Gilpin observer., 1900-11-29
JOHN JAY HAMMOND,
Gives His Ideas of Strattons independence
Mine,

Mine.
John Jay Hammond and A. Chester
Beatty who have been making the final
examination of Strattons Independence
mine, returned to Denver Saturday
morning from Cripple Creek, and now
are making their detailed report to the
company, says the Evening Times of
November "a
Mr.. Hammond says that the results of
the examination have been disappoint-
ing. When he was appointed consulting
engineer of the company few weeks
ago he made preliminary examination of
the property and at once recommended
a reduction of dividends and the pros
ecution of more development. Mr..
Beatty was then employed by him to
thoroughly sample the mine, and has
taken 1000 samples, the result of which
fully sustains the position taken by Mr..
Hammond in the first instance. The
details of these results have been cabled
to London, and Mr. Hammand does not
care to give them out until after they
have been passed upon by the directors
of the company. He frankly admits
however, that the exanenation shows the
ore reserve to be much smaller than
have been claimed in the previous re-
ports to the company, and it will take
long time to put the mine lack to
where it was year ago. He has decid-
&c upon general plan of development
which may be modified by circumstances
as the work progresses, and which he
hopes will ultimatly restore the mine.
He is emphatic in the assertion that
the property was great mine; that any
mine which produced 100000 above
the 900 foot level must be regarded as
a great mine. He does not regard the
development heretofore made as wise in
many directions, but admits that there
were plentiful of reasons for the pre-
sumption that the ore bodies would be
found where they were looked for.
There has been no sinking done since
the mine was taken over by the English
company. The reason for this was that
the 900 foot level was in a lean zone, and
it was not believed that pay ore would
be found below. Mr.. Hammond proposes
to sink, as he says there is no geological
reason that good ore should not be
found below as above. There is of
course, no certainty that sinking will
develop good ore, but there is a fair
chance that it will, and the effort to find
it will be made by sinking the shaft, by
WINES in different places and by up
raises in localities where there is like.
lihood OF opening good ore bodies.
The system Of crosscutting which has
been heretofore followed, and which is
charactistic OF the district, will be great.
ly curtailed, and when followed at all
will be largely supplemental to other
work which may show the existence OF
ore.
Mr. Hammond does not concede that
good ore will be found in the territory
south OF the main belt, as he points out
that no good ore has yet been found in
that section and that little il any work
has been done there. All the work done
in the mine has been in the defined belt
Of the district which he regards as strict
ly correct, provided proper development
had been followed. He admits however,
that this portion OF the property should
have been prospected as in that OF Grip
pie Creek there is n chance OF finding
good ore body in that ground.
In regard to the position OF Mr.. Rick
ard and the directors, Mr.. Hammond
says that there is not tho slightest
reason toimpugn their motives or to ut
tribute the situation to stock jobbng
policy. When he was in London with
Mr. Rickard the latter strongly depre-
ciated the disposition there manifested
to boom the stock, and Mr.. Rickard
is on record in the press to the sume
effect. When the position Of consulting
engineer was accepted by Mr.. Hammond
he was requested by the directors to
make an estimate OF the ore bodies