Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-05-22
THE HELENA AND FRISCO
ANNUAL MEETING OF THAT RICH
NINE HELD AT HELENA.
Work the Mine to It's Full
Capacity.

At the annual meeting of the Helena
and Frisco Mir.:...s company held in Hell
ona Tuesday, A. NJ. Hotter was elected
president, John t. Murphy vice presi-
| dent, and A. ]. Seligman secretary and
| treasurer. The old board of trustees,
consisting of A. N. Hotter, s. T. Hauser,
John T. Murphy, A. J. SeIigman, A. M.
| Eisler and E. w. Knight, Jr., was con-
| tinued. There will be no change in the
| management of the mine, Joseph Nc
Donald remaining in charge says the
Helena Independent.
The Helena and Frisco is a mine with
a history. Although only six years old,
1t ranks among the great silver produc-
ers of America. 1t paid dividends when
silver was at its lowest. and is now being
worked at practically it's full capacity,
nearly 500 tons of ore a day being lifted
to the surface.
THE mine" said an engineer who knew
what he was talking about, sis better
than bank. Its ore bodies are immense
and permanent, and there is ore enough
in sight to run the concentration for
years. From it's depths have come for
tunes and many more are to follow. With
o. without free coinage, the property is
bonanza to it's owners
Lie t1eleHd anu fFlSCO Is OWueu en-
tirely by Helena men, who incorporated
the company February s, 1890, with a
capital stock of $2,5O0,000 The property
consists Of the Badger lode, the Essler
and Essler fraction, with a water right
and two mill sites. 1t is only partially
developed, the present workings being in
| the badger lode. That claim was To-
Gated by R. c. Vanderford, who sold it
| to it's present owners in 1899.
| While the company for the last two
years has been making money, and lots
| of 1t, there was time when the out
| lcok was gloomy-a time when courage
| as well as abiding faith in the property
was required to develop it. That was
| IN 1892, when the whole Occur d'Alene
country was engrossed with strikes and
| boycotts; when men were killed and
| property was destroyed. The Helena and
Frisco Company had its full share of the
| general trouble. Its mill was blown up
July Ii, 1892, by dynamite and made a to-
| tai wreck. Then came the regular troops,
restoring order and putting an end to the
memorable struggle.
| From the ruins of the old mill sprang
UT a new structure, built by the com
pany, which had decided to increase the
output of the property. Last year ad-
| we're Hldu0 10 Tue
and mill, making it practically a new
plant and increasing its capacity to
SOC tons daily. No mine in the country
has a more complete plant than the
| Helena and Frisco. 1t is provided with
one of the largest air compressors in the
world-a compressor of 450 horse power.
The hoist, pumps and drills are operated
| with compressed air, which long ago
| proved to be the most desirable power for
! work in mines. The mill Is operated by
| water. but the company has steam power
in reserve to meet any emergency that
| may arise from lack Of water. Twelve
thousand tons of ore are mined and treat
| ed monthly, and 1900 tons of concentrates
| is the output of the reducing plant for
| that time.
| The reports of President Hotter and
| the other officers of the company read
at the annual meeting Tuesday show
the property to be in excellent condi-
ton. The improved machinery and the
arrangement of the mine allows it to
be worked economically-much more so
| than the average silver mine of any
considerable depth. A simple system of
tunnels and tramways reduces to a
minimum the cost of running the ore
fl ION the mine to the mill. The ore bodies
dIc nO lII1Ll0ASG ludl lIlSy Cdu Dc WOThcu
easily and cheaply. With the introduce
ton of air drills the force OF miners was
| reduced without affecting any lessening
of the output.
The lowest workings at present are
down S15 feet, but the shaft is being
| rapidly sunk to the 1015 level In 50 feet
| that depth will be reached and a level
run. A tunnel, HOO feet long, cuts the
| lead at the 615-foot level. During the
! last six months all the ore put through
| the mill has been mined from the 200
| feet below the 615-foot level, where the
| tunnel crosscuts the lead.
Mr.. Hotter said that it would be the
policy of the company to con-
| tlnue to work the mine at it's
full, or nearly full, capacity. No
improvements. except on the dam, are
contemplated and none are needed. The
| improvements on the dam will cost only
about $500.