Heavy Work on Believe it or Not Mine
July 17, 1938
Holmes and Bates Acquire New Associates Assuring Immediate Development of Mine and Mill; Mill 40-Ton Capacity, Arrastra and Flotation Process
“Believe It or Not” is a gold mine—or will be soon, with a mill and everything.
C. C. Snell of Tacoma and R. L. Chester of Sacramento have associated themselves with John Holmes and J. W. Bates in the development on the Gregg property five miles south of Susanville on the road to Diamond Mountain.
In the new organization the necessary capital is assured to open up the mine and build a mill for the extraction of the yellow metal.
Chas. Evans today has a bulldozer at work clearing ground and shaping up a reservoir where tailings from the mill will be impounded.
Other immediate activities include the placing of a head frame, hoist, ore bins and timbering the present working, to be immediately followed by taking out the ore.
It is expected the mill of the arrastra type together with a flotation process will be in operation within 30 days, and to begin with will have a capacity of 40 tons a day. This will be enlarged as developments require and eventually will be supplemented with a stamp mill.
The bulldozer will be used to “strip” the surface of the entire area in which the “Believe It or Not” association is interested, and present indications are that all of the ground will justify milling with the modern processes to be used.
Holmes and Bates have followed the bulldozer’s every sweep with a pick, digging up samples and panning. Everywhere they are rewarded with “colors” sufficient to make them enthuse of prospect of a profitable undertaking of unlimited possibilities.
Ownership of the mine is entirely held by Holmes, Bates, and their new associates and Bates will be in charge of operations on the property. He has had many years experience in Nevada and the Mother Lode country, and will in the main design the mill especially for handling the character of ore in which the gold has been found.
