ing Co.'s boat.1
Some platinum was obtained by hydraulic work and dredging in Trinity
and Siskiyou counties, particularly on Klamath and Trinity rivers.
In
April, 1915, an arsenical mineral, supposed to be sperrylite, was found
in the gold ores of the Antrim vein of the Long Ton mine, located at
Woody, Kern County. This vein is reported to occur in granite near an
intrusive mass of granodiorite. The vein has been crushed, producing
considerable blue clay gouge. The questionable mineral, separated from
the concentrates, is said to be steel gray in color, heavier than the
sulphide concentrate, and to occur in diamond shapes, in cubes, and in
flat granules. A Bakers-field newspaper clipping received by the Survey
gives details of the qualitative tests used to determine the mineral,
but, as has been pointed out,2 they do not seem to be conclusive.
Recently
a report was received of the recovery of placer sands containing
platinum and iridium from Beegum Creek, in the extreme northwest
corner of Tehama County, but no verification of the discovery has yet
been received.
NEVADA.
The
discovery of platinum and allied metals associated with the copper-gold
ores of the Boss mine, 10 miles west of Goodsprings, Nev., in August,
1914,- was widely noted in technical publications and daily papers. In
the report on platinum in Mineral Resources for 1913 considerable
information was given to show the undoubted presence of platinum in so
remarkable an occurrence.
Since December 1, 1914, the Boss mine has been operated under bond by the Platinum Gold Mining Co.
In
October, 1914, the Boss properties were examined by Adolph Knopf, of
the Geological Survey, whose report on this occurrence was published3
April 12, 1915. As this report has already been widely distributed, it
is thought necessary to give here only the following brief summary,
kindly prepared by Mr. Knopf:
Platinum and Palladium in the Yellow Pine Mining District, Nevada.
By Adolph Knopf.
In
1914 platinum and palladium were found in certain ores of the Yellow
Pine mining district, in Clark County, Nev. The first and by far the
most important discovery was made at the Boss mine, and later in the
year platinum was found also in the ore of the Oro Amigo mine.
The
ore deposit on the Boss claim was discovered some 30 years ago, having
been located for copper, the presence of which is plainly indicated by
chrysocolla and other oxidized copper minerals. In the nineties a
leaching plant was built at Goodsprings, 12 miles from the mine, and an
attempt was made to treat the oxidized copper ore, but the process
proved a failure. Not until recently was the gold and platinum content
of the ore recognized. The failure to recognize, or at least fully to
appreciate, the presence of gold in the ore seems to have been due to
the facts that much of the gold is very finely divided and can not be
obtained by panning, and that some of the very rich material yields on
panning a black residue that was probably thrown away as worthless
black sand. Systematic sampling of the deposit early in 1914 showed
that the ore contains gold
1 Neil, J. W., Application of jigs to gold dredging: Min. and Sci. Press, vol. 109, pp. 839-842, 1914.
2 Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 99, p. 1045, 1915.
3 A gold-platinum-palladium lode in southern Nevada: U. S. Geo!. Survey Bull. 620, pp. 1-18, 1915 (Bull. 020-A).
