The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-27
IMMENSE
LEDCES OF
COPPER ORE
Montana Mines Rivaled by a
Discovery Recently Made
in Washington.
Special Dispatch to The. Call.

TACOMA, April 26.-The largest cop
per ledges ever found in the Northwest
have been uncovered in the Carbon
District, north of Mount Rainier and
sixty miles east of Tacoma They be-
long chiefly to Chester Thorne, presi-
dent of the National Bank of Com
merce Of this city, who has kept men
at work on them for several years. His
superintendent Thomas wilkins, said
to-day in describing the new discovery:
An immense body of ore exactly
similar in character and geological sit
uation to that found in Montana has
been located in Carbon The ore we
have been taking out of the Clipper
mine has been running $75. The tunnel
mas struck vein, which has just been
assayed and shows a value of $1S6 so
10 the ton. AT the current price of
copper it will be worth about $193 so
per ton. There is an immense solid
mountain of ore in that district, from
which radiate scores of large, rich
veins. We have found over fifty paraI-
lei veins of this ore running from east
to west all through the Leola proper
ties. The ore runs in one sample 293
ounces of silver and ninety pounds of
copper to the ton; in another it is 1915
ounces of silver and 125 pounds of COP
per. 1t is chalco-pyrite, containing a
great deal of native silver. The Butte
mines are of the same material; but not
any richer. Heretofore they have been
regarded as the richest in the world.
We can mine ore at about one-half the
expense. The Butte mines ship all their
coal from Missouri, while we have coal
and wood right at the mines.
THE new discoveries are about six
miles from Fairfax Railroad and we
will ship the ore to- the Tacoma smelter.
The cost of production will be about
$50 per ton, leaving bonus of about
$3.50 per ton. The ore from which the
richest specimens were obtained came
from five-foot vein in the Clipper
mine. A fourteen-foot vein has been
found in the Apex and six-foot veins
IN the Carbon, PYrite, Rockford and
Climax. All these properties are owned
/ by Mr.. Thorne and associates They
will put many men at work on the
properties as soon as the snow is off
and the ore will be shipped out imme-
diately.
This same rich ore has been found
/ L
extends to several other claims owned
by different men, forming a great ore
basin. 1t will startle the world when
its development gets fully started"
Mining men agree that Thorne and his
associates will be made immensely rich
by these discoveries. His associates
include Judge c. E. Richardson, his at
! tOrney, and John Heitman, the original
locator of the Clipper mine.
D. o. Mills of New York and Alvinza
Hayward of San Francisco arrived here
last night on a trip of inspection of
Northwestern properties in which they
are interested Mr.. Mills visited the
Tacoma smelter, which is being en-
larged to four times it's former size
with capital supplied by him and his
associates in control of the Bunker Hill
and Sullivan mine in Idaho and the
Treadwell mine in Alaska Both of
these are making extensive shipments
of ores and concentrates to the Tacoma
smelter which is being enlarged with
the primary object of handling their
output. Hereafter 200 tons of ore will
be smelted daily instead of fifty tons
as formerly
To-day Messrs. Mills and Hayward
joined President z. b. Cornwall Of the
Bellingham Bay and British Columbia
Railroad at Whatcom. They will ac-
company him to the scene of the recent
| coal discoveries on Cornwall Creek, in
the Mount Baker region.
! President Cornwalls carriage yester-
| day was shipped to Sumas, the present
| terminus of the line where it will be
used tomorrow to convey the party to
Cornwall Creek, distance of twenty
| three miles. The tunnel, now in 600
feet, has uncovered an eighteen-foot
vein and the prospect is so favorable
that Superintendent Donovan has ad-
vised the extension Of the road to the
new mines. Their visit will determine
whether this shall be done Mr.. Mills
will next go to Alaska to look over the
Treadwell mine and decide on proposed
! improvements there, After returning
he will be accompanied East by White
! law Reid, now in California.