Arizona republican., 1898-02-24
BRETON ON ARIZONA.
The Denver Mining Man Tells About
 the Possibilities Here.

the Possibilities Here.
 L. R. Britton of Denver, well known mining man who is in Phoenix after a visit to Castle Creek mining district in company with Orrin Allen, was interviewed by Republican re- porter at the Ford hotel yesterday in regard to the district he has visited. MT. Britton's impressions will be of interest to mining men throughout the territory. as he is one of Cole rado's best mining experts. ''The sur- face indications in the Castle Creek district would make the average Colo rado mining man crazy" was the en- phatic manner in which MT. Britton expressed his opinion of the district. Coming down the long wash from Castle Creek I found float that pan ned just as nice a string of gold as you ever saw. In the shaft of the Moonlight mine I picked up a copper boulder and it banned gold. The pres ence of copper glance did not cut any figure. The gold came out in the pan in a string that would fill the soul of a Klondyke gold hunter with delight. It is surely a remarkable camp, and I cannot understand why it has lain idle so long. If that dis trict were lifted up and placed in Colo rado it would set the miners up there in fits. This is the way the country fril fnc had come here years ago I would be better off today than I am.
 My opinion is that any camp that contains these kind of surface indica- tions, with the remarkable gold values which go with copper, is worth devel- oping. They call them gold mines up there, but the copper is worth more than the gold. They have run 150 tons of ore from the Moonlight which av- eraged s20 in gold. All the cop per values are in the tailings dump, and they average 22 per cent copper. I would call this a copper mine instead of a gold mine. Up in Colorado we have great gold mines, but we do not have copper and gold together like you have here. Here is another ex ample of the kind of properties there are in the Castle Creek district. The Swallow mine is down to water level, which is 200 feet. The ore values run from 20 to 25 per cent copper and from $50 to $40 in gold. The assay made while was at this mine return ed 22 per cent copper and $41 in gold. Although I did not see them, have it from good mining men that this dis trict has many such mines as this. I &bnt know where you can go to find <better prospects of making big mines I claim that all the district needs is money, and believe investments in Castle Creek mines will give the best kind of returns. I have been in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado and have never seen such surface indica- tions as there are in this district ] base my opinion simply on what I have seen at the head of Castle Creek, and having seen what I have describ- ed I cannot doubt the truth of the re- ports that come to me from other parts of the district.
 There are 800 feet of drifts and a shaft down 200 feet in the Swallow mine," continued MT. Britton They have done nothing but to demonstrate that it is mine. On the Moonlight there has been no development work to speak of still there is every indi- cation that it will become good mine. I think if they will just keen at it they will strike some bonanzas up there. It is pre-eminent- ly a copper camp, of the same charac- ter as the United Verde, and it has indications of being as good as that big camp. The United Verde is pro- ducing $500,000 a month, this is the kind of mines you have in Arizona Colorado will have to look to her lau rels. The Castle Creek district is fork of the United Verde and Copper Queen. A straightedge placed on tht map will convince you of this, and { visit to the district will settle an, doubts in your mind, if you only in vestigate the top indications.
 Speaking of Phoenix, Mr Britto1 said: T do not know of town il the west that has the appearance O prosperity that Phoenix has, Tn town impresses me as being busy lHele IS puSlHeSS everywhere you g' here. In Denver business is over done and the city is very quiet Tn
 irrigation possibilities of this valle, 1 investigated several years ago and
 am thoroughly familiar with them Phoenix will occupy the same positio
 to Arizona that Denver does to Colo rado. Like in Colorado there will b a race between the mineral and az ricultura1 resources. There were sev eral years in Colorado when the agri cultural products exceeded the miners products of the state $2O,000, 900. Yo
 have one of the most productive val 1eys under the sun. What mad
 Denver was combination
 the agricultural and mineral re
 sources, making them Independent (