THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I906 II 



The deposit which has been under operation during 1906, is situ- 

 ated near Pine pond, town of Kent, Putnam co. It has been 

 known for many years and was the object of exploration as early 

 as 1847. The operations w^re abandoned, however, after a little 

 preliminary work. In 1888 a small quantity of ore was mined and 

 shipped to New Jersey, evidently for other purposes than the 

 utilization of the arsenic as no plant for treating the ore is located 

 in that state. The present compatiy, the Putnam County Mining 

 Corporation, undertook the development of the property in April, 

 1906. Of the ore that has been mined, a portion amounting to a few 

 hundred tons was found to contain sufficient arsenic to be shipped in 

 crude condition and was sold to metallurgical establishments abroad. 

 The low grade ore has been held in stock with a view to future 

 concentration, for which a special plant will have to be built. 



So far as revealed by existing developments, the deposit appears 

 to be a vein-intersecting gneiss which is the prevailing formation in 

 this section and includes both igneous and sedimentary varieties. The 

 vein lies near the base of a prominent ridge, southwest of Pine pond. 

 It has a northerly strike. In close proximity and running parallel 

 is a dike of basic rock, the outcropping portion of which is com- 

 pletely changed to serpentine. The dike rises above the surface as 

 a distinct ridge that can be traced for half a mile or more along 

 the strike and shows a width of from 100 to 300 yards. It is 

 probably a peridotite, though the nature of the original components 

 can only be inferred from the general appearance and texture. 



The vein consists of white flinty quartz with varying proportions 

 of arsenopyrite and pyrite. In places the metallic minerals occur 

 in solid mass, but usually they are distributed through the quartz. 

 Pyrite is much less abundant of the two, its distribution being very 

 irregular. Both are seldom crystallized. The percentage of 

 metallic arsenic in the ore ranges nearly up to the theoretical amount 

 required by the chemical formula. With hand sorting a fairly large 

 proportion will assay above 25,'^ which is considered marketable 

 grade. For the following complete analysis of the ore the writer 

 is indebted to Mr George Wishart, manager of the mine. 



Silica (SiOs) ■ 2.90 



Iron (Fe) 36.11 



Copper (Cu) 2.17 



Sulfur (S) 22.y2 



Arsenic (As) 36.00 



99.90 



