Page 182 - The Geology and Ore Deposits of Sierra County, New Mexico - Bulletin 10

MINING DISTRICTS 179
nese with some iron and silver and either basic or acid in compo- sition, 1,239 tons ; basic flux material with low silver content and high in manganese, iron and lime, 21,791 tons ; and siliceous fur- nace material low in silver, manganese, iron and lime, and high in silica, 20,363 tons.
According to Clark, 58 the production of silver in the district from the date of discovery in 1878 to 1893 was as follows:
From 1894 to 1910 no record of the production of this dis- trict separated from that of the Sierra County total is available, although it is estimated by persons acquainted with the earlier history of the district that various odd-lot shipments during this time and some few others not included in the above tabulation for 1878-1893 yielded about 500,000 ounces of silver. From 1910 to 1931 the production is reported to have been 46,261 tons, from which it is estimated that approximately 275,000 ounces of silver was recovered. The total silver produced from the time of the discovery of the district to the end of 1931 is therefore in the neighborhood of 5,775,000 ounces.
In 1928-1929 a drilling campaign was undertaken in the dis- trict to explore the lower beds of the Lake Valley limestone, par- ticularly at the horizon just above the Percha shale. Several holes were drilled with shot machines, which produced cores about 21/2 inches in diameter. In a few places small showings of ore were found at short distances below the known ore horizons, but this ore invariably proved to be only a rapidly diminishing downward projection from the known ore horizon. The top of the Percha shale was barren of ore. One hole near the old Vir- ginia shaft was drilled to a depth of approximately 400 feet and penetrated through the Percha shale into a thin bed of pink lime- stone, which may be either the bottom of the Percha shale or the top of the Fusselman limestone. Several feet of this limestone was brecciated and showed evidence of having been permeated by hot siliceous waters, but no silver or manganese minerals were noted.
MINE DESCRIPTIONS 59
The workings in the different parts of the property are most conveniently described under the names of the three companies
58Clark, Ellis, op. cit., p. 150. 59See footnote, page 59.