Wellborn Hill Mine, Towns County, Georgia, USAi

Regional Level Types
Wellborn Hill Mine	Mine
Towns County	County
Georgia	State
USA	Country

This mine, now owned by the Chattanooga and Gum Log Mining Company, is situated in the southeast corner of lot 18, 9th district, within a short distance of Gum Log creek. Some prospecting was carried on, here, shortly after the war; but no systematic work was attempted, until 1883, when the property fell into the hands of the present owners, who spent a considerable amount of money, in developing it. The Company finally abandoned the work, in 1889.

The main parts of the work are near the summit of a low ridge; they consist of a main shaft, one hundred and thirty-five feet in depth, with two drifts at the eighty-five foot level, one extending north, one hundred and ten feet, and the other, southwest, one hundred and fifty feet. These drifts are said to have followed up a gold-bearing quartz vein, that, in places, yielded a high-grade ore. It was impossible to examine the vein, either in the main shaft or in the drifts, on account of the water; but, in a second shaft, seventy-five feet west from the main shaft, and extending down to the southeast drift, the vein was exposed to view. It has a thickness, here, of eighteen to twenty-four inches, and consists of a light-colored, somewhat granular quartz, with numerous iron-stained cavities. The dip of the vein, which corresponds to that of the mica-schist and gneiss of the country-rock, is to the southeast, varying only a few degrees from the perpendicular. At the base of the hill, about three hundred yards northeast of the main shaft, a tunnel, one hundred and twenty feet long, known as the "Old Tunnel," has been driven into the hill, on the vein. It is said, that the vein, in this tunnel, had an average width, of two feet, and yielded an ore, which gave satisfactory results at the mill. Numerous small pits and cross-cuts are to be seen about the hill; but all were so inaccessible, that the vein could not be examined.

The ten-stamp mill, erected by the Chattanooga & Gum Log Mining Company, is located on Gum Log creek, three hundred and fifty yards west of the main shaft. This mill, which was run, at irregular intervals, for four or five years, is still in a fair state of preservation; and it would require the expenditure of only a small amount of money, to put it again in running order. The waterpower utilized here, when the works were in operation, was produced by a twenty-five-foot fall, which was sufficient to run the ten-stamp mill, and to furnish all the necessary power, at the main shaft, for hoisting etc.

Mr. Henry G. Hanks, late State Mineralogist of California, visited this property, in 1885; and, in speaking of this mine, he says: "The mine is fairly well opened, and there is a good mill, ready for operation, when the water is turned into the ditch, which is also nearly ready for working. I saw no reason, why the mill should not be started up, and the quartz crushed with success. The mill has ten stamps, with space and ample power for ten more. A projected tunnel, the entrance of which is near the mill, will cut the vein at a considerable depth, and can be made an outlet, for the mine, for years to come. When all the upper works are exhausted, lower levels could be pumped through the tunnel by water-power. I prospected the quartz, and found some of it rich in gold.
"I think quartz could be gathered on the surface of the ground, over a large area of country, which would pay in the mill. The mine was discovered, about twelve years ago, by Edward D. Rogers. He used to pay forty cents per bushel, for crushing the ore to sand, in stump mortars, with stamp pestles, by setting iron wedges in stems of wood, which, for convenience, were attached to spring poles. He then rocked the sand with quicksilver. The gold obtained, gave him a profit of about $1.00 per bushel. The stump mortars may still be seen. The tree was cut down, and the stump sawed off square. The concavity was made by burning with live coals, assisted by judicious use of the axe. While this was a rude substitute, for a crushing apparatus, it served a useful purpose, and enabled the miners, in an imperfect manner, to extract the gold, that under other circumstances would have been practically inaccessible. There has, at no time, been a mill at this mine. The new mill has not yet turned a wheel."