The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-07-18
UP GRANITE WAY.
How Things Are Moving at the Famous
Mining Properties There.

How Things Are Moving at the Famous
Mining Properties There.
Mining conditions in Granite county,
while by no means discouraging, are
not SO favorable as might be desired.
The Sunrise mine. which is gold
property, and the Combination, silver
one, are both tied up by litigation, and
doing nothing. 1t is hoped that the
legal snarl may soon be unraveled and
operations resumed at both mines.
The Hope.
The Hope mine, which is situate On
the hill Immediately northeast of Phil
ipsburg, about a mile distant from the
city, Is at present doing nothing but
prospecting work, at which % men are
employed. This mine is one of the
oldest in the district, having been op-
ened in the early eighties. The pay
ore has always occurred in punches
and consequently it has been more or
less irregular in it's operations Many
of these punches have been very rich
and upon the whole the mine has been
valuable property, yielding hand
some sum in dividends to the owners.
The mine is worked by shaft and
tunnel, the former being about $50 feet
in depth and the latter something like
half mile in length. The ores are re-
duced in the company's mill, which
stands just at the edge of the town,
near the foot of the hill upon which
the mine is located. The mill has ten
stamps, six pans, three settlers and
two agitators. 1t is run partly by steam
and partly by water. When the water
supply is abundant that alone is used;
but when it becomes scarce it is rein
forced by steam power. The water
motor is a Pelton wheel, six feet in
diameter. The water Is brought in
pipes nearly two miles, has a pressure
of $50 feet and reaches the wheel
through a one-inch nozzle. The ca
pacity of the mill is % tons in "a hours.
N. r. Ringing, under whose manage
ment the mine has been so successful
in the past, is still in charge. The peo-
pie of Philipsburg still have great faith
in the Hope. In fact, it's idleness is
rather the result OF the low price of
silver than an exhausting of the
ore deposits, for the mine has con-
siderable quantities of ore that could
be worked were silver to score a ma
terial advance.
Granite and Bi-Metallic.
This is by far the largest and most
important mining property in Granite
county. 1t comprises a large number
of different claims that have been con-
solidated and brought under one gem
eral management, with w. Zeigler as
the superintendent in charge. The lat
est consolidation is that which took
place about the beginning of the pres
ent year, when the two principle mines,
the Granite and the Bi-Metallic, were
combined. This was done mainly in the
interest of economy, that was made an
imperative necessity by the heavy fail
in silver which constitutes almost the
sole output of those mines.
The Granite was the original mine,
having been opened about 1880. 1t is
located near the top of Granite noun
tain. about four miles from Philips
burg by the winding grade. 1t has a
magnificent plant consisting of hoist
ing works, with an S0-Stamp mill ad-
joining. The shaft has been sunk to
a depth of 1875 feet from the collar,
but the drifts running generally to-
ward the peak of the mountain are in
places fully 1000 feet below the sur
face. The hosting works are equipped
with Webster and Camp engine of
about 1000 horse power, air compress
sors, electric plant and all the appli-
ances of a thoroughly up-to-date mine.
The Bi-Metallic is also a thoroughly
equipped mine. 1t lies directly down
the mountain from the Granite, the
works being perhaps, 1000 feet apart.
The underground workings Of the
mines are connected, and it looks from
the surface as if the easier way to get
out the ore from the Granite were
through the BMetallic shaft. But 1t
is all raised through it's own shaft The
reason is that the levels and drifts of
the Granite all have a downward slope
toward the shaft. which means an as
cent toward the Bi-Metallic shaft.
Hence to take out the ore by the latter
would necessitate long, hard and eX-
pensive push or pull through the drifts
before the Bi-Metallic shaft could be
reached. So the ore of the Granite is
raised through its own shaft and then
sent down in cars worked by gravity
to the rock breakers at the Bi-Metallic,
where it is crushed to a suitable fine
ness for milling. This gravity carriage
was, we are informed, the device of
superintendent Zeigler, and 1t appears
to be complete success. From the
rock-breakers the ore OF both mines is
carried by a gravity tramway to the
Bi-Metallic mill. about two miles be-
low and near the point where the canyon
opens out into the Flint creek valley.
The company has a 100-stamp mill
at Rumsey nearer to the mines, but
less accessible. This, like the Granite
mill lis now idle. The same train that
carries down the ore also carries coal
up, the weight of the ore descending
being sufficient to carry the cars laden
with coal The joint output of the
mines is about 200 tons per day, all of
which is reduced at the Bi-Metallic
mill. This, like the one at Rumsey,
has 100 stamps. The ore is a sulphide
and contains various other minerals
which make it quite refractory and
render roasting necessary. These great
properties furnish one of the best illus
trations to be found in the state of the
evil effects of the fall In the price of
silver. With ore sufficient in quantity
to run the whole $50 stamps of the three
mills, but 100 are at work for the reas-
on that the bulk of the ore is of too
low grade to be reduced at q nrofit with