Lay down upon paper the line of strike of lode and the line of strike of the fault (cross-course), and by construction ascertain the horizontal projection of the line of their intersection; from the point where the cross-course was struck by the lode, draw a line at right angles to the strike of the former and directed to its opposite wall. Notice on which side of the line of intersection this perpendicular falls, and after cutting through the cross-course, seek the “heaved” part of the lode on that side.
Fig. 49.
Thus let AB [(Fig. 49)] represent, at any depth, the line of strike of a fault or cross-course dipping east, and CD the line of strike of a lode dipping south, and we will suppose that in driving from C to D in a westerly direction, the fault has been met with at D. Knowing the dip of the lode and that of the fault, it is easy to lay down on any given scale, AₖBₖ and CₖDₖ, the lines of strike of the fault and lode respectively at a certain depth, say 10 fathoms, below AB. The point Dₗ, where AₖBₖ and CₖDₖ meet, is one point of the line of intersection. Join D and Dₗ, and prolong on both sides. The line MN represents the horizontal projection of the line of intersection of the two planes. At D erect DE at right angles and directed towards the opposite wall of the fault. As DE falls south of MN, the miner, after cutting through the fault, would drive in a southerly direction and eventually strike the lode again at F. It will be at once understood that if the miner were following the lode from b to F, the perpendicular would lie to the north of the line of intersection, and following the rule, he would drive in that direction, after cutting through the fault. When several faults in succession dislocate a lode, very great complications may arise.
THE CALCULATION OF ORE RESERVES.[4]
Having finished the survey of a metalliferous mine, the surveyor is sometimes called upon to calculate the quantity of ore reserves in that mine. Various methods are employed for this purpose.
[4] Bennett H. Brough’s “Treatise on Mine Surveying,” sixth edition, p. 165.
Indeed, different surveyors will not agree within wide limits as to the amount of ore reserves in the same mine. Sometimes the amount of ore in sight will be considered to be a rectangular block, limited by the outcrop of the vein, the depth of the shaft, and the extreme points of the levels, diminished by the amount extracted. Other surveyors would avoid so excessive an amount, and take but one-third of that amount.
The following method is recommended by Mr. J. G. Murphy, an experienced American mining engineer, as the fairest and most trustworthy:—