2605

Examination of the Grand Channel of Auriferous Gravel in the North Bloomfield Mining District

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
Examination of the Grand Channel of Auriferous Gravel in the North Bloomfield Mining District
SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping and Handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. All shipping is subject to a minimum charge of $19.00. If additional shipping and handling costs are required, the buyer will be reinvoiced for the balance due. Items are not shipped until the invoice is completely paid. Many buyers purchase a number of lots. Every effort will be made to include all lots in a single shipping charge calculated to cover the weight and size of the package(s). NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension, or weight) may require sp...
Examination of the Grand Channel of Auriferous Gravel in the Mining District of North Bloomfield, Nevada County, California by P. Huerne, Civil Engineer – 1877 San Francisco. Edward Bosqui &Co., corner of Leidesdorff & Clay Streets. Pamphlet 15 pp. An immense deposit of blue gravel, covered by abed of red and white gravel, with a total depth varying from 50 to 350 feet lies north of Nevada City, extending east and west between the south and middle branches of the Yuba River. Laid down in the Tertiary period this layer is rich in coarse gold that was released as torrents of water washed down from the mountain heights pulverizing the gold bearing rock. The author continues with a description of all rich placer claims surrounding the North Bloomfield property including: the Souchet or Montreal Gravel Company, the Derbec, Ultimum and Last Chance Company and the Watt Blue Gravel Mining Company. The report goes on to describe the cost of working the claims, probable yields. From 1870 to 1874 the North Bloomfield Mining Com¬pany washed three and one-quarter million cubic yards of top gravel, which yielded only 2.9 cents per cubic yard and a gross profit of $2,232 84. In 1877 a rough estimate was made of the comparative yield of the upper and lower gravel washed during the year. The top gravel was assumed to be from a few feet to over two hundred feet deep, and the bottom gravel sixty-five feet deep. The results obtained were that 1,591,730 cubic yards of top gravel yielded 3.8 cents per cubic yard, and 702,-200 cubic yards of bottom gravel returned 32.9 cents per cubic yard. The North Bloomfield Mining Company with ultimately 157 miles of ditches, was one of three large hydraulic mining operations operating on the San Juan ridge north of Nevada City. The other two were the Eureka Lake and Yuba Canal Company which owned four reservoirs and 200 miles of ditches, headquartered in North Columbia and the Milton Mining and Water Company headquartered in French Corral with 80 miles of ditches.



The North Bloomfield figured in a landmark lawsuit as one of the earliest "environmental litigation" class action cases, Edwards Woodruff vs. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company, 1882 – 1891 concerning the environmental impact of hydraulic mining and resultant debris. William Ralston (of the California Bank and Bank Ring fame) later became involved with the North Bloomfield when it ran into seemingly insurmountable problems at the Malakoff Diggings with runoff. Huge dams and reservoirs were built by these companies for supplying water to giant water canons that were used in Hydraulic mining. Of note, Bowman dam was built by the North Bloomfield Mining Co. Hydraulic mining continued until it was halted by Judge Lorenzo Sawyer in 1884 after farmers filed suit over the devastating effects of debris on the valleys below. Some age toning, otherwise Fine. Date: 1877 Location: Nevada County, California HWAC# 572026