Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-05-24
A Good Mine.

A gentleman writing from Pioneer, in Gila county, gives the following in formation upon the present condition of the old Pioneer mine, now owned by Myers X Miller:
 "I cannot give you a full descrip- ton of tine mine, for have not yet thoroughly prospected it, but from miners who worked in the property when Col. Heilings owned it, and my own observations, the developments made are as follows:
 The main hoisting shaft IS 400 feet deep at which point cross-cut was run and cut the ledge; the pay streak was very rich, the character of the ore being antimonial silver. No drifting or stoping was ever done on the 400 foot level
 The principal work was by drifts and winzes in the other levels, and preparing to stope the ore. There are four levels, the first at 30 feet, then l50, 230 and 300 feet, and each of Ithese drifts is 100 feet each side of the hoisting shaft, with two winzes from the 300 foot level to the surface, one at each end of the drifts Some stoping was done on all the lev els and very rich ore was taken out. The ore at the south end of the mine is low grade and very base, carrying zinc, arsenic, lead and anlimony. The pay streak is from three to eighteen inches wide, the shipping returns giv- ing from l50 to 2l3 ounces, silver to the ton. There is also another pay streak on the foot-wall, about eight inches wide. which is yet in place, the ore of which is rich, but difficult to assort.
 About one hundred feet further north the ore changes and the pay streak is from fourteen inches to two feet wide and the ground is solid from the surface down. This ore is honey combed quartz and spar, with the met al sprinkled through it. This ore is also hard to assort, but it yields from 300 to 455 ounces in silver and one half ounce of gold per ton, assorted. The whole pay streak will average Is inches wide and will assay from 60 to 120 ounces silver without asserting.
 From the old stope near the main shaft, which Hellings left for waste, about two tons of ore has been select ed which returned from the smelter at Fl Paso l47 ounces, silver.
 Further north the ore Is chloride and sulphurets of silver. The best ore is very common looking red clay, which assays from 2000 to 4O0O ounces in silver.
 In working the mine the present owners were not able to enter the old works that had caved, but they struck good ore and took out four sacks from two feet square that averaged 776 ounces Near the hanging wall they find a seam from an inch to 2 inches that assays 2270 ounces. About F inches of the ore will average ITS ounces. This ore has just been en- countered and its extent is unknown, but they feel confident of its perman- ency and increasing richness.
 Several months of hard work was required to remove the waste with which the mine was filled, before the ore could be reached, but this waste proved to be quite valuable and as- sorted ore from it gave over 400 ounc- es.
 The owners are using due diligence to put the property in good shape, and only mine the ore to pay their ex- penses. They have many tons of sec ond class ore that will mill or concen- trate and assays from 30 to 70 ounces. They will shortly put up Hunting ton mill and pump and conduct operations upon more extensive scale.
 Myers & Miller have another claim on the same ledge-the Pioneer Cen ter--which is developed by fifty-foot tunnel following the vein. The pay streak is from one to twelve inches wide and of very rich ore, assaying from 300 to 600 ounces and even much higher. No work is now being done on it. At one point where 1t crops out on the surface, about five hundred feet from the tunnel, it shows malleable and horn silver.
 These are good properties and their development will undoubtedly bring them into prominence as producing mines"