106 Remar'ks on the Gold Mines of Virginia, 



and twenty two grains for every one hundred pounds, or one bushel. 

 This, at 4y-'2 cents for each grain of gold as before stated, gives 

 ^4 98 for one hundred pounds of the ore. 



In another trial, three and a half pounds of the powdered ore in 

 which no gold was visible, yielded six grains of gold, or one hundred 

 and seventy one grains for one hundred pounds, equal in value to 

 $6 98. 



A third experiment on ore in which gold was not visible, produced 

 five grains froni two pounds, equal to two hundred and fifty grains 

 from one hundred pounds, and worth ^*10 21 to one hundred pounds 

 of ore. The average of the three trials upon the ore of Moss' mine 

 is ^7 39 to the one hundred pounds of ore ; and the average of the 

 five trials made in the two mines is ^7 70. I am assured that when 

 a mine yields one dollar to every one hundred pounds of the ore, 

 (as the cost of working is stated to be about one third of this sum,) 

 such a mine is regarded as profitable, and as justifying heavy expen- 

 ditures in machinery and in operations of deep mining. At the 

 Walton mine which I visited and examined, the average yield has 

 been, as stated to me by the manager, ^'5 92* to the one hundred 

 pounds of ore; and two skillful gentlemen obtained from c-.e of that 

 mine between twelve and thirteen dollars to the one hundred pounds, 

 being about the maximum obtained by me from the ore of the Busby 

 mine. 



I forbear to quote instances of a much larger product, stated to me 

 as having been obtained from the Busby mine, because the result 

 was procured by an officer of the mines, although I have no reason 

 to question either his integrity or his skill. The average product at 

 Fisher's or Hughes' mine, as stated to me at the mine by Mr. Fisher, 

 is $3 15* for every one hundred pounds of the ore, and I infer from 

 his statements of expenditure, that the cost is not over thirty to 

 thirty five cents for every one hundred pounds. Comparisons can- 

 not be made with accuracy between deposit mines and vein mines, 

 because the expenses of working are so widely difi^erent. It may 

 not, however, be useless to state, that at the Whitehall deposit mine, 

 where twenty seven hands are employed, the work is profitably carri- 

 ed on, with twenty dollars of gold obtained at present, in a day, and it 

 is said that two cents on a bushel would yield a good return. Being 

 dependent entirely upon information obtained since I came into the 



* And now mentioned by permission. I afterwards examined the Walton mine 

 at another visit, and the report is annexed. 



