314 MINING INDUSTEY. 



Just above the town of Uiiionville, on the north side of the caiion, the Na- 

 tional Mining Company was at work upon a lode bearing the same name, 

 which has been opened along the surface for a considerable length and pros- 

 pected to a depth of about 100 feet. The vein is said to yield a rich gold- 

 bearing quartz. A small mill of four stamps was in process of construction, 

 and nearly ready for operation in September, but had not, when visited, 

 begun to crush rock. Trials of the quartz from this vein, made in other 

 mills, promised successful results. 



Further up the canon the Seminole Tunnel Company was engaged in 

 driving an adit into the mountain, with the view of cutting a series of ledges 

 that had been opened on the surface, with some indications of value. 



West of Unionville, on the opposite or western slope of the range, there 

 has been a large amount of prospecting work done in the various canons, 

 most of which was followed by discouraging results at the time of its per- 

 formance, but which may yet be turned to good account under the increased 

 advantages secured by the railroad. One enterprise of importance is the 

 Alpha mine, in Panther, or Butte, Canon. The ledge on which this mine is 

 located has been in course of development for several years, though the force 

 employed in the work was very small, at least until lately. It is now owned 

 by the Nevada Land and Mining Company, and is being more vigorously 

 worked. It is easily accessible from the railroad, by which means the higher 

 grade ore is now shipped to Reno and roasted by the Stetefeldt furnace, and 

 subsequently amalgamated in pans. The writer is not in possession of defi- 

 nite information concerning the average value of the ore or the extent of the 

 operations of the present company. 



Star District. — Directly north of Unionville, also on the eastern slope 

 of the range, is the Star district, once the scene of very lively prospecting and 

 busy enterprise, that was soon followed by utter abandonment of the region. 

 Star Canon has been explored from its mouth to the crest of the range, and ! 



many series of promising veins have been discovered. Among them is the 

 celebrated Sheba mine, which made good its promise, it is said, to the extent 

 of over $125,000, a single pocket or bonanza having yielded $75,000; but its 

 visible resources having been exhausted without meeting the expectations of 

 its speculative owners the work was suspended and has long been lying idle. | 



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