Omaha daily bee., 1897-12-14
MINING NEWS FROM WYOMING
Renewed Interest is Being Shown in the
Hartville Camp.
RICH COPPER DEPOSITS ARE THERE
Experts Look over the Ground with
Care and Say the Ore Lies
There in Immense
Quantities.

CHEYENNE, wyo, Dec 13,-tspecial)-
A recent development in the mining situa-
tlon at the Hartviile mining camp in north
ern Laramie county has aroused the latent
mining fever of the prospectors of the regicu
and the great iron camp will soon present
scenes Of even greater activity than at pres
ent. A number OF noted experts who have
lately visited the camp concur in the opln-
len that the rich strata o! iron are under
laid by still richer deposit OF copper. Expert
Chance of Philadelphia, representing .arge
eastern eyniicate and acting in the interest
Of the Ulion Pacific. Denver & Gulf
Railway company, spent eight days
in the district last month making
a careful and detlile1 inspection OF
the geological formation and mineral indi-
cations. He expresses the opinion that Hart
Vile is destined to be one of the great cop
per camps OF the western world; that the
great deposits of iron found in the district
are but the olpping OF tremendous body of
copper ore in this respect resembling the
meteorological formation of the celebrated
Rio Tinto mine Of Spain and the no less
famous Anaconda mine of Montana. The geo.
logical formation Of the Good Fortune iron
mine at Hartville seems to particularly eus-
tain this theory.
Expert Butler OF the Colorado Fuel &
Iron company, of Denver. who visited the
camp last spring and devoted a week TO max
ing painstaklng examination OF the NM
eral deposits of the vicinity, made a report
in which he advocated the same idea9 now
advanced by Mr.. Chance in regard to the
ex.stance of large underlying bodies of cop
per.
Fred T. Dubois, a practical mine operator
of Colorado who went to the district several
months ago for the purpose of Investigating
the situation, declares enthusiastically his
belief that extended development would re-
veal extensive areas of copper under the
iron strata.
These opinions, ernanating from practical
mining men and experts from various local
ites, are fully cocfrmed by the past history
of the camp. Hartvilles copper boom began
in 1SS1-S2 and hundreds of prospect holes
were opened, all of them showing more or
less copper ore and the existence of a copper
belt extending many miles across the Hart
willie district Several Of the large prospects
were extensively worked notably the Sun
rise the Green Mountain Boy and the Michi-
gan. The owners of the Sunrise erected q
smelling plant at Fairbanks and produced
$500, 900 worth of copper ore in less than
one year of operation. The Green Mountain
Boy produced over $4,000 worth of very rich
orc. which was shipped to eastern smelteTs.
The Michigan has been operated by an east
ern compasy, which shipped its ore to Penn
sylvania the amount of the production not
being known. There was no deep mining
and the entire output of these mines was
taken from the surface. 1t is looked upon
as a certainty that the following up of these
indications will demonstrate the truth Of
tho experts opinions.
The Wyoming Railway and Copper com
pany, controlling large interests In the camp
is preparing to commence operations on th'
Sunrise mine and two other of II!
best claims. The Sunrise is a copper-ror
claim. 1t has some 900 tons of iron ore
containing from to per cent copper, lying
in the dump the result of former operations
1t is thought this can be utilized at prom
az fuxing ore in the Denver smelters. G. A
Guernsey, the Wyoming agent of the com
pany, visited the camp last week for the pur
pose of making arrangements to ship TIM
ore to market. Other owners OF copper pros
poets are recommending work on their claim
with renewed interest and much confidence
expressed on all sides in the future of Hart
vile - a copper camp.
The present activity in the Hartvile cam
Is due largely to the fact that great amour
of iron ore IS being taken from the GOO
Fortune group OF mines. These mines ar
worked by parties in the interest of tn
Denver G. Gulf Railway company, the latte
having secured an option in March last upo
the property. The Good Fortune mine, whic
was then but promising prospect only, ha
now DEVELOPED into one of the largest an
best producing iron mines in the west. Tn
company, while shipping ore to the Denve
smelters. has carried on the developmer
work until the machinery now In use has bt
duced. The present output is from sevent!
fve to 100 tons day and soon as tn
necessary hosting equipment can be put u
the shipments will be greatly increased. A
examination OF the present workings show
an ore body of tremendous proportions som
10000 tons OF ore being already blocked OF
ready for shipment There is an immens
ore cropping over the NNire group, the III
DERIVING body OF which has hardly bee
touched A conservative estimate places tt
amount of the deposit at 500 900 tons. 0vt
100 miners and ore haulers are at present en-
tloyed in mining and shipping the ore fro
the Good Fortune grouo typical mimi
village has sprung UP during the past ye
at the foot OF the Good Fortune hill, con
posed ,of saloons, stores, boarding house
cabins and tents The ore is hauled sixtet
miles by wagon from the mines to Badge
the shipping point on the Denver & Gulf raj
way, and the towns OF Fairbanks and Badg
are sharing the activity caused by the Il
dustry. The transportation OF the ore FRO
the mines to the railroad is in charge OF Lul
Voorhees, a pioneer miner and contractor
the west who sub-contracts the work to tea
owners and ranchmen This feature of Il
enterprise will probably last only until sprin
when a sour from the railroad TO the min
Will be built.