Arizona republican., 1899-08-23
BLACK ROCK DISTRICT.
M-1s Big Mines to Be Opened Up in
 Maricopa County.

Maricopa County
 Mir w. H. Burrage, of the Santa Rita Copper company, is in Phoen1x and is stopping at the Ford. It was the Burrages who made the greatest copper deal ever conSummated in the southwest and the name is familiar now to every mining man in the country. The Santa Rita copper claims located in New Mexico were purchased by a company which was formed by a cousin of MT w. H. BurTage. The sale meant a cash exchange of S1, ,400, 900 for the Santa Rita claims. Since the sale work has been started in develop ing the claims for the production of copper, and MT. Burrage thinks that the Santa Rita will be one of the greatest copper camps in the south west in a few years.
 MT. w. H. Burrage comes to Ari- zona to make copper mines He repre- sents the capitalists who are associat- ed with his cousin in the Santa Rita claims. A large number of claims have been purchased in the Black Rock mining district about eighteen miles southeast of Wickenburg. The development of these claims is now being pushed with vigor, and MT. Bur rag;7's visit to Phoenix today is for the purpose of making camp purchases and attending to other business of the company
 We are simply prospecting, he said to a Herald reporter this morn ing. 'On the surface we have the in dications of copper, and that is about all So far we have not reached the water level, and until we do the result (,F off xx-i71 O EnnWn the development of the claims we have not been able to get out of the oxide ores, and whether we strike the cop per or the iron pyrites at the water level is still a gamble. Of course we hope that the iron will remain above and give us copper suiphide ore at depth, but one never knows what is going to take place in mining. If the iron pyrites appear the claim will be worthless. and we must take this chance. A man can't go out and find a mine before breakfast in any mining country. It takes years of work and often a mine is found where the sur face would not indicate it.
 We have about fifty claims-alto- gether too many if the ore does not develop, and not enough if we find what we are going after. In the work that has been done we have been un- fortunate, and it seems that something always appears to prevent us from at taining the water level. The water came in and drove us out and when we put in diamond drills we found that no headway could be made. Now we are going to put in steam pumps and a steam hoist and we think we viii be able to cope with the water and get down on the vein"
 MT. Burrage is a thorough mining man and it is fortunate that the Black Rock district is receiving his attention. He will make a mine if there is a chance of doing so- He stated that the claims would be equipped with 1 works as soon as sufficient ore is de yeloped.
 1dr. Burrage says. that if a body of i sulphide ore is struck that averages 1 four or five per cent he will feel amply | repaid for his explorations. At the ! present stage of the development the | indications are favorable, but there ! stilf turks that element of uncertainty | which makes mining a gamble until i the prospecting stage is passed. When | the ore is found it becomes a strictly | business proposition. And it is re- | markabie that most men fail after the | gambling stage is passed and business l tact and mature judgment is required |
 Mr Burrage will leave tonight for | Wickenburg.