The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1899-01-19
Black Hawk and Black Maria Mines
Will Soon Resume Operations.
SILVER AND COPPER RICHES,
New Process to be Used in Treating the Ore
Bodies at a Greatly Reduced Cost.

Hc iubulc VI w uSulHS3 toi OOtho) |
and Weiser depends, to a great ex
tent, on its mineral resources and
their development. Exactly as ev
cry bushel of wheat, box of fruit, or
head of stock, raised in the county
adds its respective value to the total
wealth Of our people, so does every
pound of mineral, copper, gold or
silver, produced by our mines. of
the many camps in our county none
has brighter prospect Of lasting
prosperity than Mineral, "The Old
Reliable.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars
in silver and copper values were pro
duced by few miners in this camp
prior to 1898, but the decline of the
price of silver, consequent on gold
bug legislation, has resulted in shut
ting down many of its productive
properties, freezing it's smelter and
driving most of its miners to other
yocations or other camps.
The Black Hawk and Black Maria
mines, owned by Portland parties,
have been within the last year re-
opened the ores mined, running high
in silver and some copper, being
treated in smelter operated by the
company A few weeks ago the
smelter shut down: but only for the
purpose of putting in a larger smelter
an improved process, so that ores
formerly smelted at cost of $11 to
$13 can in the future he treated for
not to exceed 81 per ton. Negotia-
tions to this end have been under
way for some time; the character of
the ore and the best manner of smelt-
ing it has been carefully considered
by practical men, with the result that
reverberatory furnace will in a few
days replace that lately used. Mr.
Stratton, who is financing this ven
ture, has perfect confidence in the
result, and passed through Weisel
on Monday on bis way to Portland
to buy and ship the necessary mach
inery. Mr. Crook, general manager
of the Black Hawk and Black Mars
properties, arrived here on the same
day and Immediately left for Minera
where he will be quite busy for some
days getting ready the foundation
for the new smeter and getting ou
enough ore to keep it going wher
started.
This will undoubtedly revive tina
once productive camp and result in
greater number of men being EN-
poyed there than ever before in it
history. While the Black Hawk ant
Black Maria will be the only proper
ties Immediately affected, there i
little doubt, in fact the SIGNAL ha
reliable information that in the nea
future, other bonanzas in the cam
will be reopened The ground ha
only been scraped near the surface j
Mineral, a few tunnels giving q stop
ing ground of one hundred to tw
hundred and fifty feet, not singl
shaft has been sunk or any effol
been made to tap the richer ore bodie
below water level. The Egan group
the Silver Bell Enterprise, Kit Cal
son, JEFF Davis, Boonhill and othe
properties have yet plenty of ore
sight which may be extracted throug
tunnels run near the gulch level, bu
it is deeper workings, by means
shafts, that will open up the gre;
wealth of these mines. The gre;
copper properties in Butte Montan'
were developed close to the surfa'
for their silver values and it was onl
when the ore below the water lev
was extracted that their great copp'
values began to appear. SO it w
be found in Mineral; plenty of ore
now found running as high, in pick'
lots, as 15 per cent copper, but
most of it the copper has been leech'
out by water continually runnil
through it from the surface dow
That copper is still in the ground al
IN the near future will make Miner