The Ely miner., 1895-11-06

Ore at 80 q Ton.

Ore at 80 Ton.
The Minneapolis Journal recently
made the statement that some Mesaba
mine owners had sold their product
early in the year for $3.50 ton. The
Duluth News-Tribune did not believe
it and asked the Journal to prove
which it does in the following:
'This sort of information costs
money, but we will gladly help out
our Duluth contemporary, for it ought
to be told about all these things that
are local matters up there in Duluth.
There were several round lots OF
Mesaba ores sold in the early months
OF 1895 at $1.8O. One of these lots-a
block of 10000 tons-has just been
closed up at SLIGO ton for the lake
freight. If the News-Tribune can
find any comfort for the mine owner
who made that deal it is more fertile
in resource than it is in news gather
ing. But let that pass. This 10000
ton lot was sold at $1.S0 ton when
lake freights were expected to be so
cents. The mining corporation figured
on paying so cents rail haul, 80 cents
lake freight, Is cents minor charges,
and 25 cents royalty. That made a
net loss of 20 cents, but that was 5
cents better than mining the ore pay
ing it's royalty and throwing it away.
The royalty, unlike that on state low
grade ore, had to be paid anyway.
Any additional information on this
deal can be furnished by the Oliver
Mining company, also free OF cost.
For the further good of the Duluth
paper and of other careful and much
priced readers of the Journal, we will
be glad to place them right as to some
matters connected with the state
owned ore at the Oliver mine, about
which the Journal has had something
to say in times past. The News
Tribune, it is presumed, knows that
the Lake Superior Consolidated Iron
Mines owns the stock of the Duluth,
Missabe & Northern road. Some
years ago L. j. Merritt and Others
leased from the state school depart
ment the land on which they had
found the Missabe Mountain, now the
Oliver mine They soon after, sub
leased to Harry w. Oliver, and the
oliver Mining company was formed
to carry out the contract of the lease,
which was for the mining of not less
than 1000 tons year and the pay
ment of Is cents a ton royalty, 25
cents of which went to the state and
10 cents to the Missabe Mountain
company. The Lake Superior Con-
solidated, by processes probably ia
miliar to the News-Tribune, after
wards became the assign of the con-
tract and Oliver was called on to
complete it, and to furnish 100000
tons of ore annually to the railroad,
the royalty to the original lessor
having been reduced to from 40 to Is
cents. This so cent royalty proving
too severe hardship to the Oliver
Mining company, the Consolidated
interests, for net sum of 1926, 900,
purchased the fee OF the Lone Jack
mine, whose ore body was continual
tion of that of the Missabe Mountain,
and which could be mined to advant-
age by the operator of the latter.
This was leased to the Oliver COM
pany, conditions Of the lease being
that the Consolidated would release
the Oliver company from the per-
formance of its old contract for
mining 400, 900 tons of ore year, if it
would pay the Consolidated Is cents
a ton on Lone Jack ore and ship an
amount equal to that it was to have
shipped from the Oliver, 100000 tons
per annum. It will be noticed that
the Consolidated by this deal not
only bought an enormous deposit of
ore very cheaply, but secured from
the Oliver company the same amount
of money, in royalty and freights,
that it would have had from the
original deal-the state being the
only loser, from the decrease of min
ing operations on its Missabe
Mountain property. In the perform
.ance of this new contract the Oliver
Mining company, about July l, last,
suspended operations on the Oliver,