Mohave County miner., 1900-05-12
The Wasteful Era in Mining.

illustrated in the experience of the
n,m,tock lode in Nevada. According
:, good authority on the subject, the
,barces fol milling the ore were 4Os
osr ton at one time in the history of |
,be lode, Subsequently the mill rates |
,sre reduced at different periods to
: 25S. l5s, ~ and finally to 6S per
tan The cost of ore crushing was
,erulated largely by the cost of ore ex-
traction and the assay value of the ma
torial mined. The decrease in the cost
# milling represented an increased
cost Of ore extraction as the result of
increased depth in mining aud the
Gradual poverishment of the ore
taken from the vein.
While the Comstock lode was pro-
ductive the mills were in separate own
srship from the mines. The shares in
the latter served As medium for spec
ulators to manipulate. Fortunes were
made and lost in them without regard
10 tNeIit. iht' duditL NeIt OWueu
by close corporations and milling rates
we're fixed like the freight and passen-
ger rates of the California railroads of
today--as high as that traffic would
bear. Thus out of the 500,OJO,0O0S
wh,ch the Comstock is estimated to
have yielded In precious metals since
it d SEQ yeg y only abo 1t To 0J0,,D swas
distributed among the shareholders In
dividends. The difference between
these dividends and the total output
went partly into the pockets of the
mill owners and partly for the payment
Of labor and materials. employed in
mining operations, in addition to the
vast amount of money contributed by
stockholders in the form of assess
ments for maintaining operations.
Whether the stockholders got anything
out Of their investments or not in
those days, the mill owners were max
ing money, for nothing was sent to
the mills, as a rule, that would not pay
the charges Of reduction. The profits
of milling were enormous; they we're
really so big that no economy wa- prac-
ticed in respect to methods. SO long
As a mine could be operated by the
levyiug of an assessment which was
paid by "the street." mine managers
were careless, aud Indifferent. A vast
amount of metal escaped the batterie,
of the mills during this period of waste
fulness which will probably never be
reclaimed.
What would have been the profit to
mine owners on the Comstock il they
had been managed on the economical
principles which rule in these latter
days may never be computed. The
cost of milling has been cut down 80
fine the now that ore can be reduced
for D per ion. In other words, there
is saving in milling methods equal to
SSs per ton on those originally in use.
1t formerly cost So to lOs ton TO
break the ore from the vein; now it
ranges from 8 to 70 cents per ton.
Hosting the ore to the surface, which
cost from IS to cents per ton, will be
saved entirely hereafter because mill
and mine are being brought together
so that the ore shall pass from the
stope TO the stamps at nominal ex-
peuse. Thus all ore ia the Comstock
mines that will eld 50 per ton can be
worked today at good profit, aud i'm
mense bl cEs in the various levels con.
taing ore that will average that amount
have been marked off ready for quar-.
rying.
The history and the evolution OF
mining OF the Comstock Is reflex of
the industry elsewhere on the coast
The wasteful era has gone forever. All
mining properties are now being oper-
ated on scientific and economical
methods that will insure profit to the
operators. The mill has become part
of the enterprise, not separate con
cern under AN independent ownership
aud every element Of waste is guarded
against in each operation connected
with ore extraction and reduction.--S.
F. Chronicle.
The Mount 1urnbull Copper Mining
axai S,xaaIkiE1x hara hauuia