The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-07-22
THE INDEPENDENT NINE.
Power Drills and CoRcentraior to He
Installed on Early SiIyerton Dis
covery-A Great Ore Shoos

Power Drills and Concentration tn nc
Installed on Early SiISerton Dis
c0very-A Great Ore shoot.
One OF the first mines discovered in tha
Slserton district is destined also IN he
come one of the first producers. This is
the independent. owned by the Indepar
dent Mining and Milling Company. Tfa
present lower tunnel Is only half a mile
by wagon road from the Everett & Monte
Cristo railroad, and the intervening ground
Is so nearly level that spur track could
be extended 10 it al slight cost. This rem
ders marketable ore which Ii would not
pay to mine under less favorable condi-
tions. This advantage of location is pos
sessed by d property Of which the value
has been SO thoroughly proved by develop
ment that the company is about to install
expensive machinery.
Half 2 mile south Of Silverton by a
wagon road just completed by the com-
pany. is the mouth OF Silver gulcn.
where Is the Independent mill site and up
which is the companys water right
Branching 10 the left in course
northwest BY southeast is Indepen-
dent gulch. Its bid is the indie
pendent ledge, traced through three
claims, the Brass Wire. Independent and
Independent Extension, and its walls are
cliffs OF blue slate from 80 10 l5o feet high.
through which feeders come at frequent
intervals. The ledge is composed of white
and blue quartz and ranges in width from
ten to thirty feet.
Up this gulch Post-Intelligencer repre-
sentative, in company with the able SUI
perintendent of the Independent. Mr.. W.
L. Ntcolson, traced the ore shoot Ut inter-
walls for nearly 1000 feet. Near tie mouth
of the guich No. 2 tunnel runs $50 feet
along the hanging wall large part of
the distance in ten fifteen inches of ore
assaying S9S to 81. In gold and silver,
mostly the former. A crosscut near the
face defines the ledge as fifteen feet wide
with eighteen inches of concentrating ore
on each wall. worth $40 to SIS ton.
one hundred and twelve feet higher YER
tically is No. l tunnel. eighty feet long,
with n crosscut exposing forty-two-inch
ore shoot, averaging SIS. This shoot
crops all the way up the gulcn for 800
feet vertically, al which distance sur
face crosscut shows ii TO be still forty
two inches wide. AT point 200 feet high
err II Is exposed again in an open erosscut
twenty-five feet long and eight feet deep
Here it has split, there being fourteen
inches on the footwaii. a sample across
which assayed sl23.e0 gold, IL ounces sill
yer. On the hanging wall Is thirty-inch
streak. the groupings of which assayed
$izeo gold, Sl.20 silver. and sample across
the bottom OF the cut assayed $3.50 gold
$40 ounce of silver proving that the
value increases in going down. Between
these two streaks the quartz is sufficient
~ miheralized TO pay for concentration
The ore shoot is continuous higher IN
and for $50 feet widens to fully six aud
one-hah feet. while two other shoots are
exposed towards the summit
The mineral Is a tine grained white iron
ana iron sulphides, with occasional
streaks of fine grained gaiena. the fine
ness OF the grain being an evidence or
higher value. The ore ranges in value
IRON $40 TO SIS a ton throughout, and sew
etai tests nave shown ii TO concentrate In
the ratio o. TO u Into l, with a saving
OF NJ 10 % per cent. 0. the value. The mar
rover streak In the upper open cut is solid
cropping ore
n thFee-drin acknowledgement COM
pressor q i'll be on the ground this ,raa,.
ana VIII be erected or 4 site already Grad
Gu NV leet distant from and $50 feet YER
icahS below No, tunnel. Location on
80 S,te vii aEord opportunity to tan
the ledge at this level by n tbir, .,.rnsi
from which the ore can be dropped direct
~ INTO concentration. to be erected a.
Joining the compressor
JAMS are now being prepared far ~
concensrator which VIII have :, -.
lily OF atty tons in twentv-fonr hn,,r-
wlth provision for enlargement. r. VII
consist OF one Gates crusher. two sets
O I.rhisa rolls. four Hartz pigs one
round table and two Frue yanners g.,
viii only require two men an sac, . 80.
10 operate IL s'''A'
Tho machinery wil be operated ror
eight months OF the year by wa,er go,
or obtained from Silver rulcs ~,
water viii be conducted for s5n Zee.
throush hume and for $50 feet shrous,
q pipe line, With vertical fau Of stn e.
10 four-foot Pelton water WIZ, /.
steam plant VIII be- erected tn nn.ra-s
the machinery during the fonr r.or,,,.
when the water only sufTsees for the r,sI,
Mr.. Ntcoison expects 10 have ,ha 49,.
or drills working by August ! am. u,T,,
then extend the No. tunnel thro,,s,, 80
ore-sh0ot on the hanging wan mala -
raises and develop the ground ai~aacv
opened.
The company IS fortunate in having So
cared n Mr.. Nicoisan a suner-,n,a-ee,.
wsth twenty years experience in r1,nfrx-
and milling. He has Seen counecte. rrt,5
some OF the most important raf,es -,
Colorado Mexico Montana and yrss.,
including the Granite Mountain. -, sron-
fana the Granite and the Helena ara
Frisco, in the Occur d'AIenes. and VS.
for three consecutive years supersnter-
dent Of the Monte Cristo concentrate
The Independent Mining and sIili7~
Company Is now IN good financial z-ape
20 develop It's valuable property and in
stall an the machinery necessary 20 r7,al,a
II producing and dtvideni-paying r.,-ne
The larger stockholders have determine.
~ hold their stock and with that era ~,
view have roolei all the common sto-k,
and q portion ~ the treasury stock wrfen
had been sold This arrangement win
prevent any stock from coming into con-
petition with such treasury stock a. e