Estimate of costs of mining and reducing ores in Sutter Creek district, Amador County, California, reported by E. W. Hatch, July 1, 1869.

Population of district: Twelve hundred.

Wages of first-class miners: Three dollars per day.

Wages of second-class miners: Two dollars sixty-two and a half cents per day.
Wages of surface laborers: Two dollars and twenty-five cents per day.

Cost of lumber: Twenty-eight dollars per thousand feet.

Cost of mining timber: Four dollars, average.

Cost of common powder: Two dollars and seventy-five cents per keg of 25 pounds. Cost of giant powder: One dollar and twenty-five cents per pound.

Cost of quicksilver: Sixty-five cents per pound.

Cost of freight from San Francisco: Twenty dollars per ton.

Cost of fuel: Five dollars and fifty cents per cord.

Minimum mining cost per ton of ore: Four dollars.

Mine from which this is reported; Amador.

Character of rock at that mine, main vein: Bluish ribbon rock.
Depth of mine: Thirteen hundred and fifty feet.

Maximum mining cost per ton: Five dollars and twenty-five cents.
Mine from which this is reported: Amador.

Character of process employed: Wet crushing.

Average mining cost per ton: Four dollars and sixty-seven cents.

Average milling cost per ton: Two dollars and fifteen cents.

Average pulp-assay of ore: Twenty-seven dollars and thirty-eight cents.

Average yield of ore: Twenty dollars and thirty-four cents.

Remarks. The average yield of ore from the mine for the year 1869, will be 3,000 tons per month.

List of mining claims in Foster mining district, Amador County, California, on July 1, 1869, reported by John Nichols.

Name, Marklee Mine; owner, Hanson Marklee; character, vein; course. northwest and southeast; dip, northeast; dimensions of claim, twelve hundred feet; country rock, slate; vein matter, quartz and spar; ore, gold-bearing quartz; value per ton, thirty dollars to sixty dollars, by mill prices.

List of mills in Foster mining district, Amador County, California, on July 1, 1869, reported by J. Marklee.

Name of mill, Tynan Mill; owner, J. Foster; location, Dry Creek; kind of power, steam; horse-power of engine, twelve; number of stamps, twelve; weight of stamp, four hundred pounds; number of drops per minute, seventy-five; height of drop, ten inches; diameter of die, eight inches; diameter of shoe, eight inches; cost of mill, $3,000; crushing capacity per day, eight tons; size of screen, thirty-two by nine inches; height of screen above die, twelve inches; amount of wood consumed per day, one and one-fourth cord; cost of treatment per ton, three dollars.

Remarks.-The owners of this mine (Marklee mine) are suffering very much for the want of a better mill or process for reducing the ore; a great deal of the gold is contained in a sulphuret, and the process we have saves only the free gold.

Estimate of costs of mining and reducing ores in Foster district, Amador County, California, reported by J. Marklee, July 1, 1869.

Population of district: Thirty persons.

Wages of first-class miners: Sixty dollars per month, with board.
Wages of second-class miuers: Fifty dollars per month, with board.
Wages of surface laborers: Forty dollars per month, with board.

Cost of lumber: Sixteen dollars per thousand.

Cost of mining timber: Two dollars per hundred feet, running measure.
Cost of common powder: Five dollars per keg, eastern powder.

Cost of quicksilver: Seventy-five cents per pound.

Cost of fuel: Two dollars and fifty cents per cord.

Mine from which this is reported: Marklee mine.

Character of rock at that mine: Fine-grained ribbon quartz.

Depth of mine: One hundred feet.

Maximum mining cost per ton: Six dollars.

Minimum reduction cost: Three dollars.

Name of mill, and number of stamps: Tynan mill, twelve stamps.

Character of process employed: Simple stamping, and amalgamating in battery on copper plates.

Average pulp-assay of ore: Sixty dollars per ton.

Average yield of ore: Thirty dollars per ton.

Remarks. This mine was discovered and located October 12, 1863. We use for hoisting rock from the mine, horse-power. Names of the owners of mine, J. Marklee, J. Nichols, William Hanson.

CHAPTER VII.

ELDORADO COUNTY.

This county, the first in which gold was discovered in California, and which has yielded very large returns in the earlier periods of gold-mining, has very little successful mining to boast of during the last year. The rich bars along the several forks of the American River have ceased to pay, and few quartz mines have produced satisfactory results. The only exceptions are perhaps the Pacific mine, near Placerville, the owners of which have found it profitable to add another battery to their mill; the Crystal, which has produced from sixty to eighty ounces per week, extracted by an eight-stamp mill; the Stillwagon, which has kept its fivestamp mill busy most of the time; and the Independence, at Brownsville, the ore from which pays from twenty-five to forty dollars per ton in free gold. The sulphurets from this mine assay over one hundred dollars per ton.

In this county, near Smith's Flat, is situated the Silicon mine, a mine which furnishes large quantities of an infusorial earth. This material is used extensively, under the name of electro-silicon, for the polishing of all kinds of metals, and also for the manufacture of dynamite.

The annexed are the only tabular returns received from Eldorado County:

Steam ...

Stillwagon & Norton
McGruder & Baker..

1985

8

* Concentrator.

Estimate of costs of mining and reducing ores in Placerville district, El Dorado County, Cali. fornia, reported by John F. Pinkham, July 1, 1869.

Population of district: About five thousand.

Wages of first-class miners: Three dollars to three dollars and fifty cents per day.
Wages of second-class miners: Two dollars to two dollars and fifty cents per day.
Wages of surface laborers: Two dollars per day.

Cost of lumber: Twenty dollars per thousand feet.
Cost of mining timber: Eight dollars per cord.

Cost of common powder: Three dollars per keg.

Cost of giant powder: Sixty-two and a half cents per pound.

Cost of quicksilver: Sixty-seven cents per pound, by flask.

Cost of freight: From Shingle Springs, twenty-five cents per hundred; from Sacramento, eight dollars per ton.

Cost of fuel: Four-foot wood, five dollars to six dollars per cord.

Cost of ten-stamp mill, California pattern, including freight, erection, &c.: From five thousand to twenty thousand dollars.

Cost of twenty-stamp mill, freight, erection, &c.: From ten thousand to thirty thousand dollars.

Minimum mining cost per ton of ore: Two dollars.

Mine from which this is reported: Crystal.

Character of rock at that mine: White quartz.

Maximum mining cost per ton: Three dollars.

Mine from which this is reported: Epley, water power; steam, four dollars.
Character of rock, &c.: White quartz, with sulphurets.

Depth of mine: Two hundred and eighty feet.

Character of process employed: Sluices, with quicksilver.

CHAPTER VIII.

PLACER COUNTY.

Although mining during the last year can neither in activity nor in prosperity be compared to that of former times, it must nevertheless be conceded that hydraulic mining at least has been quite lively, especially in the neighborhood of Forest Hill.

Quartz mining has been followed in a number of claims, but none can be called a success so far except the Rising Sun mine.

I should perhaps mention here the discovery of very extensive ironore deposits six iniles from Auburn. The claim belongs to Brown & Co., and the ore shipped so far to the Pacific rolling mills of San Francisco has given very satisfactory results, as it is very rich and pure. The shipping is done by way of Clipper Gap, Central Pacific railroad, and the nearness of this station gives the deposit great advantages of transportation over all the other iron-ore mines in California.

The following tables include fuller reports from the placer mines than I have been able to procure from any other county: