kansome.]  COEUR    d'aLENE    DISTRICT,  IDAHO.  299 
pany,  particularly  to  the  smelter  at  East  Helena,  Mont.,  although 
considerable  quantities  are  sent  to  Denver,  Pueblo,  Omaha,  and  Kl 
Paso. 
Cost  of  mining  and  treatment. — The  cost  of  mining  and  concen- 
trating per  ton  of  ore  stoped  ranges  from  about  $2,  in  the  Wardner 
mines  to  about  $3  in  the  Canyon  Creek  mines,  where  the  ore  bodies 
are  narrower  and  where  pumping  and  hoisting  are  necessary.  In  the 
Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan  mine  the  costs  per  ton  of  ore  stoped  in 
1903-4  were  as  follows : 
Costs  in  Bunker  Hill  and  Sullivan  mines. 
Mining  and  concentrating $1.97 
Freight  and  smelter  charges 2.17 
Discounts  for  loss  of  lead  and  silver  in  smelting .60 
Total    4.74 
The  average  assay  value  of  this  ore  was  $6.80  per  ton.  The 
freight  on  ores  and  concentrates  varies  from  $8  to  $12  a  ton,  according 
to  tenor,  and  a  uniform  charge  of  $8  a  ton  is  made  for  smelting. 
Ore  of  which  more  than  12  tons  is  required  to  make  1  ton  of  con- 
centrates containing  50  per  cent  of  lead,  can  rarely  be  made  profitable. 
THE  GOLD   DEPOSITS. 
Veins. — The  only  gold-bearing  veins  that  are  now  productive  occur 
near  Murray.  The  quartz  veins  on  Elk  Creek  apparently  produced 
some  gold  several  years  ago,  but  the  workings  upon  them  have  long 
been  abandoned  and  are  not  accessible.  The  best  known  veins  near 
Murray  are  the  Golden  Chest,  just  north  of  Littlefield,  and  the 
Mother  Lode  group  of  veins  on  Ophir  Mountain,  situated  on  the 
houth  side  of  Prichard  Creek,  between  Littlefield  and  Murray. 
With  few  exceptions  the  veins  of  the  Murray  area  belong  to  the 
lass  known  as  bed  veins  (Lagergiinge).  They  usually  follow  the 
Ratification  planes  of  the  Prichard  formation.  Occasionally  they 
!ijump  from  one  plane  to  another,  the  two  parts  of  the  vein  being 
^connected  by  small  stringers  across  the  intervening  bed.  In  the 
Grolden  Chest  mine  there  are  at  least  six  of  these  bed  veins  in  a  zone 
]50  feet  in  width.  Their  general  strike  is  about  N.  17°  E.,  and  they 
Hip  westward  at  angles  ranging  from  40°  to  45°.  These  veins  are 
usually  a  foot  or  two  in  width,  but  in  some  places  a  width  of  10 
feet  is  attained.  They  are  filled  with  quartz,  often  strikingly 
banded,  containing  free  gold,  auriferous  pyrite,  galena,  sphalerite, 
md  chalcopyrite,  with  occasional  bunches  of  scheelite.  The  best  ore 
|s  said  to  have  been  worth  $70  to  $90  a  ton  and  was  nipped  crude. 
The  ore  now  worked  in  the  20-stamp  mill  is  of  much  lower  grade. 
probably  not  over  $7  per  ton. 
On  the  north  face  of  Ophir  Mountain  are  two  bed  veins,  one  250 
