The Butte daily miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1885-18??, 1886-01-01

)AILY MINER.
to this manganese-silver group, though
their water line being comparatively near
the surface, the oxodized gone continues but
to q slight depth. They still show plenty u
pink manganese" as the carbonate and
siiicate OF manganese are indefinitely
termed by the miners, but On the whole
quartz predominates decidedly and zinc
blende and pyrite occur in much larger
proportion than in most other mines OF
this group. / need hardly say that this
necessitates thorough chlorodizing roast
ing prior to amalgamation, and III Tact
none Of the manganese ores that occur
below the water lin: cnn be treated raw
wit III any satisfs Glory results.
At present, with the exception OF the
great mines already mentioned, the man
ganese.silver belt is adding but little to the
production Of Butte. A few hundred tons
per month Of heavy manganese ore. assay
ing from Is to 50 ounces OF silver, are
mined and sold to the Boston and Color
ado Smelling Works, and much smaller
quantity Of more quartzose ores are
treated iE custom mills.
Few, il any, of these nipes-always with
the exceptions above mentipned-urc
worked below the water line, and they are
mostly too quartzose and too poor i'll
silver to nay for smelling, nor can many
OF them stand the losses and heavy milling
charges incidental to analgamation. In
time, with cheaper fuel and labor, think:.
small proportion OF them may prove vi
some value, but not before they come into
the hands Of companies willing and able to
erect mills on u very large scale and look to
small profits per ton on large amounts OF
ore for their reward. At present most OF
them are in the hands OF poor men who
can do nothing with them themselves, but
who hold them at prices that are virtually
prohibitOry to capitalists.
THE GAGNoN. .#M#..."0.
In my attempted classification OF the
Butte mines / have encountered one diff.
which is SO different from either class des-
cribed as to he positively unique, and it
demands at least few words to itself. As
regards geographical position,itis assumed,
and think correctly. to be the western ex-
tension Of the great Parrot lode and APP
parently while trying to hold it's own as g
conper lode it has together with it'll its
extensions, the Original and the Butte
Originally been SO powerfully influenced
by The conditions which governed the form
alton and filling Of the silver group into
which it extends that it has assumed u
mixed character, intermediate between the
two divisions, and yet possessing certain
characteristics Of its own. While its per-
centage OF copper il much lower than that
Of any Of the true copper veins,its contents
in silver are for the most part higher than
any but the very richest OF the silver
group. It's gangue ia principally quartz,
and its chief ore an argentiferous zine
blende, though the compounds OF copper
which occur in the (iag,lon also carry u
considerable quantity OF silver, as does the
iron pyrites, which occurs abundantly.
The ore occurs in very large and strong
pay chutes, and. SO far as exploration has
yet gone, certainly does not improve in
depth. The best ore, both in quantity and
quality, was found near the surface, sew.
eral hundred feet above the present work
ings, but am credibly informed that it is
now rapidly improving in the deeper lev
els, and that every indication il present oi
other large bodies OF rich ore in near prox-
unity.
THE BUTTE MINERALS.
A list Of minerals from this mining dis
trict, determined by myself, is appended.
Those marked with exclamat ion points on
are rare in this place
Graphite!, native gold, native silver ar
gentle, cerargyrite, chalcocite, chalco.
pyrte, ernbescite, cuprite, malachite, azu
rite. chrysocolla, galenite, anglesite, cerus-
site, sphalerite, rutile, molybdenite pyriue,
pyrrhotite, enargite, tetrahetlrite, arssno-
pyrite! pyromorphite!, hematite, magnet
tie, limonite, siderite, prolusite,. psilome-
lane, braunite, wad, manyganite, rhodonite,
rh0dochrosite, calcite, barite, witherite!,
quartz. jasper, pyrexene, tremolite actin.
olite!, hornblende, garnet, epidote, biotite,
mnscovite, andalusite, orthoclase, oligo.
clase, cyanite.
The Reduction Works.
METHODS OF TREATMENT.
The foregoing classification OF the Butte