The Arizona sentinel., 1878-08-10
ARIZONA SENTINEL.
ARIZONA COPPER MINES.

l Od1 OhDdI, dO OOI 1U, ISlS
 ARIZONA COPPER MINES. Few Chinese to be Employed Value Of the eMines-DIHicuIties of Trans pOrtatIOn.
 It seems that the owners of the Longfel- low copper mines, at Clifton, Arizona, are not desirous of being pioneers in Mon golian invasion of that territory. The su- perintendent of the mine, who is at present in this city, says if they employ any Chinese at all, it will be to do work which neither white men nor Mexleans will accept For instance, they will be employed in the mar row ravines of hills, distant 5 miles from the mine, burning charcoal and carrying it on their backs iE bags for about a mile to point where it can be transferred to in the extreme, and even Mexicans cannot be got to carry anything over it. The only way therefore, to get the charcoal to the l teams is to employ Chinese, who will be entirely separated from the workmen of the mine
 THE NUMBER OF CHINAMEN
 That will be employed will not exceed se- venty, and not single white man or Mex ican at present employed by the company will be supplanted.
 The mine is no miles distance from the nearest city, and employs regularly from 225 to 275 white men and MeXicans, who get on very well together. Every day 6,00G pounds of pig copper is produced and the prospects gre improving steadily. The lowest level is 2S0 feet, and all the raising is done by q whim, but the erection of hoisting machinery is only matter of time. Henry Lesinsky, Charles Lesinsky and J. Freudenthal compose the company l The nearest railroad point is not within | 800 miles, Fort Yuma and the present southern terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande narrow gauge being nearly equi- distant. The latter is the more remote as yet. This road will be finished to Las Vegas, New Mexico, within fifteen or eigh- teen months, and then the Clifton furnaces can be supplied with coal from Colorado It will pay the company to haul it from Las Vegas Nearly all of their charcoal is brought
 BY WAGON FROM THE RIO GRANDE,
 About 260 miles. The proposition to en- plOy gang of Chinese is the result of a desire to utilize numerous small bodies of mesquite and oak timber to be found, as already stated, in the mountain gorges that are inaccessible except to men pack ing material to and from the proposed charcoal pits.
 The copper mines at Clifton are among the most extensive and valuable deposits Of that mineral yet discovered. Messrs Lesinsky have spent nearly S500,00O in developing them, and especially in perfect ing a furnace that would stand the heat necessary for the reduction of the oxides of copper-the only form of ore that it now pays to work. The little Mexican furnaces, not being subjected to an extre- mely high temperature, are useful for small works In the case of such extensive works as those necessary for Clifton, some other materials and means had to be used FOR SEVERAL YEARS THE OWNERS WERE BAFFLED
 Completely. Engineers and metallurgists familiar with this metal were employed. Every device they tried failed as no fur mace stood the great heal. At last, obsery- ing how rapidly the copper cooled on ex- posture to the air, Mr Lesinsky was struck with the idea of trying copper plates. One placed in a Mexican furnace stood that test most admirably. Then boxes of cop per plate were cast and the furnace made of them This device for holding the ore and withstanding the heat was thoroughly successful. They stand from 60 to 90 days, and the material can readily be reused. Since then the Longfellow mines have paid, and their product can be enormously increased as soon as transportation facili- ties are afforded. The company hopes that the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe road will be pushed into New Mexico. Their ores are shipped to Baltimore, and they will guarantee 100000 pounds of freight per anum, three going out and one coming in. Labor is now their chief difficulty, next to the amount of transportation re- Quircd.-Post.