DISTRIBUTION OF GOLD MIXES IN NORTH CAROLINA. 67
about 6 miles northwest of Dallas. The property contains 600 acres. The country-rock is chloritic schist, striking northeast and dipping 85° northwest. There are three veins lying with the schists, and consisting of lenticular quartz-bodies. The Asbury vein was 6 to S feet thick, and contained rich ore-shoots carrying sulphurets (pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, blende and mispickel). A 10-stamp mill was running here in 1891, and in the following year a Crawford mill was put in, which was, however, soon abandoned, and the mine has since been practically idle.
The Kings Mountain (Catawba) mine is situated about lj) miles south of Kings Mountain, a station on the Southern Railroad, in the southwestern corner of the county. The country-rock is mica-schist, striking X. 50° E. and dipping 70° X. \Y., intercalated with lenticular masses of siliceous magnesian limestone. These rocks appear to be of sedimentary origin. The ore-bodies consist of large lenticular chimneys or shoots of this limestone, containing auriferous quartz and sulphurets (pyrite, chalcopyrite and galena up to 3 per cent.). Tellurides also occur in very small quantity. Five such lenses have been opened in the mine.
In length these lenses reach about 100 feet and in thickness 20 feet, being separated by a black graphitic slate carrying coarse pyrite, which is, however, barren. The mine has been opened to a depth of 320 feet. At the time of our visit 10 tons of ore were being raised per 21 liours by a total force of 20 men. (Cost of mine labor, 75 to 85 cents per day). The rock is very tough, and 60 per cent, dynamite is used fur blasting. The mill house is equipped with a well-constructed 30stamp mill built by the Mecklenburg Iron AVorks, of Charlotte (Plate VII), and 5 True vanners (6x14 feet). "Weight of stamp, 750 pounds. Twenty stamps were dropping 71 times per minute the height of drop being 5 inches. The ore was crushed through a 40-mesh brass wire screen. The mill yield is stated to be $3 per ton, with a loss of $3 in tailings. Great difficulty was found in saving free gold, and the quicksilver gave trouble by flouring; this is ascribed to the graphitic slates which occur with the ore. The concentrates run $35 to $40. The total cost of mining and milling is $1.75. Two men are employed in the mill at $1 per day. The cost of wood is $1.35 per cord.
A plant for washing the surface brown ores and saprolites is situated at the mine, and was in successful operation until lately. It consists of 2 sets of 12-foot log-washers. The slimes flowed over amalgamated copper plates (12 feet by 5 feet), while the material carried up in the washer was screened through a -J-inch perforated revolving screen, and then through a 20-mesh brass wire revolving screen, from whence it passed over copper amalgamating plates. The coarse material was taken to the stamp-mill. A large proportion of the
