New-York tribune., 1880-10-04
THE MINES OF NEW-MEAlCO.
,crps oF THE ORTIZ MINE GRANT.


ro,.nrpYr-1 RICHNESS or THY AURIFERoUS
,o,vrr n,.Ds oP THE ORTIZ GHANT-NRKD OF
wArpR SUPPLY.
,rpoN A srAFF CORRESPONDENT OF THE rEIBuNEI
s.vr, F.. \. NJ. Aug. 2G.-The Old Placer OF
San Lazaro Mountains are n detached spur OF tilo
Rockies. situated about twenty five miles south
~ SANTA Fe in the midst of an old Mexican con
cesson ter AMI onethird miles SQUARE, caile'' '"e
Orti, Nine Grant. The mountains themselves
cover an area of about $4,000 acres and' 'iS'nE
o,a above another. as if they had been brought
from distance and thrown down upon tne pam
in q confused heap their highest peaks reach an
altitude Of about 5000 feet. and are covered VIII
n growth of cedars and phons which at distance
1oots beav,- but is really stunied and sparse. Oh
al, s,des of the mountains and covering the gre' ter
r,ort of the Grant which remains. there are ipeSaS
from two 10 five miles across, and Where 'Hc
mountains rest upon thenI from l,ooO 10 i'-oV
feet above the surrounding valleys. lhese are
covered with grama grass, evergreen shruooer''
md tree cactus. The grass, at thus season oi Ihe
wear gives to the CroundwOrk of the landscape
delcate light green color IN striking contrast WIN
which i, the dark green almost black, of the cedars
anu pifons At a distance of ten miles these meSas
look like beautifully kept lawns dotted with little
clumps o1 dark green bushes.
The slope of the table-lands especially on the
north and northeast sides. Is very regular. beng
from 100 to ] 20 feet to mile until the edge oI
the valley is reached where there Is suuhen
q abreak down Of about 80 feet. The mesaS are
cut up bv numerous deep aroyos winch nave been
secured out bv the mountlin torrents after heavy
rains. and which radiate from tie highlands IN all
directions like the sp0kes of a wheel Many OF
these ravincs deep ana preciptous that II Is
difficult to find place where they can ne crossed
even on horseback Sometimes they have been
1 ia a.
mesas ar generally so smooth that carriage can
be driven anywhere upon them.
The Ortiz Mine Grant has been confirmed hy act
NJ Congress. and passed into the hands of the
present owners who call themselves the ORTIZ
Svndicate. last February. Several disputes have
arisen IN regard To its boundaries. One OF them
involved the title to the West Bonanza, OF New
Plaeers described in previous letters rs belonging
70 the san Pedro and Canon del Aqua Company
but believe tie Ortiz Syndicate has rclinqulShed
rs claim 10 that portion of the grant. and no
longer disputes the Canon del Aqua Company
title. On the northern part of the Ortiz Mine
Grant there is also another piece of disputed terri
tory covering portion of the coal fields, but II Is
reported the controversy in regard To it Is now II
q fair way to be amicably settled
U>PROFfrABLE MINING ENTERPRISES.
The grant takes its name from the Or,iz mine.
cold quartz lead situated exactly IN the mathe-
1lati.al centre Of the property hut not now being
operated. I may as well say here that during the
two or three days which l spent at the Real de
Dolores. the little Mexican village at the Ortiz
NINE and on other portions of the grant, made
10 examination of the quartz mines. of which the
one already mentioned and the cunningham,
Capdelauria Brehan. and Bernardo have been
most developed. The former owners Of the prop
erty spent great deal of money upon these mines.
- W irh deaI
Among other things a forty-stamp mill with sixty
HORSEPOWER engine and boilers TO run it were pur
chased and taken 10 the Real de Dolores long be-
fore the railroads were built, and at an expense,
I have heard. of more than S125.OOO. The former
also put up for themselves at great
cost tine house 70 1--we in, but have been unable
TO learn that they cot enough gold to pay the1
own salaries and the expenses IN which they IN
volved their employers The trouble was not that
there may not be very valuable quartz mines III
the Placer Mountains-the concurrent testimony
of all the mining experts who have examined them
is that there arc-but that the money which ought
10 have been spent in opening them and IN securing
large reserves Of ore wa used in the purchase of
reduction works. which had nothing to do when
they had been brought here and set mp.
This Is no new or exceptional experience E~erY
mining district in the WesT that Is ten wears old Is
filed with the wrecks Of stamp mills and smelters
which have never earned enough TO pay tor the
fuel which they consumed. Sometimes there has
been ore enough. but the reduction works have not
been adapted 10 its treatment snclters have been
put up to treat milling ores and mills to reduce
smelling ores but generally there has been lack
OF ore of any kind. The history of one of these
enterprises is the history OF all OF them A vein
has been discovered that on the surface and per
hans for q depth of a hundred feet looks well. 1t
Ia in GClf IN
supply a mill or sInelter six months or even one
month. but some mining expert examines the
claim and rc orts that he believes the deposit 10 be
q large one and on the strength OF this opinion
e25 900 or $50 600, or perhaps even much larger
sum- Is invested IN reduction works IN order that
the mine may begin 10 yield an income BY the
time the mill or sneltpr is completed. the owners
have generally exhausted their car Il, and find
either that their mine has "petered out after
being operated few months. or that a large
amount of dead work must be done in oruer to
make it continuously productive. By this time the
tockbolders begin TO doubt whether they will
ever recover the money they have invested in the
property and are afraid 10 put in any more and So
finally operations are suspended and the costly
machinery goes TO decay.
WHAT SHOULD HAVE B,EN DONE
The wise policy in such a case would nave Deen
20 have spent the money, or part OF IT, that was
put INTO reduction works IN developing the NINE
taking out ORE and piIDg it up upon the surface
If the mine disappOlnts It's owners they are no
worse of for having spent $4,000 or $4,000 IN
opening up their property and proving its worth
lessness than they woUlG have been if they had IN
vested "a like IN a mill or smelter; while II the
mine turns out to be bonanza. the development
work that has been done has 50 greatly increased
the value of the property that there viii be no
in
reduction works. Enough ore ought TO be taken
ont Of a new mine and piled up upon the surface TO
supply tie proposed mill smelter for year, and
the mine itself ought 10 contain as much more IN
sight before works for treating the rock are built
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