Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1879-11-07
At THE SIERRA NEVADA.
Dimcuisies Uuder which work ts
at Present Carried On II the
Nine-The Remedy ~ Hand.


Many personshsre and elsewhere seem
to think that the managers Of the Sierra
Nevada are not trying to develop Its ore
body or to forward developments there
as rapidly as they might. Such persons
cannot. assuredly, understand the situa-
ton and all the difficulties attending
operations in that mine Or they would
never make such q charge or even en-
terrain for q moment such An erroneous
idea.
Work il being done in the mine at
arms length. 80 to speak; and . long and
crooked arm 1t is, too. Nothing is done
except at a disadvantage save pumping
the water up the perpendicular shaft
from the 100 level. AL else ID done by
compressed air carried Q long distance.
Under the circumstances q review OF this
work may not be amiss.
After the 100 level Ii reached the
main drift IL followed east some 81 feet.
Then comes the long drift south. reach.
ing the head Of tho incline. This 10 fol-
lowed $40 feet. A turn OF 800 feet to
the east Is then made and the head Of
the double Wine, or east shaft as 1t IL
called, is reached. At the head Of this
wiuzs q ccuutsrbalance engine 10 placed
and run by compressed air. All the
debris Of ali the workings OF the mine Ii
raised by this engine from the 22Oo level
800 feet.
At the bottom OF this east shaft q
prospecting drift Is being run north.
All Of the power used In the work
is furnished by compressed air. trans.
ierred from tho surface. Work In the
drift east from the Same point-ths one
in which the recent development was
made, and where work was stopped on
account Of the danger OF e~ncounteriug
moro water than could DO h~andlsd-was
also similarly carried on, the debris from
both being raised by compressed air
after reaching the east shaft. and Is
then run to the main shalt and there
raised to the surface.
Following the drift 600 feet south on
the 1900 level the incline 10 reached.
Work Is going on at its bottom. zoo feet
perpendiculsrly further down. The
incline 10 operated by another engine
run by compressed air. As are also
pumps which raise the heavy dow Of
water from the slopes and into the
incline to the 1000 level. where II Is
conducted through to the Ophir and
thence to the @. & @. shaft to DO raised
to the Sutro Tunnel level.
All the men, timbers. etc., which mud
their way into the mine are handled In o
like manner from the 100 level BY the
| use Of compressed air. To compress
this air requires an immense expendi.
ture for wood. One ordinary and one
monster compressor are used In this
business and kept constantly running.
| The amount OF work done 10 all that can
be accomplished with the amount Of
| compressed air made. 1t frequently
happens that the supply is insufficient,
even for present operations, without
undertaking to do more.
It would be q long and an expensive
| lob to put In another air compressor;
besides IL would be useless, or nearly 30.
after = little. Even before 1t could be
put in position aid will come from an.
other source. As soon Al the Union
shalt is ready to pump water the levels
will be drained to that and the water
raised directly to the 1000 level to dow
thence OF its own accord to the Sutro
tunnel. Then all debris can be run to
that shaft and raised there. The mine
owns its proportion Of that property and
is entitled to its use. This shalt will
soon bs to the Sierra Nevada 2i0O level,
and when connection Is made With the
incline all the raising Of ore and debris
will DO done through 1t. This will bring
permanent relief and make Q great re-
duction in expenditures. Then dsvsi'
opmsnts can be pushed vigorously ahead
Az 1t Is and working away Of and In o
round about way. the only wonder Ia
that so much has been and Ia accom-
| plished.