The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1866-09-08
Mining Reduced to Certainty
Remarkable Results.
From the American Journal of Mining,l

| From the American Journal of Miningl
In Australia, according to Mr.. Hopkins,
a distinguished mine engineer, the Black
Hill company, on the banks of the Yam
die, with paid up capital of e24, 900,
(say $124, 600 coin,) with quartz averag-
ing less than 3 dwts., (say 50 25 coin)
per ton, makes it pay 80 per cent. per
annum on that capitall This seems al
Elost incredible, but it appears that
this same company have even obtained
a satisfactory profit from quartz giving
the very low average of dwts., (say
81 90 coin,) of gold to the ton; and
the new Perseverance Cooperating
Company, at work on White Horse Flat
are said to be content with II dwt. (say
81 124 conn., per ton!
MIR. Hayes says: The engine is a
horizontal one of 100 horse power, and
is placed in the centre of the stamp
house and drives ten batteries of ten
stamps each, the weight of the stamps
being 700 pounds They are worked by
wrought iron disks with steel faces and
steel cams. The lifters are turned and
revolve in anti-friction metal guides.
the quartz is applied to the batteries by
a rself-feeding apparatus, requiring the
attention of only one man to 60 stamps,
and is reduced sufficiently fine to pass
through wire gratings at the back and
front of the stamp boxes, having 120
holes to the square inch A small guam
tity of quicksilver is put into each stamp
box twice day. The crushed ore is car
ried through the grating by water, into
rifle boxes containing mercury, extend
| ipn hot OH &c ha hot ,l
then along some twenty-four feet of
blanketing. These blankets are washed
every eight hours in tanks which move
on wheels, and the material collected by
this process is conveyed into revolving
barrels, with half it's weight of mercury,
and water sufficient for it's perfect ANAL
gamation. The mine consists of the
principal portion of the Black Hill, and
contains about fifty acres. Tunnels Ok
y have been made into the hill at diff
terent levels, amounting in length to
about z, 800 feet. These tunnels are con-
nected at several points with the open
ings at the top of the hill by shafts down
which the quartz and mullock are shot
the quartz being conveyed to the mill
in tanks, by iron railway, and the mul-
lock carried to the waste heap. The av-
erage width of the quartz lead is about
ninety feet, with numerous leads running
into it, The quantity of quartz crushed
per week is about 1000 tons, and the
yield Of gold for the three months pre-
ceding my visit, was two dwts. per ton;
when the crushing stuff is soft, castings,
however, from 800 to 1,700 tons can be
got through-the average 1,500 tons:
, Cost for mining per ton, As. and for
crushing, 2s Cd The number of men
employed is ninety; and of horses, four;
OF tirewood there is used per week $50
tons. The company have erected small
iron foundry, at which they cast the
stamp heads and other iron required,
and the average amount of iron to be re-
, newed is about one ton weekly. The
: supply of water is obtained from Yano-
, vie creek, and is stored in reservoirs
holding 10000 gallons. A well, sup
piled from the reservoir, is sunk in the
t stamp house and from thence the water
. is forced by two pumps (thirteen inches
in diameter, throwing 500 gallons per
minute) into large tank on the side of
, the hill, holding five thousand gallons,
and from that point distributed by pipes
. to all parts of the establishment
2 What has been done here" he adds,
3 "can be done elsewhere, now that it has
been shown how to do it," True but
unfortunately it is not done elsewhere.
: What gold company in the United States
: works quartz that holds less than Sc or
l So to the ton ? and even then the rock
must be decompOsed or it will not pay.
| ~, tov h,
: scarcely one of the millions of auriferous
), veins that traverse the Western States
I and Territories that cannot be worked
1 with an absolute certainty of paying
0 immensely. Argentiferous ores of slight
: worth are made to pay in Europe and in
:: Mexico. In the latter country, we well
i remember to have heard of silver mine
in Durango and chihuahua, the ores o1
which paid not more than ST. per ton
Machinery to the value of 81 900, 600 had
been set up at the mine by an English
company, but owing to extravaganza
e they failed. Some other parties bought
: the mine and works for 100000, anG
s have ever since been making money out
of it, unless the war has stopped the
r work. Now, what Nevada company car
i cQ udi Iulo LOucS bIdb uO nOt pay IQOrt
r than thirty dollars in silver are consid
. cred worthless by most miners and mill
men, unless buoyed up by the hope tha
they will become richer in the ratio o
depth. Now, if a thing can be done any
where, why cannot it be done in tn,
United States? This is a momentou
question, and one that our Government
should take up. We commend it to tn,
: Secretary of the Treasury, who has at hi
command a fund of $4,000 with which
: to gather statistics of the mineral re
sources of our Pacific States and Terrific
ries, because such statistics will be infin
itely more valuable when comparative
=" With such information, the eyes of tn,
President and Congress will be opened
to the advisability of sending commits
: sions to every foreign mining country o
J note, to ascertain and faithfully describe
!. !. the methods of working"
8 The INDIANS IN NEBRAsKA.-Brig.
a Gen. Cooke, commanding the Depart
3 ment of the Platte, Nebraska Territory
, in a general order dated the Oath ult.
: says: Commanders of all posts in this
| l. =