HOLA arizonaames,
arizonaames wrote
Waltz was a night foreman at the Vulture mine in Wickenburg for a time.
Greetings Arizonaames, do you have some kind of documentary proof that Jacob Waltz ever worked at the Vulture mine? I was never able to find ANY evidence that he ever worked there. Helen Corbin stated that a complete search of the Vulture's records contradicts the stories of Waltz working there, though he did buy ore from the mine to mill out the gold.
arizonaames also wrote
Gold has it's own properties from whence it is found. Waltz's gold was identical to the gold from the Vulture mine. Can you say h-i-g-h g-r-a-d-i-n-g......
I am partial agreement with you, and must respectfully disagree with you in part. I do agree that all natural gold has specific properties which makes it possible to identify the origin/source of any gold found in nature. Waltz's gold however was NOT identical, (similar yes) to ore from the Vulture, in fact it is UNIQUE and unlike the ore from any KNOWN source. Waltz's ore assayed out at $110,000 to the ton in the late 1800's when gold was priced at $20.67 per ounce, it would be worth well over a million per ton today.
The gold ore from Waltz's mine is of a type known as "hypothermal" that is a type of ore formed at great depth in the rock, where most Arizona gold ores are of epithermal types, formed near the surface and often green to greenish yellow in color, with fine grains and tiny gold particles. Mesothermal ores, can be white quartz but more often colored variously (green, orange, black) has medium sized grains and small to medium sized gold particles. Epithermal gold deposits most often do not run to any depth in the rock, so are quickly played out (though often making the miner wealthy in the process) Mesothermal deposits tend to run deeper but often pinch out at depth, Hypothermal types run to great depths (over a mile is not unusual) but can be rather "small" in cross-section so may not show a large intrusion at the surface. Jacob Waltz's ore ran
55 to 70 percent gold with a small amount of silver -
1.3 percent, while the Vulture ore ran 0.35 oz gold and 0.25 oz silver per ton - nearly two ounces of silver for every three ounces of gold. The Vulture mine is of epigenic (near surface) mesothermal to epithermal type,
not the same as Waltz's ore. The huge difference in gold to silver ratios is proof as well as rock grain sizes.
(
Good article on Vulture mine is online at:
http://www.azgs.state.az.us/Mineral Scans/Geology of Vulture Gold Mine.pdf
This ore of Waltz is really the key point that proves
it does exist, and that very few have ever actually found it - as far as I know,
only one person in the last forty years had found ore that matched Waltz's exactly, and he died in the Superstitions before showing anyone where he had found it. (Gassler)
It is always easy and tempting to just dismiss legends like the Lost Dutchman mine, for what intelligent person could believe in such things as a fabulously rich gold mine that no one can find in our modern, high-tech society, but these stories are founded on reality and perhaps some day someone will yet find the infamous Lost Dutchman mine. I hope so.
Good luck and good hunting arizonaames, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco