Arizona republican., 1901-06-17
THE COPPER QUEEN.

THE COPPEk QOEEN.
 Bisbee. June 14-(Special correspond | ence Of The Republican, )--Were 1t not | for the fact that the hills back of the | Copper Queen properties are literally | honeycombed with prospect tunnels, on the dumps of which colorings of cop per are invariably in evidence. one would never believe tha. they con tained such wealth of mineral. As is well known, these mines are the re- suit of chance shot as their discov- cry was due to the finding of very faint surface indications. and those only in one place. As much as these hills have been prospected strange to say, up to the present time only one. the original, outcropping, has been found.
 Just opposite the camp in the side of the hill. apparently a hill of mere lime stone formation. is a large excavation. the first workings of the property and the point of the original outcrop. Here and there only copper colorings were first found, and the indications were followed into the side of the hill quarry fashion. until the ore deposit. which was very low grade, finished out. Dur | carried on, which established the fact that the find was mine. The Czar shaft was the first sunk and reaches down to the 800 foot level. This shaft is still a good producer, turning out | copper bearing iron ore and sulphide ore. The drifts from this shaft extend
 under the town site in all directions.
 and deep into the hill on the north and
 wa:t sides, which are now being worked
 most Nearly all of the old tunnels
 have been abandoned, the tracks torn
 up and the drifts reflled Out in the
 center of the old slag dump about 400
 yards below the camp, can be seen a
 large sink some l50 feet in diameter.
 where the increasing weight of heavy
 slag which has been accommodating for
 years has caused a big cave in the old
 tunnels that have long since been
 abandoned.
 Through the kindness of Mir Claw . son, the superintendent I was permit
 ted to examine the mine, being taken in
 tow by the different shift bosses as
 they made thlr rounds for inspection
 and giving instructions The Holbrook is one of the oldest, best and most worked of the shafts. It is down to the 800 foot level and keeps about 750 men , busy in its operation From this shaft . the ore is nearly one-ffth sulphide and
 four-fifths copper bearing iron ore The , two grades are kent separate and fed
 into the furnaces in given proportions In th, 200 and 3C0 foot levels the ex- traction has been carried on mostly by | lrif int r being done, as the deposits seem to have been made in thin layers here
 rather than in pockets or chambers
 However. the latter variety has been
 more frequent a. the drifts lead deeper
 into the mountain.
 Tn this shaft, as in all the others !, there are seemingly no veins, the ore
 occurring in wavelke layers. running nearly horizontal. and in chambers oi ? pockets: purely a deposit of ore found in forms similar to those of coal beds ? which accounts for the lack of outcrop- pings on the surface, as the whole has been covered with q frosting of lime
 stone. , IT. the AGO and 300 foot levels the or,
 runs the highest and is worked mostly 
 bodies. The work is all done by over. , hand stopping, the bottom stopes beins
 worked ont and relllled by the waste :, from above as the work proceeds. Th'
 tmbering is done in seven foot sets f. the timbers varying in size from 10x1.
 in the drifts to 20x20 in the main tun nels, all of solid pine. This shaft alon, i, keeps fifteen timber men jumping, arc $. good timber men are greatly in demand , and last year 1t ate up 9,6o0,0 900 feet O r timber, an exce:ts of 100000 feet ove !, the year before. This year ths con <, sumption will be stil! greater by per n haps 100000 feet. As iL the CZa
 shaft, the percentage of ron ore and
 sulphides is about 50 to 20; the per cen
 of silver and gold .'unnins considerabl!
 higher on the 400 and 300 foot level that On, the 300 and 200. The iron or e is what is called decomposed iron ore or the red oxide of iron. bearing copper n This l.. a very easily worked. and prof : itable ore. as through the action o II water 1t has become soft and easil. = handled. It crumbles like dirt whel II nearly pure. Of course when mike, 5 with silicates it is very hard and ren
 ders the mining and smeiting difficult '' but happily this is. rather exceptiona ore. The sulphides occur mostly in v black clay and give it just enough O VI a granulated quality to destroy the ob ' jsctionab,e sticky nature of clay. Som '- of 1t is so heavy in sulphur that can ID cle held to the damp ore will cause ig i' milton in bright scntillations and tn
 characteristic odor of sulphur dioxid U well be very peroeptiole. The sulphiie 'S also occur mixed with manganese an in a hard brittle mixture with lead an s other metals. In many of the stope J, we visited where the sulphides run tn 'I heaviest the temperaure is over 100 dc -' grees and tn atmosphere heavy an
 stifing from the water which every
 where percolates throughout the lime a.cle. Here the miners work shifts (
 twenty or thirty minutes and retire fC
 rest to the cooler locations. The ma ,s ture of the ore can be plainly told | " the odor.
 .a The best sulphide and iron ores whic 10 occur in large quantities run 15 pt l cent plus and the lowest that al