METALLIFEROUS DEPOSITS. 571 



come of the district. There is a prospect that some better knowledge may 

 be obtained through test borings which are now in progress with the diamond 

 drill. 



There is apparently a somewhat prevalent idea, among speculators in metal- 

 liferous mining property, that the real market value of a " prospect" is a 

 variable quantity, subject to the same fluctuations as ordinary real estate, and 

 dependent largely upon artificial conditions. This fallacious notion has been 

 the one great cause of disaster in investments based upon the sanguine ex- 

 pectations of those who are ignorant of the mining industry and its require- 

 ments. Nothing is more certainly ascertainable than the actual cash value 

 of a properly developed mine, and the element of chance can be wholly elimi- 

 nated in such cases if the purchaser will obtain a report from a reputable 

 engineer. But no one can safely guess at values that are indeterminate, and 

 the most incompetent to do so are the very persons who are ordinarily the 

 most free to express opinions. This is not always from dishonest motives, to 

 be sure, but the effect is exactly the same when ignorance makes bold as when 

 one is duped by the effrontery of fraud. There will be comparatively little 

 money lost in mining enterprises when investors realize that the real security 

 for their advances lies in knowing what is "in sight," in the true technical 

 usage of this term. And it may as well be understood at once that nothing 

 but the experience and training of a mining engineer of tried ability can be 

 trusted in such estimates. The services of such an expert are fully as neces- 

 sary as the offices of a civil engineer in railroad building, or of a lawyer in a 

 knotty problem at law. 



It seems important to make this introduction for the reason that many well 

 meaning people have somehow gained the impression that the proper office of 

 the Geological Survey, in its economic reports, is to deal in glittering gener- 

 alities, and to present facts in such glowing colors as to make the market for 

 mining property active, so that sales may be made at enhanced prices. The 

 present writer is strongly imbued with the notion that this is not his province, 

 but that honor and the public weal alike dictate such a presentation of facts 

 as shall as far as possible enlist capital in legitimate business enterprises which 

 shall be profitable to those who engage in them. In default of such knowl- 

 edge as can often only be obtained by risking considerable sums in explora- 

 tion, it may be necessary to discount chances in the early stages of develop- 

 ment, but unless landholders are willing to share with capital in such ventures 

 by offsetting money with real estate, they can not justly expect enormous 

 prices for their land. 



On the other hand, wherever well advised investors are willing to offer ex- 

 cessive rates for land, it may be regarded as proof that they know facts that 

 are not understood by the property owners. It therefore behooves the latter 



