The weekly miner., 1881-11-01
From Sundays Daily.J
MINING REVIEW.
The Montana Copper Company, the
MouIton, the Gagnon, the Alice,
and Other Mines Of the Butte
District, Week Ending
October 80, 1881.
THE MONTANA COPPER COMPANY.

we were permitted to inspect the various pro-
cesses through which the Colusa ore is pass
ed from the time it leaves athe Slopes to the
period of its shipment to Baltimore as cop
per matte. The matte as shipped is a po-
rous mass, containing sulphide of iron in ad
dition to the copper, in a form which admits
of the easy abstraction of the copper by ie-
fning processes. But a vast amount of eX-
perience and skill is required to produce the
matte from the ore as it comes from the
mine. The Blake crusher is first used, the
ore, and reduces the latter to humps the size
of walnuts, or smaller. These are then pass
ed through four gigs, in which a thorough
washing and cleansing takes place, and from
which the ore comes out in Jumps about the
size of buckshot. The ore is then passed in
to the cGlcining furnace, sort of prelmina-
ry roasting process, which does not subject it
to the intense heat ofsmeltiDg, and in which
it remains for twenty-four hours. Next
comes the genuine smelling, or the process
by which the right degree of heat and the
proper quality and amount Of furing produce
the copper matte, ready for shipment to Bal
timore, to be refined. From the reverberat-
oyy furnace in which the process last referred
to takes place, the molten mass comes out in
pigs about 80 by IA inches, which
after cooling and hardening, are taken
with hammers, sacked and shipped. There
is also outside of the building il
which the processes just described take place,
another calclning furnace, in which the sui
phur is burned out of the ore, the latter being
piled over heaps of wood in fourteen brick
vaults. The blast furnace is fired with char
coal obtained from the Park, according to the
German method, while in the reverberatory
furnace wood is used, this being the English
process. About twenty-fve cords Of wood are
consumed per day. There are III another
building two reverberatory furnaces, which
are not yet quite finished, as the workmen
had just commenced to smelt the bottom in
to one of them yesterday. These new fur
nacss are about 6xl6 feet. and will be re ady
for use in three or four days. 1t may not be
long before good coal can be obtained from
the fields of the Northern Pacific railroad
| COhipoAy Ill w dSulAStOl 4ClllLcly anu COhC
from the Union Pacific. The Montana Cop
per Company of New Y ork owns several 9TH
er mines, but is at present only working the
Colusa. Mr.. Sally Raunheim expects soon TO
move into his Office and residence near the
| smelter in Msaderville, a building -0x42 feet
now nearly completed. From Meadervile,
northwest over the hills the explorer passes
THE CORA,
Owned by Roudebush & Young, and now te-
ing worked under the superintendence Of
Mr.. Shoemaker. The shaft of the Cora is
down some 215 feet, and the men are now
engaged in re-timbering with view to be-
ginning sinking deeper. Just at present no
ore is being taken out, the machinery not be-
ing all here. The hosting engine and boilers
have come, and The rest of it is expected at
| once.
THE MAGMA CHARTA.
Some So or 30 men are now busily at work
| in the Magma Charta, sinking below the 300
foot level, and taking out great deal of ore.
| Yesterday Mr.. Hall took Professors Blake
| and Maynard through the miue. Professor
Blake arrived from Helena night before last
and Professor Maynard has been here for
| some time examining the Alice. The latter
is the well-known consulting engineer and
metallurgist having an office al No. "a Cliff
| street, New York.
THE ALICE.
| The Alice is still shut down, as mentioned
in the last report, tor the purpose Of overhaul
ing the boilers, etc. On examination during
the past week it was discovered that the vein,
at and below the 3O0-foot level, is much
wider than it was thought to be.
THE ORIGINAL BUTTE.
| There are very slight changes in the condi-
tion of this mine since the last report. The
hoisting works building is almost completed,
and is now receiving coat Of paint. No
sinking has been done for two weeks, but two
stations have been cut out at the one and two
put in and everything being made ready for
sinking.
THE ORIGINAL.
Mr.. Pink reports everything looking the
same as at the last report. Stopping is still
going on in the east and west drifts at The
200-foot level, and the mine is looking well
| THE GAGNoN.
But little is to be added for the past weeE
to the statements made one week ago as tc
the progress of work and quality of ore taker
out of the Gagnon. Operations are progress
ing steadily and satisfactorily, with a goot
quality { ore aud pl enty Of it. Stopping j;
being done as before reported between the
225 and 800 oeot levels, the ore if anything
looking better than it did week ago. The
Belk litigation in the Supreme Court of the
United States is not yet concluded, the case
not having been reached for trial when las
| heard from. a daY Or Two amo WI nn thi