Talk:John William Mackay

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It's only a category removed but, if I click on Comstock Lode, I am told it was a silver vein - so why "not a silver mining company" ??? Johnrcrellin 07:46, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

The "Comstock Lode" refers to a filled-in fissure running for four miles along the eastern base of the Virginia Mountain Range. At the surface the fissure is 200 - 1,000 feet wide, narrowing in a "V" shaped trough to a depth of 500 feet. At that point it follows the angle of the mountain range, descending 43 degrees easterly, averaging 100 feet in width. At the 5,000 foot level the walls of the fissure meet.[1]
Less than 1/500th of the lode contained high concentrations of silver and gold. These were found in 16 major ore bodies scattered, as John Mackay described, "Like plums in a charity pudding"[2]. While many ore bodies were found in the fissure, most of the deeper, large "bonanzas" were found in pockets above the fissure as it extended to the east.
The Consolidated Virginia Mining Co., on the other hand, refers to one of the principle mines staked out along the Comstock Lode. It and the adjourning California Mining Co. to the north occupied a total of 1,060 feet[3] and happened to lie above the richest and deepest ore body of the Comstock.
References:
[1] Smith, Grant H., The History of the Comstock Lode. Reno, U. of Nevada Bulletin, Vol XXXVII, July 1, 1943 No. 3. Page 71.
[2] Ibid. pages 73, 75, 276.
[3] Ibid. pages 157, 221.
MackayWara 16:42, 30 December 2006 (UTC)