The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-01-05
OPENING A MINE.
An Operation Which Devours Many Thou
sands of Dollars.

sands of Dollars.
Working gold mine sounds very
nice, but very few people are aware Of
the difficulties and expense attending
this operation.
There are plenty of men in this cit,
who have been "bitten" in small mining
schemes, and who do not now UNDER
stand why they were failures. 1t is a
very common thing for some hopeful
prospector to stumble across "crop-
pings" that show free gold, and that,
from all appearances, could be worked
to advantage with the expenditure Of a
little money.
The first thing the prospector does is
to think up" some capitalist friend
whom he thinks would be willing to
invest in the enterprise. He then
writes a letter something after this
fashion: :
~ have one of the finest propositions you ever
heard Of. have discovered groupings that in
dicatc the presence Of ledge feet wide, nnd
which ON certain will be found permanent.
1.-THE groupings show that the ore will mill at
least s!5 per ton. Let US say then that the ore
Will only ylclu nalI bnlS amOunb
This mine can be worked-;hat Is. the ore
can be mined and milled-at minimum cost OF
% per ton. This will leave net profit Of say,
w. Now the groupings show along the surface
Tor 200 feet, and ore so situated that q tunnel
could be run 200 feet below There is no doubt
that the ore will hold out. and after the tunnel
10 run there will be in sight practically 5000
tons OF ore, which, at s. q ton, will, as you will
readily see. yield profit of s200,0O0.
( "All need is enough money 70 run this tun-
mel. lean then haul the ore to . custom mill
there is one about mile distant), and after
that the mine will pay for itself only need
1900 at the outside, and II you will put up this
amount you may have half interest in tho
property"
On paper this is a fine proposition
A sure fortune for S., 900. The capital
list is caught and up goes his $4,000.
The first thing to be done is to drive
a tunnel into the solid rock some feet
square and distance OF 200 feet. A
double shift ofmen, say eight, are hired,
also blacksmith to sharpen the tools,
men to clear away the ground, etc.
This can easily be accomplished for $50
a day. A house or cabin has to be
built, but this will only cost some $500.
Powder, tools, timbers, lumber and
provisions will make the first 81. 900, to
use popular expression, "look awful
sick"
For the first few days the work
progresses favorably, and the capital
list receives the most encouraging let
tors from his mining friend. After that
the letters are less frequent and not
near SO encouraging.
The miners have ''struck a horse"
This is generally some rock about as
easy to drill through as so much cast
steel. A hole six inches deep may be
drilled into the rock in about ten hours.
and when the giant powder cartridges
are put into this hole they shoot out as
if from cannon.
There may be 10 feet of this sort Of
work, there may be so; at any rate,
before the difficulty has been over
come, some $4,000 or more will have
been sunk in the enterprise, and the
ground scarcely scr atched.
or course more money will be de-
manded, aud then still more until the
capitalist becomes Disguised and quits
the thing all together. This is the way
it generally works.
Difficulties are not only encountered
in running tunnel or sinking shaft,
such as the caving in of the work,
rebellious rock and others too numerous
to mention; but it is often discovered
after the tunnel has been run the de-
sired length that it should have been
run in some other place.
To estimate the actual cost OF the
opening up of mine from the grass
roots" would be avery difficult matter.
Under the most favorable circum-
stances, however, unless a pocket or
bunch of very rich ore is encountered.
from $50, 900 to$75, 900 may be set down
as very close figure to put a mere
prospect in paying condition.
As much sometimes as 100000 are
spent in opening up mine before any
''money" is taken out. All this refers
merely to those 'little" mining propo-
sitions or flyers" as they are called,
in which the uninitiated, in the hope
of becoming millionaires on a "dollar"
investment, come ont in almost every
instance at the small end OF the horn
~ Y Herald.