The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-11
A Property That Has Been Worked
For Three Hundred Years.

For Three Hundred Years.
James F. Mathews of New York ar.
rived here from Mexico last night, says
the Denver Republican. Mr. Mathews
is an old resident of Denver, for many
years the head of the firm of Mathews
| q Webb, ore buyers, of this city, and
Tor several years has made his head
quarters in New York City. A long
| business association with the miners OF
Mexico gave Mr.. Mathews such an in
innate knowledge of the resources of
Inc republic that seven years ago he
purchased the Velardena mines in the
state of Durango, from an inspection
| OF which he is now on his way home.
| The Velardena mines, under his man
| agement, have developed into a great
property, which gives employment to
1,2OO men and sustains a town of near
ly 5000 inhabitants.
When we first purchased the
Mines" said he, the deepest workings
were about 600 feet in the silicious ores
and 140' feet in the carbonates. The
mines had been worked by the Pedriza
family since the year 1000 or there
abouts, descending regularly from
father to son. The property comprises
on one side deposits of silicious ores.
and on the other carbonates. There
are two contacts between porphyry
and lime, great porphyry dyke pene-
trating the limestone, with the ore on
each side of the porphyry. The old
owners, the Pedrizas were driven out
by water at 140 feet in the carbonates.
They had Cornish pump, but even
that was unable to handle the water.
Since we have had it we have been
very nearly drowned out but have al
ways been able to handle the water
without serious difficulty.
1t is an ideal mine-the onIv ono
that L have ever heard of that can
run on JUS own reSourceS-containin
all the elements necessary for success
ful smelling. We have the dry silicious
ores, the lead carbonates. all the iron
necessary, and the limestone, and the
ohly tnlng we have to purchase is coal
anu coke. The carbonate contacts ex-
tend for more than a mile on our
property and are practically inexhaust-
lple. They dip at an average inclina-
tlon OF 10 degrees from the perpen-
olcular. and frequently open out into
ore chambers containing several thou
sand tons of ore very similar to the
great chambers found in the Silver
Cord mine at Leadville.
we have five furnaces on the
ground. each having a capacity of 40
tons per day. We have smelted 30
TONS IN day, and the average is 200.
Our silver-lead bullion is shipped to
Newark, n. j., where it is refined in
bond. and the silver and lead sold in
england. Our carbonates ores run
from 10 to 20 ounces silver and some
gold. While the mine has been in
operation for nearly 300 years. there is |
no record of its production, but the |
district in which it is located has a
record of something over $4,000. 900.
regard Mexico as one of the best |
in the world for the invest |
ment of capital, especially in mining.
obtain liberal concessions from the |
government, are protected in every
way, and the mining laws are favor
able
The payment of the legal rate
gives the miner an absolute title to
us claim. When another party de-
lounces contiguous territory you are
lotified of the fact and directed to send
your surveyor to see that his location
Toes not interfere with your own.
fhere is no such thing as surveying in
| claim occupied by another man. and
When your locations are made you
AVE an absolute title to everything
ound within your boundaries. so long
IS the annual fee is regularly paid.
The people there are good laborers.
uiet and peaceable. In our concession
We are empowered to provide for the
necessary police to maintain order
|
eople we have a chief and six men.
'hom we uniform and pay, and have
ass trouble in preserving order than
many American towns of one-quar-
er the size. We employ in the mines
nd furnaces 1,156 natives and 40 white
1en. Americans, English and Ger
IAN. Most of the labor is performed
y the natives 1t is my experience
hat they are intelligent and easily
aught. They have learned to manage
ne air drills and many other things
'hich they had never even heard of :
etore we took hold of the property. !
The natives have their own way of
olng things, the results of centuries
a given rut. For instance. they
ave aways been in the habit of going {
own, and if put into a drift Were !
hey have to do overhead STOPPING. or i
ack Stopping, they are entirely at sea. 6
re very soon found out that it was !
est to let them do things in their own /
ay. We had q foreman once who 7
as determiped to reform them and g
sisted that they could not bring the
e up 600 or 800 feet on their backs. d
ne day when he went to dinner he j.
Tiled the men out of the mine, and
ley complained to me of the inter- 7
renee, as they had been accustomed :
work until they were through. and '
told him to let them alone O