The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-09-23
COAL DISCOVERY IN IDAHO.
1t Will Prove Boon to Mine
Owners.
THE NEW DE LAMAR DITCH.
Delay Caused by the Conservatism OF
British Directors.
Secretary Pakeman Talks on the Silver
Question-Projectsf for Working the
8Iines on War Eagle Mountain
-Poorman Consolidation.

PAyETrE, Ida, Sept. 20.-Sheriff Will
liam Ireton of Canyon county, whose
home is in this town, has been exhibit
ing here samples Of coal from deposit
recently discovered in Owyhee county and
in which he is interested. Although
fifty miles or more from the nearest rail
way point, the coal measures. which
were located as the result Of systematic
prospecting for some months, are likely
to prove a boon to the mine owners of De
Lamar, Silver City and War Eagle Noun
tain.
TIE chief drawback to milling opera
tions in the established camps of Owyhee
county has been the lack of fuel. Wood
is scarce and very high there. The
charges by the Union Pacific company for
coal from its mines at Rock Springs,
Amy and Carbon county, Wy, were
practically prohibitive, taking INTO con-
sideration the long haul by wagon from
the railroad to the mills. For
part of the year water power can
be depended upon to run the mills, but
the supply reaches low stage in the fall.
In the winter months great difficulty has
been experienced liz keeping free from ice
the bitches which are the source of this
natural power.
During the present year the De Lamar
company completed a new ditch from
Jordan creek. This forms part OF an
elaborate system by which it was hoped
to ultimately secure a water supply con-
slant and ample for its present milling
facilities. That would be costly plan at
best, even should it be demonstrated as
practicable to place dependence upon
water power in the winter. The supply
from Jordan creek was designed eSpecI-
ally Tor use in the season of high water
from melting snow. A Peiton wheel has
been set up Tor that purpose. To what
extent these plans are predetermined may
be inferred by reference to the report of
Charles Pakeman, secretary OF the COM
pany, presented at the semi-annual
meeting of the shareholders in London,
last June. He stated:
With full ditch we shall have nearly
200 horse power-more than sufficient to
drive all our present machinery. Whether
we shall get all that power at one time, or
for any length of time, remains to be
seen, but we shall use as much or as little
water as may be available either in whole
or partial relief of our steam power. 1t is
expected that water power will be avail
able, more or less, for three or four
months Of the year, and Will be distinct
relief to our consumption of fuel, which
tends to become more onerouS year by
year. Following the Jordan creek work
we contemplate bringing in the Louise
creek water, which will give us q small
power throughout the year, supply the
vanners which we propose erecting, and
at the same time supplement the domestic
water supply for the camp.
AS Secretary Pakeman has expressed it,
t'the expense for fuel is becoming more
onerous year by year. 1t is known to
all familiar with the affairs of the great
De Lamar company that its production in
the past would have been doubled and
perhaps trebled, could the conservatism of
the British directors have been overcome
at an earlier date and adequate facilities
provided to handle the ore that could
have been economically extracted. Only
by the completion of the new ditch was it
possible to increase the capacity OF the
plant, which has just been done by the
addition of new pans and settlers so that
100 tons a day can be worked.
But this is a trivial matter, compare
lively, when account is taken of the i'm
nlense ore reserve of 140, 600 tons reported
oy the manager early in the present year.
At that time there was shown an excess
OF 60, 600 to e, 900 tons OF ore in sight than
when the company was organized
two years previously. Since the
property was stocked, there have
been two annual dividends paid
=
being the profit from 81, 312 tons of ore
taken out and worked. Considering that
the 140, 600 tons of reserves have an esti-
mated gross value of $33. 50 ton and the
cost of mining and milling has been re-
duced to S14. 81 a ton, there seems to be
fortune in store for the company. The
milling methods have been improved so
that the saving reported is 50. 81 per cent.
of the assay values of the ores and 81. IS
per cent. of the bullion returns. This
would give q value of over s., 900, 600 for
the ore in sight if taken out and worked
by tie economical methods that have
hitherto prevailed.
Low price of silver has affected the De
Lamar company less than the owners OF
any other big property in Idaho where
the white and yellow metals occur in
conjunction. A large share of the output
of the De Lamar mine is the gold. The
value of the ore milled during the year
closing June last, as regards gold, rose
from an average is assay value OF S17. 50 a
ton in 1892 to S20.12, while that of silver
declined from $13. SO to S15.47 a ton. For
all that the loss from depreciation
s of silver was estimated at sec 600
to S65, Zoo. or sufficient to have increased
the last yearly dividend by an additional
three and one-fourth per cent.
s.The silver question when examined
in its bearing on our enterprise is not
y
holders may imagine declared Secre-
tary Parkman in his report. He said
further: sit appears e. me that this
SILVER Cloud has for US a very percepti-
bic golden living and that we may
view almost any conceivable collapse in
the silver market with comparative
equanimity.
ttAs outlined to to the shareholders of
the De Lamar. the plan was to leave alone
for the present the silver bearing veins
and work only the gold over That has
been carried out TO a certain extent. The
only change in the mine has been to stop
the extraction of high grade silver ores
that were shipped to Denver smelters.
This led to a reduction in the working
force of miners, for the thirty stamps of
the company are kept occupied on ore of
which the contents are largely of gold.
Butif power could be economically secured
to run a larger milling plant there is
little doubt that the Englishmen, who
direct the affairs of the company from
London, would act favorabIy on the Oft
repeated recommendation OF Captain
Plummer, the resident manager at the
mine, to increase the capacity of the mill.
Failure to act favorably on this PROPOSE
fion IS understood to have been at the
bottom of the misunderstanding or
strained relation between Captain De
Lamar, who developed the mine, and the
members of the syndicate to whom he
sold an interest in the property and in
trusted the management.
4 Resort has been made to all manner Of
9 devices for developing power that should
insure uninterrupted operations by the
mill and that could be utilized for work