FUTURE OF THE DISTRICT. 171 



may or may not be the case. The only present means of determining the 

 facts are by judging of the ore that is brought to the smelting works for 

 reduction. The returns show that the ore of Prospect Mountain averages 

 richer than that of Ruby Hill, but this is very likely owing to the fact that 

 only ore of a high grade will pay for mining when the deposits are small, 

 and cannot be taken, therefore, as a criterion of the value of all the ore in 

 these mines. 



Difficulty of making predictions. — What will be the future of the mines of Ruby 

 Hill is very uncertain, and any predictions in regard to it must necessa- 

 rily be inferences from the results of the explorations which have been 

 made in the present lower workings. These explorations have not been 

 carried sufficiently far to give indisputable indications as to the changes 

 which may be expected in regard to the ore below the water-level. More- 

 over, the structural features in the lower levels of these mines have under- 

 gone a change, and it is impossible to tell with any certainty what effect 

 they may have upon the general worth of these ore deposits. 



Probabilities of finding ore in the lower workings. The Stl'UCtUl'e of the Ore-bearing 



zone and the relation of the ore bodies to it have been fully described in 

 the preceding pages of this report, down to a level, in the mines southeast 

 of the compromise line, where the two fissures come together, and in the 

 Richmond and Albion mines to a depth at which it is clear that they are 

 approaching and will probably meet below. It has been stated that the 

 bodies of ore in the Richmond mine have decreased in size as well as num- 

 ber below the sixth level. The ground, however, below this level, although 

 it has been prospected to some extent, has not been sufficiently cut up to 

 prove the absence of large ore bodies, and it is possible that the failure of 

 ore is only apparent, and that future developments may expose large bodies. 

 There is nothing in the nature of the limestone inconsistent with such a 

 belief. The same may be said of that portion of the Albion ground which 

 lies immediately northwest of the "A C" line. The ground in which the 

 Albion shaft is sunk and that which lies west of it is unfavorable for ore, the 

 limestone not resembling that which contains ore in other parts of Ruby Hill, 

 while the faulting motion has not been great, and the limestone is therefore 

 less disturbed. Even if ore should not be found in any quantities in these 



