dated
Gold & Sapphire Mining Co., of Butte, in 1911. The American Gem
Mining Syndicate works its placers in Granite County by hydraulics and
sluicing The few sapphires obtained from deposits of Missouri River
were found during gold placer mining.
The
production of sapphires in 1911, including those mined by the Yogo
American Sapphire Co. in 1909 and 1910, amounted to about 88,477
ounces, of which probably about 86,000 ounces were culls for watch
jewels, meter bearings, and other mechanical purposes. There were
nearly 384,000 carats of varicolored sapphires of suitable size and
quality for gems. The total valuation, in part estimated, placed on the
production is $215,313.
TOURMALINE.
CALIFORNIA.
Very
little tourmaline was mined in California during 1911. The larger mines
were closed, and only a small scattered production was reported to the
Survey. Apparently the large output of previous years more than
supplied the demand, so that sales were made from gems in stock. H. E.
Dougherty, of Hemet, Cal., states that the demand for pink cabochon gem
material by Chinese merchants also fell off greatly, and only the
largest deep-pink crystals were bought.
MAINE.
Development
of the mine near Poland was continued by F. L. Havey, of Lewiston,
during 1911. More pockets of tourmaline were opened, and fine white and
pale to dark green crystals were found. Many of these would cut into
clear brilliant gems. Mr. Havey's tourmaline deposit was discovered in
1910 during the operation of a feldspar quarry, a full description of
which has been given by E. S. Bastin.1 Prior to this, occasional gem tourmalines were found during the feldspar quarrying.
TURQUOISE.
GENERAL CONDITIONS.
Turquoise
has been mined in large quantities in the Southwestern States of the
United States. Deposits have been worked in New Mexico, Arizona,
California, Nevada, and Colorado, and on a small scale in Texas. At a
number of these deposits there were remains of ancient workings, pits,
shafts, tunnels, and stopes, with dumps of waste rock, made by Indians
or other early inhabitants of the Southwest. Some of the deposits were
operated under Spanish rule. At most of the ancient workings, stone
hammers and axes, pottery, etc., have been found. That turquoise was
used by the early inhabitants of this region is shown by the finding
of beads and ornaments in the cliff-dwelling and other ruins. The early
Spanish explorers found turquoise among the gems highly valued by the
Mexicans, who called it chalchihuitl, probably including other minerals
under the same name. To the present day the Indians of the Southwest
prize turquoise jewelry and sometimes buy the gem lavishly. A
1 Geology of the pegmatites and associated rocks of Maine: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 445,1911, p. 58.
