188 



GEOLOGY AND QUICKSILVER DEPOSITS, NEW ALMADEN DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA 



FIOBRI 113. Miners in two-decked cage In Randol abaft. The descent 

 In this shaft la reported to have been an experience likely to be remem- 

 bered to one's dying day. Owing to the constriction of the shaft, It 

 was necessary to loosen the hoist mechanism and let the cage fall 

 free to gather enough momentum to pass the tight places, and this 

 ride was generally accompanied by the Cornish miners singing an 

 appropriate old hymn, such as "Jesus, Savior, pilot me." From I.. B. 

 Bullmore collection. 



foot crosscut toward its projected bottom from the 

 Santa Isabel shaft on the 1400 level. The America 

 shaft was located in the vicinity of old caved workings 

 which had yielded about 1,000 flasks of quicksilver 

 during 1863-66, and almost from the first its sinking 

 was hampered by excessive amounts of water. How- 

 ever, by intermittent sinking and pumping it was put 

 down more than 800 feet to about the 1000 level, and 

 exploratory drifts were run from it on the 500, 600, 

 and 700 levels. The workings on the 700 level cut 

 some ore, but in June 1888, after repeated floodings, 

 the shaft caved from near this level and the project 

 was abandoned. Yet the difficulties encountered in 

 sinking the shaft were mild compared with those en- 

 countered in driving the 1400-level crosscut. Almost 

 from its beginning the miners had to contend with 

 large volumes of water and caving ground, but when 



they reached a point about 900 feet from the projected 

 bottom of the America shaft they released such a 

 heavy flow of carbon dioxide that they had to stop all 

 work for a month. To conduct air to the working 

 face, 11-inch pipes coupled to blowers were installed, 

 and ventilation was further aided by installing an 

 8-foot fan at the mouth of the drift and a 12-foot fan 

 at the head of the Washington shaft. Work was con- 

 tinued through treacherous ground to a point 500 feet 

 from the shaft, where gas made further progress im- 

 possible, despite the large blowers and pumps. After 

 a bulkhead had been put in, the miners backed up 200 

 feet and had managed to drive a bypass for 80 feet 

 when the America shaft caved. Drifting was then 

 stopped, and a brick bulkhead 4 feet thick was built 

 in the crosscut 700 feet from its mouth to prevent the 

 gas from flowing into other workings of the mine. A 

 way of utilizing this gas was found in 1895, when it 

 was compressed in tanks to a pressure of 1,650 pounds 

 per square inch and sold. According to one report 

 (Anonymous, 1895, p. 235) this was the only commer- 

 cial source of carbon dioxide in the United States 

 other than Saratoga Springs, N. Y. 



In 1889 J. B. Randol left the New Almaden mine in 

 order to develop a promising quicksilver mine in north- 

 ern California in which he had acquired a sizable in- 

 terest. It is appropriate to summarize here the prog- 

 ress of the mine through his administration. When he 

 arrived in 1870 the production had declined to less 

 than 15,000 flasks per year, and the grade of the ore 

 being treated had fallen to 5 percent. The known ore 

 bodies were nearly exhausted, and mining was becom- 

 ing increasingly costly. By farsighted, though ex- 

 pensive, development work he had increased the pro- 

 duction to nearly double what it was when he arrived. 

 and although the grade of the ore treated steadily de- 

 clined, this was partly offset by increased efficiency 

 resulting from the introduction of more modern min- 

 ing methods and the development of the Scott furnace. 

 The company, when he arrived, labored under a siz- 

 able debt, but by 1881 this had all been paid off and 

 $525,391 returned in dividends to the stockholders. 



At the time of his departure, however, the outlook 

 for the mine was much like what it had been on his 

 arrival. Considerable money had been spent on non- 

 productive exploration and useless shafts, the known 

 ore bodies were nearing exhaustion, and production 

 had fallen to 13,000 flasks per year, recovered from 

 ore containing 1.73 percent quicksilver. Even though 

 no dividends had been paid for 8 years very little 

 capital was available for the search for new ore bodies. 

 Mine Hill was considered to have been thoroughly ex- 

 plored, and during the last few years workmen who 



