# Prospected Ore's-Please Help Me Identify Them



## thesilverfox111 (Jun 17, 2015)

Hi guys,

Please help me identify these ore samples I have gathered from different veins. 

*SAMPLE ONE:* 


*SAMPLE TWO:* 


*SAMPLE THREE:* 


*SAMPLE FOUR:* 


*SAMPLE FIVE:*


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## thesilverfox111 (Jun 17, 2015)

The samples above were all taken from a mine that was actively in production in the late 1800's and again in the late 1920's. 

I have claimed the land and started taking samples last Summer.

According to the government docs It was producing copper, gold, silver, and zinc. And the noted significant minerals were: Pyrrhotite, Pyrite, Chalcopyrite, Covellite, Sphalerite. The other associated minerals noted are quartz and calcite.

From a report I have dated 1927 it shows an assay done from an average of 900 samples taken. That assay says: Silver 146 gr/tonne, gold 1.99 gr/tonne, copper 3.9%

From the same report in 1927 it shows a summary production of 182 metric tonnes (200 imperial tons) with the following recovered: 7216 grams/232 oz silver, 249 grams/8 oz gold, 5151 kg/11356 lbs copper.


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## thesilverfox111 (Jun 17, 2015)

Some pictures of the walls of the mine shafts:


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## thesilverfox111 (Jun 17, 2015)

A picture of a vein on the ceiling of one of the shafts:



Vein on the outside entrance of the mine. I'm holding up the rifle near it for size reference:



This white staining is all over the mine. Is this from the Calcite?



Lot's of different colors all over the veins; blues, purples, oranges, browns, blacks, whites


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## kurtak (Jun 17, 2015)

thesilverfox111 said:


> From the same report in 1927 it shows a summary production of 182 metric tonnes (200 imperial tons) with the following recovered: 7216 grams/232 oz silver, 249 grams/8 oz gold, 5151 kg/11356 lbs copper.



So at todays metal prices (Cu/Ag/Au) that's "about" $200 per ton --- I would think it would cost more then that to work it unless you can work it on a VERY LARGE scale & even then a profit would be questionable I think

You would have to work it as a copper mine which would require setting up for copper smelting & then electro refine the copper to recover the Ag/Au

Kurt


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## galenrog (Jun 17, 2015)

Kurtak is right. You have a copper mine. Gold and silver recovered come from the waste stream of copper refining. From some of the pics you may have the opportunity to gather quality copper ore specimens. This could help offset some of your costs should you proceed to mine.

Personally, due to the costs of opening a copper mine, I would have passed on this one.


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## thesilverfox111 (Jun 17, 2015)

Hey guys thank you for the replies. Yes I thought so too with the price per ton worked out to today's prices. But what do you guys think about the possibilities that back in the late 1800's and early 1900's that they didn't have the knowledge and tools that we have today? Maybe more with the sulphides too?
I'm a very new hard rock prospector but saying that, with my observations of the shafts they've worked through the mine doesn't look as though they high graded their workings. There are a couple shafts in the mine that look much more mineralized and deteriorated than other areas. 

Keep in mind that I didn't pay for this property. I claimed it up as the current holder let the claims lapse. So only this year did I have to pay the government fees to keep them in my name. So I'll be happy for now to maybe collect some nicer Malahchite, Azurite and Covellite samples to sell to recoup those gov fees and to help offset any assay costs etc. for this year. 
My game plan was to do a lot of sampling and assays to identify the higher grades then go after those areas if it makes sense that way. What do you guys think of that?

As far as working and refining the ore; could it be more profitable to ship the ore to the smelter and get them to process it. I believe the only smelter in Canada though is in Quebec Canada and I'm in Vancouver Canada so that shipping distance is very far.

Thoughts?


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## thesilverfox111 (Jun 17, 2015)

Hey guys you mentioned that the value of the ore today would be $200/tonne. But when I plug in the assay valued from the 1927 report into an ore value calculator It came out to $373/tonne.
This is the calculator I used: http://www.kitco.com/pop_windows/kitcorockcalc.html


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## kurtak (Jun 18, 2015)

thesilverfox111 said:


> Hey guys you mentioned that the value of the ore today would be $200/tonne. But when I plug in the assay valued from the 1927 report into an ore value calculator It came out to $373/tonne.
> This is the calculator I used: http://www.kitco.com/pop_windows/kitcorockcalc.html



Not sure how that calculator came up with that number but here's my numbers using the long (imperial) ton & spot metal prices

11356 lbs copper X $2.62 = $29,752.72
232 oz silver X $16.19 = $3,756.08
8 oz gold X $1187.60 = $9,500.80

Total = $43,009.60

$43,009.60 divided by 200 long (imperial) tons = $215.04 --- so as I said in my first post "about" $200 per ton

I said "about" $200 per ton because if you do the math on a short ton it comes to $192.00 per ton (200 long ton = 224 short ton)

Maybe you used these numbers --- I would not count on those numbers as they are "samples" which though reflect "possible" potential - they are not the facts of actual production run



> From a report I have dated 1927 it shows an assay done from an average of 900 samples taken. That assay says: Silver 146 gr/tonne, gold 1.99 gr/tonne, copper 3.9%



I used these numbers which do reflect the actual numbers of a production run



> From the same report in 1927 it shows a summary production of 182 metric tonnes (200 imperial tons) with the following recovered: 7216 grams/232 oz silver, 249 grams/8 oz gold, 5151 kg/11356 lbs copper.



Edit to ad; --- in other words regardless of what the assay reports say the "potential" is/was - you can't go by that - you need to go by the actual production report because that is what the mine actually produced/made when it ran 

Kurt


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## kurtak (Jun 18, 2015)

thesilverfox111 said:


> Hey guys thank you for the replies. Yes I thought so too with the price per ton worked out to today's prices. But what do you guys think about the possibilities that back in the late 1800's and early 1900's that they didn't have the knowledge and tools that we have today?
> 
> My game plan was to do a lot of sampling and assays to identify the higher grades then go after those areas if it makes sense that way. What do you guys think of that?
> 
> ...



What I think is that hopes & dreams (gold fever) is not going to pay the bills let alone put food on the table --- the numbers (from actual production run) are not there to cover operating cost let alone living cost

Kurt


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## knujiv1 (Jun 18, 2015)

11356 lbs copper X $6.62 = $29,752.72 

???


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## kurtak (Jun 18, 2015)

knujiv1 said:


> 11356 lbs copper X $6.62 = $29,752.72
> 
> ???



Opps --- I meant $2.62 not $6.62

its fixed now


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## Anonymous (Jun 18, 2015)

galenrog said:


> Kurtak is right. You have a copper mine. Gold and silver recovered come from the waste stream of copper refining. From some of the pics you may have the opportunity to gather quality copper ore specimens. This could help offset some of your costs should you proceed to mine.



Very true- some of the most famous Welsh Gold mines also started out as hard rock copper mines!


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## galenrog (Jun 18, 2015)

True. I would still pass should this or something similar come my way. The development costs are too great. What the OP
may consider is holding for the time being, and looking for a major, or even a quality minor, to do the necessary exploration and site prep.


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## thesilverfox111 (Jun 19, 2015)

I really appreciate everyone's feedback. I am just a prospector who can recognize mineralization, sulphides and rock formations with mineral potential. I have no formal education about geology, etc. I only know what I read and what others have told me about questions I ask. I love the outdoors and spend every spare minute I have either in the mountains, or on the water. I usually prospect in known mineral producing areas to obviously help increase my chances in discovering something interesting but like I say I am just a hobbyist prospector. This prospect I found I actually had no idea the mine existed near by. I had found a few other barely exposed veins on the mountain side and kept working my way up and around this mountain bench where I found the old mine adit. There's actually another adit not too far away that isn't on any of the gov docs I have looked at. As well as several other outcroppings that aren't noted in any documents at all. There's also a spot about a mile and a half away from this mine where there are some fallen timbers and piled debris which look like they may be covering an area from others to see. There are two small quartz stringers heading in that general area where all the debris is. There is no info on that spot that I can see except that area did have an old Legacy claim on it from a long time ago.

Ever since this mine and the surrounding area was originally staked it has always had mining companies/and/or geologists holding the ownership. I kept looking at the ownership titles online and watched for any changes or activity on it but there weren't any over the years. The owners were just holding the property other than it being sold to other companies a couple times. So when the claim ownership was coming up for renewal I put a reminder on my computer and phone to check on it that day. As soon as the title was available cause the owner didn't renew, I clicked on it to take title of it. I think the previous owner was just one of those "couch claimer" geologist/prospector's. Cause he has another 1628 claims in his companies name. 

So further to our discussion about the reports I have on some of the ore shipments that came from this mine way back; I think the actual shipment that the 1927 report is about occurred in the year 1918. 

I have reasons to believe from reading more docs/reports on this mine that there are actually other exposed and worked veins that aren't mentioned on those reports. There are differences in measurements/locations descriptions of adit shaft, drifts and veins from reports vs assay results vs shipment reports etc. ( I hope that makes sense? )

I'm a bit hesitant to put the actual pdf report docs up here on this thread for you guys to read because I've read that can not be the best thing to do in some cases.

I've been going over a lot of the archived papers on this property and there is more info on other grab samples etc. and their assay results. Turns out there were some high grade samples tested as well from other areas on the property and there have been documented recommendations by geologists and prospectors to follow up with a drill program on the property for further investigation.

Here is some text from one report from 1980:

_*"Thee following Is references I make to the Minister of Mines Reports. I emphasis very strongly when reading the photostats of the Minister of Mines reports, pay particular attention to the dates of these reports which date beck almost 80 years ago, when the price of gold was only
$20.00 per ounce. I make reference to the report of the Geological Survey of Canada, ------------------ Which states the following: "3 tons of ore sent to ---- in 1898 returned $45.00 per ton, mostly for copper. Bin samples for that year were reported as giving assays of 3 to 21% copper, and $3 to $5 gold and silver." These prices were quoted at the prices in the year 1898. At the present market prices this would make gold in the neighborhood of $150 per ton gold and roughly $400 in silver, and in the neighborhood of $40 ton in copper which would be around $590 ton.
Further to this in the report in 1926, it showed gold running at $12/ton, silver $240 ton, and copper 3.9%. It states that this was an average value of ore taken from several hundred samples. At the present prices today it would be: $432/ton gold, $500/ton silver, copper $40/ton. This would be $972/ton. 
Selected samples (grab) off the dump by the writer yield 2 oz gold/ton, and 20 ounces silver/ton, being a total of $2200/ton of selected high grade samples.
It is my opinion based on the prospecting that I have done on the ground this summer there are certainly great possibilities that a geophysical survey accompanied with a diamond drilling program could very well substantiate a very large ore body of copper, gold, and silver which with all probability will be found independent and separated from the two known ore zones. And it is my opinion that it will be located in a large sulphide body within the gabbros just off from the main contact. Samples of talus found by the writer this summer certainly indicate this. Also outcrops of gabbro show fine grained mineralization in places of iron pyrite, pyrrohtite, and fined grained copper iron sulphide. But never the less the proven facts to date as set out within the Minister of Mines Reports certainly indicates great potential in the two parallel proven zones. To the best of my knowledge and research work to this date there has been no diamond drilling program conducted on this property and no evidence of any recent work whatsoever. Other than what was done in the early 1900's. 
It is my opinion this property has great potential and certainly warrants a development program."*
_

I'm hesitant to just "hold onto" this property without doing further investigations, samplings, and assays. I'm semi retired and hope to be fully retired by Spring 2017. I'm not looking to get rich quick, or to use this property as a full time income earner. But if it is worthy then so be it and that will be a bonus. I have the time and patients to gather samples and poke around up there. One thing I think is interesting and probably important to note is that someone has been actively taking ore out of the mine and packing it down the mountain in buckets. My family and I found a couple semi stashed buckets last Summer just off the old trail made by the last workers of the late 1920's it's very overgrown but someone prior to me had flagged the old trail and we noticed some fresher marks along the way where people had been. When I went in the mine you can see freshly chiseled out ore on the ground and dropped pieces along the way. This mine is up a mountain an hour hike in pretty rough terrain. And the ore that has been taken looks to me like it is the most mineralized ore from the more richer looking vein in the mine. It doesn't look to me like it's just been taken out on one trip either. It looks like they came back for more. It could be the previous owner taking samples out but I don't think so from some of the investigating I did. 

I think some of my assay results might answer a lot of questions. And when I go up to the mine next I will take some better lighting and get some better pictures for you guys if that can help get some more feedback from you all.

Do any of you guys know what a mill will charge to process ore like this per ton? I'm in Canada so the only smelter I know of is in Quebec. Are there any others?
Just want to keep info on costs going so I can get a picture in my head of what's involved physically and financially removing and process ore. 
All of the veins in the mine are exposed and easy to get at so there's not much to do there to expose it but there are a lot of other veins near by that I think are all connected to the same main ore body that aren't worked yet. I am sampling all of those veins too. 

Thanks again for all of you who are offering info and advice.


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## mitchd (Aug 11, 2015)

Hi, I know this will not help you to process your ores but from the photos some of this material looks like it might be very nice cutting material for cabochons. People at gem and mineral shows would be interesting in the ore AS IS with no processing and some of it could be worth 10 to 15 dollars a pound maybe more but can't tell just from a photo. The material looks to have very good patters and lots of nice colors just the type of rock I have cut into cabochons in the past. 
Just a thought but you could make a little extra money on the rock while you find a way to process the ore.
Mitch


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## thesilverfox111 (Sep 13, 2015)

Hey guys bit of an update! I've located some pocket gold!! Not all the value in this mine is in sulphide form!  
I spent some time trying to locate some of the higher potential veins and have done well for the time I spent there so far.
I think some assays coming back soon are going to be very good. 
We also recovered the old ore stock site and went through a bunch of the ore the old miners were shipping out. It doesn't look like they were very discriminatory or selective in what they had stockpiled to go out. A lot of very plain white quartz with no contact zone material and we crushed up a bunch of the old stock pile (not the dump) and a lot of the ore wasn't too mineralized. Not sure if the old miners just didn't have as good of info we have now of days of what to look for or if they just wanted to ship out as much as possible or what but I think I have a good handle of where the good areas are in the mine to continue on.
I'm just so glad we have some native pocket gold there to make things more interesting.
I can see now why some of the old assays of select grab samples came back as high grade. 
I'll update this thread when some of the new assay reports come back.

Hi Michd. Yes thank you very much for your reply. I've been told the same thing by a few people now and believe me the pictures don't do it justice. To see some of the ore in person is amazing. So many beautiful colors with so much copper mixed in with the other minerals. 
I am looking into some small blasting charges to use to help quicken the process of getting some of the more select pieces out. I'm in Canada, so far I found the Micro Blaster here, and there is also the Sierra Blaster in the USA. Not sure if I can bring the Sierra kit across the border but I'm going to check into it.
If anyone has any other suggestions with small blasting charges I could use please let me know.


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## thesilverfox111 (Oct 11, 2015)

Some assays results of recent samples from three veins and two of just host rock. The vein samples included the quartz, contact zone material, and host rock material in equal parts.
Waiting for the rest of the Qescan Mineralogy report to come in next week. There should be more info coming on free mining metals in the ore also.


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## geedigity (Oct 12, 2015)

Au and Ag seem pretty low.


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## kjavanb123 (Oct 12, 2015)

Hi,

You may want to check out www.infomine.com look under properties, I have seen people offer their mines for sale or joint venture.

Regards,
Kj


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## jadesource (Oct 27, 2015)

That deep blue material is azurite if you can get it out without fracturing it all up and its high enough quality . you can sell it to people who cut cabs out of it. If its gem quality it could be worth a bit for the material> No fortune but at least some cash flow. I used to have a lapiday buisness .I would trade my jade for it when it was high enough quality. 
Bill


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## jadesource (Oct 27, 2015)

The lighter blue is the one worth the most if its gem guality its Chrysacolla. its the material I collect.
Bill


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