Newspaper Page Text
Stockholders THE WALLACE MINER i Metal Quotations WILL FIND MINING NEWS AND COMPANY NOTICE8 OF INTEREST TO THEM IN THE WALLACE MINER Lead, $8.05. Spelter, $8-50@8.65. Copper, $26. Silver, 99% c - I NO. 22. VOL. XII. FIVE CENTS A COPY WALLACE, IDAHO, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1918. Q TUNGSTEN EXPERT TALKS ABOUT ORES Colonel Kennan De scribes Find on Pony Gulch HIGH GRADE SCHEELIJE © Coeur d' Alene Ore Com mands Premium- -Field for Prospecting ♦ OLONEL CHESTER T. Ken- j nan came up from Spokane ; Tuesday and went at once to Pony guluh where he recently I made an important discovery of tung sten. So many inaccurate statements i P have been made regarding this "find" that Colonel Kennan, who is an ex- I pert on ores of tungsten and their [ manner of occurrence, was asked to i i make a statement regarding it and p tungsten ores in general. Colonel Ken C nan said: Tungsten Unknown to Miners. "Tungsten ore scarcely came into commercial importance until about the j year 1900; and although the tungsten mineral, scheelite, was encountered In quantity in all the gold veins of the north side which were mined to any extent, the gold miners did not recog- ! nfze It, did not know what it was, in fact, but called it 'heavy spar' and considered it an abundant nuisance, I as It frequently 'scraped' their amal gam plates, carrying off the quick silver, amalgam, gold and all along with the tailings into the creek, there- I by causing large losses In gold mill Ing. All the mills in the district were seriously hrimpered in their operations by scheelite, 'scraping' the plates, this showing conclusively that schee lite is widely distributed in the gold [ veins of the northe side. Scheelite in Golden Chest. "The mine muckers took pains -to 'cob out' some of the coarse pieces of scheelite and throw them in the waste stopes; but as scheelite occurs right in the gold ore, it was hard to separate it by hand picking, as most often the pieces containing scheelite would also •be rich in gold. Yet at several of the mines, notably at the Golden Chest, after the rise in the price of scheelite, the old dumps and stopes were par tially worked over and long-ago dis carded scheelite picked up and ship pc to market. The Golden Chest ship- is ped about $100,000 worth thus obtain ed. A rich zone of scheelite occurred In the 'Klondike Shoot,' about 900 feet long, of this mine from which it Is estimated that at present prices about $1,000,000 worth of scheelite was in mined and wasted by the early oper ators. This shoot was also rich in But the curious fact is here carry gold, the gold being in the quartz and associated iron minerals, [ gold. noted that the scheelite itself does not valuable mineral of tungsten. When pure It runs 80.6 tungstic trioxide, and the scheelite ifrom the Coeur d'Alene district is the purest and freest from deleterious substances yet found. A premium of $10 per unit has been paid over current prices for this scheelite 1 on account of its extreme purity. "There are four commercial minerals ! ,, of tungsten—scheelite, ferberite, hueh nerite and wolframite. The three lat ter are termed the dark minerals of tungsten, containing iron and man ganese in varying amounts and rang- j ing in color from dark reddish brown to black; while scheelite, *the light [ colored tungsten mineral, is a calcium . tangstate and may be any light color, even snow white, but it is most usually found cream color, as in the Coeur Tungsten Minerals. "Scheelite Is the richest and most d'Alenes. Occurrence. "The manner of occurrence of tung sten minerals Is quite peculiar, a type of occurrence all their own. They have not been found to occur In large solid bodies of mineral, as Iron minerals, for instance, occur; nor yet have they 'been found to occur as evenly dlstrlb uted In connection with vein or de They posit as gold, sliver and copper. • may be found In any rock formation, but are primary minerals and originate complex. at depths In the Igneous They are not Infrequently encountered j impregnating Igneous rocks In a fls sured or shattered zone, as ferberite Or they may Is found In Colorado, occur alone or associated with other They i minerals In veins or deposits. . occur in zones of scattered disconnect */* ed pieces or deposits, ns pockets, chunks, kidneys, chimneys, lenses and stringers. Good Field for Prospecting. d'Alene district has hunches, veinlets, 'The Coeur never been prospected for tungsten minerals, all the scheelite so far found having been encountered Incidentally j HELP SALVATION ARMY HELP OUR BOYS IN FRANCE WIN THE WAR. The Salivation Army does not ask much assistance from the people of Shoshone county in carrying on the war work of the organization, but it is just as essential as the larger subscriptions that have been given for similar work by other bodies. Just as the Salvation Army oc cupies a unique place and performs a most useful service in peace, so it is rendering service necessary for our soldiers in war that is not duplicated by any other organiza tion. If you believe the work of the Y. M. C. A., the K. C. and sim ilar organizations is necessary for the welfare of our army, then you must believe in the work of the Salvation Army, for it is engaged in the same service, but, as in civil life, it reaches a class not effective ly reached by any other organiza tion. There should be quick and generous response to the appeal for the Salvation Army. j ; I m go ld mines and in the gold i P . n d gold placers, except in two in stances: I tact scheelite vein or zone was found [ along an igneous dike on the Mother i i ot le property on Prichard creek, and p few weeks ago I had men prospect for a scheelite vein which 1 believed veins About two years ago a con crossed Pony gulch and found it. This Is also a contact vein in quartz and slate and jquartzite, lying between j quartzite, with several igneous dikes lunning nearby and parallel to it. It [appears to dip at an angle of about 45 degrees southwesterly and strikes north about 20 degrees west, ! vein was uncovered in the creek bot lorn and has been stripped for about 30 feet in length. At the nortli end of I the stripping the vein appears about four feet (vide and at the south end about 10 feet wide. The scheelite, in accordance with its typical or native I manner of distribution, is irregularly distributed through the gangue in [specks, grains, chunks, seams and veinlets. On account of its irregular distribution it is quite impossible to estimate by sight the percentage of [ scheelite carried, and it is likewise saying the hand samples. This impossible to arrive at an accurate estimate by 'hand sampling' and as Often a piece of the ore whicli exhibits to the eye no scheelite on the outside, when crushed and 'panned' yields a good string of scheelite, showing that the scheelite was on the inside of -the gangue rook or 'matrix. When tlie scheelite thus permeates, the gangue rock of the vein, it is a good indiva - tion of richness in tlie ore. On the other hand, should it only appear in the cracks, then there is not likely to be so much scheelite in the vein. It is so heavy it can be 'panned' in a gold pan the same ns gold. I believe 10 per cent by weight of scheelite in this vein as far as it has been strip ped would be a guess not far out of the way. At present prices 1 per cent in a vein of this size would pav hand somely. As a comparison easily un derstood, each 1 per cent of scheelite In this vein is worth about 30 times as much as if it were lead, 'galena,' instead of scheelite. Much scheelite was encountered in placer mining [ in Pony gulch. peculiar and Important advantage we have in t i, e Coeur-d'Alenes, where the tungsten occurs In gold veins, is that the gold ve | ns are ' goof ] 11av ' veins for the gold a ] on(?i an< j t h e scheelite, aa a byproduct, can therefore be pro 1 dl|ped practically free of cost. No [other known tungsten district, at low ! ,, r i ceSi can compete with this kind of tungstpn mining. The scheelite be jng in the go)d ore la necessarily (mined with It and the scheelite is re |covered by concentration in tlie gold j m ju when this district gets into full i [operation, it Is bound to become one [ of the moat stable and permanent pro . ducers 0 f tungsten." __ .. MDT ocucDCPn LOWER LOURf kevehseu. The supreme court has handed the Railroad It was a condemnation ac The ease was Gold Pays for Mining. Condemnation Case Appealed to Su preme Court From Benewah. [company Icomipany and William [Harrison, tion for right of way and damages in which the eminent domain law of down an Important decision In case of the Tyson Creek against the Empire Mill Connelly, of ;the state was involved. tried before Judge Flynn in Benewah |county and the trial occupied more The Empire Mil* j than two weeks, company and Connelly were dissatiH Ped with the decision and appealed to 'the supreme court, which reversed the lower court, finding in favor of i tlie Empire company and Connelly ;The railroad right of way runs through valuable timber and placer Chas. L. Heltman mining property, and C. W). Beale, of Wallace, were at torneys for the Empire Mill company and Connelly, and the Tyson Railroad company was represented by Mc Whltla and Naughton, j Coeur d'Alene. Potts, of START INTERSTATE Mine in Fine Shape for Immediate Production MORE MILL CAPACITY Tailings Dump Will Net the Company Over a Million —Overcome Loss HE ADDITIONS and changes being made in the lnterstute Callahan mill are rapidly near ing completion, and C. W. New ton, superintendent of the mine, stated this week that everything would be in readiness for a general resumption of mine production before ttie first of August. Prior to the suspension to permit tile changes in the mill the company had experienced no trouble on account of labor shortage and Mr. Newton does not anticipate any seri T ous delay In getting a full quota of men when the mine resumes produc tion on or before the first. In fact he is now receiving numerous appliea thins from former employes to return to work. Instead of seeking work in other mines of the district when laid off, many Interstate-Callahan em ployes went to the harvest fields of the northwest, while many others sought ot employment In the shipyards of the The first will return when the eoast. harvest is over, and many of the sec ond have found that the high wage scale on the coast has its drawbacks j in the form of excessive living costs and who will soon be found hack on I the Interstate-Callahan payroll. In at fact when one considers the present j is wage scale in the Coeur d'Alene dis trlet in connection with the favorable [be working conditions, cost of board and J lodging facilities, it may well be J doubted whether the men who are dis- j posed to leave-for new fields through the attraction of higher wages sue-[as ceed in improving their condition. - I Mine in Fine Condition. During the period of suspension of I production the Interstate-Callahan I a G. company has taken advantage of the [ situation to push development work. ! Eighty men have been employed in the J mine extending drifts on the lower j levels, making connecting raises and putting in chutes to accommodate new | stopes. The lowest level is now 1050 i feet below the working tunnel, or No. 4, and the amount of ore actually blocked out is now perhaps greater than at any time in the history of the mine. So thoroughly have the de velopment idans been carried out Mr. Newton states that within one hour after the order is given the mine is in position to begin maximum pro duction. Money in Tailings. Wlille the mill has been closed down the flotation plant has been running on the big accumulation of tailings, estimated at 250,000 tons. In his re Port to the stockholders President Per •cival estimated that these tailings would run 12 per cent zinc and that with a 90 per cent recovery the tail - lugs should produce 60,000 tons of con centrates assaying 46 per cent zinc, Cn this basis with zinc at 7 cents per pound, the price at the time the re P ort was made, it was estimated that ,llfi company would clean up $1,000,000 through the treatment of these tail lugs. The results have shown that i President Pereival was conservative in his estimates. Mr. Newton is authority for the statement that the tailings run 15 P er cen zlnc an<1 that the recovery Is above 90 per cent, and that the con centrates average 49 per cent. In ad dition to these higher figures, the price of zinc has advanced and the company is probably receiving 1 cent per pound more than the price when the president made his report. I,ast month tlie company shipped 3200 tons of concentrates the product of these tailings, and shipments are now going forward at the rate of 100 tons per day or better. The cost of han dling these tailings is almost nominal. They are conveyed to the flotation plant by a drag-line operated by one man, ground in ball mills operated by one man, and thence pass through the flotation cells which require only one a to man. Increase Milling Capacity. Tlie flotation plant was completed only a few months ago and is meeting every expectation. Many changes are being made in the original mill, old machinery being replaced by new and Improved patterns. However the most important addition is on the table i floor, where new tables have been added, the purpose to be attained being to make a .more perfect separa tion of the zinc and lead. The loss of lead has been considerable hereto of Adopts an Original Method of Treat ing Its Ore CRUSHER AND HAND JIGS Clean Shipping Product-Fine Ore Showing and Great Possibilities T \\|AS along in January when the Big Creek Mining company struck tlie vein which was the objective of a crosscut which hud been run jig ore, jigs Is foot iron ing is is of be is the 40 in round figures 2400 feet, and it is significant of the accuracy of the sur vey and of the regularity of the vein that it was encountered within 10 feet of the distance estimated by the en gineer. The splendid body of ore dis closed at the point of intersection proved Hie continuation downward of the ore shoot which had been rich and productive on the tunnel level 5ti0 feet above and which showed the same character of ore on the level 540 feel above that. Thus the strike in the lower tunnel, or No. 3, proved a con tinuous ore shoot for a depth of 1200 feet, and the amount of ore that had been removed from those upper levels, |although representing many thousands ot dollars, is small compared with the [large area that has now been prac ltic-ally established by this lower open This does not take into eonsiile' [ing. [ation the possibilities of deeper de j velopment. While the matter of an 'other tunnel is still several years in I the future and is not being considered at this time by the management, it j is nevertheless interesting to observe [that at least 600 additional depth may [be gained before the question of sink J ing comes up for consideration. These J facts taken in connection with the j steady enlargement of the ore bodies while maintaining their high values depth Is attained, afford material for pleasant contemplation to Big I Creek shareholders. I Provide Shipping Facilities. Tlie ore where first encountered in 3 was galena, but drifting soon well, much of both ores being of shipping grade Ore taken out in the drifts alone soon I made a large accumulation on the dump, and a building was erected for sorting it for shipment. The plan first adopted was to dump the ore over a grizzly, the coarse chunks being hand sorted and the lead and gray copper being separated. Tlie finer stuff that passed through the grizzly was then hand jigged, the lead and gray copper products of this process being also separated for shipment. It was found, however, that this method was too slow to handle the increased produc tion after tlie stopes were opened and G. Scott Anderson, manager of the company, was confronted with the problem of devising means to meet the situation without incurring the ex pense of building a mill. In this he was greatly assisted by the practical knowledge and experience of Chan. K. Moffitt, superintendent of the mine, and through their combined efforts the Big Creek company now has a plant which, while not entitled to the dig nity of being called a mill, does never theless turn out a milling product and will result In greatly increasing ship ments. [ y,, ! disclosed gray copper as J j | i per on til per be per to ers of of to Crusher and Hand Jigs. Excavation was made beneath the ore sorting building which added an other story to the building, and the lower story was extended to give a total floor space of 20 x 75 feet. On tills floor there are three hand Jigs In operation and the fourth one Is nearly completed. In the ore sorting room a Blake crusher has been In stalled at the foot of the grizzly with a short platform between. The erush ei is driven by an electric motor. As the ore Is dumped on the grizzly the finer ore goes through to the jig floor. The man who feeds the crusher rakes the ore down and Into the crusher, picking out all chunks of clean ore that come to his notice and also •chunks of waste, similar to the sorting belt process. This is all the sorting that Is done now, all the ore passing through the crusher and dropping to the Jig floor below. The Jigs are under the personal su pervision of G. T. Hutsell, a hand jig expert, who for many years has been successful In recovering the values in the tailingR of Canyon creek. The fore, and it Is believed that this will be largely overcome by more perfect table concentration. The changes In the mill, in addition to reducing the losses, will Increase the capacity about 100 tons, making It 600. RED CROSS DANCE SATURDAY EVENINGS AT HOWARTH HALL. Beginning next Saturday evening a dance will be given at Howarth hall under the auspices of Sho shone Chapter of the Ked Cross. Red Cross ladies will manage the floor and the receipts will go Into the treasury of the local chapter. For these dances the Brown-Fisher orchestra, with a patriotic gener osity that lias never failed to re spond to the call of the Red Cross, will donate the music. Howarth hall is the most delightful dancing pavilion in the state of Idaho, and the purpose for which these dances are given is one that appeals to all red blooded Americans. If you dance you cannot spend an even ing more pleasantly nor help nobler cause than by visiting Hovv artli ball Saturday evening. Tile Red Cross needs tile money and you need the relaxation which these dances provide. a | shipping 'product turned out by ttie jig depends upon the quality of the ore, hut at the present time with three jigs running one shift tile output, in cluding the ore taken out at the crusher, is about eight tons. The mine will soon be in shape to increase the output, when two shifts and possibly three will he put on jigs. The jig water contains considerable slime and this is conveyed to a set tling tank 12 x 14, divided into two compartments, the use of which adds considerable revenue which would otherwise be lost. A separate dump Is made of the tailings from the jigs, with the view to possibly reworking them when the company has a mill with facilities for fine grinding, An examination of them Indicates that there is not much value left in them. How Ore Is Hauled. The ore in sacks is hauled to the foot of the hill on wagons with broad iron wheels and built on a narrower gauge than the standard road wagons. Two tons are hauled on the wagon and about half a ton on a drag behind which serves as a brake. The load ing platform at the foot of the hill is about a mile and a half from the railroad at Shont spur, where the ore is transferred to the cars. The value of the shipments, according to smelter returns, averages $115 per ton. Mr. Anderson states that he expects to be able to ship at the rate of three carloads every 10 days. The company is now employing about 25 men and the hoarding and bunk house is being enlarged to accommodate a force of 40 or 50. OF NEW COPPER PRICE COMPANY MAKES RECORD SHIP MENTS IN JUNE—BIG SUR PLUS IN TREASURY. The addition of 2 % cents to the price of copper as announced by the government, effective July 1, means an additional profit to the National Cop per Mining company of about $10,000 on all shipments during the past four months. Under the terms of ship ment, final settlement is not made un til four months after the ore has been received by the smelter and the price paid is based on the quotation for cop per on the date of settlement. All shipments from the National for the period of 120 days prior to July 1 will be paid for at the new rate of 26 cents per pound. The new rate Is fixed until August 15. In the meantime the war Industries board will meet again on August 7 to give further consideration to the price of copper and It Is not Improbable that the metal will receive another advance, as strong pressure is being brought to bear on the govern ment in behalf of the smaller produc ers for a further increase. National Shipments. During the month of June the Na tional shipped 13 carloads of concen trates, this being the highest record made by the company. In May 12 carloads were shipped. The tonnage of the two months was about the same. National concentrates average about 15 per cent copper and 40 ounces of silver, and the value of a carload prior to the advance in the price of copper was In the neighborhood of $3,500. The force In the mine has been con siderably increased, made necessary by the new work that has been under taken to which reference was made last week. It is understood that the company now has in cash on hand and money due on ore shipped an ag gregate of about $75,000, and Is free from- debt. This with the amount of ore available in the mine, the new work that is starting on the 1500 level, and the advance In the price of cop per, combine to give a bright outlook to the property. OPERATORS ADVANCE Miners Will Now Receive $5.25 a Day ACTION VOLUNTARY Been Under Consideration for Several Weeks— 4000 Benefited ESTERDAY THE announce ment was made on behalf of the mine operators of the Coeur d'Alene district that the wages of all employes would he ad vanced 50 cents per day, making the wages for miners and other under ground men $5.25 per day. The In crease applies to all employes in and about the mines and mills and the [clerical forces, and also includes shift | bosses, foremen and superintendents. The new scale becomes operative on the date it was announced, July 10. Voluntary Action. Dike all former Increases in the wages of employes, the advance was voluntary on the part of ttie opera tors in recognition of the fact that the men are entitled to more pay as an offset to the steadily increasing cost of living. The matter has been under consideration for several weeks by the managers of the various compan ies and numerous conferences have been held as a means of arriving at an agreement for uniform action. The action was not the result of wage ad vances in Butte or other mining cen ters, for it had been practically agreed upon weeks before and the announce ment only awaited agreement upon tile amount of the increase. About 4000 Men Benefited. The wages in the Coeur d'Alene district were first advanced in Febru ary, 1916, by the adoption of a sliding scale which provided for a maximum increase of $1 per shift when the price of lead is $i!.50 per 100 pounds or more. This scale was further Increased to provide for another 25 cents raise when lead is over $7.50, making the . wage $4.75, This rate was soon reached, and although the price of had until recently was for months below $7.50, wages were not reduced to correspond. And It Is significant of the friendly attitude of the com panies that the present advance is made without regard to the sliding scale. Vision the sliding scale was ■ first adopted it was estimated that the number of men affected was about 5000. Since that time for various causes due to the war, the number of employes has been greatly reduced, all the mines being short of men, and it is now estimated that the number of men affected by the increase is be tween 3500 and 4000. Y ST. JOE PLACERS. Wallace Men Will Work Ground Dur ing Remainder of Summer. Frank Rose and Alex Livingston left on the Missoula train Tuesday morning for the St. Joe basin, where Mr. Rose has a tract of placer ground to which lie will give his attention the remainder of the summer. Mr. Liv ingston is an experienced placer min er and they expect to be able to make better than wages working the ground in a limited way. The ground was located many years ago by Peter Sherlock, one of the earliest of the pioneer prospectors who is known lo cally as "Peter the Hermit." It was from him that Mr. Rose acquired the ground, which Is reputed to be of great prospective value, but will re quire considerable capital to place It on a profit earning basis. ST. LAWRENCE. ^Two four horse teams are now en gaged In hauling ore from the St. Lawrence mine to Saltese. About four tens are hauled at a trip and the teams make one round trip a day. The showing of ore in the lower tun nel continues very satisfactory and when the ground under the rich ore shoot above is reached there Is every reason to expect the same big body of ore. This tunnel is about 200 feet below the original workings and will be the main outlet when connection is made above. A compressor driven by gasoline Is being Installed and Is expected to he In operation this week. Thomson Here. Francis A. Thomson, dean of the Idaho school of mines, arrived in the city yesterday evening and will re main In the district for several days on business connected with the min ing school.