Tombstone epitaph., 1888-01-28
A MODEL PLANT.
THE OLD GUARD MINING COMFY.
An English Corporation Which Has Shown Great Energy and Which De-
 serves to Succeed.

One day this week an EPITAPH re- porter was accorded the privilege ofgoing through the underground workings of the Old Guard mine. The main incline shaft is now $40 feet in depth, at which point the station for the fourth level is about completed. The vein is regular in its dip and ore is in place at the deepest working By simple arrangement of false guides the cage drops to the floor of the shaft and rock is shoveled directly into the car.
 On the third level, 100 feet above, the south drift has been extended 232 feet. The face is at present in barren ground, though at several places in the drift good ore is exposed. The north drift on the same level IS in I2I feet, in running which some of the richest ore the mine has produced has been taken out. It is flecked with hornslver. An upraise has been started in this ore and much is ex- pected from the stops.
 On the second level the north. drift is in 100 feet and the south drift I46 feet. The principal ore reserves of the mine systematically opened are shown above this level. Shoots have been put in and preparations made for stoping. The east lode, dipping west, is tapped from the first level.
 The first level is Io3 feet below the surface, and is opened up north 100 feet and south II5. This is old working, and hasbeen "coyotied" by chloriders. Large bodies of low-grade ore have been left, however, which will pay we'll for working by the mill on the ground. Shoots have also been put in these drifts, and eco nomical arrangements made for handling the ore.
 The combination shaft, which was sunk on the dividing line between the Lucky Cuss and Old Guard, is down 26o feet. At 200 feet short drift has ex- posed nine feet of high-grade ore, while the bottom of the shaft is all ore, though not of high grade. The south drift on the third level will connect with this shaft in running 90 feet more.
 Under the present management little or no stoping has been done, the object being to work off old stock and system atically develop the mine at the same time. Large shipments of high-grade ore were made by the former owners, leaving several thousand tons of second and third class ore on the dumps. Nat urally, in running this through the mill, the bullion output has not been as large as the mine itself warrants. However, the company claims to be satisfied with the returns. The mine is in splendid condition, and the predictions of the croakers who foretell the early closing down of the property are not likely to be verified. At the time the property was purchased the EPITAPH feared the com pany was premature in the purchase and erection of mill, but subsequent devel- opments go to prove that the managers of the concern are clear-headed men who know what they are about. Of course the EPITAPH reporter did not sample the mine, and knows nothing of the grade of the ore, and yet he is fair judge and can come as near as the next man in guessing. From what he has seen, he ventures to predict long and success full run for the Old Guard Mining Co.,, Limited, of London.
 Over the main shaft large hoisting works have been erected, adjoining which are the blacksmith and carpenter shops. Leading from the hoist to the mill is a tramway about 100 yards n-length, over which cars of ore are run and dumped directly on the grizzlies. Thus the cars are filled from the shoots in the different drifts, are run on the cage, hoisted, and propelled to the mill without a single re- handling The saving of labor in this arrangement alone is sufficient to make low-grade ore pay which would be use less under different circumstances.
 The site for the mill was we'll selected By grading into the hill platforms have been left for pans, settlers and battery, enc rising above the other. At present the stamps only number ten, but ample room is left in the mill for an additional battery of the same number. Every thing about the mill is running as smooth ly as clockwork. The makers are Fraser & Chalmers, Chicago.
 Ample preparations have been made to control fire, should one break out in in the mill or hoist. There are three plugs, to which are attached several hun dred feet of hose, which can be brought to bear on either building. The men are kept in training and each knows his place. On the occasion of the reporters visit the alarm at the hoist was sounded, and in forty-fve seconds the men had a stream of water on top of the building It will thus be seen that destructive fire will be next to impossible.
 The business office, assay office, mill and hoist are all built of the same mater