Ghostdog wrote
Basicially I am just questioning the Provinonce of the matchbox and ring inlaid ore as being original Waltz ore. There has to be a authenicated document trail for this to be Waltz"s ore.
The "provenance" of Waltz's ore can not be documented amigo - read up and you will see. Under the deathbed of Waltz was found a candlebox of that ore. It ended up in possession of Dick Holmes, whom sold it off a little at a time to finance his search for the mine. We have only the word of Holmes, and of Julia Thomas and Reiney Petrasch who also laid claim to the gold. Holmes had one assay done (required by the gold buyer) which was done by Joe Porterie. You may be able to track a copy of this assay down, it supposedly came out $110,000 per ton at the old $20.67 per ounce.
You are grouping the matchbox and ring together amigo Ghostdog, which we ought not logically do - the matchbox can be traced at least verbally to Waltz, while the ring cannot. The ring is made of ore which someone believes is the Lost Dutchman mine, we have no proof of this idea at all. The ore in the ring has some visual differences to the matchbox ore, which a geologist could make some statements on - having never held either example in hand with a magnifying glass I hesitate to make conclusions but suspect they are not from the same mine. If I were forced to make a guess, I would say that ring ore came from a quite different type of gold vein, an epithermal deposit. That is making a
wild guess based on photos with my poor eyesight, they very well MAY be from the same mine. There are a FEW other pieces of ore which are supposed to be from Waltz's mine.
The identification of the ore said to be taken from Walt Gassler's pack was done by Tom Kollenborn. Mr Kollenborn holds a masters degree, and is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced Dutch-hunters living, having written and published articles on the geology of the Superstition mountains. I
personally trust Kollenborn's assessment of that alleged Gassler sample, even if done only by a visual inspection in a brief moment. I am sure this basis is not enough for many people,
it is enough for myself personally.
I make no claim to being a geologist, but have a fair amount of experience prospecting along with studying geology as best I can without college. Geology is an exact science, making conclusions about stone inscriptions age and origins <
epigraphy> is
not. That we cannot produce a trail of documentation for the Waltz gold specimens is granted, but
it is gold ore which does not match any KNOWN source, so the ore vein/mine remains LOST. Comparing this fact to the provenance of the Peralta Stones, the stones can be traced to Tumlinson, his story being that he found them alongside the highway. As Cactusjumper posted, the stone itself comes from a considerable distance away, sources NOT within the Superstitions, the experts whom have examined them have stated opinions they are of modern origins. How can we lump these mysterious curiosities in with a genuine article, rich gold ore? I fail to see the logic there amigo, so
must respectfully disagree with your conclusions.
Ghostdog also wrote
So without a Assy Report, any ore from the Supers. could be classified as Dutchman ore. No proof any ore will gladly say I am from the LDM. case
You are mistaken here amigo, for
only the ore from the same mine will match the ore in Waltz's matchbox. A geologist would be able to tell you with the certainty of fingerprints - so
I again have to respectfully disagree about "any ore could be classified as Dutchman ore" absolutely.
The infamous matchbox, so frequently mis-identified as a "lighter" due to the resemblance
Compare to this ore specimen
One last bit and I will close this long-winded post - it should not be too surprising for GOLD to come from a SILVER mine. The amount of gold to silver in any mine varies, especially as one mines deeper in the vein. Silver mines in the Tombstone district were found to have good gold values as the water table was reached, a result of (
by the theory of one geologist anyway) the silver being more chemically reactive to the environment, "leaching" out of the ore leaving the gold behind. So despite the old song about looking for gold in a silver mine,
it is a natural feature of geology. Kind of makes us old prospectors want to give those old silver mines a second look!
Good luck and good hunting amigos, I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco
? Nothing - nothing at all, can be ascertained.
