Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-12-23
THE WOOD RIVER GOLD BELT.
successful Operation. of the Wis.,
well Mill-A ClOse.WOrking
Machine on LOw.Grade
Gold Ores.

The Camas gold belt lies about sixteen
miles from Haley, in Alturas county,
Idaho, and has attracted much attention
from the mining public during the past
year, the vastness of the deposit and the
certainty that there was margin to be
made upon the ore whenever the proper
machinery should be introduced for its
reduction, having caused many of the
more cautious investors, together with the
ever-ready spectators, to keep an eye"
| on it.
For some time past a ten-stamp mill
has been crushing the quartz and yield
ing fair profit, and just recently ten
more stamps have been added and are
now hammering away and increasing the
dividends of the Camas mine owners.
But by experienced miners it is thought
that the gold belt has not yet had fair
show as to what its proft-yielding capac-
ity really is. The introduction of the
new Wiswell mill, which is claimed to be
cheaper and superior machine for the
reduction and amalgamation of low-grade
gold ores, is brought forward as solu-
| ton to this question, and in conversation
yesterday with a DEMOCRAT reporter, Mr..
T. E. Picotte, the general agent for
Idaho, made some interesting statements.
"Will the Wiswell work silver as well
as gold ores?" was asked.
"No, do not think so; you see it is
amalgamation under the crushers as in
the battery, and then by passing the ore
over the plates"
elbow do you think such free chloride sill
yer ores as those of Silver Reef would run
through the new mill ?"
"I could not say. A mill-run would
be the only test. Perhaps electricity,
with which the quicksilver and plates
are charged, might take the place of the
pans to great extent, but it is hard to
tell. AS crusher, however, you would
find one Wiswell would do the work of
fifteen stamps"
elbow did the first run come out on the
Camas gold belt?"
s'It was a success, and shows that the
ore can be mined and milled with good
margin. OF course, certain results upon
which to calculate dividends, ETC., can
only be calculated upon after the mill has
made run of about month. The gold
so far appears to be very free, and the
tailings only show trace, proving the
Wiswell to be very close-working ma
chine. The Salt Lake company for which
this mill has been erected is already talk
ing of ordering more, and look for
number of them to be running this next
season, and 500 men may be at work on
the gold belt"
"What is your idea about working any
ofUtah's low-grade!ores by this method ?"
eff if is GOLD ore. and free to
amalgamate, the Wiswell will work it at
lower cost than any other mill, and where
the ore is refractory we think it will save
larger PERCENTAGE"
EDO you think it would answer for the
low-grade gold ores of Bingham?
"Well, it might pay the owners of
some of the claims there to investigate
and try it. If they will get some COM
petent metallurgist to make an analysis.
OF their ore and determine its character,
a safe conclusion can be drawn as to
whether the mill will work it. In
Colorado several of the mills are running,
and what it does successfully there it will !
certainly do in Utah.
'Do you propose to introduce the mill
in Utah?'
eff there is a field for it we will intro
duce it; but as yet no steps have been
taken. In short time l can tell you |
more about it."
At this point group of Salt Lake capt.
talists approached to discuss the coming
bonanzas with Mr. Picotte, and the re-
porter, thanking him for his information,
withdrew, to dream how many shares in
the gold belt his next years salary would |
enable him to clip the coupons off.