Frumet mines, Mammoth-Frumet group, Frumet, Jefferson County, Missouri, USAi

Regional Level Types
Frumet mines	Mine
Mammoth-Frumet group	Group of Mines
Frumet	Village
Jefferson County	County
Missouri	State
USA	Country

These have been the scene of very large operations and of the waste of a great deal of money in poor methods of mining and premature improvements and erection of plants. During the past 25 years $160,000 has been expended here.

The property includes about 1800 acres, distributed over portions of sections 28, 33 and 34, township 40 N. 3 E. The postoffice here is about eight and a half miles from De Soto. Openings have been made on various parts of the property, and both lead and zinc ores have been obtained. The principal of these openings are known respectively as the Zinc mine, the Sophia cut, the Frumet shaft, and the Cazin cut and tunnel. These were all examined by the writer in November, 1893, in company with Mr. George W. Taussig, the present owner. The following descriptions are from notes taken then:

At the Zinc mine the ore has been taken out in an open cut. It consists largely of galena in barite, occurring both in crystals and in disconnected sheets. Some blende and calcite are also found, associated with red tallow clay. These ores occur in small pockets, veinlets or sheets, running irregularly through the magnesian limestone, and also following planes of stratification. These sheets are generally not more than a few inches in diameter, and are confined to a few feet of thickness of the limestone, which preponderates greatly in quantity over the ore. The deposit may be classed as a stockwerk.

The Sophia cut is about one mile north of the Zinc mine. The excavation is in the side of & hill, in thinly bedded magnesian limestone, which contains a considerable quantity of pellucid, bluish chert, concentrically banded, and occurring in lenses, thin layers and irregular masses. The ore consists of galena in barite, and fills small crevices running in different directions through the limestone. Crushed rock and sand is also found along these crevices. There is no one prominent crevice, and they follow no one direction, but are horizontal and at all angles. Pyrite, in considerable quantity, is found in places; no red clay was seen. The magnesian limestone is of the usual granular, white kind, aseociated with drusy quartz, which is abundant over the surface.

A few hundred feet northeast from this cut, the Frumet shaft was sunk 140 ft. deep. It penetrated white, magnesian limestone, which contained a little barite, some little galena, and traces of blende. No ore body was, however, encountered.

The Cazin cut and tunnel is a very large excavation on the top of a hill overlooking Big river. The rock is a magnesian limestone, pitted and granular, though in part shaly and brecciated. The ore is galena and blende, mostly associated with barite and calcite. It occurs in cavities or caves, 1 to 6 ft in diameter; it is also found following certain layers of the rock; but, in other places, it follows interlacing veins through massive limestone, in true stockwerk fashion; again it is found betweep fragments of brecciated rock. No one persistent vein or other ore body is recognizable. An attempt was made to mine the ore by an open cut; but from the face presented, the proportion of ore seems hardly to justify this course. The existing cut is very large, though partly under roof in a tunnel. Its dimensions are approximately 800 ft. in length, 80 ft in width, 50 ft. in depth. Some pellucid chert occurs in the limestone here. The large fresh surface in the open cut offered opportunities for illustration which were unequaled elsewhere, and they were, hence, taken advantage of to secure a number of illustrations of ore phenomena which are typical of the whole sub-district.

This property has been examined by others in the past, and has been undoubtedly damaged by the extravagant reports which have been made. Though there was probably much ore here, there is nothing in the conditions now presented at the various openings which is different from those at other mines in Washington and Jefferson counties, and the same precautions and economical methods in working the ore must be pursued in the development of this property as in others.