The Arizona sentinel., 1875-06-12
CENTENNIAL.

mission, now in session in Phila-
delphia, has kindly sent us
the following interesting report
of the Committee on Mines and
Mining:
Mr.. William Writ Mccoy of Ne
vada, chairman of the Committee
on Mines and Mining, submitted
the following report:
To the United States Centennial
commission: Your Committee on
Mining respectfully report That
the act approved March 3, 1871,
which provides for the celebra-
ton of the One Hundreth Ami
niversary of American Indepen-
dence, requires tue Commission
! to provide for the exhibition of
the products of the mine as we'll
as of the soil, and being sensible
of the great Importance of a gen.
erel representation of the mines
and minerals of the country in
1876, your committee have taken
great interest in the work, and
are encouraged to believe that
this department of the Exhibition
will prove to be extensive and
extremely interesting.
AS many of you are aware, min
ing and the reduction of ores upon
an extensive scale are yet in their
infancy in the United States. SO
little was known of the reduction
of our silver ores in 1852, that the
most successful mills could not OBJ
tain more than from fifty to sixty
per cent. of the true value Of the
ore, while at this time, only about
twenty-five years since, our ores
are now being worked up to from
eighty-five to ninety-five per cent;
thus saving from thirty-five to
forty per cent. more silver than
was saved in 1862. The slum and
tailings, which passed away as
valueless, are now, under our i'm
proved process. being prOfitably
worked under the direction of our
skillful mill operators.
There is no place in the world
where the mining and the reduc-
ton of free silver ores are so ex-
tensively and so successfully ac-
complished as at Virginia City, in
Nevada, some of the mines (the
Virginia Consolidated for ms
tance) yielding as much as ST., $780,
900 per month, while, with like
amount of machinery, the Califor-
MA and other adjoining mines
would give much larger amount
of silver bullion.
The argentiferous galena and
other lead-bearing ores of Eure-
ka, Nevada, reduced by the smelt-
ing process, are yielding daily
from siXty-five to seventy tons of
crude bullion. So extensive is
the product of that section becom-
ing that a railroad is now rapidly
approaching completion from Pa
liSades to connect Eureka with
the G. P. r. R. to carry all the
products of her furnaces.
AS an evidence of the increas-
ing intelligence of our miners. this
district was totally abandoned in
1866 as of no value, and in 1859
work was again resumed and now
her immense ore bodies are de-
veloped, and their vast extent
fnIly assured. Time and labor
are to bring about results not now
anticipated.
The opinion is established in
the minds of intelligent miners
that the buSin ess of mining and
the reducing of ores is likely to
become as reliable as agricultural
or any other industrial pursuits.
From all the ore bearing States
and Territories ores are being col
lected for our great National Ex-
hibitlOn. Arizona has apprOpri-
ated $4,000 to aid exhibitors, and
her legislature has selected a Cen
tennial A gent to superintend the
shipment of ores and other arti-
Giles for exhibition, and under the
act of the various Boards of Su-
pervisors in the several counties
have appointed agents to assist in
boxing products for transpOrta-
ton. There is little doubt but
the people of Arizona will SUBJ
scribe the balance of the stock ap-
pOrtiOned to her.
The Legislature of Nevada at
its last session appropriated $780,
900 to her State Board Of Mana.
gers to place her mineral products
on exhibition. They propose to
erect quartz mill on the exhibi-
ton grounds for the reduction of
ores from the great bOnanzas of
the Comstock. This will consti-
tlite one of the interesting fea.
lures of the Exhibition, especial
cially to those who have never
witnessed converting ores. Agents
are canvassiug that State to raise
Nevada's quota, while others are
collecting a cabinet of minerals to
be placed in the Exhibition. Your
committee are informed that a ton
in silver bars will be on exhibit