The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-25
But One Producing Gold Mine
in the Entire Dis
triCt.
HISTORY OF THE PINE Log
How Courage and Perseverance
Can Transform a Pros
pect Hole.
Especial Correspondence Of THE CALI


ores here and the manner of their occur
renee require that copper shall sell at from
II to IA cents to be worked at profit.
Copper has recently been up to IL cents,
and there is some talk of renewing opera
tions, but the expense of opening up
would be large and more favorable out
look will probably be necessary before this
again becomes lively camp. At the pres
ent time the town is practically deserted.
All the miners have departed for surround
ing districts, the principal hostelry has
suspended business, and a stranger in
town Immediately becomes a center of GU
riosity for the few remaining inhabitants.
The ores of Copperopolis are low grade,
ranging from TO Is per cent. They are
mostly sulphides and are all hand sorted,
the better portion being smelted into a
black matte, which is shipped to Boston
for treatment. The poorer ones are piled
in large heaps and roasted in the open air
and leached. The ore does not occur in
through the slate and is expensive to mine.
The ores OF Copperopolis carry no silver or
gold. and under ali the adverse circum-
stances they cannot compete with the pure
native copper of the Lake Superior region,
the immense deposits of carbonates, sill
Gates and oxides at Bisbee, Ariz., often
running up to go or 70 per cent, or with the
big copper com bine of Montana, whose
ores carry large percentage of silver to
help out the average. At the Campo Seco
mines further north, where the copper and
gold belt approach more closely, the cop
per ores contain both gold and silver, but
not in sufficient amount to justify working
with copper at a low price.
Two and half miles southwest of Cop
peropolis quite an extensive gold belt is
encountered, where there are many
parallel veins. some of which prospect very
favorably on the surface. This district is
almost totally neglected. the bad repute of
Copperopolis mining seemingly having
extended thus far. There is one notable
exception in the Pine Log mine, which 1
believe is the only one in Copperopolis
district where active work is being prose-
cuted on any extensive sale. This mine is
the property of the Royal Consolidated
Gold Mining Company, which has three
full claims on the vein and two others on
parallel veins. Under the careful, expe-
rienced and energetic superintendency of
ID. Jutton the Pine Log mine has been
transformed from prospect hole into one
of the most profitable and important prop
critics in Calaveras County. It is close
corporation, and its officers and owners
are: j. D. Peters, president; ]. N. Castle,
vice-president; I. r. Wilbur, treasurer;
N. M. Orr, secretary. I. r. Wilbur is also
general manager, with Offices at 214 Pine
street, San Francisco.
The owners of the Pine Log mine are
not mining men and in the early stages of
its development there was hard struggle
to keep it going, They wanted the mine
to pay its way from grass roots down and,
hampered by inadequate means and con-
ficting methods, the progress was slow
and the deficit constant. When Mr.. Jut-
ton took charge there was transforma-
ton scene complete in all its details. He
had ideas of his own and broad shoulders
and a wrinkle between the eyes to enforce
them. The mine had got what all enter
prises need-a boss. The consequence was
dividend the first month and every
month since for four years. Mr.. Jutton
had not been long in charge before he ''got
stuck on the ledge and determined to go
down after it. They had been pottering
along on top of the ground as though it
were placer claim. The company thought
they could not afford machinery for deep
sinking; but the next time they visited
the mine they found an engine putting and
the bell tinkling from hundred-foot level.
The plucky superintendent had rustled
around over the county and picked up one
thing here and another there for a song,
had fitted square things into round holes
and had the whole plant running without
spark Of friction. Result-bigger divi-
dends.
And so it has gone since. Through q
harder formation" than the rock encoun-
tered Mr.. Jutton has bored into the earth
some five hundred and odd feet, and the
mine has improved all the way. Levels
are opened every hundred feet. At No. 1
level drifts are run both ways in the vein, ag-
gregating some $50 feet, all in good ore. No.
2level has been drifted 500 feet. A 1O-stamp
mill is kept running night and day, and
there are $4,000 tons of ore in reserve. The
hosting works are model of their kind,
built under the personal supervision of
Mr.. Jutton, and are capable of sinking 1900
feet. The vein varies greatly in size, some
times pinching to two feet and again wild
ening to nearly twenty. Everything be-
tween the walls pay. The ore is mostly a
bright hard quartz, carrying considerable
sulphurets. Usually there is nothing to
indicate the richness of the rock, but occa-
sionallv there are streaks of fine free gold
plainly visible running way up in the thou
sands per ton.
The Pine Log mine has recently been
examined by the expert of the big French
syndicate seeking opportunities for in
vestment in California, and it is under
stood an offer of 100000 has been made
the company. Should the sale not go
through the company will wake up this
fail and build a new 20-stamp mill COM
plete, as perfect as money and modern
invention can make it, and prosecute sink
ing and development in more vigorous
manner than ever before. If the French
company takes hold 1t will undoubtedly
encourage many others holding claims in
the district to do active prospecting. Mr..
Jutton thinks highly of the district, aside
from the company's properties, and says