The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-07-23
MINING MATTERS.
Butte ForRlng Toward the Head
of All the Seats of Mining
Industry.
Her Development AS q Mining
Center But Just Begun.
Operations on the Liquidatol
Copper Property,
Bullion Shipments for the Past
Week.
Notes OF Activity.

NOL6S OF ACL1VlLy.
In the series of mining reviews published by
the MINER during the summer and fall Of 1888,
the large number of mining operators and capi-
talists from abroad who thronged our hotels was
matter Of frequent comment, and that large
proportion Of our visitors departed without
emptying their welllined pockets into some of
the rich ledges or great copper deposits of the
ment of the enterprise and liberalty of claim
owners, who held their properties at prices
which, for the time, prevented sales, and 1t was
believed by many that Butte was losing its
great opportunity to seize the tide which would
bear it rapidly toward the flood of prosperity
upon which it is just now entering. But al
though the visitors CT last year may have re-
turned to the money centers of the country
without investing in our properties. they had
examined our mines and the influence Of their
reports upon the character Of our ledges and the
great mineral resou. ces of the district, could
not fail to produce the result which we now see
in the frequent sales which are taking place,
the investment of large capital in various re-
duction enterprises, the presence upon our
streets of capitalists and their representatives
from every quarter of the globe, and the gen.
eral recognition abroad of the position of Butte
as one of the leading mining camps of the
world.
The New York Mining Record, one of the
cent issue saws: LAS will be seen by the copious
notes of mining results to be found in present
issue, under our regular head of Mining Notes,
Butte is rapidly forging toward the head of all
the seats of mining industry Ct the country
westward of the Mississippi" This recognition
of our position at the fore among the great min
ing centers of Nevada and Colorado, coming
from so high an authority in mining matters, is
the legitimate outgro With of the splendid out
put shown by our shipments of silver bars. ore
aud matte of the past year. and it clearly fore
shadows the position which we are to occupy in
the mineral and mining stock markets of the
country in the not distant future.
1t is evident that the efete camps ofye sterday,
which have kept alive the mining boards of
New York and San Francisco, no longer present
alluring attractions to the average speculator in
shares, and his eye is now turned toward Butte
as a future field, in which to seek the tickle
goddess, Fortune. Although the spirit..of specu-
lation is IN many respects to be deprecated and
has in the past caused the downfall of many
camps, the resources of which should yield a
permanent prosperity, yet the advent of the
spirit of enterprise and inoomitable energy,
which must come with the pushing operator of
Broadway or California street, cannot fail to
infuse new life into the mining operations Of
the district, which will result in the develop
ment of its resources upon scale even graDder
than that of the past few years. Already the
transfer offices of several Butte companies have
been established in New York and San Fran
CISCO and the signs Of the times betoken the
near approach of the foated shares and the
stock deals. Let them come. Bullet no stock
sharp essay his favorite scheme of folsting
worthless property upon confiding public. In
this conservative mining community his
schemes could only end in disaster. Thousands of
properties on the great centre belt of cuprferous
ore, or some of its feeders; on our south system
of argentiferous veins, or on the wide silver
bearing lodges stretching east and west on
either side of the triple-veined Rainbow lode,
afford wide field for the operations of the
stock dealer, and many Of these properties may
be developed by his methods with profit to
investors, which would otherwise be idle for an
indefinite period.
Among the properties which have during the
past few months developed into great mines
and uncovered apparently inexhaustible ore
reserves is
TUT rTONTnAToR
1t belongs to that gronp of valuable copper
properties situated on the low spur Immediately
northwest of the Montana Copper Company's
smelter. which includes also the Colusa, and
Clark's Colusa, both of which properties show
such phenomenal improvement with develop
ment as to make them strong rivals OF their
neighbor, Anaconda Hill, in the strength ofthe
ore bodies stripped and. the quantity of high
grade copper ore extracted.
The Liquidator is developed to depth Of $50
feet, with east and west drifts on the ledge at
the one, Two and three hundred foot levels and
a winzs from the east 800 which had attained
depth OF twenty feet on yesterday. The
DEVELOPMENTS in the drifts of each level disclose
a continuous ledge of everage width OF
about 25 feet between the walls, which widens
in the 200, to 50 feet and carries in every drift
two distinct veins of very high grade ore. while
the average assay from the ledge Is from Is to
20 per cent The high grade veins lay on the
north and south walls of the main
ledge and are each about eight feet wide.
with wide streak of lower grade ore between,
all of which may be said to be good ore for
concentration. The drifts, cross-cuts and
slopes of the two and three hundred
expose to view an immense dyke of cuprifer-
GUS ore of this character, the dimensions OF
which so far as exposed, may be roughly estl-
mated as 20 feet wide. 200 feet long and 15O
high. This magnificent ore body lies between
granite foot and hanging walls, with . strong
cleavage on both sides and with from Il to Is
inches of tale on either wall. The workings in
the 200 are three frames wide and five sets of
timbers are required in the 800. The entire
width of the Wine from the east 800 Is in good
ore, while the bottom is In two feet OF copper
glance which seems to have been made almost
pure in natures furnace, and the indications all
point to the improvement Of this great ledge
with development to q greater depth. Under
the energetic management of superintendent
McDermott the work of development and ore
extraction is being actively pushed. A force of
thirtY-eight men is employed underground and
on top and about 125 tons of ore is raised per
day. The product goes to three different
dumps, ten tons Of shipping ore .assaying 30 per
cent and upwards going to the sacking house.
40 tons, of 25to 80 per cent. ore, to the second
grade dump and IS tons to the third grade pile,
which is sold on the dump as fast as extracted.
The tlrst grade ore lsshipped to Liverpool. and
in order to facilitate the shipping operations an
elevator is now being constructed, which will
hoist the ore from the crusner to a large bin,
from which it passes through apertures at the
bottom directly into the ore sacks, which are
filled about as rapidly rs three men can carry
them away. It was rumored on the street last
week that the Lquidator had been sold to q
strong German company. but the MINER re
porter learned that negotiations looking to
sale had progressed no farther than the making
of q very handsome offer for the property, which
was accepted conditional upon the purchasers
lso buying the ore on the dump, amounting to