The Arizona sentinel., 1899-05-13

current, would ever be thought of as a mining center and as the spot where one of the great electrical plants of the century would be built, and that the current of the Colorado would furnish the power for mining, hauling, crushing and reducing these vast deposits of gold, silver and copper ores known to exist within radius of fifty miles from Picacho. But so it is. Such is progress in these wilds of the west; such the grand strides made in opening up that wonderful coun try and in the development of cleo tricity.
 These Barrier Rocks, natures grand piers, built ages ago by the master workman, out in the tur- bulsnt current of the Colorado and which Lieut.. Ives named on account of the Obstruotions they placed Tn the way of his little steamer; have been secured, electric engineers have been on the ground and ex- amined the place, the great pillars and piers, which rise from thirty five 10 seventy-fve feet above high water mark; and have decided that it is the place, on which to put up an electrical plant that will furnish power for all of the mines within 8 radius of fifty miles in every direc- tion; for the mining, lighting, haul ing, crushing, smeiting and reduc- ing these rich gold, silver, copper and zinc ores which are found along the olcrado river, and at the same time, power for running the rail- roads to the mines and along the river from the great coal and iron fields of southwe estern Utah to the gulf of California, via the great sulphur deposits and mountains found in the Coeopah range, south west of Yuma; ss we'll as to furnish power for the manufacturing estab- lishments which in time will line the banks of the Colorado, and power for pumping water out of the river for irrlsating the valleys and mesas which lie along nearly every canyon and arroyo which comes down from the mountain ranges to the river. More than 5000, GOO acres of the richest valley lands on the Pacific coast, lying east, west. and south of Yuma and upon which today there Is not settler, nor ever can be, until someway is pro- vided for furnishing cheap water for irrigation. For while these lands are the most fertile and the richest known, yet without water for irriga- tion, they are perfe tly worthless, though they are in the great lime, lemon, orange and frosSless belt that lies along the lower Colorado Not only will this vast area of rich valley lands be brought to produc- ton, but also all of the great gold mines in the old Picacho mining district, the mines on the opposite side of the Colorado. developed to the depth of 500 feet or more, and the great copper mines in the copper basin. The mines of zinc, man ganese and other metals which lie along the river will all be worked
 It now costs from $1.10 to $120 per ton to mine, haul'and mill the gold ores at Picacho, and at Gold Rock abo1t the same. With the new electric plant, these same ores can be mined, hauled and worked for fcrty-eight cents per ton. All the valleys will be put to produo tion, reducing the cost of living at the mines ct least one half
 To those who know the mines, the ores, the many natural resources, the valleys, the river. the extent of the gold mines at Picache, the sil- yer mines on the opposite side of the Colorado, and the great copper veins in the copper basin, this pro feet is no dream. but one of the