The Sumpter miner. [volume] (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905, 1900-07-11
AVOIDABLE LOSSES.
Mills in This District Each
Lose $500 a Day.

are avoidahl. losses which usually figure
in paying mines where a percentage of
the mineral contained in the material
treated escapes the processes IN use. OF
late years much of the ingenuity OF mine
managers has been directed to devising
means OF arres;ing this waste.
1t has been demonstrated through a
series OF carefully made assays that two.
iifths Of one per cent Of the copper con.
tanned in the ore passed through the mills
gan escapes in the tailings. The loss
amounts to only eight pounds Of copper to
each ton Of ore worked, but It aggregates
$1,000, 900 year at the present price Of
copper. Another mine in the same dis.
trict saves less than I 2.io per cent re.
fined copper at the mill, while 40 per cent
Of the copper actually contained IN the
stamp rock escapes. The problem which
the managers Of these mines are endeavor.
ing to solve is the preventing Of such
losses. II il is solved, II viii make a ma.
terial addition TO the earning Of the cor.
porations. As il now stands, the loss is
classed among those that are avoidabIe.
Most Of the eNtravagant waste IN the
earlier treatment Of the ores Of the Com.
stock lode was avoidable. The bed Of
the Carson river is full Of material con.
tanning wealth untold which ought never
TO have bedn allowed to escape. Perhaps
some day an intelligent effort will be made
10 recover it.
II is estimated that the shines Of few
quartz mills operating In the Snmpter dis.
trict in Oregon carry off at least $500
worth OF gold per day which flows into
the Powder river. This is all avoidable
loss. 1t is estimated that % per cent Of
the actual contents Of the ore Of one Of the
mos, productive gold mines in the district
passes OF IN tailings. Now the energies
of the mine owners are being directed to
prevent IL and to recover what is already
gone into the bed Of the river.
In California there are innumerable ex-
amples OF avoidable losses In mining
which are gradually coming to light with
a closer study Of the economies Ot mining.
For example, from 81 to s. ot the assay
contents per ton OF one Of the largest gold
quartz mines in the southern part ot the
state has been steadily passing out OF the
mill into the tailings. 1t has been care.
fully computed that 900 900 tons Of tail.
ings have accumulated from past opera.
tions in the mill waste. a cyanide plant
capable oi treating 900 tons per day has
been installed. which Yields net profit Of
s. per ton per day from the treatment Of
the mill waste. II is intended to increase
the capacity oi the plant to 1000 tons per
DAY. and as the mine turns out about 800
tons OF ore every twentv.four hours, il
will take many years to work of the big
pile. which will WELD a revenue more re.
liable than the direct product OF the vein,
for that iluctuates as all ore bodies do,
while the mill loss remains unchanged.
a Grass Valley quartz mine was oper.
atej for ior,y-ilve years before any SUI.
cessiul method Of stopping the losses due
10 the escape Of gold IN the mill shines
was discovered. Then an ingenious in.
ventor evolved an appliance which re.
turned him revenue Of about 5000
month after paying the company a royalty.
This was all obtained from material that
had been previously allowed to run off as
waste and become irrevotably lost in the
beds OF the adjacent water courses. For
nearly hall eenturyia ian avoidable loss Of
from $1,000 10 $4,000 year had been per.