236 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF SILVERTON QUADRANGLE, [bull. 182. 
feet long b} T 60 feet wide, and carried from 7 to 25 ounces of silver per 
ton and from 7 to 20 per cent of copper. It is said to have been chiefly 
iron, pyrite, and chalcopyrite, with some galena and enargite. This 
ore was firmer and of higher grade than that at the level below. 
From the annual reports of the company it appears that masses of 
iron pyrite were not limited to the deeper workings, but occurred 
above the second level, sometimes immediately beneath the carbonate 
ore. Much of the higher-grade ore, such as enargite, galena, and 
tetrahedrite, occurred as bunches of various sizes in the p3 r rite. 
Owing to the decline of silver to almost half its former value, the 
general low grade of the National Belle ore, and the lack of facilities 
for its economic treatment, it was found impossible to operate at a 
profit, and the mine was closed in 1897. The ground below the fourth 
level is as yet unexplored, but the diminished value and amount of 
ore at that level deterred the companj^ from further sinking. 
The water in the National Belle mine was apparently not abundant 
or troublesome, as no mention is made of it in the superintendent's 
reports. From the location of the mine and its moderate depth (400 
feet) no great amount would be expected. 
White Cloud mine. — This mine, now abandoned, lies less than a 
quarter of a mile north of the Guston. It appears never to have 
struck a paying ore body. The shaft is sunk on the northern end of 
an elliptical knob of bleached and silicified San Juan breccia. The 
length of this knoll is about 50 feet and its trend about N. 10° E. It 
terminates rather abruptly,. with no sign on the surface of any vein 
in the line of its major axis. The silicified material of the knob is 
impregnated with small crystals of iron pyrite. 
Paymaster mine. — This also is an abandoned property lying a quar- 
ter of a mile northeast of the White Cloud. About 16 carloads of ore 
are said to have been shipped from one ore body, but the mine was 
never a large producer. It is credited with an output of $14,431 in 
1890. In 1899 the shaft was filled with water to within about 200 feet 
from the surface, and the first level only was accessible. The coun- 
Xxy rock at this depth is all much altered and irregularly fissured and 
the fissures are frequently filled with seams of kaolin or talc, which 
is evidently a product of the alteration of the adjacent rock. Drifts 
and crosscuts run in all directions from the shaft, but apparently no 
ore was found on this level. The ore seen on the dump and in the 
ore bins was essentially a galena ore, associated with much pyrite. 
Silver Bell mine. — Lying about a quarter of a mile north of the 
Paymaster, this, at one time one of the better-known and productive 
mines of the district, is also dismantled and inaccessible. The shaft, 
about 700 feet in depth, is now filled with water to within 100 or 20C 
feet from the surface. Sections through the mine are shown in fig. 21. 
According to Schwarz l this mine had, in 1888, produced large amounts 
of ore carrying from 500 to 1,000 ounces of silver per ton. This rid 
> Proc. Colo. Sci. Soc, Vol. Ill, 1888, p. 84. 
