worked up to near the site of the present Blue Eyes adit. The Blue Eyes claims cover some 2800 acres along a lava covered ridge which is two miles wide in places and the work by Moss is the first sustained effort to explore its possibilities, although many small breakouts' of gravel have been worked along the ridge. Moss reports that his company has made the first payment on the Blue Eyes property. This ridge, as well as the opposite ridge on the other side of Duncan Canyon contains large gravel deposits that have hardly been scratched. Some of these appear from such work as has been done, to be small and rich as in the case of the Glen; others are large and lower grade, but if intelligently worked may exhibit pay streaks that will be worth following.

The Guggenheim dredge operating in American River southeast of Applegate has been the principal gold producer of the county the past year.

Plumas County.

This county remains in the lead in the state as a copper producer. As a by-product of the copper mining operations there is also an important production of silver, running from $150,000 to $175,000 a year of late. The copper mines also contribute a large part of the gold produced in the county at present.

Engels Copper Mining Company operating Engels and Superior mines, is the largest metal mining company in the state in point of tonnage of ore handled and gross value of the products. The production of copper by this company has reached as much as a million and a quarter pounds per month during the current year. For the six menths ending July first the company produced, according to their report, 7,398.106 lb. of copper, 82,852 ounces of silver and 1318 ounces of gold. On this basis if production does not diminish the year's output will be close to two and a half million dollars in gross value, making allowance for a slight decrease on account of the decreased price of silver. The mill handles about 1000 tons of ore daily, and a total crew of about 500 men is employed. They stated that their operating cost was about 11.45 cents per pound of copper for the first half of the year.

Feather River Copper Company's claims near the Engels Company's Superior Mine were bought this year by Engels Copper Mining Company.

Beardsley Copper Mining Company had completed a mill and were reported to be running an electric power line from the main line in Indian Valley to their claims near Taylor Lake, a distance of about 8 miles, during the past summer.

Walker Copper Mine, operated through a subsidiary by Anaconda Copper Mining Company, enlarged their flotation plant during the summer and it was expected that the new units would be ready for work in October. During most of the year they operated at a capacity of 250 tons a day.

Shasta County.

On account of the closing of the former office of the State Mining Bureau in Redding and the consolidation of the work with that of the former Auburn office at a new office in Sacramento, there has been an increased amount of work to be done both in the office and in the field and there has not been as much opportunity for field work in the northern end of the state since June as was desired. It may be said, however, that gold mining has been very quiet in that section, with little gold production for the year except from the dredgers and placer mines, most of the work recently begun at the quartz mines having been in the nature of prospecting, as will be seen from a short notice of the operations that have come to our attention.

The American Mine in French Gulch district was being prospected during the summer and fall and good ore was reported late in the year.

At the Bonanza Gold Dollar Mine just north of the town of Shasta, a 5-stamp mill was put up in the fall to crush an accumulation of a few hundred tons of ore.

Ganim Gold Mines Company was incorporated in August to continue operation of claims near Stella, and a small mill was reported to have been put up, but the mine was idle in October. The property is described in our 1922 report, December chapter.

Niagara Mine in French Gulch district was being prospected during the summer by H. M. Thompson.

Preparations were being made to unwater the Reid Mine in July, in anticipation of the reopening of the Kennett copper smelter. This mine was in operation 15 years previous to the closing of the above smelter and the quartz ore was used as flux at the smelter.

Uncle Sam Mine was being prospected during the summer by the Colma Copper Company. An unusual accident occurred at this mine in June, when lightning struck and destroyed the compressor building and a part of the machinery.

After eight years operation along Cottonwood Creek in the Gas Point district, Shasta Gold Dredging Company was cleaning up the last of its proven ground in that region in September, and it was doubtful if work would continue much longer.

COPPER.

Interest in mining in this county the past year has been centered upon the operations of the large copper mining companies and the possibilities of their resuming work. With an increase early in the year in the price of copper, and the anticipation that this increase would hold, work was started to put several of the mines in shape for ore production and two of the larger companies put crews of men at work getting the smelters ready. However, the price of copper dropped again about the time the mines and furnaces were ready for production, with the result that conditions were very uncertain toward the end of the year. In spite of the fact that the sales of copper during the past

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month (November) and for several months this year, as indicated by the records of deliveries from refineries, have been record breaking, the price of copper delivered remained about thirteen and one-eighth cents a pound the middle of December. This is a price at which most California copper mines find little inducement to operate unless their ores carry sufficient gold and silver to help out.

Afterthought Copper Company's properties were sold under foreclosure late in the year to Forest P. Tralles of St. Louis, assignee of the executors of the will of J. F. Milliken of St. Louis, who, it is said, had loaned the company over a million dollars. A compromise between the Milliken interests and the bondholders is reported to have been arranged whereby the bondholders will receive a few cents on the dollar, leaving the stockholders out.

Mountain Copper Company's smelter at Martinez was fired July 26 after an idleness of four years and the first copper was turned out August 15. In September 125 men were employed at the Iron Mountain Mine and the oil flotation plant at Minnesota had also been put in operation. However, in November the Iron Mountain Mine had been shut down and the future operations were uncertain.

All the holdings of the Trinity Copper Company in Shasta County were attached in August by the Federal National Bank of Boston. The best known of the claims of this company is the Shasta King, nearby the Balaklala, and seven miles west of Kennett. The property had been idle a number of years.

United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company put a crew of over a hundred men at work at the Mammoth smelter in August to prepare for reopening the smelter. At the same time, 65 men were put at work at the Mammoth Mine and about half as many at the Keystone and Balaklala Mines. Late in November one furnace was reported in operation, but there have been no opportunities for field trips to the district the past month, so it is not known whether work will be continued or not.

BARITE.

Loftus Barite Mine was being prospected the past summer by H. C. Austin who is planning to buy the property. It lies about 2 miles in an air line east of Castle Rock. Austin has been considering the installation of a tramway, as the claims lie in rough country. The surface extent of the barite outcrops is said to be very large and a depth of about 50 feet has been reached in prospecting. The color of the rock varies from white to gray.

COAL.

An adit was being driven in October on a coal prospect on the Lon Luce property in section 20, T. 33 N., R. 1 W.; a little over a mile from Oak Run postoffice. A. Stevens of Oak Run was in charge.

At the time of visit the adit had been driven 43 feet and showed at the face a width of five feet of coal, of which several layers appeared more lustrous and harder than the rest, but nearly the entire width was coal, the seams of clay being narrow. The quality of the material had improved rapidly after leaving the surface. It is jet black in color

and looks like a better fuel than the ordinary run of California lignite, approaching sub-bituminous and not checking and slacking as fast as the brown lignite, though it soon shows the effect of exposure to the air. The coal bed dips east and north about seven degrees, has a sandstone and shale roof and a shale floor. The tunnel was being run a little south of east, and water was beginning to show a little at the face. On account of the direction the work was taking, it was becoming a flat incline in which it would no doubt be necessary to soon arrange for handling the water. There was no time to make an examination of the enclosing strata for fossils that might show the age of the coal, but although there is some uncertainty, the coal may be Cretaceous.

Surface outcrops of coal have been noted in a belt some ten miles long, according to local people, but for the most part these outcrops have not been prospected, although the U. S. Geological Survey comments on some coal prospects in the Ingot region, in the Ione formation. The region appears worthy of closer investigation on account of this coal and it is hoped that there will be an opportunity for field work there by the Bureau next spring.

The greatest handicap to development of the prospects is the long haul to the railroad, the nearest railroad point now being Palo Cedro, 17 miles away. It would be necessary to develop a good sized field of merchantable coal to justify a railroad, unless some lumber company should decide to exploit timber lands in that section.

Sierra County.

The Alleghany district, and particularly the Sixteen to One Mine, has produced most of the gold mined in this county during the past year. Due to the fact that some of the other large producers of the state will show a decrease in yield this year from various accidental causes, it seems probable that the Sixteen to One Mine will rank among the three largest gold quartz producers for 1923. This record is all the more notable because it is being made with a normal working crew of 30 to 40 men. Relatively small production has also been made by the Plumbago, Tightner, Rainbow, Kate Hardy and Irelan Mines during the year, so far as reports late in the year indicate, but these figures are apt to be changed at any time by discoveries of rich bunches.

All the mines and prospects that were accessible at the time were described in the October chapter of our 1922 report. Some changes since are noted below.

Work at the Brush Creek Mine was suspended after two explosions of gas had resulted from workmen penetrating the old workings.

A mill has been put up at the Contact Mines during the past summer, and underground work has continued.

Some prospecting of the Edwards claims at Chips Flat was contemplated.

Gold Canyon and Rainbow Extension claims were taken under one management and work continued during the latter part of the year. A new hoist was being put in at the Irelan Mine late in the fall.

Kate Hardy Mining Company has been running the mill on their mine just below Forest and report that the proceeds have been contributing toward the cost of prospecting.

The lease and option on the Oriental and Dead River Groups of claims was abandoned by Tonopah Mining Company after considerable unproductive work. Very soon afterward, Bert Austin and associates took the lease and option and began work.

Prospecting work has been going on at the North Fork claims near

Forest.

The Plumbago Mine, which was being reopened at the time of the last report, has since been taken under option by Alleghany Mining Company. Some rich specimen rock was reported to have been found by the former operators just before the transfer was made.

The Rainbow Mine produced a bunch of rich ore during the year, but not sufficient to repay the outlay for prospecting, according to the company's engineer.

The Sixteen to One completed many surface improvements and additions to the mill during the year, and as noted above remained the principal producer of the county.

In the Downieville district there was not much mining activity aside from the seasonal work in the many small drift mines, where parties of two or more men are employed each summer. There have not been any important developments, however, in this branch of mining in the district recently.

Bessler Bros. make an occasional small crushing of ore in the mill on their mine just outside the town of Downieville.

City of Sir Mine comprises seven claims, unpatented, lying at the head of Slug Canyon two miles west of south of Downieville by trail. It is being developed under lease and option by A. E. Hodgkinson, 801 Lane Mortgage Building, Los Angeles.

Development work on the quartz claims to October of this year consisted of two adits. No. 2 or upper adit was run as a crosscut 100 feet then on the vein formation and the serpentine contact southward for 800 feet. The lower adit, which is 360 feet lower than No. 2 and 960 feet north of it, has been run about 1200 feet on or near the serpentine contact. The vein varies in width from a foot or less up to 4 feet, and in general is parallel to the contact of serpentine and Calaveras formation. From the two adits a few raises and crosscuts were run and there are two possible ore zones indicated, both raking south at a steep angle. These two shoots have produced some high grade ore similar to that from the Alleghany mines, and the property is similar geologically to the mines there. The greatest depth reached by the lower adit is about 485 feet.

Dan McGonigal, J. T. Lane and H. G. Smith were cleaning out and reclaiming the old workings of the Finney (or York) Mine just outside of Downieville during the past fall. The four claims and millsite of this property lie on both sides of the river. There is an old shaft 150 feet deep, with some drifting and stoping at a depth of 100 feet, and also an adit 350 feet long in which they were clearing a caved section. The mine has a record of some past production of high grade.

Gold Bluff Mine a mile from Downieville was taken under bond and option in the fall.