The Dillon tribune. [volume] (Dillon, Mont.) 1881-1941, 1882-03-18
MINING CORRESPONDENCE.
Butte and Beaverhead BonaAxas Com.
pared-An Excellent Field for
Investing Capital.

The vast amount OF O.oWlnS ana oFaS
giry done hv the new >l,apers OF Butte
! about the mines OF that district is Intended
| to mislead and to impress capitalists, non
residents OF the Territory, with the idea
| that there are no good silver mines. OF 2
! lasting character and permanent value, in
, Montana outside OF the Summit Valley
Mining District. While it is conceded that
| many OF the mines Of the Butte district are
valuable and productive properties, there
are mines in many Of the other mining dis
| trict, OF the Territory that are equal if not
hctteT than the mines at Butte.
1t is not the purpose OF your correspond
| ent to subject the Butte miEes to criticism
! or to critisize the Psesent condition OF the
over-captalized mines OF that camp, for
| narrow veins OF low grade, refractory ore
that nave been capitalized from 100000
to Slo,oo,ooo will be condemned. ii not
| abandoned, without ever becoming disi
dcnd- payiny mining esiter. Uses.
The silver mines OF Beav-rhead County,
! as vet onlv in partial state of develop
! rnent oweing to a want Of capita! aud
lack at mining machinery. contain and
yield richer ores than the Butte mines. The
copper silver mines at Butte are. undouD-
eddy good, and this class Of mines in that
district are at present yielding paying re-
turns. with splendid prospects ahead for
the future. Bat of the low grade silver orr.
mine, OF the Butte district it cas no, vet
beeu demonstrated that the. carry silver
in paving quantities to .any considerable
depth. Deep development is proving that
the low grade silver veins Of the Butt. dis
trict grow barren or disappear wien depth
is attained. The Alice mine. the famous
nwsrade silver mine Of Butte, which vas
stocked Tor the modest sum at Srot,oo, 900,
produces lower grade ore below the :sooioo,
level than cam. from the surface work in IS
| and is only, BY report, worked to a limited
extent at the present :im-, far the reason, it
is presumed, that a richer quality Of ore
is found IN the other mines belonging to
the Alice Company. No other plausible
reason is assigned by experts or miners
when discussing the condition OF the Alice
! mine. The Temporary abandonment, at
, least, Of another prominent silver mine in
the Butte district goes far to establish the
theory that the silver veins Of that district
either play out or become barren when the
! surface ores are worked ont. The vein OF
| the Grey Rock, which once ranked among
found at depth Of goo feet. The energetic
COMPANY owning the Grey Rock mine ex
, pended SSouoo to 100000 in opening the
mine BY sinking large main shalt over 500
feet deep, and in running cross-cut> from
the 3oo-t;hot level without finding a mine at
that depth. Ihes. two instances Of wsax-
ening in lea'ling Butte bonanzas have con-
, tributed iary' ~ to shaken the belief tina, the
paving silver ores Of thlt district run deep.
Despite this un'avxable condition OF some
of the mines al Butte there are many good
mines in the Summit Valley district that
| will sustain iiveiv mining camp VIII n tt :
capital that has been rushing TO Butte from
the Pacific Coast and from the E .st for the
past two years is entirely shut Off
The silver mine. Of Eraverlead County,
! in the districts or Camps where they have
undergone anything ike systeme,ic devel-
op,nent, will more than Withstand a com
prison with the much tx,asted mines OF the
Bu,te district. While not asserting the SUI
F'eriority OF the silver veins OF this county,
an examination OF som. Of those that are
oP rated will show that they pay deep and
that others offer great inducements for the
investment of capital, not to he obtained by
investing in the low grade mines Of Butte.
In single, short review OF tn. se silver
mines they cannot be presented in TIE
shape they could b. If more extended de.
tail could be entered into, and hence but
little more than mere mention Of o,rr silver
mines Gin be under aiken in a condensed
communication.
The silver mines Of the Hrc,a C,msoli
dated Company, at Lion City. compare
with an equal number of the big mines nj
Butte. presenttc,.dav, the beet showing botl
as regards IN. richness OF the ore and int
:. extent of deep development. 1t is an un
disputed fact that the H-c!a mines are de
veloI'cd deeper and WELD richer average orr
than the mines at Butte. The Heel, mine,
,, capitalized at $i,soo GOD are paving hand
some dividends, while >tockhnllers in tn.
bonanzas Of Butte are "expccting," in tn,
future, to receive dividends. This state
, ment may appear pointed, hut it is only tn,
naked 'ruth,for numbers Of companies l,av,
been organized It .B,tte on SIN III, narrow
silver veins with capital stock running from
$4,ooo,ooo to $loooo,ooo We hear an.
y read very little Of the Hccla Company
extensive and paying mining operations
but II ton Of 3O-ounce silver ore Is uncov
cred in one Of the prospect holes at BUTT
i. 1t Is deemed Of sufficient magnitude for
!, company to capita'iz. it at say $4,oooooc
. which seems to BE- the iavorite figure a
i, Butte for small mines, but on larger mine
: like the Alice and Moulton $lo.ooo,ooo /
the standard for capitalization.
\ Capital. seeking investment in mines
shout! be dire ted 70 the MANY pr.Mnisin,
districts in leaverhead County where tn
investing Of money stands the best O
chances of yielding paving returns, an
where mines are not held at cnormou
! prices. We have in the Vipond, Trappe,
Aryenta, Blue Wing. Bannack, Bald Noun
: tain and Elkhorn mining districts a larg
number Of mines equally as good as thos
u worked In the most favored districts i,
Montana. These mines, orencd and work
u ed t. greater or less d.gree, need capita
u to operate them and to erect the prone
kind OF reduction works to successfully re
duce the ores. In these districts the mine
are now only worked to a limited exten
: for ores that a,e rich enough to hear tn
. expense OF shipping tn distant points 70
u treatment.
The advantages for economically orera
ting the mines in the Bcaverhead district
I arc, as general rule, excellent. The ore
!. are OF a paying character, for long year
spent in mining shipping ores, together wit
their ascertained assay value, leaves n
e room to doubt as tn their worth. Her,
Is within the limits OF the pioneer county {
Montana, are mines which IL operated b
capital could be turned into wealth. prod,
GERS atfording employment to hundreds
men that are now only worked to moo
crate extent. These mines will stand III
|, critical examination Of the most experien.
cd experts, and are only awaiting develo,
ment to bring them into that prominenC
~ i Al n. 49, =