The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-07-18
TILE sEMI-wEEKLY MINER, BUTTE, MONTANA, JULY Is, 1883.

JULY Is, 1883
tinue their steady output and insure
the permanency of your camp.
Rep.-Don't you find a great many
small properties that are idle only or
account of the limited means of the
owners, and which would pay large
profits on the investment of capital
to work them?
MI. W.-Yes, sir; hundreds of
them; but eastern capital does not
seek investment in undeveloped
properties. What you need is a
market for your ores to enable
small owners to work and
develop their own claims, SO that
capitalists cal see the value of them.
If you had sampling works and ore
buyers here, with literally managed
custom mills, as we have in Color
ado, demanding only a legitimate
compensation for reduction, thou
sands of properties in Summit Val
ley district would be probably
worked which are now idle. I have
visited hundreds of shafts which
have been sunk to the water line,
showing well defined lodges of mag
nificent ore, and I also find the
dump piles abandoned after culling
out the rich ore, with enough ore left
in them to constitute a bonanza of
low grade rock in any country where
the best facilities for reduction ex-
list.
Rep.-We have reduction works
here which do custom work. They
are, of course, not so extensive as
those in Colorado.
MI. W.-They are of limited capa-
city and lack the facilities for treat
ing the various kinds of ore produced
in your camp. The machinery you
have is certainly calculated to treat
the ore produced by the particular
mines for which it is built,
but you need mills and smelters of
large capacity, and adapted specially
to the treatment ofthe various ores of
outside properties. not now in pos
session of works of their own. You
have an abundance of ore to keep
several such enterprises constantly
employed.
Rep.-What do you think of the
general outlook of our camp?
MI. W.-~Your camp is on a SUBJ
stantial basis. Your large en-
terprises are backed by al
most unlimited capital, and what
is better, are producing satisfactory
returns to investors. As a result,
your mercantile interests are prosper
Gus and stable; real estate values ap-
pear to be firm, and the future pros
pe1ity of Butte is assured. The rail-
road era is dawniug upon your city,
which is surrounded by many rich
mineral sections, that will ultimately
become tributary to Butte, when
railroad connections supply facilities
for transporting ore to your reduc-
ton works, which, in my opinion,
will be built here whenever capital
lists abroad become more familiar
with yoAr magnificent mineral re-
sources.
Rep.-Have you examined many
of the adjacent mining districts?
MI. WI have been to Cable,
Granite or Flint Creek near Philips
burg. Willow Creek, Medhurst, Clear
Greek, Georgetown, Silver Lake and
Rock Creek.
Rep.-What do you think of the
outside districts?
Mr.. W.-Magnificent looking
prospects are found in all of them.
Several show the stedafelt combina-
ton which through an unreliable
formation frequently contains very
rich pockets. The old reliable tissure
and contact veins, in porphyry and
granite are found in the immediate
vicinity of all these camps, and in
time they are likely to develop into
someo of the finest producing proper
ties yet discovered in Montana.
Granite mountain is Just now LOOM
ing up as a producer. They have the
true fissure formation and are
getting out some splendid
ore. I understand the company is
shipping its first-class ore to st.
Louis for reduction, while the Al
gonquin mill is running on second
grade. The mill, which started up
about the LIST inst, made a cleanup
last week, the result of which passed
through the Butte express office last
Monday in he shape of "a bars, 908
fine, and valued at nearly $50, 600.
The Hope mine, situated in the same
vicinity, but in a stedafelt, OF chrys-
taline formation, made a shipment
by the same conveyance from their
Phillipsburg mill of 10 bars, 800 fine,
and valued at $l2, $50. These large
productions are simply the beginning
and cannot fail to attract widespread
attention from capitalists seek
ing investments in western
mining properties. In the
vicinity of Silver Lake I examined a
mine, where I found a couple of rus
ty old miners, who had been for
many years pledding along, working
their ore with the old and reliable,
but crudely constructed arastra. The
results of their labor, as shown by
their own honest books, has been
$50 600, working only from a half to
three-quarters Of a ton of rock per