Omaha daily bee., 1897-09-22
The WEALTH OF UNION HILL
A Seoion Of the Black Hills Des ined to
Startle the Word,
PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT WORK
The Judgment OF Mining Experts
Sustained by Discoveries OF Pay
Ing Gold Orc-Opcrntions of
a Progressive Company.
From the Black Hills Mining Review.

From the Black Hills Mining Review.
Mining men who OF late have begun to
regard the operations OF the Union Hill COM
pany as being OF greater moment to the gen.
eral welfare Of the Black Hills than any other
one enterprise, are very near the truth.
| While il has asked fewer favors than Is the
rule with outside investors. the Union Hill
company has identified more eastern capital
= and taken greater practical interest In the
development Of the remarkable resources
| OF this country than any previous
combination Of capitalists. and II their
rewards now promise to be prcqortionately
great, 1t should be a subject for rejoicing,
and not Jealousy by the communities they
are beneftting. Including their heavy in
vestments and extensive agricultural i'm
provements at Edgemont and vicinity, this
! company has already expended million dol
lars In the Black Hills, to say nothing OF
| great sums required for the new enterprises
| which are being constantly inaugurated at
| different points in their splendid possessions.
For instance they have now a new stamp
mill at Galena we'll along toward completion,
| which will cost 5000 and include the best
and most expensive machinery made There
are to be $50 stamps-the second largest
mill of Its kind in this country-and 1t will
| be in operation before the close of the year.
And they have begun operation at the right
| end of things, for while as much as $500, 900
has been expended in deveopment work and
| the exploration of new ground in the Galena
district during the past year, they have
| demonstrated the value of all the hundreds
| OF claims bought and proved the merits of
| their mines before they built their costly
mills. Although there are many other prop
ositlons in the Union Hill company's list of
| mines that Will prove profitable feeders
for their stamp mill, it is being built partic-
ularly for operation on the wonderful
mountain of free milling ore-Union hill
and work has already begun on the grade
Tor a narrow gauge railroad between this
| mountain and the mill, distance of about
two miles. In recent exhaustive article
| on this subject the Deadwood Daily Inde-
| pendent described this new stamp mill as
| follows:
'The mill Is constructed on the plan
known as a double mill. with one large ore
bin in the center running the entire length
OF the main mill building, which is $50 feet
| in length, and on each side of this ore bin,
| and running parallel with it is a row of
ninety stamps, making in all 1S0 stamps.
| The foundations for this ore bin are all built
and the sils laid in place, and the main bin
| is now under course of construction. The
bin will be twenty-five feet wide and twenty
five feet high and will have capacity OF
more than 1000 tons of crushed ore, which
amount Will be kept constantly on hand to
use in case of shipments being delayed from
the mines during snow storms on accidents.
into the sef-feeder which feeds the ore to
the stamps, making thirty-siX automatic self
feeders in all. The stamps are of the latest
improved pattern, and the mortars are known
as the Homestake pattern, which are similar
to the latest improved mortars adopted by
the Homestake company at Lead, after eX-
perimentng with different styles for nearly
twenty years. With these improved mortars
the crushing capacity of each stamp is about
four tons of hard ore every tweatyfour houls.
The pulp will pass from the mortars onto
copper plates, which are electro silver plated,
with one ounce of pure silver to each square
foot of surface. Those plates will be amalga-
mated with quicksilver, which catches all
the free gold contained in the ore. After
passing over those plates the pulp then
passes with the water used for crushing, on
| to the concentrators One of those concen-
trating machines will be used for each five
stamps All the values in the ore which is
not free gold will be saved with those GU
centrating machines, thereby saving all
the value contained in the ore The
concentrates contained in the ore from
Hoodoo of high grade, and averaged
, in weight about from to 10 per cent.
: The concentrates will be shipped to the
Edgemont smelter for treatment. The build
e ings one on each side Of the main mill build
ing, for concentrators, are each forty feet
wide and $50 feet long. One OF those large
g rooms are already constructed and the roof
{ now being finished The engine room and
boiler house are in close connection with the
e main mill buildings the size of engine room
; being 31X122 feet, and the boiler house
4 40x75 feet. The steam producing plant will
/ bo composed OF six boilers. each having a
capacity of eighty horse power. The power
will be supplied by 500 horse power Corliss
condensing engine, and a 100 horse power
engine, the former to be used to operate the
stamps, the latter to operate the machine
shop, fans for blacksmith shop and electric
light plant The machinery is now being
delivered at the mill daily, and several car
, loads are at Pluma awaiting transportation.
Hon. Robert H. Lilly, the well known min
5 ing expert and mill builder, Is In charge OF
the construction work or the stamp mill.
3 1t was Mr.. Lilly who built the Kildonan
; plant at Pluma in 1895, which at that time
$ was the best and most complete plant of iti
e kind in the world. Fraser & Chalmers of
Chicago have the contract for supplying the
machinery for the entire mill
Union Hill i5 mountain that has been
tested by every art that experience could
suggest and unlimited capital could provide,
and it has been demonstrated to be noun
tain of free-millng ore that could employ
8 thousands OF stamps for ages to come. In
8 many places 1t out-assays the Homestake and
7 it bears every indication of equality mex
haustlble extent. Sam McMaster, whom
D every mining man in the country remem-
= bers as the father of the Homestake," made
6 frequent efforts during his lifetime to Sc
cure possession of the Union Hill ground
0 owned by William Fagan, and he al
6 ways maintained that, this would, in
2 richest mine in the world. Pagan
0 and others held on to the prop
: erty for nineeen years, doing thousands o,
6 dollars worth of work and fully demon
strating its great value. At one time they
i refused $4,000 for two Of the claims
asking and holding for 100000. 1t was
this ground that was first secured by
Francis C. Cradle and his wealthy eastern
associates, and it has been the nucleus
= around which has since grown one of the
' most promising mineral estates in the
known world embracing some 1000 acres
ard including over 800 well defined mines
among which are silver propositions that
}, will be of incalculable value If the prices
/, of former days are ever restored to the
white metal. Prof. Jenny, the noted min
t ing expert and accepted government au-
a thority on all matters pertaining to mines
Q and mineral Isrds, has made frequent ex-
h. aminations end reports on Union HILL and
X, he has always given 1t as his judgment
that 1t would eventually startle the world
. with the extent of its free gold deposits
S The company now owning the property
e have spared uether labor nor expense in
= demonstrating the accuracy of Prof Jenny's
. judgment. A year ago they be-
e tain and sank double-compart
. ment shaft $50 feet and continued dowT