Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1890-07-26
San PEDRO COPPER BELT.
Two Expert Reports on the Santa fe
Copper Company's Property
Both Favorable.
Prof. F. M. F. Gains Flattering Review
He Takes Issue with Mr.. Haynes
and Capt. John Daniel,

report OF experts on the condition OF tn
. Santa Fe Copper company at San Pedro
PROF. GAINS REPORT.
. Being indebted for my selection as
judge on the prospects Of the Santa F
Copper companys property not only t
my experience in the management @
pyritic copper properties, or in the min
ing, concentrating and smelling OF cop
per sulphides, but also to my specif
acquaintance with the property in ques
ton, having lived and worked on it from
1876 to 1881, it is but natural that
should proceed with great caution, so al
not to be misled and not to be biased, il
favor of the property, by my previous &C
quaintance Herewith, or by opinions pre-
viously expressed on the same.
Previous to leaving for New Mexico,
had been called upon to meet with Mr.
Haynes, q graduate of the Polytechnical
institute of Boston, at meeting of the
board of directors of the Santa Fe Copper
company, and during the conversation
which thus had with Mr.. Haynes, he
repeated his assertion that in his judg-
ment the company had virtually no mine,
and this, as his opinion, rested on the OBJ
servation made by him in the mine,
that the ore be cut off by thorough
changes in the material of the entire vein
matter, such changes forming lines on
both sides IN. and S. of the workings
and coming together at their deepest or
east end.
In consequence, my first investigation
WAS specifically directed to this part of
Mr.. Haynes assertions, and in special
also because in report made by Capt.
Couch, dated January 7, 1890. There is
also mention made of wall cutting
off the ore OF the southern end OF the
mine.
Before stating the real facts, as they re-
late to the wall above mentioned, l should
say that | dispense with describing the
mine in detail and in its totality because
the part of Capt. COUGHS report, being
specifically and exclusively descriptive,
| consider as perfectly correct, except as
to precise location of facts observed,
while desire not to he understood as
corroborating the opinions he has express.
edor the conclusions he has arrived at.
There are in the company's mine, con-
trary to Mr.. HIS assertion, no thorough
changes in mineral character by which
the ore be cut off on the north and south
side of the workings or on either side of
the main incline. But Capt. Couch ex-
pressed the real situation correctly by
stating: 'The ore proper does not al
ways fill the beds; this sometimes is
small, while the remainder of the bed is
filed with oxide of iron, quartz, spar,
etc., which constitutes the gangue or
matrix OF the ore beds" While this
description is correct, as far as it goes,
and while he makes it a plain fact that
q mine being worked on the principle of
ceasing work where the lenticular bo-
nanzas run out must at given time run
altogether out OF ore. 1t does not 60 far
enough for explaining the real situation,
because, mention is not made of the
fact, that, where tirst-class ore ceases,
a second or third class or fourth class of
ore sets in carrying chacopyrite dis
senlinated in small particles all over the
matrix matter.
The greater wealth OF the company's
mine OF mines, is not or will not be found
in the smaller bodies OF high grade ore
(bonanzas) but in the larger bodies of
middle and low grade ores, and this will
be SO as soon as the proper arrangements
and equipments will be procured TO ap.
propriately and economically han die these
ores OF lesser contents in copper, when
taken per ton, but of greater richness
when considered in the aggregate.
In connection herewith, then desire
to make the very plain and very specific
statement that there is in all the work.
ings OF the mine no face anywhere
standing within any Of the ore veins, so
far as worked, which does not show at
the present date good and workable cop
per ore, though the ore shown varies all
the way from Is per cent down to per
cent in the ore veins and to from down |
to per cent In the stratum now stand
irg intact between the two working
floors, such stratum being called "the
flat horse"
and with this it should also be plainly
understood, that the two ore seams here
tofore worked in the mine are by no
means all OF the ore in existence within
the same area, but that the ore occur
ance must be described as Mineral
Zone in dolomitic lime rock, the min
eralization of which is mainly the result
of eruptive rocks, having both alternated
with the dolomitic deposits and inter-
cepted them, faulting the qualification to
a limited extent.
This practically means, that there is
good evidence to show that both above
and below the deposits at present worked,
there exist other ore strata on the same
area of ground,
In evidence thereof quote the occur
ence of a superintendent ore seam &C.
curing in the uncompleted air shaft and
of an ore seam not identical, but as yet
not properly identified by survey, in the
Apex mine. Further on it is evidently
pointing in the same direction, that
the company's workings being above
flat, petrosilex vein, have pro-
duced auriferous copper ores,
while below the same petrosilex, though
situated literally to the company works,
the workings OF the Lucky-Lincoln have
developed within the same class of dolo-
mite limerick cavernous deposit of
argentferous lead carbonates and sui
phides.
The present poverty Of the San Pedro
mine in high grade ore in the faces ex-
posed both north and south therefore,
must be attributed not to the non-exist-
ence Of other bonanzas laterallv, but to
untimely cessation OF work and in part to
incorrect location of exploration drifts,
and most of all to the absence of the nee
essary equipments for utilizing low grade
ores. If these low grade ores could be
utilized, the further exploration of the
mine would result in profits instead OF
leaving at present only directly unprof-
| liable expenditure, As to the future
capacity OF the mine for copper produce
ton, shall express further below
THE FAULT.
While there is no thorough change in
the character of the San Pedro ore deposit
on either side of the main workings north