The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-01-06
A Review of the Years Devel-
opments.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE
MOST PROMISING Els
OF THE DISTRICT.
Flattering Results of Milling
Operations.
TOTAL BULLION PRODUCT FOR THE
YEAR, A MILLION AND A HALF.

cali afford to spare to give a detailed descrip-
ton of the developments made in the mines
around Butte during the past year, and will,
therefore, confire myself to a general article,
giving, as nearly as possible. an account OF
the characteristics of various heavy mineral
bearing lodes which run through the camp.
1t is impossible to give a stranger an idea
of the amount of work which has been done
in this district. At this time of year many
of the mines are shut down, it being exceed
ingly difficult to prosecute their development
to advantage.
1t will be noticed that prospecting has been
confined to work done within one hundred
feet of the surface; the reason for this is that
many of the ~mine-owners are men of limited
means and have expended the money yielded
BY the mines in hunting for free ~millin5ore,
| (Which lies, as a rule, within one hundred feet
of the surface), as fast as it w~asitaken out.
Water is usually encountered between the
fifty and 1OO-foot levels, and below water
level, the ore almost invariably changes from
free to base, the latter sometimes carrying a
large percentage of copper, and again being
heavily impregnated with manganese for the
copper ore there is, as yet, little or no sale,
and for the manganese ore, unless il is of a
very high grade, the demand is also limited.
This year will certainly see one copper
furnace belonging to the Montana Copper
Company of New York) and possibly more,
in operation. This will be a great assistance
to the camp, as it will encourage many mine
owners to vigorously prosecute prospecting
below the water level, the presence of which
has therefore prevented the deep and extern
sive working of the mines, the only exception
being the Alice mine. whose owners have
been nobly compensated for their enterprise.
There is also, appended to this report a
statement showing the bullion yield of the
camp, together with the numbe oftons of ore
run through the different mills, and, as nearly
as possible, the mines from which it was ex-
tracted.
The bullion speaks for itself, and although
the facts relating to its extraction are not as
complete as might be desired, still il shows
that as a bullion producing camp, Butte is
second to few in the country and with the
erection of smelters to handle our base ores
it is no difficult matter to predict a future for
the district, the brilliance of which will prob
ably astonish even the present residents.
The first lode to describe is the Black Chief.
This lode lies right south of Butte, and
rum through the country two or three miles,
showing here and there enormous groupings,
which. i'll some places, are 70 feet wide, and
from which specimens have beentaken assay
ing very high.
But little bona .tde prospecting has been
done on this lode, the work being confined
mostly to cuts near the surface, with some
shafts, but few of which will exceed 40 feet in
depth, most of them having been sunk on
spurs from the main vein, which showed rich
ore on the surface, the sinking being done on
narrow streaks of ore. some of which was of
a very high grade. As soon as these small
streaks terminated work was suspended, and
another place where the ore looked well OH
the surface was chosen. On the Ancient
mine, however. Il tunnel was run near the
surface across the main lead, and at this
point it was between 50'and go feet in width.
showing an enormous quantity of low-grade
ore and vein matter, picked specimens from
which have assayed very well.
On the CZarOmah a shaft was started about
80 feet south Of the groupings and sunk YER
tically 50 feet. From here a crosscut was run
north which cut the ledge at this point about
twenty feet in width; at this point also the
ore as a rule is low grade. Drifts are now
being run east and west from the c~rosscut, or
the foot wall; these drifts. though running in
a very solid formation, show no material
improvement IN the character of the ore.
This mine is furnished with a very nice
prospecting outfit, consisting of a donkey ell
= CINE and a small knowles m before lons
l sinking will probably be resumed, an(
f should the ledge with depth improve but
= little in richness, this will be a very fin,
piece of property.
The Emma. which lies east of the Czaro