Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1897-11-30
Description Of Ore Bodies in Kelly Dis
trict--l40 Men Employed at the
. Mine and Smelter.
GRAPHIC SHELTER AND HOW 1T WORKS
Vast Low Grade Ore Bodies in Kelly
District Could Be Mined Profitably
with Proper Machinery-An
Instructive Letter.
Correspondence New Mexican.

Correspondence New Mexican.
Kelly, N. M, Nov. 29, 1s97.-As tYpi-
cal illustration of successful mining and
smelling low grade silver-lead ores in
this district, the Graphic mine and smelt-
er may be instanced, not as an unusual
nor isolated possibility, bnt as an ex-
ample which might be followed just as
profitably in any of the half dozen other
similar properties in this neighborhood,
provided they could be equipped and
managed in the same thorough and 8. u
full manner. v
The Graphic mine lies on the western
slope of the Magdalena mountain range,
about three.quarters of amile from the
summit, and the same distance north of
the town of Kelly. 1t is located on the
same extensive lode as the Ida Hill and
Hardscrabble properties to the north
and the Kelly and Juanite TO the south.
The ore here, as in the other mines on
the same lode, is found in enormous de-
posits, sometimes connected by thinner
streaks of ore, and in other places iso-
lated from one another, in the two paral-
lei veins which traverse this region for
miles The general strike of the veins is
north 18 degrees west, and the dip about
As degrees to the westward, the latter
being slightly more than the steep slopes
of the mountain.
These main veins are about so feet
apart, and are singularly constant and
parallel throughout.
The ore zone is of limestone, but al
though the lime contains both veins, it
ends from five to Is feet east of the east
ery vein, where the formation changes
stone," hard transformed duartzite,
green in color. AT the contact OF the
lime with the quartize is found smaller
vein of sulphide ores, which in places
widen into large bodies of pyrites, carry
ing silver, lead and zinc.
The faults along this lode are very in
teresting. They are of two kinds the
first, or faults along the strike, caused by
great country movements which carried
large sections of the formations, enclos.
ing the veins, down hill toward the west,
which has the effect of breaking the vein
into short lengths. The separation be-
tween the Kelly and Graphic mines is
from 200 to 300 feet. Thence north,
com paretive regularity prevails until
near the opposite end of the Graphic,
another slip of somewhat less extent oo-
ours.
The other faults occur between the for
mer and are of less extent. These are
slips also westerly in the vertical con-
tinuity of the v.r- themselves, caused by
the sliding of theA ..portion5 of the
formations, which brei- -" sips along
their dip. In two places graphic
these movements are about Net, cor
responding to the distance between the
two veins, so that, in following them down,
the western vein appears as if continuon US
above and below the slip, the easterly
vein occupying its place above. The
fault planes are mineraized in places,
and little difficulty has been experienced
in tracing the ore to the disrupted vein.
The ores are low grade cerbonates and
galenas, carrying silver with small quan
titles OF zinc and copper. In addition to
these main lead deposits, the veins CON
tain an srgentiferous hematite iron ore,
which yields on an average 81 per cent OF
metallic iron. This is most valuable
adjunct as fax in treating the ores.
At the western side of the tunnel mouth
is superb limestone quarry of excellent
quality, it being almost marble in its
purity and structure.
So that the ores, with the iron and lime
fuxes, all pass over the same dump into
the same cars, and are trammed to the
smelter in the valley below.
The tramway ia well constructed, as
much care having been bestowed on it as
upon an average narrow gauge railway
| 1t is 7,100 feet in length, with grades
ranging from to 13 per cent. Trains OF
niue cars are formed, carrying about two
and one-half tons to the car, and making
an average CT six trips day.
The ore at the smeter end of the tram
way is weighed, dumped on the orusher
floor, passed through Blake rock break
er into chute, loaded In cars and con.
veyed TO the various large bins, holding
| from IT'S to 500 tons each, all by gravity
The limestone falls through chute into
| its hin, and the iron ore into others; al
connected by rails with the weighing