Pa.; Dickson’s Quarry, Del.; Hope Valley, Cal.; near Virginia City, on Yellowstone and Madison Rivers, Mont.
Occurs in scales, grains and nuggets, or disseminated through cellular quartz; metallic lustre; without tarnish; can be cut and hammered into thin plates; not dissolved by nitric acid; gravity 19, when pure and of a rich gold yellow color. The pale or brass yellow specimens are much lighter, the gravity being as low as 13. A grayish yellow gold, occurring in small, flat grains has a gravity of about 16.
Localities.—Found in veins of quartz running through greenish or grayish slates, the quartz at the surface being generally full of cavities and rusted, and the slates below the surface often containing little cubic crystals ofIron Pyrites: also in the valleys traversed by mountain-streams and in the river sands and gravel below.IronandCopper Pyrites,GalenaandBlendefrequently contain gold. Masses of quartz and pyrites from the gold-regions, which make no show of gold, sometimes pay well; the value of such specimens can be
Image unavailable: WASHING AURIFEROUS SANDS.WASHING AURIFEROUS SANDS.
determined only by an assayer. Eastern range of Appalachians, as Habersham, Rabun, Clark, Hall, Lumpkin and Lincoln Counties, Ga.; Abbeville, Chesterfield, Union, Lancaster and Pickens Counties, S. C.; Montgomery, Cabarras, Mechlenburg, Burke and Lincoln Counties, N. C.; Spotsylvania, Buckingham, Fauquier, Stafford, Culpepper, Orange, Goochland and Louisa Counties, Va.; Dedham, Mass.; Bridgewater, Vt.; Canaan and Lisbon, N. H.; on Sandy River and Madrid, Me. Numberless points along the higher Rocky Mountains and western slope of Sierra Nevada, as near Santa Fe, Cerillos and Avo, New Mex.; San Francisco, Wauba and Yuma District, Ariz; between Long’s Peak and Pike’s Peak, Col.; Comstock Lode, Nev.; Owyhee, Boise and Flint Districts and Poorman Lode, Idaho; Emigrant and Alder Gulches, Red Bluff and near Jefferson River, Mont.; Josephine District, Powder, Burnt, and John Day Rivers, western slope of Cascade Mountains, andsouthern coast, Oregon; Tulare, Fresno, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra, Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou Amador and Del Norte Counties, Cal. Rare in the coal-regions and Mississippi Valley.
Occurs in foliated, scaly and granular masses; can be cut into thin slices, which are flexible, but not elastic; impressible by the nail; feels greasy; leaves a shining trace on paper; metallic lustre; not altered by heat or acids; gravity 2.
Value.—Used for pencils, polishing, glazing, for making steel, crucibles, overcoming friction, etc.
Localities.—Found in granite, slate and limestone rocks. Sturbridge, North Brookfield, Brimfield, Hinsdale and Worthington, Mass.; Cornwall and Ashford, Conn.; Brandon, Vt.; Woodstock, Me.; Goshen, Hillsboro and Keene, N. H.; Ticonderoga, Fishkill, Roger’s Rock, Johnsburg, Fort Ann, Amity, Rossie and Alexandria,N. Y.; Franklin and Lockwood, N. J.; Southampton and Buck’s County, Penn.; on the Gunpowder, Md.; Albemarle County, Va.; Wake, N. C.; Tiger River and Spartanburgh, S. C.; Sonora, Cal. (The soft black slate, often mistaken forGraphite, leaves a coaly trace on paper not a shining streak.)
Occurs in crystallized or granular masses; metallic lustre; color between steel-gray and iron-black; brittle; the powder dissolved in nitric acid makes a brownish green solution; melts at a red heat; gravity 5.
Value.—An ore of copper, (containing thirty-three per cent.) and silver, of which Nevada specimens have sixteen per cent.
Localities.—Found with gold, silver and lead. Kellogg Mines, Ark.; Mariposa and Shasta Counties, Cal.; Sheba and De Soto Mines, and near Austin, Nev.; Heintzelman and Santa Rita Mines, Arizona.
Occurs in plates, fibres coarse and fine, and massive; pearly or glistening; powder white, which if heated and mixed with water, turns hard; does not dissolve in sulphuric acid; may be scratched by the nail; gravity 2.3.
Value.—Used for stucco, manure, glazing, statuary, manufacture of glass, etc. A variety, calledSatin Spar, worked into necklace beads and other ornaments, is finely fibrous and compact, taking a polish (though easily scratched,) and then resembles pearl or opal.
Localities.—Found with marl or clay, limestone and salt. Camillus, Manlius, Stark and Lockport, N. Y.; on the St. Mary’s and Patuxent, Md.; Washington County and Lynchburg, Va.; Charleston, S. C.; Poland, Ottawa and Canfield, O.; Davidson and Summer Counties, Tenn.; Grand Rapids and Sagenaw Bay, Mich.; Des Moines River, Iowa; Walker Lake and Six Mile Cañon, Nev.; Fort Dodge.
Occurs in crystals, wax-like masses, or in crusts; when scratched shows a shining streak; becomes brown on exposure; quite soft, easily cut; a small piece placed on zinc and moistened, swells up, turns black and shows metallic silver on being pressed with a knife; dissolves in hartshorn; gravity 5.5.
Value.—An ore of silver, yielding seventy per cent.
Localities.-Found in slate with other silver ores. Lake Superior Mining Region; Austin and Comstock Lode, Nev.; Willow Springs and San Francisco districts, Eldorado Cañon, Ariz.; Poorman Mine, Idaho.
Occurs in masses and square crystals; splendent lustre; color, bronze-yellow; brittle; strikes fire with steel; heated it gives off sulphur fumes; powder brownish; gravity 5.
Value.—Affords sulphur, copperas andalum. When found outside of the coal region, it often contains gold and silver.
Localities.—Found in all kinds of rocks. Bingham, Corinna, Farmington, Waterville, Brooksville, Peru and Jewett’s Island, Me.; Shelburne, Unity and Warren, N. H.; Baltimore, Hartford and Shoreham, Vt.; Heath, Hubbardston and Hawley, Mass.; Roxbury, Monroe, Orange, Milford, Middletown, Stafford, Colchester, Ashford, Tolland and Union, Conn.; Rossie, Malone, Phillips, Johnsburgh, Canton, Chester, Warwick and Franklin, Putnam and Orange Counties, N. Y.; Chester, Knauertown, Cornwall and Pottstown, Pa.; Greensboro’, N. C.; Mercer County, Ky.; Bainbridge, O.; Galena at Marsden’s Diggings, Ill.; on Sugar Creek, Ind.; mines of Colorado and California.
Occurs in masses, either in veins or as rounded stones; dull lustre, yet takes a high polish; breaks with a curved surface;not attacked by acids; is scratched byRock Crystal; gravity 2.5.
Value.—Used for mosaics and other ornaments when compact, fine-grained and bright color.
Localities.—Found everywhere. Sugar Loaf Mountain and Machiasport, Me.; Saugus, Mass.; Castleton and Colchester, Vt.; Bloomingrove, N. Y.; Murphy’s, Col.; Red Bluff, Mont.
Occurs in beds; it is a fine, white clay, plastic when wet; when dry is scaly or compact; can be crumbled in the fingers and feels gritty; adheres to the tongue; does not dissolve in acids.
Value.—Used for the finest porcelain and for adulterating candy.
Localities.—Found generally with iron-ore and fire-clay. Common on the eastern slope of the Alleghanies; Branford, Vt.; Beekman, Athol, Johnsburgh and McIntyre, N. Y.; Perth Amboy, N. J.; Reading, Tamaqua and New Garden,Penn.; Mt. Savage, Md.; Richmond, Va.; Newcastle and Wilmington, Del.; Edgefield, S. C.; near Augusta, Ga.; Jacksonville, Ala.
Occurs in beds or masses, consisting of minute flattened grains; little lustre; generally soils the fingers; breathed upon has a clayey odor; color, brownish-red, powder more red; dissolves in strong muriatic acid with some effervescence; brittle; gravity 4.
Value.—An ore of iron yielding thirty-three per cent. Generally mixed with other ores at the furnace.
Localities.—Found in sandstone. Wayne, Madison, Oneida and Herkimer Counties, N. Y.; Marietta O.
Occurs in masses, with smooth rounded surfaces and fibrous structure; sometimes as hollow nodules, which are velvety-black inside; its powder when rubbed is yellowish-brown; when strongly heated turnsblack; scratches glass feebly; brittle; dissolves in hot aqua-regia; gravity 4.
Value.—A common ore of pig-iron, containing sixty per cent.; used also for polishing buttons, etc.
Localities.—Found in heavy beds with mica-slate, quartz, limestone, etc. Salisbury and Kent, Conn.; Amenia, Fishkill, Dover and Beekman, N. Y.; Richmond and Lenox, Mass.; Pittsfield, Putney, Bennington and Ripton, Vt.; Hamburgh, N. J.; Pikeland and White Marsh, Penn.; Marquette, Mich.; Makoquata River, Iowa; Iron Mountains, Stow and Green Counties, Mo.; Centerville, Ala.; near Raleigh and Smithfield, N. C.; on Coal Creek, Col.; and in coal areas generally.
Occurs in granular masses, coarse or fine; attracted by the magnet, or affecting the compass-needle; powder black; brittle; dissolves in muriatic acid; gravity 5.
Value.—An important ore, yielding sixty-five per cent.
Localities.—Found in granite, slate and limestone rocks. Warren, Essex, Clinton, Saratoga, Herkimer, Orange and Putnam Counties, N. Y.; Raymond and Marshall’s Island, Me.; Franconia, Jackson, Winchester, Lisbon, Swanzey and Unity, N. H.; Bridgewater, Chittenden, Marlboro, Rochester, Troy and Bethel, Vt.; Cambealon, R. I; Hawley and Bernardston, Mass.; Haddam, Conn.; Goshen, Webb’s Mine, Cornwall and White Marsh, Penn.; Hamburg, N. J.; Scott’s Mills and Deer Creek, Md.; Mitchell and Madison Counties, N. C.; Spartanburg, S. C.; Laclede and Crawford Counties, Mo.; Sierra County, (Gold Valley,) Plumas, Tulare, Mariposa, Placer and El Dorado Counties, Cal.
Occurs massive; brittle; deep orange-yellow; powder grayish-black; metallic lustre; tarnishes easily; slightly attractsthe compass-needle; melts at a high heat, giving off sulphur-fumes; gravity 4.5.
Value.—Affords sulphur, copperas and nickel.
Localities.—Found in granite regions, often with copper and iron ores. Stafford, Corinth and Shrewsbury, Vt.; Trumbull and Monroe, Conn.; Port Henry, Diana and Orange County, N. Y.; Hurdstown, N. J.; Gap Mine, Lancaster County, Pa.; Ducktown Mines, Tenn.
Occurs in incrustations with smooth surface and fibrous; powder paler green than the mineral; brittle; by heat crackles and turns black; effervesces in acids; takes a fine polish, showing bands or rings; gravity 4.
Value.—Used for jewelry and inlaid work.
Localities.—Found in copper and lead mines. Cheshire, Conn.; Brunswick and Schuyler’s Mines, N. J.; Morgantown, Cornwall, near Nicholson’s Gap, Perkiomenand Phœnixville Lead Mines, Pa.; Petapsco Mines, Md.; Davidson County N. C.; Polk County, Tenn.; Left Hand River and Mineral Point, Wis.; Falls of St. Croix, Minn.; Jefferson County and Mine la Motte, Mo.; Calaveras County, Cal.; Big Williams’ Fork, Ariz.; Wild Cat Cañon and near Virginia City, Mont.
Occurs in masses; glassy lustre; color flesh or rose-red; becomes black on exposure; tough; melted with borax gives a violet-blue color; gravity 3.5.
Value.—Used in glazing stone-ware.
Localities.—Found in granite regions, often with iron-ore. Blue Hill Bay, Me.; Cummington, Warwick and Plainfield, Mass.; Irasburg and Coventry, Vt.; Winchester, and Hinsdale, N. H.; Cumberland, R. I.; Franklin and Hamburg, N. J.
Occurs coarse and fine granular; frequently veined or mottled; brittle; can be cut with a knife; takes a polish; effervesceswith acids; reduced to quicklime by heat; a gray variety contains stems and joints of worm-like fossils; gravity 2.5.
Localities.—Brandon, Rutland, Dorset, Shoreham, Pittsford, Middlebury, Fairhaven, Cavendish, Lowell, Troy and Sudbury, Vt.; West Stockbridge, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lanesboro, New Ashford, Sheffield, New Marlboro, Adams, Cheshire and Stoneham, Mass.; Clinton, Essex, Dutchess, Onondaga, Putnam, St. Lawrence, Warren and Westchester, Counties, N. Y.; Smithfield, R. I.; New Haven, Milford, Conn.; near Philadelphia, N. J.; Texas and Hagerstown, Md.; Lancaster County, Pa.; Jefferson and Genevieve Counties, Mo.; Knox and Sevier Counties, Tenn.; Joliet, Ill.; Cherokee and Macon Counties, N. C.; Marquette, Mich.; near Deep River and on the Michigamig and Menominee Rivers, Wis.
Occurs in masses, which can be split into very thin, elastic leaves; pearly lustre;at a high heat becomes opaque; gravity 3.
Value.—Used for doors of stoves, etc.
Localities.—Found in granite regions. Buckfield, Freeport and Oxford, Me.; Acworth, Grafton and Alstead, N. H.; Chesterfield, Barre, Mendon, South Royalston, Brimfield, Goshen and Russell, Mass.; Monroe, Haddam and Middletown, Conn.; Warwick, Edenville, Edwards, Monroe and Greenfield, N. Y.; Pennsbury, Thornbury, Unionville, Middletown and Chestnut Hill, Pa.; Jones’ Falls, Md.
ResemblesSpecular Iron Ore, but consists of thin shining scales or leaves; powder dark red; a thin flake is translucent, showing red light; feels somewhat slippery.
Value.—Used as an ore of iron and for polishing.
Localities.—Hawley, Mass.; Piermont, N. H.; Ticonderoga, N. Y.; Warwick, Penn.; Loudon County, Va.
Occurs in thin crusts, delicate needles, or disseminated through the loose earth in caves; glossy lustre; brittle; cool, saline taste; crackles and burns brightly on live coals; a little harder thanGypsum.
Value.—Used in the manufacture of gunpowder, fulminating powders, nitric acid, etc.
Localities.—Marion County, Ky.; White County, Tenn.; near Rosiclare, Ill.; Silver Peak, Nev.
Occurs in masses and little columns, often with small rounded surfaces; one ore is soft enough to be impressed by the nail, and soils; the other will scratch glass faintly; heated with borax, makes a violet glass; dissolves in hot muriatic acid, giving forth a yellowish-green gas; gravity 4 to 5.
Value.—Used for bleaching and for obtaining oxygen.
Localities.—Found in granite regions,often with iron-ore. Brandon, Bennington, Monkton, Irasburg and Chittenden, Vt.; Hillsdale, Westmoreland and Westchester, N. H.; Plainfield, West Stockbridge and Conway, Mass.; Salisbury and Kent, Conn.; Montgomery County, Md.; Lake Superior Mining Region; Dubuque, Iowa; Deep Diggings, Mo.; Red Island, Cal.; Martinsburg, N. Y.
Occurs in grains or lumps; metallic, silvery lustre; can be hammered out; heavier and harder than silver; not dissolved in nitric acid; gravity 17.
Value.—Nearly equal toGold. Used for making chemical and philosophical apparatus, for coating copper, brass, etc.
Localities.—Found in river-gravel withGold. Rutherford County, N. C.; Klamath region, Cape Blanco, on Salmon River, South Fork of Trinity, Butte, Honcut, Cañon and Wood’s Creeks, and on Middle Fork of American River, Cal.; at Gold Flat, Nev.
Occurs in crystals and masses; cochineal-red; powder brownish-red; nearly opaque; brittle; dissolves in nitric acid; heated on charcoal yields a globule of copper; gravity 6.
Value.—Affords copper, (sixty per cent.,) and blue vitriol.
Localities.—Found in trap regions with other copper ores. Schuyler’s, Somerville, New Brunswick and Flemington Mines, N. J.; Cornwall, Pa.; Ladenton, N. Y.; Lake Superior Region. Not abundant.
54—Red Hematite.
Occurs in compact masses, with rounded surfaces or kidney-shaped; fibrous structure; color brownish-red to iron-black; but powder invariably red; when black, the lustre is somewhat metallic, otherwise dull; brittle; scratches glass with difficulty; dissolves slowly in strong muriatic acid; gravity 4.5 to 5.
Value.—An ore of iron, yielding fromthirty-six to fifty per cent. In powder, used as pigment and for polishing metals.
Localities.—Found usually in beds with granite or limestone. Aroostook County and Hodgdon, Me.; Antwerp, Ticonderoga, Crown Point and Gouverneur, N. Y.; Vernon, N. J.; West Whiteland, Pa.; Chatham and Orange Counties, N. C.; Marquette, Mich; Shasta County, Cal. This mineral graduates into a soft, earthy variety, calledred ochre, and into a compact, slaty variety, calledred chalk, which has a clayey odor when breathed on.
Occurs in crystals and masses; metallic lustre; brittle; powder cochineal-red; easily cut; at a high heat yields a silver globule; the powder heated with potash turns black; gravity 6.
Value.—An ore of silver yielding sixty per cent.
Localities.—Found at gold and silver mines. Washoe and Austin, Nev.; Poorman Lode, Idaho.
Occurs in masses; wax-like; a trifle harder than marble; when fresh can be scratched by the nail; soapy feel; takes a polish; cleavable; gravity 2.8.
Value.—Used as a marble and worked into inkstands, etc.
Localities.—Found withsteatite,serpentine, limestone, etc. Antwerp, Canton, Fowler, De Kalb, Edwards, Russell and Gouverneur, N. Y.
Occurs in crystals and masses; transparent; glassy lustre; colorless; tough; brittle; not acted upon by acids or heat; electric by friction; gravity 2.5.
Value.—Cut for ornaments, lenses, etc.
Localities.—Common in sandstone, limestone and iron ore. Paris, Me.; Benton and Bartlett, N. H.; Sharon and Woodstock, Vt.; Pelham and Chesterfield, Mass.; Ellenville, Little Falls, Watervliet, Fairfield, Middleville, Fowler, Antwerp, Rossie, Lake George and Palatine,N. Y.; Minnesota Mine, Lake Superior; Ouachita Spring, Ark.
Occurs in irregular beds or masses; brittle; saline taste; crackles in the fire.
Localities.—Found withgypsum, clay and sandstone. Washington County, Va.; Petit Anse, La.; Silver Peak, Nev.; Salmon River Mountains, Oregon.
Occurs in crystals generally; metallic lustre; powder pale brown; brittle; unchanged by heat or acids; if powdered and fused with potash, then dissolved in muriatic acid, the solution boiled with tinfoil assumes a beautiful violet color; gravity 4.
Value.—Used for coloring porcelain and artificial teeth.
Localities.—Found in granite and, limestone rocks. Warren, Me.; Merrimack, and Warren, N. H.; Bristol, Putney and Waterbury, Vt.; Windsor, Shelburne, Barre, Conway and Leyden, Mass.;Monroe, Conn.; Warwick, Edenville, Amity and Kingsbridge, N. Y.; Sudsbury, West Bradford, Parksburg, Concord and Newlin, Pa.; Newton, N. J.; Crowder’s and Clubb Mountains, N. C.; Habersham and Lincoln Counties, Ga.; Magnet Cave, Ark.
Occurs in masses; feeble, resinous lustre; color oily green; powder whitish; often yellowish gray on the outside; can be cut easily; takes a fine polish; becomes reddish by heat; gravity 2.5—same asMarble.
Value.—Worked into mantels, jambs, table-tops, and many other ornaments.
Localities.—Found as a rock in large masses. Deer Isle, Me.; Baltimore, Cavendish, Jay and Troy, Vt.; Newbury, Blanford, Middlefield and Westfield, Mass.; Newport, R. I.; near New Haven and Milford, Conn.; Port Henry, Antwerp, Syracuse, Warwick, Phillipstown, Canton, Gouverneur, Johnsburg, Davenport’s Neck, New Rochelle and Rye, N. Y.;Frankford, Hoboken and Montville, N. J.; Texas, Pa.; Cooptown, Md.; Patterson, N. C.; Calaveras County, Cal.; Alder Gulch, Mont. Marble veined with serpentine is calledverd-antique.
Occurs in incrustations and masses; color bluish-green; not fibrous; surface smooth; easily cut; does not effervesce in acid; blackens by heat; gravity 2.
Value.—An ore of copper, yielding thirty per cent.
Localities.—Found with other copper ores. Somerville and Schuyler’s, N. J.; Morgantown and Cornwall, Pa.; Wolcottville, Conn.; Big Williams’ Fork, Ariz.
Occurs in masses, or strings and threads penetrating rocks and native copper and galena; metallic lustre; tarnishes grayish black; can be cut in slices and hammered out; dissolved in muriatic acid, it turns black on exposure; gravity 10.
Localities.—Chiefly found with coppernear trap-rocks, and in fine grainedgalenaand dark brownblende.Goldcontains from one to fifteen per cent. Bridgewater, N. J.; Davidson and Stanley Counties, N. C.; Lake Superior Region; Poorman’s Lode, Idaho; Comstock Lode and Montezuma Ledge, Nev.; Alpine County and Maris Vein, Cal.; Clear Creek County, Col.
Occurs in small lumps, plates and threads; color dark gray; cuts like lead; melts in a candle giving off sulphur fumes; gravity 7.
Value.—The most important ore of silver, containing eighty-seven per cent.
Localities.—May be found almost everywhere, except in the coal regions; associated with other ores, quartz, limestone, baryta, etc. Most abundant where mineral veins cross one another. Comstock Lode, Gold Hill, Reese River, Cortez District and Silver-Sprout Vein, Nev.; Clear Creek County, Nev.
Occurs in crystals and masses; metallic lustre; color tin-white to steel-gray; powder dark gray; brittle; gives off garlic odor in a candle; melted with borax makes a deep blue glass; gravity 6.5 to 7.
Value.—An ore of cobalt and arsenic, containing eighteen to seventy per cent.
Localities.—Found in veins in granite regions with other ores, Mine la Motte, Mo.; Chatham, Conn.
Occurs in masses, often rounded, covered with minute crystals, or honeycombed; color white, dirty yellow or stone color; glassy lustre; brittle; effervesces in nitric acid; barely scratches glass; barely translucent; gravity 4.4.
Value.—Yields fifty per cent. of zinc.
Localities.—Found generally in limestone withgalenaandblende. Friedenville, Lancaster and Perkiomen, Pa.; Linden and Mineral Points, Wis.; Lawrence, County, Ark.; Ewing’s Diggings, Minn.
Occurs in crystals or plates somewhat curving; also (in coal regions) in nodules with concentric layers like an onion; brittle; color varies from white to yellowish-brown or dark-brown; strongly heated it blackens and will then attract the compass needle; the powder effervesces in nitric acid; melted with borax makes a green or yellow glass; gravity 3.8.
Value.—Yields thirty per cent. of iron, well adapted for steel.
Localities.—Found in granite and coal-formations, often with other ores. Plymouth, Vt.; Sterling, Mass.; Roxbury, Conn.; Antwerp, Herman and Rossie, N. Y.; Fentress and Harlem Mines, N. C.; Coal Regions of Western Pa., Virginia, Eastern Ohio, etc.
Occurs crystallized and in large masses, high metallic lustre; color steel-gray or iron-black; brittle; opaque except when very thin; the powder when very fine andrubbed on white paper shows red; the powder dissolves slowly in muriatic acid; by a strong heat yields a black mass which attracts the needle; gravity 5.
Value.—Yields from fifty to seventy per cent. of iron.
Localities.—Found in granite regions. Marquette, Mich.; Pilot Knob and Iron Mountains, Mo.; St. Lawrence County, N. Y.; Bartlett, Lisbon and Franconia, N. H.; Chittenden and Weathersfield, Vt.; Sauk County, Wis.
Occurs in pyramidal crystals; glassy lustre; powder white; scratchesrock-crystal; by heat becomes black; gravity 3.5.
Value.—A gem; clear specimens weighing over four carats, are valued at half the price of thediamond.
Localities.—Found in granular limestone and clay. Amity and Gouverneur, N. Y.; Franklin and Byram, N. J.; Bolton and Boxborough, Mass.
Occurs in masses, consisting of minute pearly scales or grains; can be marked by the nail; hardens by heat; soapy feel; gravity 2.5.
Value.—Used for fire-stones, tubes, in manufacture of porcelain, etc.
Localities.—Found in beds with limestone, serpentine and slate. Orr’s Island, Me.; Francestown, Keene, Orford and Pelham, N. H.; Athens, Cavendish, Marlboro, Moreton, New Fane, Bradboro, Troy, Waterville, Westfield, Weathersfield and Windham, Vt.; Middlefield, Lenox and Westfield, Mass.; Manayunk and Chestnut Hill, Pa.; Albemarle and Loudon Counties, Va.; Staten Island and St. Lawrence County, N. Y.; Bare Hills, Md.
Occurs in crystals and in fibrous or granular masses; glassy lustre; brittle; thin pieces melt before a blow-pipe tinging the flame red; effervesces with acids; gravity 3.6.
Value.—A source of nitrate of strontia used in fire-works.
Localities.—Found in limestone. Schoharie, Muscalonge Lake, Chaumont Bay and Theresa, N. Y.
Occurs in crystals, masses and crusts; brittle; can be easily cut; burns with a blue flame and sulphur odor; gravity 2.
Localities.—Found in limestone and gypsum, and around geysers and sulphur springs. Springport, N. Y.; on the Potomac, twenty-five miles above Washington; Put-in-Bay Island, Lake Erie; Clear Lake, Cal.; Santa Barbara County, Col.; Humboldt County, Nev.
Occurs in crystals, grains and masses; high lustre; powder gray or brownish; brittle; will strike fire with steel; unaltered by heat or acids; gravity 7,—being nearly as heavy as lead-ore.
Value.—The only ore of tin, containing seventy-nine per cent. No gold-mine everpaid such profits as the tin mines of Cornwall.
Localities.—Jackson, N. H.; Temescal, Cal.; Boonville, Idaho; near Fredericktown, Mo.
Occurs in crystals; glassy lustre; brittle; scratchesrock-crystal; not acted upon by ordinary heat or acids; gravity 3.5.
Value.—A gem; the most esteemed are the rose-red and white.
Localities.—Found in granite. Trumbull, Willimantic and Middletown, Conn.; Crowder’s Mountain, N. C.; Thomas’s Mountains, Utah.
Occurs in crystals, usually in long, slender three-sided prisms which break easily, glassy lustre; brittle; becomes milk-white by heat; scratchesrock-crystalandgarnet; gravity 3.
Value.—Used for jewelry.
Localities.—Found in granite rocks. Paris, Albany and Hebron, Me.; Chesterfieldand Goshen, Mass.; Newlin and Marple, Pa.
Occurs in crystals and masses; metallic lustre; quickly tarnishes; color between copper-red and light-brown; powder pale grayish-black; dissolves in nitric acid; at a high heat melts to a copper globule; heated on charcoal gives off fumes of sulphur; gravity 5.
Value.—An important ore of copper yielding sixty per cent.
Localities.—Found in granite, freestone, etc., with other ores. Bristol and Cheshire, Conn.; Mahoopeny, Pa.; Copper Mines of N. J.
Occurs in masses; earthy and loose; can be broken by the fingers, and soils; no lustre; melted with borax makes a violet glass; feels very light.
Value.—Used in bleaching and for making smalt.
Localities.—Found in low places, generally in the vicinity of slate or iron ore beds. Warren, Vt.; Blue Hill, Hodgdon and Thomaston, Me.; Columbia and Duchess Counties, Austerlitz, Canaan Centre and Martinsburg, N. Y.; East Bradford and White Marsh, Pa.; Mine la Motte, Mo.
Occurs in crystals and masses; feeble lustre; brittle; can hardly be cut with a knife; sometimes scratches glass; makes a jelly in muriatic acid; gravity 4.
Value.—Contains seventy per cent. of zinc.
Localities.—Found in limestone withzincite. Franklin and Sterling, N. J.
Occurs in foliated masses or grains, powder orange-yellow; brittle; dissolves in acids without effervescence; gravity 5.5.
Value.—Yields seventy-five per cent. of zinc.
Localities.—Found in limestone withFranklinite,Garnet, etc. Sterling Hill and Mine Hill, N. J.
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MINERAL RICHES, HOW DISCOVERED—INDICATIONS—SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS, AND HOW TO DISTINGUISH THEM—PAYING LOCALITIES OF GOLD—“FOOL’S GOLD”—PROSPECTING FOR SILVER AND COPPER—WHERE TO LOOK FOR LEAD AND IRON.
MINERAL RICHES, HOW DISCOVERED—INDICATIONS—SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS, AND HOW TO DISTINGUISH THEM—PAYING LOCALITIES OF GOLD—“FOOL’S GOLD”—PROSPECTING FOR SILVER AND COPPER—WHERE TO LOOK FOR LEAD AND IRON.
THE mineral riches of a country are frequently discovered by attentively observing the fragments brought down by the action of water from the hills into the valleys; and on tracing these to their several sources, the veins from which they were originally detached, are in many instances found. Water also acts in another way a very important part in the discovery of mineral veins, as by closely examining the faces of the different gullies and ravines, which intersect a country, a ready means is afforded of ascertaining whether its strataare traversed by metalliferous deposits; and, therefore, in exploring with a view to its mineral productions, no opportunity should be lost of observing the various sections thus naturally laid bare.
When fragments of an ore are found on a hill-side, it is very evident that the vein must lie higher up. If the vein is horizontal and the fragments are found on the top of the hill, there is no probability of finding much if any of the vein, for generally it has been washed away. Ore-veins, however, are almost always nearly vertical; so that boring is of little use, as it might pass by the richest vein, or, striking it lengthwise, give a too favorable result.
As heavy minerals do not drift far, metals are always found near their source.
Horizontal beds can be worked at the least cost.
Pockets and nodules, or any detached masses of minerals, are soon exhausted. Veins, lodes and beds are most valuable.
Boring a three-inch hole, which costs about $1 a foot, is a good method of testing a mineral vein or bed which lies more or less horizontally. A shaft may be sunk in sandstone for from $6 to $3 per cubic yard; in slate and gravel, at from $2 to $1.
The existence of mineral springs, and the rapid melting of the snow in any locality, are no indications of ores.
Searching for Diamonds.—Few things are so unpromising and unattractive as gems in their native state. Hence their slow discovery. There is little doubt that diamonds exist in many places as yet unknown, or where their presence is unsuspected. It is very difficult for the unpracticed eye to distinguish them from crystals of quartz or topaz. The color constitutes the main difficulty in detecting their presence. They are of various shades of yellowish brown, green, blue and rose-red, and thus closely resemble the common gravel by which they are surrounded.Often they are not unlike a lump of gum arabic, neither brilliant nor transparent. The finest, however, are colorless, and appear like rock-crystals.
In Brazil, where great numbers of diamonds, chiefly of small size, have been discovered, the method of searching for them is to wash the sand of certain rivers in a manner precisely similar to that employed in the gold fields, namely, by prospecting pans. A shovelful of earth is thrown into the pan, which is then immersed in water, and gently moved about. As the washing goes on, the pebbles, dirt and sand are removed, and the pan then contains about a pint of thin mud. Great caution is now observed, and ultimately there remains only a small quantity of sand. The diamonds and particles of gold, if present, sink to the bottom, being heavier, and are selected and removed by the practiced fingers of the operator. But how shall the gems be detected by one who has had no experience, and who in a jeweler’s shop could not separate them from quartz or French paste? The difficulty can only be overcome by testing such stones as may be suspected to be precious. Let these be tried by the very sure operation of attempting to cut with their sharp corners glass, crystal or quartz. When too minute to be held between the finger and thumb, the specimens may be pressed into the end of a stick of hard wood and run along the surface of window glass. A diamond will make its mark, and cause, too, a ready fracture in the line over which it has traveled. It will also easily scratch rock-crystal, as no other crystal will.
But a more certain and peculiar characteristic of the diamond lies in the form of its crystals. The ruby and topaz will scratch quartz, but no mineral which will scratch quartz has thecurved edgesof the diamond. In small crystals this peculiarity can be seen only by means of a magnifying glass; but it is invariably present.Interrupted, convex or rounded angles, are sure indications of genuineness. Quartz crystal is surrounded by six faces; the diamond by four. The diamond breaks with difficulty; and hence a test sometimes used is to place the specimen between two hard bodies, as a couple of coins, and force them together with the hands. Such a pressure will crush a particle of quartz, but the diamond will only indent the metal.
The value of the diamond is estimated by the carat, which is equal to about four grains, and the value increases rapidly with its weight. If a small, rough diamond weigh four grains, its value is about $10; if eight grains, $40; if sixteen grains, $640. A cut diamond of one carat is worth from $50 to $100.
The imperfections of the diamond, and, in fact, of all cut gems, are made visible by putting them into oil of cassia, when the slightest flaw will be seen.
A diamond weighing ten carats is “princely;” but not one in ten thousand weighs so much.
If a rough diamond resemble a drop of clear spring water, in the middle of which you perceive a strong light; or if it has a rough coat, so that you can hardly see through it, but white, and as if made rough by art, yet clear of flaws or veins; or, if the coat be smooth and bright, with a tincture of green in it,—it is a good stone. If it has a milky cast, or a yellowish-green coat, beware of it. Rough diamonds with a greenish crust are the most limpid when cut.
Diamonds are found in loose pebbly earth, along with gold, a little way below the surface, towards the lower outlet of broad valleys, rather than upon the ridges of the adjoining hills.
Searching for Gold.—The paying localities of gold deposits are the slopes of the Rocky and Alleghany Mountains. Gold need not be looked for in the anthraciteand bituminous coal-fields nor in limestone rock. It is seldom found in the beds of rivers. The thing itself is the surest indication of its existence. If soil or sand is “washed” as described in Chapter V., and the particles of gold are not heavy enough to remain at the bottom but float away, the bed will not pay.
Along streams rather high up among the mountains, and in the gravelly drift covering the slopes of the valley below, are the best prospects. Where the stream meets an obstacle in its path or makes a bend or has deep holes, there we may look for “pockets” of gold. Black or red sands are usually richest. Gold-bearing rock is a slate or granite abounding in rusty looking quartz veins, the latter containing iron pyrites or cavities. Almost all iron pyrites and silver ores, may be worked for gold. When the quartz veins are thin and numerous rather than massive, and lie near the surface, they are considered most profitable. Few veins can be worked withprofit very far down. As traces of gold may be found almost everywhere, no one should indulge in speculation before calculating the percentage and the cost of extraction. Gold-hunting, after all, is a lottery with more blanks than prizes.
The substances most frequently mistaken for gold areiron pyrites,copper pyritesandmica. The precious metal is easily distinguished from these by its malleability (flattening under the hammer) and its great weight, sinking rapidly in water.
Searching for Silver.—This metal is usually found with lead ore and native copper. Slates and sandstones intersected by igneous rocks as trap and porphyry, are good localities. Pure silver is often found in or near iron ores and the dark brown zinc blende. The Colorado silver lodes are porous at the surface and colored more or less red or green. Any rock suspected of containing silver should be powdered and dissolved in nitric acid.Pour off the liquid and add to it a solution of salt. If a white powder falls to the bottom which upon exposure turns black, there is silver in it. Silver mines increase in value as in depth, whereas gold diminishes as we descend.
Searching for Copper.—The copper ores, after exposure, or after being dipped in vinegar, are almost invariably green on the surface. They are most abundant near trap dykes. The pyrites is generally found in lead mines, and in granite and clay-slate. Copper very rarely occurs in the new formations, as along the Atlantic and Gulf borders, and in the Mississippi Valley south of Cairo.
Searching for Lead.—Lead is seldom discovered in the surface soil. It is also in vain to look for it in the coal region and along the coast. It must be sought in steep hills, in limestone and slate rocks. A surface cut by frequent ravines or covered by vegetation in lines, indicates mineral crevices. The galena from the slateis said to contain more silver than that from the limestone. The purest specimens of galena are poorest in silver; the small veins are richest in the more precious metal. A lead vein is thickest in limestone, thinner in sandstone and thinnest in slate.
Searching for Iron.—Any heavy mineral of a black, brown, red or yellow color may be suspected to be iron. To prove it, dissolve some in oil of vitriol and pour in an infusion of nut-gall or oak-bark; if it turns black, iron is present. If a ton of rich magnetic ore costs more than $4 at the furnace, good hematite more than $3, and poor ores more than $1.50 or $2, they are too expensive to pay, unless iron is unusually high. Deep mining for iron is not profitable. Generally speaking, a bed of good iron ore, a foot thick, will repay the cost of stripping it of soil, etc., twelve feet thick. Red and yellow earths, called ochres, contain iron. Magnetic ore is easily found by a compass.