Many of the gold mining claims that were purchased and integrated into this sale are noted for their previous claims and production, including the famous Pine Creek area claims, United Mining and Metals, etc:
"Bruneau claims to have recovered course gold comparable to Johnny Wyant's Pine Creek Stuff all over the best portions of the bar, plus many fist sized hunks of quartz plastered full of gold like the 3 foot boulder McChord has that was picked up there 20-30 years ago. He claims to have gotten as high as 12.9 oz. per yard for some yards, which of course isn't altogether astonishing when one is dealing with slug gold, but what is the screwiest part of the whole deal is that Bruneau claims that his test yardage recovery average $3.60 per yard."*
~Mr. F.W. Libbey, Oregon State Department of Geology, Feb. 3, 1953
*the average price of gold in 1953 was $34.84 per oz., making the $3.60 value equivalent to $517 per yard (on average), recovered during testing using $5000 per oz. of gold.
Also: "These claims have been acquired by Mr. Wyant over a period of years beginning in 1900 and they have been worked regularly and successfully by him ever since. Excepting for a hydraulic set-up on the Bulldog group, operations have been on a small scale, handwork basis. An exceptional abundance of nuggets weighing from one half to one ounce are received regularly and two fourteen ounce nuggets together with several six and eight ounce ones have been found. One of these fourteen ounce nuggets is on display in the First National Bank in Baker, Oregon."
*Testing [on a portion of the High Bar mine] suggested 1 million yards that should average 1 oz of gold every 24 cubic yards and the 3' above and down to bedrock averaged 1 oz of gold every 4.8 cubic yards. (1946 Wyant Placers, page 6)
-gold averaged $24/ounce from 1900-1946
~State Department of Geology, "Wyant Placers of Pine Creek (Gold)", April 22, 1946
