The Philipsburg mail., 1899-05-19
DEVELOPING NEW MINES.


. 'ho pioptll! llaclll1lefN Sulta Die fC
tIe purpose of development and t
DOCK out the ground as expeditiousl
t ana cheaply as possible. There
l uluch diversity of opinion among min
superlntendents as to what cOmDrise
proper equipment, and also as t
Wnat lines of development should b
iulio"cu. AS matter of course. tn
plan adopted will be Influenced by th
CONDITIONS under which the mine viii
operate AS all undeveloped mines ar,
inoSt uncertain as to size of ore deDos
us, value OF ore, amount of water tha
may be encountered and character o1
ground, 1t is wise to anticipate Difficult
ties, even in mine which at or neal
tne surface seems more favored thar
some of its neighbors. AS the quantity
Oh ore that may be found is unknown
when development commences. ey.
perlece has shown that it is
unWisc to put up an extensive hoist
ing plant until it has been determined
tlat such a plant would be necessary.
VEINS large at the surface may not con
tillue large in depth and even should
they do So the value of the ore NAV be
such as to afford no profit. in which
case no hoist would be required at all.
oh the other hand. some mines, small
ana low grade at and near the surface.
IN depth develop large ore bodies of
great value.
IN such cases the small prospecting
pant may be replaced by such Il one
as the development of the mine NAV
Justify. For relatively small sum of
money good hosting plant may be
set up which will hoist at moderate
dc,
with which large shaft may be sunk
many hundreds of feet.
Abundant power should ALWAYS be
provided, however, whether steam.
water or electricity be employed. for
.ne reason that many shafts compara-
livery dfy near the surface become
very wet in depth. When large in
luA Oh water occurs, whether it prove to !
oe permanent and constantly increas-
ing quantity as depth is attained. or
Wnetler, after sudden rush of water. ,
1t IS found to steadily decrease rs
pumping or baling is continued. /
facility for handling a larp-
Ir quahtltY of water than has ever
peeli encountered should always be at
hdllu. Large valve buckets are very
uselul as auxiliary to pumps when
W NoihliiS III levels. but a valve bucket
IS useless when sinking.
When the shaft has reached y denth
u ooo to 1000 feet and levels run along
me ore body or vein. crOsScu+S madn -
una raises put through. the manager
laS a definite idea of the quantity of
haterIaI exposed possessing a net val
le' ana can then put in a hoistinr
'laHI Sulted to the requirements of the ,
nine. 1t would be unWise TO put in y
lolst capable of raising 1000 or 1000 ,
ohS OF ore IN tWentyfoUr hours at
feat VelocltleS. when it would be +
ouha !Ii aillcult to supply a forty-stamp
Illll WIN 100 tons of ore daily from n 7
man VEN. Very large ore bodies NAV !
.e extracted hurriedly, the chambers ,
impefed and filled rs the work pro- !
resSoS. y mine capable of supply +
'S I'ooo TONS OF ore or twice that {,
mount should be equipped with en- :,
ines capdhle of raising that amount !.
nd doing it easily
What applies to hoisting engines an !.
hes with equal force to mptallllrcicaI :,
lants. The character and capacity of -
lants for the bencticiatiOn of ores can y
OF be determined upon with safety +,
ntil the development of the mine has {,
its capacity and the char Il
'ter Of the ore. Mistakes in this di- /,
Action are probably of less frequent -
'cllrenceS than formerly, but it is not -
any years since it was not uncommon =,
see a Smelter erected to treat dryi y
'eS ana Wet-cruShing stamp mills y.
nit TO treat lead carbOnates and ga :,
ma, There are very few ores indeed u
lat cannot now be successfully treat ,
by some one of the many processes ~
practical operation in every corner -
the world. All that now remains to e'
} IS to ascertain the one best adapted a.
the ore in question. all things being ~
ken into consideration, as cost of ~
chemicals. fuel, labor a'
c. Improvements and lower cost in "
e processes of to-day may be antici-
lted and new processes which will
eat some ores successfully may be
,pected to Supercedc processes now in &c
20.
In shaft sinking it is cheaper to cut .
1t the stations when the yaliOus az
ints at which levels are to be run are AZ
ached. and the levels should also he
arted at such time. sinking only re
oUgh to afford a sumD below the 81
rye amount Of ore is to be handled va
here SliipS or buckets are used for W
listing. it is very good practice to cl,t WI
It under the floor of the level a pr
ac" FOR an ore bin or pocket into W.
hlch ore or waste may be dumped S.'
)m cars trammed to the shaft from ~
e faces of the drifts or from the VI
ootS. This provides an economical ne
cans of loading slips and hOistnp uo u,
ny be carried on independent of stop. III
ana trammng. The first level in Nv
@ mine should be run from the shaft XII
point above which little or no po
)ping will be done. ut least not for u
lg time. Having run this level work Ia
1t may be discontinued for the time de
d the shaft carried on down to tho pa
Nt level, except while cuttin" out the ere
mon, the ore pocket and starting the ca
vel. Having run the second Ievnl PR
@ location of raises may be eStoh- COZ
he'd. and when this is done winzos !
ny be started in the level above ot re!
lnts on the vein Immediately above lo'
e raises. BY this means the connoc- las
N Is more quickly made, and it will