The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-02-02
NEW RAILROAD PROJECT.
object of MIR. CIarI1's Recent Visit
To Arizona.

". A. clark, the montana mll1OHdlfe,
who was in Salt Lake for an hour
Tuesday, had just returned from a
visit to Arizona and California. His
visit to Utah turned out to be for the
purpose of looking over the Stewart
mines at Bingham, in which he has
either a present or prospective interest
Mr.. Clark is going to be a railroad
magnate as we'll as a mining operator
and his object in visiting Arizona was
TO project a railroad thirty miles long
from the Santa Fe main line to his
great copper producing United Verde
mines at Jerome, Arizona.
Speaking of his railroad plans and
his mining properties in Arizona 10 a
San Francisco Chronicle reporter a lew
days ago Mr.. Clark said that the
United Verde copper mines were ac-
quired by him by bond five years ago
There are about dozen claims IN all
in the combination, and he is now
working about $50 men there There
the mines, including mills for treat
ment of the ore. The mineral is first
reduced to a copper matte, So per. cent.
fine, and then put through the Besse-
mer process by which bullion consist
ing of SO per cent. clean copper is
turned out. The Bessemer process is
very similar to that used for making
steel. Since the bullion is almost pure
its cost Of shipment is naturally re-
duced, but it costs a great deal to
get in coal, coke and the various other
things used at Jerome It is because
of this that Clark is pushing his rail-
road.
81 have had two or three lines run. >"
said he, land now have engineers out
running another one. If they get a
grade that is at all feasible 1 will start
in at once and build the road It will
be a short one-only about thirty miles
long-hut very costly. The direct dis
lance is only seventeen miles, ;ut the
detached ridge Of mountains the Black
hills, through and over which l must
get to reach the Santa Fe, Prescott
and Phoenix branch of the Atlantic
and Pacific, is very rough. The main
range of the Rocky mountains west of
Helena is nothing to it. There are
innumerable gorges putting in every
way like threads. We will have to
twist and turn and build many tunnels
/ went over the entire route while I
was there this time and it was about
the toughest trip l ever had in the
west.
at present 1 am unable to decide
whether l shall make it a standard or
per cent grade | will make it a stand
ard, but if cannot approach that L
viii probably adopt the other gauge
The road l am 70 connect with is
standard, but l can manage by getting
my road on a higher grade to unload
into the other cars without much extra.
cost.
4 may build standard gauge
and put on Shay locomotives. These
are now being used in Utah. They
climb a grade of 6 to 7 per cent. They
can make abrupt turns. They are
built low and have many large wheels
or what they call a large wheel sur
face. The engines are put in verti-
cally. too, which gives them great
power.
When the road is finished the force
of men will be largely increased. Al
the present price of copper | don't
think l shall increase the daily. product
but l can develop the property. and
besides l have some argentiferous ores
there to which attention will then be
given.
Arizona is unlike Montana. in Fav-
ing its mining camps detached and iso-
lated. In Montana you find mines and
mining camps every few miles. but II,
Arizona it is different The mineral
though usually found in large ouanti-
ties is not so continuous over the
guilty beSlueS TINS there is often
times a lack Of water Fortunat el1,
for me I have what I need, and +
could get any amount by moving the
mills to the Verde river, some five
miles away
Mr.. Clark is the owner of the Butte
Reduction works at Butte and is a.
large owner there in connection with
N. p. Hill, Henry Wolcott and Senator
Ed. r. Wolcott in the Colorado Reduc-
ton and Refining company. He is also
the owner of the Bank of Butte and
the Butte Daily Minsr.
These possessions are rather insigni-
ficant, however, compared with his sill
Yer and copper mining interests in
Montana, Idaho and elsewhere. He is
heavily interested in many large pro-
perties, and, all things considered. is
one of the most striking examples of
great success in mining in the west.
In his opinion nearly all the sub
Stantial information on which to base
the Judgment as to the value and per-
manence of great mines has been ar
quired in the last twenty years. Be
fore that all was largely conjecture
and luck. Now. although luck figures
sometimes in getting possession of a
good mile, more depends on its man
agement. The way Of working, hand
ling the ore and the building of such
mills as are properly required, test the
judgment and skill. A man with good
business qualifications, he says, is prob
ably more liable to succeed than any
other, yet he ought to be a Judge of a
mine, know how to work it from a
practical and technical experience. and
have as definite q KNOWLEDGE as Dos
sible Of all these things. Mining is