The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-10-04
WHAT HENT0N SAW UP HERE
He Visited Many Mining Districts of
the State and Was Well
Pleased.

| wood. S. d., has returned to that place
| after having visited a number of the
| principal mining camps of Montana,
| among them being the Gilt Edge dis
| trict east of Great Falls, and speaking
OF his trip to the Deadwood Pioneer
Times he said:
Montana is a fertile field for explora-
ton of Black Hills metallurgist be-
cause the ores are more nearly an
alagous. Then while Colorado men are
uneXceled in their technical qualifica-
tions and work, Montana men are more
practical.
"Of seven mills which ] visited in
Montana, two would have some special
interest in Black Hills people: the Bow
cry mine and mill in Madison county.
and the Gilt Edge mine and mil in
Fergus county.
The former is near Silver Star and
The ore occurs in a contact between
granite and limestone and is mainly
oxide of iron, limestone. jasper and
Quartz. 1t is gold ore and a part is
high grade. which is shipped to the smell
ter The mine has been worked many
years for this high grade ore but with
III recent years, since cyaniding came
into vogue, mill has been built and the
low grade ore treated. AS there is some
coarse gold the crushed ore is run over
plates to amalgamate this before cyan
iding. 1t is then elevated to settlers by
means OF belt and bucket elevator and
the cleared battery water run back to the
batteries to be used over, as the water
supply comes from the mine and is quite
limited in quantity. The ore drained of
its battery water is dropped into Alder
son agitators and the entire product
treated by agitation. the amount of
silica in the ore being but small. The
mill has twenty stamps and the screen
used is a fortyfive mesh, woven wire.
Ten stamps are 500 pounds and ten 1000
pounds. 61s-inch drop. los drops per min
ute. The crushing rate is about two tons
Fer stamp in twenty-four hours for the
twenty stamps. but the heavy stamps
crush more than the light. The success
of this plant proves that a large plant
can be economically operated by agita-
ton on suitable ores.
1.-The Gilt Edge mine at Gilt Edge in
Fergus county is a wonder in it's way.
The footwall or bedrock, as it might
more correctly be styled, is limestone:
tie hanging wall or caprock is also lime,
and the ledge is filled with porphyry, the
porphyry in some parts being ore of
good value. Erosion has cut the ledge
and the main chute to bedrock at
point of 1.50O feet from it's apex at the
tor of the mountain, few hundred feet
higher than this erosion cut. At this
point working tunnel runs in under
the ledge and stopping is commenced on
the main ore shoot and all the ore is
worked down from level to level, into
the cars, in which it is trammed into the
| mill. which is just below the level of the
tunnel and close to the entry. This main
ore shoot is 80 to 20 feet wide and 10 to
80 feet thick, though there are many
shoots on each side for a distance of
hundreds Of feet. Tie ore varies from
quartz and silicious to pure porphyry
and limestone, and from iron oxide to
pyrites, but it is nearly all soft, at least
so much of it is that fourteen men mine
and put into the mill 140 tors per day.
AS will already be inferred, all the ore
is not alike amenab,e to cyaniding, and
only the we'll oxidiZed ore is mined and
milled. the refractory being left stand
ing in the mine as far as possible.
I'm this way mill extraction of 80 per
cent is secured. Probably near one half
is left in the mine. Much of this is
quite similar to the black ore of the
Portland district in the Black Hills, and
the mine foreman said that they could
only obtain an extraction of about % per
cent from it by cyaniding the raw ore.
altogether the Gilt Edge mine is a
rcmarkab BILE ore deposit and is worth go
ing thousand miles to see by man
who takes an interest in the study Of
the phenomena of ore deposits from the
standpoint of a student of the laws of
nature. And it comes more nearly illus
trating and being in full accord with
what would be expected in all particulars
| with the new school of the genesis of ore
deposits, as 1T is SO ably set forth and
defended by M. w. Anderson, than any
| mine I can recall having examined.
"At Butte I met Robert Turner, who
enjoys the distinction of having built
| and put into successful operation the
first cyanide mill in the United States.
| In answer to an inquiry of mine he said
he had failed to save by amalgamation
! the values from the ore at Revenue,
| Mont. and went to Boston and SO re-
ported to his company. From there ne
| went to Washington, D. c., and met
General Rosecrans, to whom he told his
troubles. The general said that he had
| heard of an old Scotch process for saw
ing gold with cyanide. On this hint he
| commenced an Investigation and ulti-
mately learned that Governor Tabor Of
Colorado had just secured the right to
introduce the process into the United
| States.
"Mr. Turner went to Denver and OBJ
| tanned permission to use the process and
such instruction as was obtainable, which
latter was very meagre. and returned to
! Revenue, and put the necessary appli-
| ances in the mill and commenced work.
| This on ore and not on tailings, was a
! success from the start. Mr. Turner after
| wards went to Cripple Creek and built
| a plant for roasting and cyaniding the
| ores of that district. which was an UNI
| Iaralleled success in economy of treat
| ment of that class Of ore"