.

  A Junior Gold Mining Company Opportunity

...the most trusted name in gold property listings

aka; The Foster Mine

The Trail Creek

Gold Mines 

HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN GOLD RESERVES SPECULATED

A tremendous opportunity for high-grade gold recovery

Klamath National Forest

Salmon River Mining District

Siskiyou County, CA

Introduction

Text

Trail Creek Mines, aka; The Foster Mine     cir; 1932

The Trail Creek Gold Mines

Located in the heart of some of the richest gold

mining country in America...

Klamath National Forest

Salmon River Mining District

Siskiyou County, CA

OPPORTUNITY

TheTrail Creek Gold Mines offers the opportunity to develop a high-grade gold resource amenable to underground mining.  With veins of gold running up to seven feet wide a short time prior to the Government Limiting Order L-208 (closing all gold mines in 1942), this listing presents an extraordinary opportunity for any buyer to start right back up again where previous owners left off in recovering millions of dollars in gold.   As gold mining is approaching a long period of new found activity, this company feels that it is presenting an exceptional opportunity for untold profits.

PROPERTY

The Trail Creek property consists of 6 unpatented mining claims;  approximately 920 contiguous acres, located and held under the mineral laws of the United States described as follows; 

Name:

Trail Creek

Trail Creek West

Trail Creek East

Trail Creek Central

Trail Creek Stage

Trail Creek Entrance

Acreage:     CAMC#:

160 ac    0286240

160 ac    0290278

160 ac    0290277

160 ac    0290279

160 ac    0290280

120 ac    0290281

T39N, R10W, Sections: 11, 12, 13, 14, 23,  Mt. Diablo Meridian

NAMES OF THE FIFTEEN PREVIOUS SUCCESSFUL GOLD MINES ENCOMPASSED WITHIN

Trail Creek 1-4, Fortune, Frost King, Bull Calf, June Bride, Bullion, Homestake#2, Trail Creek Placer, Highland,  Short Mine Quartz, Short Mine Placer, Blue Eagle & Black Dike.

ACCESS

 

Easy to moderate.  Pavement to hardpack dirt road to well maintained 2 mi. trail.  Very accessible via ATV (15 min. ride along Trail Creek to the mines).

MINING DISTRICT

 

The properties are located on Trail Creek in the Salmon River Mining District, Siskiyou County, California.  Centered in one of the largest mining districts in Northern California - The mines in this district have produced millions of dollars in gold.  The elevation is seven-thousand feet.  

PROPERTY HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT

The Trail Creek Mine history dates back from about 1906 with its discovery by an old prospector.  From a "trace" of gold on the surface leading to an outcrop of gold bearing quartz approximately nine inches wide.  Some time later the "prospect" and claim were sold to a group of miners who drove a tunnel to the ore at a depth of 80 ft..   At the 80-foot level the vein of gold-bearing ore had increased in width to 4 feet.  When the tunnel reached the rich gold ore a small mill was packed in by mule train and installed in a log building.  Approximately 4000 tons of ore was taken from an ore shoot 250 feet long and produced over $48,000 in gold (at an estimated $16 - $20 oz / 208 lbs. of gold / $2 million at today's prices).

In order to increase the amount of ore for a larger mill and improve mining methods, a long lower tunnel was started down on the mountain side below the upper tunnel.  There is a vertical distance between tunnel levels of 150 ft..  This tunnel was driven a very short distance when extremely hard rock was encountered and a large amount of money was spent over a period of time.  If heavier and more efficient machinery had been installed for handling the hard rock, there is no question but that the orebody would have been reached and the mine would have continued mining and milling.

Death of two members of the operating group and WWI practically brought the development of the mine to a standstill.  However, the two remaining miners continued to drive the tunnel ahead by hand until 1927.

With a production of $48,000 in gold to its credit, ($2 million at today's prices) the character and structure of the ore-bearing vein gave the mine what Old-timers term an excellent "prospect".  The mine at that time was considered the "best prospect in the district" by the California State Mining Bureau engineers in their Fourteenth Report (1913 - 1919, page 841).  However, the mine still needed extensive development and exploration to prove the size, depth and richness of the orebody.  Technical knowledge concerning the development of the mine was then entirely lacking.

In 1927 a buyer by the name of; Mr. Latchem, purchased the property from the two remaining miners of the original operating group and continued to drive the lower tunnel toward the vein of rich gold-bearing ore.  The all-important problems still facing the operation at that time which would determine its future success or failure were;  1.) Depth.  Depth is of primary importance for a large mine.  2.)  Width.  Would the vein increase with depth?  3.)  Values.  Would these increase the depth?

In order to determine these important requirements it was therefore necessary to complete the tunnel to the orebody.  As driving the tunnel progressed, considerable geological information was compiled and from this correlated information several very important developments were noted.  Geological data pointed to a much larger mine than was at first anticipated.

A short time prior to the Government Limiting Order L-208 dated October 8, 1942, closing all gold mines, the tunnel reached its objective, which was the downward extension of the orebody worked in the upper tunnel.  THE RESULTS WERE HIGHLY SATISFACTORY.  The vein of gold-bearing ore was seven feet wide, a large increase over the four-foot width in the upper tunnel.

Gold was distributed throughout the entire width of the vein and had not diminished in value in this additional depth to the lower tunnel.  For the twenty-foot advance into the orebody, at the time of the Government Closing Order, samples of ore were running from $11.78 to $70.00 per ton (equal to 1/2 oz. to slightly over 3 opt ).  On the theory of parallel veins, a decision was made to drive a prospect tunnel into the unexplored area to the right of the present tunnel.  At a distance of one hundred and twenty feet, a six-foot vein with gold-bearing quartz was struck, establishing evidence that the two veins thus far explored have depth and excellent width for profitable mining.  Diagram

GEOLOGY

It is reported that the background of the mine is a massive grano-diorite batholith; then comes in succession a series of schists, fine grained dioriteintrusives, a carbonaceous schist and other intrusive's.  The veins are in a true fissure through schist diorites with gouge on both walls with a general dip of about 67 degrees average.  In development work on the surface as well as underground, there is no evidence of faulting.  The ore is composed of silica (quartz), small amounts of magnesian lime and iron pyrites, carrying quantities of free gold and gold in combination with iron sulphide.  It is simple ore requiring  concentration for the recovery of the sulphide content.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT & EXPLORATION

With present mining techniques and modern machinery, and large areas yet to be explored, the possibilities can be readily seen.  Operation costs should be low because of the following factors; 1.) Large amount of timber on the property for all mining purposes.  2.)  No pumping required; ample free water for mining and milling purposes.  3.)  No hoisting costs or metallurgical problems.

From the advance of 20 feet into the orebody in the lower tunnel it appears quite likely that it may continue for the same distance as worked in the upper tunnel which was 250 feet and should give a substantial block of ore.  Like other mining operations in the area, continued operations and profits will depend upon further discovery and development.

SOURCE

1947 SALMON RIVER MINES CO., E. C. Latchem, Mine owner and operator, Final Prospectus Report

Wm. M. ARENDT, Geologist and Mining Engineer

It has been called to my attention that you have acquired the adjoining northwesterly property consisting of  the Bull Calf and Frost King mining claims, the former locations of the original Highland Mine, first located in the 1880's. Diagram   This acquisition is an important one and should add appreciably to the value of your holdings and no doubt increase potential ore reserves to a considerable amount.

Shortly after the organization of the Salmon River Mines Company in 1932 the company endeavored to purchase this property and made several attempts during the intervening years to arrive at a purchase price satisfactory to the individuals concerned, but not until after the death of the former owner was it possible to acquire title to the property for three thousand dollars ($3000.00) to be paid on a royalty basis of ten percent (10%) of gross returns from ores extracted from these two claims.  The fact that Salmon River Mines Company controls all water rights to Highland Creek and Siphon Lake and the only road into the district no doubt was a great advantage in obtaining the Bull Calf and Frost King claims at this most reasonable figure.

In checking the history of these two claims, it has been determined that unoxidized ores and the presence of gold contained in pyrite prevented successful recovery of values by amalgamation, the only feasible method that was possible in what was then an almost inaccessible location.  Unless an ore in those early days of hard rock mining carried a high percentage of free gold, there was little possibility of success in recovery of values.  It has been reported that No. 2 Highland Tunnel produced ore valued at $60.00 per ton with recovery from stamp milling and amalgamation practically nothing.  With this condition existing, subsequent development work was confined to prospecting the surface for free gold.  All the work of the sinking shallow shafts, digging open cuts and running drifts on the steep hillsides has been a great advantage in exposing the veins and making it possible to determine that the possibilities for large scale development are present.  Sampling has shown the presence of gold values but has not been adequate to show the presence of any commercial orebodies and further exploration and sampling should be conducted to ascertain whether mineable orebodies can be located.  Concentrate from a "grab" sample from this property assayed $2,047.50, the ore $19.60 from a 6 foot vein.

The vein system on these two claims is continuous throughout their entire length and beyond, northwesterly, and can be readily identified on the entire surface; likewise, these same veins continue southeasterly through the Trail Creek claims a total distance of over 12,000 feet.  Values on the vein have been established at frequent intervals throughout the entire length of the exposures, but sufficient work has not been done to establish the definite boundaries or lengths of the ore shoots, evidence of which is easily demonstrated.  Geologically the vein system described and ore deposits visible on the surface are identical to those on the Trail Creek claims.

Due to the topography of the area, it will be found that the highest point on the Frost King claim is about 750 feet above Trail Creek Tunnel No. 1 at which point the vein is exposed in an open cut and has a width of 20 inches; northwesterly and at an elevation 200 feet lower this same vein has a width in excess of 5 feet and shows values believed to be sufficient to produce profitable milling ore.  Proceeding southeasterly from this last opening toward Trail Creek No. 1, samples panned from open cuts, tunnels and shafts have given indicated values up to $50.00 over widths up to 6 feet.  These demonstrated values justify a development plan that would expose this deposit for its entire length which backs up to about 750 feet vertical height at its highest point above Trail Creek Tunnel No. 1.

It is suggested that these two claims be prospected first by making frequent cuts on the surface with a bulldozer at points now known to show values, then cuts to expose the vein at more frequent intervals to determine the length of shoots; subsequently to crosscut from a point across the gulch from Trail Creek Tunnel No.1  and at the same elevation until the vein is intersected, then drift along the vein as far as necessary, thus proving the presence of ore and placing the mine in a condition ready for production.

Conclusion:  I have had your property under observation for sixteen years and have been a position to study the geological formations and mineralization of the area though that time.  The former owner of the Bull Calf and Frost King claims gave me every opportunity to study these two claims and imparted information to me that was not generally known since he personally conducted me over the ground, describing each excavation and stating values which were later checked by me.  I believe you have acquired a piece of property that should, upon completing the above outlined development, demonstrate the presence of ore in sufficient tonnage to warrant a large scale production program.  The analogies of  the vein system on the two newly acquired claims are identical to those in the Trail Creek claims wherein it has been thoroughly demonstrated that the ore definitely increases in width with depth and that values are maintained.

March 8, 1948W. M. ARENDT

   Geologist and Mining Engineer

The information contained within this presentation points to significant exploration potential of the property as a whole where there has been very limited exploration drilling from surface and underground.

Underground mines have a very small footprint as compared to open pit mining. This translates into more socially acceptable projects in a more environmentally sensitive world.  In addition, underground mines, especially deep seated mesothermal veins, tend to be long life projects allowing a mining company to reap the benefits of their investment over many years.

The Trail Creek Gold Mines...real potential for becoming a long term, high grade gold producer, that offers a mix of advanced-stage development and continued exploration projects.

BUY OUT / LEASE FINANCING OPTION

$130,000 advance royalty and $14,000 a month or 10% NSR royalty, whichever is greater. 

No commitment to work while financing. 

Advance royalty payment and all monthly payments apply to the end price of $1.7M.

BUY OUT

$1.3M

IN ADDITION to either of these options, a 2.5% gross smelter returns royalty is due on all gold production from these claims forever.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you've a serious interest in this listing.

                                             The Claim Post.  All rights reserved.

REGARDING THE BULL CALF, FROST KING, & ORIGINAL HIGHLAND MINES

The following is a copy of a report from W. H. Arendt, Geologist and Mining Engineer, to E. C. Latchem, President of the Salmon River Mines Company, regarding the acquisitions of adjacent  properties; The Bull Calf, Frost King & original Highland gold mines...

Packing lumber in the early days of the mine

PACK TRAIN - along the trail to the mine

SUMMARY

If your desire is to acquire and develop high grade underground gold mines that are well-positioned within a productive gold district as well as offering potential for new frontier area, this is an opportunity you might want to seriously consider...

Call on the market knowledge leaders, The Claim Post, representing the finest in gold property listings.

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