The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-28
FROM THE LAKE REGION
Low Grade Ores Worked With
a Margin of Profit.
COPPER RANGE RAILROAD
Steel Buildings and Iron Pipes as Light
ming Conductors-The Supply Of
Soft Coal-Eight Hour Shifts
at Phoenix.

Special Correspondence of the Standard.
Houghton, Mich, Nov. 25.-The I'M
precedentedly fine weather which has
prevailed during the present month is
worth tens Of thousands of dollars
daily to the copper district. Contract
ors in all lines of work were far be-
hind and the mines, especially the
newer ones, were hopelessly delayed on
| much important work. There were
the usual September snow storms, one
of which was quite severe, but dur
ing October and so far during Novem-
| Der not a particle of snow has fallen,
| and one week ago the temperature here
reached 80 degrees in the shade. Such
| weather has never been known in the
copper district, where fine sleighing
usually begins in November, if not in
| October, and has been known to start
in September and last without break
| until the middle of the following May.
| The Arcadian people hope to have
| their permanent hoist in working or
der at No. 2 shaft in two or three
weeks. The temporary machinery now
| in use at the mine is much overload
ed by the necessity of providing one
thousand tons of stamp rock daily.
in addition to the heavy development
work" constantly under way. The Ar
| cadian is now employing about 1000
men and will have at least that num-
Der working steadily for the entire
winter.
The Arnold is running one stamp,
which treats about $50 tons of rock
daily, and the monthly product is about
so tons Of refined copper. At this
rate the percentage of ingot copper
taken from the rock is about $500 of
| / per cent The Atlantic is making
about 63-1O0 of / per cent. at the pres
ent time, but was down as low as So
| 100 last spring. for three successive
months. The mines are more than 30
miles apart, but each Is working an
ashbed lode well toward the northern
| sandstone wall of the Keweenawan
copper belt and there seems consider
able reason to infer that both mines
are opened on the same lode, although
far apart. The mill of the Arnold is
far inferior to that of the Atlantic and
it is probable that with a better mill
the percentage of copper could be
amount of metal carried by the rock is
so small as in the case of the Arnold,
| every pound of copper counts heavily
The Arnold is now taking II pounds
of copper from 1000 pounds of rock,
which must be broken underground by
|
a mile to the surface, then carried
some distance by train to the stamp
| mill, where it is reduced to sand and
| the minute grains of metal extract
ed.
The Phoenix. mine which is worthy
| of its name, having risen rejuyenated
from the ashes of past disasters, will
start three shifts of miners next week,
| each working eight hours. All the
other copper mines of the district work
| two shifts Of 10 hours each. The eight
hour shift has been given a very care
| full trial of several years in the iron
mines of the Marquette range, so miles
| south of Houghton, and has worked
| well there, The men do nearly as much
| work in eight hours as was formerly
performed in 10, while there is a total
| of "a hours work per day done at the
mines in place of but 20 hours under
| the double shift plan. In the case of
mines which have millions invested in
| machinery and equipment, this addition
| Of 20 per cent to the hours of labor Is
| matter of no slight Importance. AL
| though the gain in hours of labor is
| but 20 per cent, the actual gain in ef-
| ficiency is So to 40 per cent in the iron
districts, owing to the greater .applica-
| ton of the men working on the eight
hour plan.
The work of building the new Copper
Range railroad has been expedited most
satisfactorily during the pleasant
weather of the past six weeks.
Night shifts have been employed
at grading, and bridge building,
with good results The line
should be running before the close
of the year, the last cargo of rails hay
ing been delivered here this week.
Heavy machinery for the new Cham
pion mine was loaded on cars at this
point few days ago and will be taken
out to the mine next week. Owing tc
the steep hills and the horribly rutted
roads it has been impossible to get the
heaviest machinery to new mines along
the south range, but as the steel is laid
from point to point, it will be possible to
begin deliveries of heavy machinery he
fore the road Is fully running. The
completion of the Copper Range will
give the district rail competition, some
thing never before enjoyed, the Duluth,
South Shore & Atlantic and its leased
local lines having heretofore held a mo-
nopoly of the freight and passenger
business to and from the copper mines,
barring the competition of the lake
steamers during the months of naviga-
ton.
Down in the Joplin zinc district of
Missouri the smelters and mines are
closing down because of coal famine
and grievous complaints about the
scarcity of soft coal and con-
sequent damage to industry come
from many parts of the eoun-
age in the copper district, as the
soft coal receipts of the season will ag-
gregate nearly a half million tons This
amount of fuel would suffice to meet
the requirements of a busy manufac-
turing city as large as Detroit or Mil
waukee, but It takes coal and plenty OF
it to lift the lotion cages carrying To-
tons loads from shafts a mile deep at
the rate of so miles an hour. 1t also
takes fuel to run pumps of 40 900 900 and
6O,OOO,0o0 gallons daily capacity and to
operate the colossal machinery which
has rendered the Lake Superior copper
country Mecca, for milling men ana
engineers from all parts of the world.
With the Introduction of steel shaft |
houses which are rapidly replacing the
old style wooden structures which once |
raised their hideous heights like mate
rallied Nightmares over The deep shafts
the danger from fire is largely done
away with, and the operation of the
rnn6ara1 TO-, but