Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-05
MINING IN The BLACK HILLS.
Season Opens with Animation and I'm
provements Are Numerous.
RICH VEINS PENETRATED CONTINUALLY
Operators EIRted over Seasons Pros
poets and New Machinery, Large
Forces and More Liberal Ex-
penditures In order.

p~enditures In order.
DEADwooD. s. D., May I-(special.)-
Since the location Of the big treatment
plant of the Hidden Fortune Mining COM
pany in this city much interest has been
aroused regarding the progress Of the work
on the company's property, which Is situ-
ated at Central City, on Deadwood and
Poorman gulches. extending to the south
until 1t meets the boundary line Of Lead
and the possessions OF the Homestake Min
ing company. comprising many hundreds Of
acres of land in one Of the best districts
in the northern Hills.
The main workings Of the company con
sists OF a large working tunnel. 7x12 in the
clear, which starts from Deadwood gulch
and extends in a southerly direction, the
intention being to cut the formation with
this tunnel the entire length of the com
pany's ground in that direction, a distance
Of something over 1000 feet. This tunnel
has now been driven in a distance of 1.72O
feet. Five hundred feet from the entrance
Of the tunnel a c~rosscut, No. 1 west, has
been driven for a distance of 1S4 feet,
eighty-seven feet Of which Is in a body Of
free-milling ore, carrying good values in
gold. At a distance OF 1900 feet from the
mouth Of the tunnel No. 2 west crosscut
has been started, and is now in 16} feet,
but has not yet reached the ore bouy, al
though the indications all point to its near
approach to the face of the workings.
Close Proximity to Ore.
No. l east crosscut was started at a dis
lance Of 1000 feet from the mouth Of the
big working tunnel, and has been driven
in 1893 feet. A few days ago the miners
we're driving the heading through the foot
walls of the ledge, with the indications
showing that within the next few feet
gained the drift will break into the ore.
From the Poorman sulch side of the prop
erty, the Hoodlebug drift has been driven
In 700 feet, and an upraise has been started
from No. 2 west crosscut to meet 1t. This
upraise will make a junction with No. 2
crosscut within a few feet more, when per-
feet ventilation will be insured for the
main workings on the ground. At present
these workings are In the states.
The three-compartment shaft which was
started a short time ago on the Anchor
claim, is now dow 120 feet on the ledge
which 1t was started to follow and the foun-
dations and grading for the big hoist which
the company will erect over the shaft have
been completed.
These are some Of, in fact, the principal
workings on the ground, but on the different
claims Of the property are numerous shafts,
tunnels and open cuts, in nearly all OF
which ore bodies have been exposed.
Montana Makes Good Progress.
The Montana mine, near Nahant, the
property Of Ex-Governor Smith Of Vermont,
which has been idle for a long time, until
recently, will be started up in a few days
with a full force Of men, and the shaft,
which Is now down 100 feet, dropped 400
feet further. The shaft is following down
on a good sized ore body, in which occurs
some very rich streaks, but the average
of it will assay about 81 80 per ton, which
is very good, when the size Of the vein is
considered and the fact that 1t is a free
milling proposition. A new steam hoist
will be built at once on the mine, air COM
pressors and power drills put in and other
arrangements made for aking out and
milling ore. There has been other work
than the shaft mentioned done upon this
mine, and much ore has been milled from
tunnels in which the vein has been ex-
posed. In the same vicinity with the Mon
tana. are a number Of good properties, but
the former mine has more work done upon
II tnan mas any Oh the OlncIbI anu u uS-
velopment will give the owners Of adjoin-
ing ground a line from which to work.
Former Governor Smith has been in pos
session OF the Montana since 1886, and 1t Is
recalled that at the time he purchased II,
or shortly after. he became convinced that
he had received the worst of the deal, and
he closed down the mill which had been put
up upon it to treat the ore. Subsequent de-
velopments in the district and in the mine
itself, however, convinced him that he had
been mistaken. and he has since that time
refused several offers for the ground in ex-
cess Of what he had paid for It.
Big Black Diamond Cleanup.
o. M. Brown, superintendent of the Spear
FISH Mining company, came down from
Ragged Top Friday and brought with him
the cleanup from a fifteen days run of the
company's cyanide plant on ore from the
Black Diamond mine, which he deposited In
the United States assay office in this city.
The brick weighed a trihe over 700 ounces,
which, as the bullion is very 1ne, is worth
S12, 600. Two thousand tons of ore were
milled during the. time the plant was run
ming, which is about one-nfth it's capacity,
the plant being one OF 300 tons. This work
will be completed by the first of next week
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