The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-10-26
GOOD COPPER ROCK
SOME OF IT CONTAINS THE MA
TIVE RED METAL IN SLABS.
IT WAS TAKEN FROM! THE IDA
Company Is Placing Heavier Ma
chinery on the Grounc With .
View Of Sinking Consider
able Deeper.

The Ida claim. located at the north
side of Saratoga canyon. the first gully
south Of Columbia gardens that extends
up towards the main range of the Rock
les. is being equipped with heavier ma
chinery. A 70-horse power boiler has
taken the place of the smaller one for
merly used, and No. I Knowles pump is
being placed in the shaft. To permit of
this work the Stockton company. which
has the property under lease and bond.
stopped development in the shaft few
days ago, but will resume sinking Sun
day afternoon and continue until the
ore body is thoroughly opened up.
The Ida is what is known as an East
Side mine; that is, it is located at the
east side of the fiat, in section in
which experts many years ago pre-
dicted that no mineral worth talking
about would be found. At a depth of so
feet crosscut was driven into the
country rock and just five feet from the
shaft the vein was struck. At that point
it was four and a half feet wide. The
ore was not the red oxide found above
the water level, but solid Sulph.des and
native copper The mineral in the latter
stage is not in particules so small that
a magnifying glass is required to see
it, but is in good sized slabs. Its pres
ence at that depth is attributed to the
teaching of the mineral from above. the
point of it's discovery being ABOUT the
water level. The suiphide ore averages
abou. per cent copper, but some OF 1t.
licked samples, runs much higher One
crunk Ia en- from the 65-foot crosscut
aSiayed IL per cent copper.
The total depth of the shaft Is 80 feet
1,,k HOT ;pf q TO hn
company realized the fact that heavier
machinery would be required to perform
the " k planned and concluded that
better Roadway would be made by get
ting the machinery without further de
lay. WIZ II sinking was suspended the
81. 1T had cut about two feet of the vein
struck in the crosscut above.
Splendid Surface Showing.
The Ida has magnificent surface
showing and the strike of ore below is
not surprise to anyone acquainted
with tho ground The claim adj the
| Atlanta on the east. The rfaoe of the
latter is equally wen niinera.ized its
entire length. Lying north Of both
claims is the Amazon, portionAof the
surface Of which will compare with
either the Ida or Atlanta in point Of
| naturalization A few years ago, how
ever, SnaIt was SUNK OH tue AHld1oli
to depth of about 300 feet and nothing
save a heavy flow of water was struck.
The old gallows frame and large
dump of waste stand out in bold relief
on the hillside as monument to that
work. 1t is an easy matter to surmise
why those who sunk that shaft did not
encounter ore. All of the veins in the
Butte district pitch south. and it is quite
| probable that the sinking was done too
| far north. At the time the work was
| done it was found a very difficult mat
| ter to handle the water with the ma
chinery in use, and the operators after
| battling with the croblem several days
without making any material Roadway.
! threw up the sponge.
| Until recently the Stockton company
| was doing it's hosting with a common
horse Whim.