El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-11-09
OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICANS.
Mexican Mines Need the Application of
Modern Machinery.

VI N
Modern Machinery.
G. w. Tibbits, formerly of this city,
but now a resident of the state of Chi
huahua. Mexico, is at the St. James
hotel. says the Denver Republican.
Mr.. Tlbbits has been in Mexico for
four years, examining mines and buy
ing ore for Mr.. Nash, of the Omaha and
Grant smelter, and during that time
as traveled all over the republic of
Mexico. ''Thc mining industry is con-
star thy improving" said he, 'aud the
OPPORTUNITIES for Investment were new
er b liter than at present. There are
two differen Mt forma ions in Mexico. In
the astern pa of the state of CHI hUa
hua is the lime and porphvry contact
formation, thu ores beng carbon ates
carrying al excess of o., abOnt 10 per
cent l. al aud fifteen ounces of silver.
Some times the excess of iron 1ucr, ,es
at the expense of the silver, but the
De rcentage Of lead varies very lit5ie.
This is the great smf ling region, this
CT a, acter of ore ing Necessary for
smelling purposes, a ID has caused the
erection of the grG at smelling plants
throughout this Fart Of the republic.
''But there is another class of ores
that have not as yet been so extensive
ly worke d. Along the crest OF the
SlerTaS Uuc uOItUSIu ~
the Guatema an frontier is a continuous
success sion of mineral veins strong ifs
sures, with granite walls, the ore ba-
ing sulphides, and it is hire that there
is the greatest opportunity for Amer
lean enterprise.
The Me Xicans are fair miners, but
they have not the crudest idea of COZ
centration and know nothing what
ever about milling. In this great
L@l Of nh rio ne
reliable as the ores of Clip n cOun-
ty, the values are in both 60 and sill
yer.
THE idea has been very ger eral th at
because Mexico has in the past produc
ed great quantities OF silver, it is a sill
yer country, but this is very far from
the truth The SierraS are vast store
houses of gold and eventually Mexico
will become one of the great gold pre-
ducers of the world. In the northern
part of the repu bic the metallic values
of these sulpbide ores run about % per
cent in gold, but as one goes south the
percentage of gold increases and the
ore becomes mora refractory until in
the extreme south gold forms alb ut 40
per ent of the metallic value, and th e
ore is so refrac DRY that even the patio
syste N is ineffe ctive in eXtr acting the
values
"All of this vast belt of sulphides is
prac tically virgin ground re ldy for in
tellie ent, M dern methods of Operat on.
In Chihua hua there are twelve large
milling plants in operation aud great
err or SIS number in Sonora, but south
of chihuahua there is not a single mill
and The natives do not seem to under
stand how to take advantage of the
mill system.
.Regarding the wealth of these de-
posts of sulphldes one instance will
give some idea. a mine in the soutn-
ern part of the republic has to pay
such b. avy freight rates and such high
smelling charges that nothing lie S
tn N SlCO ore can be shipped, and yet
ore per week. The amount of sorting
neces- airy and the quantity of second
and t ird grade ore ~ ing on the dunn p
that could be utilized by concentrati on
can be imagined 1t is in the sJu hern
part of the republic that the greatest
rewards await American enterprise in
the establishment of mills.
"Anoth-r thing to be considered is
the question OF tran sportatlon as IL eX-
lists all over the republic. The rail
roads all run on the elevated plateau
at a distarce of from 100 to 200 miles
from the mountains, nece- stating
wagon or burrO transportation for that
distance so that it Is practically i'm
possible to ship anything except bull
lion from the niues.
1T is equally inpo- bile to ship t ne
heavy machin ry, for any distance
over 100 miles and it becO mes lmpOr-
tant to devise uetnOds of trs atme mt
wrich require the ignte mathinery
possibl AMI any system which can re-
duce the ores to an oxide and put ZEN
ann1it inr for n - n :. "a
find an open field in Mexico, with
profits beyond any thing that they car
hope for in this country, for it cots 4
great cal more to treat ores IN Mex
leo than in the United Stat 5. Event
ua'ly concentrating plants will be IS
tabli- he'd all along the SierraS, but the
b st field now is for such processes O.
preparing the ore for ANAL gamat en-
as can be erected wit out serious eX
pen-e and of coarse t0at means light
machinery.
SIT is to be regrette that the Unit c
States does not secure more OF the
Mexican trade, which is ii ain y in the
ban IS of the Germans, but toe Ameri
cans co not seem to get hold as the
| Germans 90. American goods are
va tly supe rior to Gt rman manufactur
| ers, but the latter sci well and seem
| to defy competition. One t9iny t, al
opera es again t All eri ans i, Gus
| toms sy, TEN of t e country. On duty
| l. levied on toe gross weight If tie
pa"Page anu toe otuer on the Ontent[
The Germans import every thing in
bales and the Amerit ans in boXe5,
which axes very IL ats rial oitferen e
IN the amount OF 9uty paid. But in
mini G aid my ling app!ian es the