The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-07-19

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its way from the beginning, and these are
rare in any camp, but there are number of
them here.
| accepted an invitation last week from an
old-time friend, W. A. Norton, years ago of
Montana, and took another look through the
great Charles Dickens mine. You no doubt
like to hear of the prosperity of the oid Mon
tanians, let them go where they will, and Mr..
Norton is certainly among those who are
prosperng in mining. The Dickens mine is
undoubtedly wonder as far as its mineral
wealth is concerned. Being Of great width,
| it is also Of unknown length and rich almost
/ beyond parallel The lower tunnel, over two
hundred feet from the surface, has reached a
distance of eight hundred and fifty feet, and
at that point the ledge is fully as large and
rich as at any place in it. A new and mpor-
tant discovery made few weeks ago has still
urther aided to the pernanency and value of
the mine. In cross cutting to fad the foot
wall large seam, or possibly "a parallel vein
of quartz, was found thirty feet from the tun-
mel. 1t is about four feet in width. very reg
ular, and rich in the extreme. Most Of the
ore shows free gold in abundance, and silver
in large quantities in almost its pure state.
About two feet of the quartz is worth from
81, 900 to $1,000 per ton. Workmen are as
sorting and sacking the ore. 1t is estimated
that the ore houses and dumps of this mine
contain about 5000 tons of ore. The arastra
started early this spring, and crushing two
tons of ore per day, yields from $4,000 to
$4,000 per month, mai nly in gold. There
| heing no roaster CONNECTED with the arastra,
the greater portion of tie silver passes into
the tailings. An English company has of late
been making some efforts towards the pur-
| chase of this mine, but it will take a great
deal of coin to buy it. If it is not sold soon
| tie owner will erect mill this season, and if
it is sold a mill will he put up Just as soon as
it can be got iii.
The Montana Company. composed in part
of old Montapians, is now engaged in ship
ping the ore taken ont during the winter. 1t
goes out by pack trains to the Bay Horse
smelter, about thirty-fiv miles from here,
where it is purchased and mixed with smclt-
ing ores. For all ores of this kind the smelt-
ing company pays IS per cent. Of the assays
when they sample 1000 and over per ton.
They have out about sixty tons # shipping
ore, and large quantity of third class that
averages $3.50 per ton. The main shaft is $50
feet deep, and the winze sunk from the 100
foot level is FIVE feet deeper. An 1S-inch
vein in the bottom of the winze gives average
samples of $1,40O to $1,000 per ton. The
so foot level. commenced five feet from the
bottom If the winze, is in fine body of ore,
the whole face of the drift averaging between
$500 and 5000 per ton. On account OF sur
face water, work is suspended IN the mine
until the latter part of this month. A tunnel
| to drain the mine below tie present workings
is nearly completed. James Hooper, who has
superintended the workings of the mine, has
everything IN good shape for extracting the
! ORE the dead work being about finished. and
there is much high grade ore in the slopes
that can be brought to the surface with little
cost Two train loads of second class ore
went out to Bay Il Horse last week. Ore lot
sampled 1892 81 per ton, and the other ST.
| U.)O.fC. nCIc 10 d eioiAi Va iiiSo NA"SS S-S 49,
the way that samples between $4,000 and
S3, 600 per ton, about half of its value being
gold.
There is talk that some of the mines on
Jordan creek, opposite Norton Hill, and the
Pilot, westerly extension of the Dickens,
are being bargained for. al Il a sale may be
made. If so, a mill will be erected late thi
season or early next. There are five or SIX
mines embraced in the group, some OF them
bearing Quartz similar to that of the Dickens.
No new mines have been found i'll this vi
cinity for some time, or at least none that
have attained any notorety for richness, al Il
but little prospecting is being done.
Some of the placer claims in Stanly Basin,
twenty miles southwest of this place: are
Welding we'll, and on a tributary Of the Sal
mon river, called Joe's Gulch, the ground Is
richer than anything ever found i'll this sec
ton of Idaho.
AT the mouth of Yankee Fork, eight miles
from Bonanza, New York company is work
ing the gravel bars with heavy hydraulic
machinery, and doing well. The ditch, car
ryins over two thousand inches of water, is
TO be extended two miles farther down the
creek,
The Morrison placer ground, at the mouth
of Jordan creek, is producing gold in paying
quantities, the greater part of it being com
posed of large nuggets.
There has been some excitement of late in
regard to new discoveries somewhere in the
Middle Fork country, northwest OF this place
The mines are both quartz and placer, and
several parties have outtitted here and gone
to the new field. Prospectors have also beer
going in from other points. The distance