Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1879-04-09
The Ely Copper Mine.

ptIiof rtBlon " Dnt llttle KNOWN DeYOnn ltsllme-
date vicinity, and brief history OF lis I" rise and
progress" taken on thespot" may interest your
readers
The mine is In Ely formerly Vershire), about
one and half miles from West fairlee, and nine
miles from Ely station, on the Passumpsic rail-
road, where the copper Is put on the cars. About
the year 1912 the first signs Of copper were found,
and in 1890 the Farmers Company was formed,
with n capital Of 5000; but owing to the mex
perience Of the operatives, but little copper was
obtained, and after spending the capital the work
was abandoned
In 1853 some gentlemen from New York bought
the mine and about two hundred and fifty acres
OF land for $1,000, and charter was obtained
under Its present name, with a capital Of $780, 600
In 1884 work was commenced, aud for several years
the product averaged some fifteen tons Of ore per
month. In 1865 Hon. Smith Ely OF New York. who
owns majority OF the stock, was chosen president
and removed TO this place look after his interests
as II had become question whether TO continue
operations or give II up" After drawing the
ore as formerly to the depot for two years
more, In 1867 Mr.. w. II. Long (who had had more
than twenty years experience in the Revere smelt-
ing works at Point Shirley, Mass was induced to
come here and superintend the putting up Of smelt-
ing furnaces, and was soon after appointed gen
eral superintendent to which office has been added
that Of treasurer-both OF which he now holds.
Under his management, aided by competent as
sstants, the prosperity has been uninterrupted;
the Improvements in various respects having en-
abled the company to compete successfully with
the hard times and low prices OF "copper" which
have killed so many other companies
,yt,l f,,te 1.
processes from blasting the crude ore to the pure
copper-or at least ninety-fve per cent. We as
cend the hill about one-third Of a mile to an ele-
walton, say one hundred and fifty feet, to the
"opening or mouth OF the tunnel. Here we
take miners car, made of boiler iron, about six
or seven feet long and three feet high and three
WIDE drawn by a small horse to whose shoulders
is attached lamp, and enter the tunnel which
averages about six feet high and eight wide
| through the solid rock nine hundred feet to the
landing" place some three hundred feet be-
low the top Of the mountain At this " landing"
n rich vein of copper was found. Here large ex-
cavation has been blown out and shaft sunk
frsm the top, affordng ventilation. From this
place other veins have been followed several hun
dred feet The main force is now following
vein northward and northeasterly, down at an
inclination Of from twenty to forty degrees, and
are now down two thousand feet from the land
ing" The vein is from six to twenty feet
high and from seventy-five to one hundred and
fifty feet wide, the ore averaging six to seven
per cent pure copper. railroad runs down this
shaft with side tracks to take the ore and so much
OF the rock is valuable that room is left to leave
the worthless in the mine. At the "landing I" a
double acting eighty horsepower engine is placed
To draw the ore up by means OF a steel wire rope
| one and one-fourth inches in diameter, and over
two thousand feet long, passing around a large
drum. The material taken out averages nearly
| one hundred tons every twenty-four hours, max
ing about fifty trips OF about two tons each. The
ore is drawn from the landing" to the opening
where we entered, by horsepower, and dumped
into the sorting room, some fifteen feet below
In this and the adjoining room are about ninety
men and boys breaking and sorting into pieces
about the size of hens egg and smaller-the
worthless being wheeled out and dumped on the
side hill The men in the mines work day and
| night the twenty-four hours being divided into
three " shift" of eight hours each
After the ore is broken up and sorted it is
dumped into cars which run down to the roasting
beds, about seventy rods, at an angle of about
eight degrees, by means of wire rope around
drum, and controlled by man at the brake draw
ing up an empty car at the same time the loaded
one goes down. At the bottom OF this inclined
plane the cars run on an elevated railroad some
twelve or fifteen feet above the roasting beds
and are dumped on them. As the good ore contains
about thirty per cent OF sulphur, this must be
burned out before smelling. These beds are
about twenty feet wide and fifty feet long and
eight feet high. First, layer of wood at least
foot thick is laid on the bottom The ore is then
piled on eight feet high and covered with the
finer particles of ore, the finest being like coarse
sand. Each bed contains from four to five hundred
tons OF ore When the pile is completed the wood
is set on fire in several places which ignites the
sulphur in the aud the whole Is roasted which
process usually takes about four months to each
bed These beds cover more than an acre of
ground. After the ore is cooled off it is drawn
by cars some fifty rods to the smelling furnaces.
When first melted the greater part, called Stag"
is run out into iron pots and wheeled out and
thrown away, and although nearly fifty per cent
of this is iron no way has yet been found to sepa-
rate it from the rock. The remainder is run out
on sand and is called mat" containing about
twenty-five to forty per cent, copper This is
near by, where it is again roasted and then put
into the furnaces and melted again, the last pro-
duct being about ninety-five per cent copper and
is run into moulds of about two hundred pounds
each, marked "V. c. NJ. Co." A large portion
Of the smoke from the furnaces is drawn up "a
lue to the top OF hill some one hundred rods
distant and four hundred feet high, connecting
with smoke-stack seventy feet high. The sui
phurous odor is said to be preventative of
diphtheria, and of great benefit to those suffering
from catirrh.
The annual product OF this mine is over one
thousand tons OF ninety-five per cent. copper OF
the best quality in market which finds a ready sale
at best prices. From sixty to eighty horses are
constantly employed in drawing to and from the
depot. The pay roll is about 10000 monthly,
and about $4,000 monthly for supplies-mostly
coke, steel, wood, etc. Last year the company
bought over four thousand cords of wood, paying
higher prices than anywhere in the county.
The general superintendent has been fortunate
In his selection Of assistants, and his long expe-
rience has enabled him to be perfectly familiar
with all parts OF the business Every part moves
like clock-work, and in the most systematic man
ner The men are, class, temperate and
steady No iDtemperance is allowed and the
people are so law-abiding that NO lawyers are
needed
This village has sprung up like magic, as where
were formerly not half dozen farm houses there
are now one hundred and forty families in the
school district, with two hundred and eighty
seven scholars between five and twenty years
old; besides some sixty or seventy families out
side OF this district connected with the mines.
Two ilourishing lodges of Good Templars have
been in existence more than year, with scarcely
any backslders. We have two well-filled churches,
Methodist and Catholic, and a large two-story
school-house, good physician Or. simpson, and
the largest store in Orange county, kept by
+. p. johnson 4 Co., who sell every variety OF
goods at reasonable prices; blacksmith shops and
a steam saw-mill, meat markets, etc
The furnace building is about five hundred feet
long by sixty-four wide, TO which is being put
an addition sxty-four feet wide by one hundred
and ninety-two feet long, for eight more furnaces
and a proportionate number Of roasting kilns
The steam engine at the furnace is eighty horse
power, soon To be replaced by one OF one hundred
and twenty-five horse, from the Putnam machine
works, ftchburgh Many of the men have saved
enough to buy farms In this vicinity, and make
some OF the best citizens. The prices Of farms
haNa ineraa al for many miles arnund hara 10