Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-17
TEMESCAL TIN.
General Manager Purcell Says
There Is Plenty.
Ex-Engineer Boutwell, Says There
Is None.
Mr.. Purcell Contradicts the Assertions
About the Mine--The Stamps Hard
at Work-Mr. Boutwell, Says
the Ore Is Worked Out.

The San Francisco Examiner of yes
terday contained long story about tn
Temescal tin mines, going to show tina
they were valueless. The story wa
given on the authority of "John ]
Inick, a mining engineer" and of "Cap
tain Harris, late superintendent"
Mr.. Jervaise Purcell, the genera
manager of the English Company which
owns the mine, was seen yesterday by I
HERALD reporter, and made the follow
ing statement about the matter:
"The mine is not conducted for politi
cal or stock jobbery purposes, he said
"and / am not anxious to enter into 6
controversy, but as we have been at
tackled will be glad to make short
statement of fact. In the first place
the Mr.. Inick mentioned is not known
at the mine, and to the best of my
knowledge never was there. The Cap.
tain Harris mentioned was superintend-
ent and his resignation is absolutely
without significance. He wished to 60
out of mining and asked permission OF
the company to resign which was
granted.
''We are now running two batteries oi
pneumatic stamps, and one five stamp
California mill, night and day, and even
then they cannot get ahead of the ore
supply on the dump.
"The Cajalco lode is true fssure
vein and increases in size as it descends.
The surface prospect IN the immediate
neighborhood shows that tin is carried
in many of the other unexplored lodes.
The mine generally shows better pros
poets than it has at any time since its
inception.
''We have just purchased $4,000 worth
of new machinery and work is being
vigorously pushed.
"You may add that the statement
that Captain Harris is going to London
to meet the stockholders is entirely
without foundation"
THE OTHER SIDE.
Mr.. J. Boutwell,, who has been chief
engineer at the mine for fifteen months
past, was seen yesterday by HERALD
man, to whom he spoke has follows:
1.-The Examiner story is true, except
that the expenses are larger than is
there stated. There never was any ore
ohOlO O0u q hAu blidb Lab
been worked out. There has never been
any ore found below the 150-foot level.
For seven months past they have been
on the 160-foot level, and have been drift
ing from there in search of ore. In Feb
they did get out twenty-five and one-half
tons of tin, which was ths largest amount
on the books of the company, and in
June it fell to five tons.
'The situation is just this, that the
ore is all worked out and there has been
none found since. They formerly had
two stamps running, and those turned
out, as I said, twenty-five tons in Feb
ruary; now they are running four, and
in June only got out five tons.
''The only way to proftably manufac-
ture tin would be to find large enough
body of ore to crush $50 tons day to
put it on paying basis. Labor is 30
much higher here as to make profit du-
bious. An engineer in Cornwall who
will get SIS month will get 500 here.
Capt. Harris, the ex-manager, when
managing mine in Cornwall got $40 a
month, and here he got $3.50. If there
was plenty of ore at Temescal the mine
might be profitable, but without ore the
affair is of course hopeless"