CONCLUSIONS RESPECTING GOLD MINING. Ill 
At the time of the writer's visit (autumn, 1904) the Haile mine was in active operation, 
the Blackmon was working a force temporarily reduced on account of scarcity of labor, the 
Brewer and Thompson were working in a small way under lease, the Ferguson, Brown, and 
Schlegelmilch were carrying on development work, Messrs. Small & Johnson were exploring 
their properties near Smyrna, and extensive work was going on at the Colossus mine pre- 
paratory to beginning active mining and milling. In addition to these operations a few 
individuals were washing stream gravels for placer gold. So far as known, no other mining 
for gold was being done in this region. Since that time work at the Brown and Schlegel- 
milch mines has been stopped. 
CONCLUSIONS. 
The condition of the gold-mining industry in this region to-day is fairly well outlined 
in the preceding paragraph. In 1859 there were in the South Carolina portion alone 40 
working mines," and it is probable that the decrease in the North Carolina portion has been 
of about the same order of magnitude. Furthermore, most of the mines now working were 
then known and were mining richer ores than at present. If these former conditions are 
compared with the present status, it is at once apparent that the gold-mining industry of 
this region has suffered a decided decline. The fact that a very few mines (of which the 
Haile is really the only one of importance in this respect, as will be shown presently) have 
been able to maintain and even increase the total production of earlier years is not sur- 
prising in view of the advances which mining as an industry has made, and in reality has 
little to do with the consideration of this district as a whole. For the last fifteen years or 
thereabouts only a small addition to the production of this region has been made by any 
but the Haile mine, which has maintained its average yearly production at something like 
$100,000 during that time. This mine has been compelled to reduce more and more the 
cost of operating per unit of product, because of decreasing grade of ore, and has been 
forced to gradually encroach on and deplete its known reserves of workable ore, so that the 
time is not far distant when a falling off in production must be expected unless some of the 
development work now being carried on can bring to light new supplies of ore. 
So far as the other mines are concerned, it may be said that in spite of the unsystematic 
and unscientific management which has been the rule rather than the exception in this 
region, most of them which seem to have possessed any sign of promise have been given a 
pretty fair chance to show what they are worth. In the case of the Colossus, it seems safe 
to say that if the ore bodies are as persistent as those at the Haile have been — a state- 
ment which there may be no reason to doubt, but which ought to be demonstrated — if the 
ore averages as well as the reported assays indicate, and if the cyanide process now being 
applied proves a successful means of extraction, then a good production may be expected 
for some years. The Blackmon mine likewise may make a respectable addition to the output 
of the region if the size and value of the deposit persists and certain obstacles to mining, 
already enumerated, can be overcome. There appears little reason to hope that the Brewer 
mine will ever again become an important producer. While much gold undoubtedly 
exisits in that immense deposit, it is doubtful if it can be extracted with profit. Little can 
be said of the Kings Mountain mine, because of lack of authentic information, but it is 
unreasonable to suppose that it would now be lying idle if much ore of the grade which it 
has already furnished were known to exist. Certain of the smaller mines may, and probably 
will, prove profitable for a period, but in the case of the vein mines the irregularities of the 
deposits will make mining an uncertain enterprise and the relatively small size of the ore 
bodies will demand that the value of the ore must remain fairly high as compared with 
that of the large replacement deposits. 
a South Carolina, Resources, etc., State Board of Agriculture, Charleston, 1883, p. 134. There were, 
in 1859, 21 working mines in Lancaster and Chesterfield counties and 19 in Spartanburg, Union, and York 
counties. These three last-named counties were a few years ago divided, portions of each constituting 
a fourth county, Cherokee. It is certain that of these 19 mines, nearly all of which were situated in 
the old Spartanburg County, are now included in Cherokee County, and are thus within the area studied. 
