Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-23
MERCUR.

WLkSUN.
An ingenious writer, in endeavoring
to convey an adequate idea OF the
mineral wealth OF Mercur said recent
ly. Fancy three miles or more Of
workings in continuous ore, from the
grass roots to the bottom OF the deep
est shaft, the value increasing with
every foot Of development Then you
will have an incomplete mental picture
of the conditions shown In the under
ground workings of the Mercur and
Golden Gate mines-the two properties
which az this time best Illustrate the
size, richness and continuous charac-
ter OF the ore bodies Of the camp. In
these mines three distinct and gently
receding ore chutes, which are be-
lieved TO traverse the mighty zone OF
the great camp, are apparent. In the
Golden Gate mine these are bodies
vary In thickness from 10 to ITO feet.
and have been developed by several
miles Of workings. Every square foot
Of the vein quarried through its thick
ness will yield a ton Of ore, which, at
the lowest estimate, Will return value
OF Sl2 There are 500 acres within the
| lines Of the Golden Gate group. under
| lying which are 500 acres of this Won
derful vein. Multiplying the square
feet in this great area by Sl2 VIII give
an approximate idea Of what the fu-
ture yield Of this property VIII be-
THE GOLDEN GATE TODAY.
A portion Of the period referred to by
the writer as THE future" Is now the
! past, and the glowing predictions then
made are being fulfilled today. To the
miles Of workings there opened, much
! has been added, and the mine shows
today ore values conservatlvely esti-
mated at $4,000 900. With such a
| showing, the result Of careful eXami-
| nations by experts Of international re-
pute. Captain Joseph X. De Lamar
| was fully justified In spending the
| 81, $4,000 required TO open his mine
| and construct the largest and finest
cyanide mill In the whole world before
, ne ever took one dollar from the prop
| erty.
| That, In brief, is the status of this
| marvellous property today. A detailed
description OF the great mill was re-
Gently published in the News and all
| who are interested in mining at all are
| familiar with H. An addition TO the
mill has Just been completed. and the
| work OF putting in generating plant
to supply power and electric lights has
! been commenced. At present the
company Is receiving power from the
Telluride company at Provo, but II will
soon be independent Of this, and the
entire system win then be complete in
itself.
The regular capacity OF the mill Is
l. 900 tons of ore a day, although II has
handled over l.iOO tons in "a hours. and
i'm all the operations the plant Is as
nearly automatic as human ingenuity
can make IT, so that the expense OF Ia
Dor Is reduced TO minimum. In tax
ing out the ore, nothing OF value is
left. and no timberlng is done except
in the main workings, so that this big
item of expense is cut out such work
ings being allowed 10 cave In. The
| Golden Gate mill plant is so perfectly
equipped that nothing need be shipped
from II except the final product-gold
bars. 900 fine. The Golden Gate has
It's own refinery, and II Is a success,
like everything else there'
WHAT IT PAYS De LAMAR.
All kinds Of estimates have been
made as 60 the profit Capt. De Lamar
receives from the property. with the
mill running at the capacity Intended
there would be handled LOCO tons or ore
every day. Estimating II al an aver
age value OF $40 ton, and allowing
one-half Of that to cover every expense
10 reducing II 10 gold bars. The net
profit would be $1,000 day, or N'S25,0VV
wear. And Il is entirely safe 10 as
sumo that for the year 1900. the Golden
Gate viii add at least that much 20 the
immense fortune Of It's owner.
To operate the mine and mill, not
wlthstanding that every labor saving
reyice has been adopted. still requires a
small army Of men. who thoroughly en-
10Y life at Mercur.
AT THE MERcUR NINE.
Time was when the Mercur mine was
synonymous with the camp bearing its
name. and although the magnitude Of
the Golden Gate has eclpsed Il. the
Merour mine II today a far more i'm
pOrtant proposition than u has ever
been, The management Is most care
full and conservative. and It's dividends
are as certain as interest on govern
ment bonds. Nor Is the management
resting on lts laurels Its underground
workings are now labyrinth, and the
ore reserves have been constantly add
ed 10. So that the company feels the
need OF increased facilities Of handling
Il, which Will mean an Increase OF earn
ngs. and the cyanide plant az Manning
is being added to and win
soon have a capacity Of 700 tons a day.
THE SACRAMENTO.
The only other dividend payer Is the
Sacramento, and recently II cut off its
dividends. The reason for this. how
ever. was not because the property had
deprecated Great bodies Of the Richest
ore ever found In It's boundaries have
been opened up. but 1t has been found
that this ore Is more arsenical and
more refractory than that previously
mined. In order 10 get the best results
IL was determined TO add roasters TO
the plant, so that the ore can be treated
AFTER the fashion Of the Golden Gate
method. and when these additions have
been made, the earnings VIII show a
corresponding increase. The dividends
have. therefore merely been diverted
TO the benefit Of the mine.
GEYSER- MARION.
The Geyser-Marion, an old-time IA
vorite and dividend payer. has had its
ola