The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-26
A PROSPEROUS SEASON.
Bright Future In Store For the "old
Reliable"


In its review of the camp for the past
year, the Bingham Bulletin says:
Though the year just closing has for
the most part been anything but en-
couraging for our silver-lead mining
industry, as compared With other
Utah camps, Bingham has no reason
for complaint A portion of its prod
ucts, particularly during the mid
summer season, when lead threatened
to drop out of sight, returned meager
profit over expenses, and many men
have been idle as the result OF some
OF the larger mines slowing down, so
that money was. scarce and local bust
ness anything but satisfactory; but
during the last three months, under the
improved lead Quotations, quite re-
action has taken place, and our mer-
chants and dealers took advantage of
it to raise their averages for the
year.
The output of Bingham this year was
$3.50 tons less than in 1886, when it was
54s016 tons. We doubt if any other
camp of the state makes a, better COM
parative showing than this, and it is
important, as indicating what may be
expected of the "Old Reliable in the
future. Some of its noted producers,
including the Dalton & Lark, Monte
yuma, Niagara, Petro, Samson, Yose-
mite No l, Brooklyn. ETC., have been
comparatively idle as result of COM
plications, lack of capital and the low
markets, while some new properties
that cut no figure last season, make
quite an exhibit in this years list. 1t
is reasonable to concede that if fair
prices for lead and silver prevail dur
ing 1898, the output of ore bearing
those minerals is likely to equal if not
exceed that of 1896.
However. in the future Bingham will
not depend so entirely upon lead and
silver as it has in the past. The devel
opments. at the Highland Boy mines
since operations began on them, a little
more than year ago, are a revelation.
The mill in connection is this month
reducing $500 tons of gold ore, with
excellent results, ana 500 tons of crude
copper gold ore that carries good pay
is being shipped. The mines have i'm
mense areas OF these ores in sight.
Bingham has q large extent Of territory
in which it is believed just as good
copper mines as the Highland Boy will
be developed, and next season will see
activity throughout its length and
breadth. Because the copper veins had
been leached above water level by the
action Of springs, leaving a low grade
oxidiZed ore carrying only gold, little
attention has heretofore been paid to
now had light turned upon them
through the lower workings of the
Highland Boy
Another new and probably important
enterprise is likely to divide attention
that has been given to I3inghan's old
standbys. and that is the one just
started by the new West Mountain
Placer company, a powerful corpora
ton formed to operate at bedrock the
foul
and Leadniil covering nearly Two
miles, and known to be very rich The
combination Of capital represented by
this company makes possible to do
what has heretofore been impractical
owing to the great underfiow and ex-
pense of diverting it, and we look for a
re-awakening of interest in all the
placer locations before next season as
a result of this movement.
a number of new mills and processes
for local treatment of ores are under
construction or to build at an early
day, and viii have due effect on the
volume of future operations. Among
these are the new Last Chance mill,
nearly completed; the 1ixiviating works
of the Fred Mueller company, starting
this week; the old Markham mill, re-
modelled and to be run in connection
with the Giant Chief mine; a large Gus
! tom mill in the main canyon. TO be
erected in the spring; also mills for the
Fortune and Mammoth mines, mat
ting. process for the Dalton & Lark, a
cyanide plant for the Old Jordan and
possibly a new process to replace the
present one connected with the Win
namuck mine. This quite formidable
array. of machinery, in connection with
the prospect that electricity will soon
be here to cheaper cost of power and
of mining, helps materially to brighten
the outlook Tor Bingham, and we feel
confident in predicting that there is
! prosperity ahead.