5MM0NS.]  INVESTIGATION    OF    METALLIFEROUS    ORES.  27 
prround  Georgetown  had  rendered  it  necessary  to  close  work  there. 
Phe  results  of  this  examination  are  given  later  in  two  articles,  one 
report  on  the  important  geological  facts  determined  since  the 
completion  of  field  work  in  the  Tonopah  district,  the  other  a  pre- 
iminary  report  on  the  geological  relations  of  the  Goldfield  deposits. 
Tis  completed  report  on  the  whole  Tonopah  district  will  soon  appear 
is  a  professional  paper, 
Oregon. — As  shown  by  exhibits  at  the  Mining  Congress  at  Port- 
and  in  August  last,  mine  developments  are  being  actively  prose- 
uted  in  various  parts  of  western  Oregon.  The  gold  deposits  in  the 
;outh-central  part  of  the  State,  around  what  is  known  as  the  "  Grants 
Pass  region,"  seem  particularly  promising.  The  writer  had  occasion 
o  visit  the  mercur}7  mine  of  Black  Butte,  near  the  headwaters  of  the 
Willamette  River.  The  deposits  consist  of  a  faulted  zone  in  erup- 
ive  rocks,  which  is  extensively  impregnated  by  cinnabar.  A  large 
Linount  of  low-grade  ore  is  exposed,  and  the  problem  which  the  own- 
is  are  trying  to  solve  is  how  to  reduce  the  whole  mass  at  a  profit. 
Among  the  other  exhibits  that  attracted  interest  were  specimens 
>f  iron  ore  found  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Columbia  River  and 
f  the  metallic  iron  which  had  been  smelted  from  it.  At  the  request 
>f  the  writer  the  locality  was  visited  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Diller,  in  company 
vith  one  of  the  owners  of  the  property,  and  it  was  found,  as  had 
>een  expected,  that  the  deposit  is  part  of  a  flow  of  volcanic  tuff 
yhich  forms  the  mass  of  the  hills  bordering  the  river,  and  contains 
10  apparent  concentration  of  iron  in  what  could  be  called  an  "  ore 
leposit."  The  occurrence  is  described  by  Mr.  Diller,  and  the  results 
>f  analyses  of  the  material  gathered  by  him  show  that  it  can  hardly 
j>e  regarded  as  an  ore  of  iron,  though  it  is  a  very  readily  fusible 
aaterial  and  carries  at  times  over  10  per  cent  of  that  metal. 
Washington. — Gold-bearing  beach  sands  sufficiently  rich  to  be 
worked  at  a  profit  have  been  known  to  exist  at  various  points  along 
he  Pacific  coast,  notably  in  California  and  Alaska.  In  recent  years 
'here  has  been  something  of  a  "  boom  ,?  in  regard  to  such  sands  along 
he  coast  of  the  State  of  Washington.  These  were  visited  during 
he  past  season  by  Mr.  Ralph  Arnold,  and  his  report  in  the  present 
'olume  shows  their  extent  and  the  source  from  which  their  gold  may 
jiave  been  derived.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  a  certain  amount 
>f  platinum  and  iridosmine  is  found  with  the  gold. 
