Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1881-08-18
Eos Snseles Aerala.
aGi.s.s Development in Ari.ona.
(Bulletin.l

Mining Development In Artxona'
[Bulletin.l
The mining dividends of Arizona
this year are nearly as great as
those Of California. In all proba-
bIlity next year Arizona, In the
matter Of productive mines, will
lead all the other States and Terri
tories In the Uuion. 1t is by no
means certain that gold and silver
mining will be the best-paying in
dustries. Coal and copper may
turn out to be the most valuable
minerals In the Territory. For q
long time to come the agricultural
resources of Arizona will hardly
be adequate for home supply. IT.
rtgAtion is necessary condition of
successful agriculture, and that
will only be possible in the vicini-
~ Of rivers and creeks. The rainy
season set in a month ago in that
Territory, aud the rainfall was so
sudden and great that dams were
carried away and the rivers and
roads broken up. II aridity Is one
extreme, rain storms are some-
times another. Only a very few
Of the mines are paying any profit
- vet in Arizona, but the number
10 proportionately as great as in
California or Nevada.
A correspondent Of the New
York Tribune, writing from Ari-
soma, describes at length its min
eral resourcss:
"StraDge as 1t may appear, cop
per is at present the best paying
Interest In the Territory. The ex-
trsordinary discoveries 10 the Mu .
Mountains little more than a year
ago, the ease with which the ore
can be mined and fused, and the
large per cent. of the metal obtain
ed have wrought temporary rev.
olution. A huge mass of ore was
unfolded on the side of the noun
tain overhanging what is known
r.--.s Mule Pass, about thirty miles
from Tom bstone, and a reduction
furnace was built at cost of $685.
600. The other initiatory expenses
did not exceed $4,000, and the
mine, now known az the Copper
Queen, paid from the first. The
mace of ore, for it can hardly be
called . true fissure vein, appears
to pass through the bowels of the
mountain, and experts are unable
TO conjecture the amount of metal
slowed away. The extensions of
this mine and the surrounding
elaine make an equally flattering
exhibit. The Copper Queen was
sold In April to capitalists in New
York and New England for ST. $780,
600, the heaviest mining transac.
ton that has yet taken place in the
Territory. The Clifton Copper
Company has been quietly reaping
= harvest from its property in the
southeast, but this discovery with
IT. satisfactory results gave a live
" impetus to copper mining, and
within six months some finds of
marvellous richness have been
made in other districts. In Silver
Belt, about forty miles southwest
~of Tucson, copper ore has been
found in Immense quantities,
yielding in some instances larger
per cent of the metal than the
mines of Mule Pass; and between
Tucson and Casa Grapde veins of
copper have been uncovered which
threaten to rival those mentioned
above. Copper is found all over
the Territory by itself or in COM
bination with other metals, and
this universal prevalence will
eventually depreclate this inter-
est"
1t is said that the cost of the re-
ductiou Of copper in the mines of
the Lake Superior country is at
present much less than in Arizona.
But there lie still one fact in favor
of the latter. Extensive deposits
of coal have recently been found,
and much of this is said to be OF
the very best quality. There have
been recent discoveries of vast coal
fields in the Deer Creek Valley and
also in the vicinity of the Casa
Grande.
1.-THE coal is of superior quality
and mines beautifully. Hereto
fore the copper companies have
purchased their supplies of coke In
San Francisco at an average cost
when delivered of $50 per ton. 1t
can readily be seen how great re-
duction will be effected in working
copper when this article of prime
necessity can be had for from $40
to $40 per ton. This, added to
cheap transportation, which may
possibly result from the railroad
extension now in progress and in
contemplation, may measurably
dissipate the fears of the timid.
There is another clearly defined APP
prehension among copper men.
Silver is seldom found in Arizona
unaccompanied by copper in some
Of It's numerous forms, and in pros
pecting the copper veins in many
instances rich silver seams have
been encountered, which have
given rise to the impression that
the copper formation will not be
permanent, but that it will gradu-
ally change to silver ore as depth
Is attained"
The same writer expresses the
opinion that silver mining Will,
Afer all, be the great industry of
the country. Silver is found in
every county in the Territory, and
In rock formations which defy
geological science. And because
the formations were unlike those
which old miners had encountered
In California and Nevada, they, for
= time, moderated the resources of
the Territory in this respect. 1t
would be singular turn of events
II Arizona should be the greatest
siiver-producing country in the
Union. But that is really what
recent developments Indicate.