Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-18
MINING IN The BLACK HILLS
Much Quiet work is Being Done in Ragged
Tsp District
WORK RESUMED At MAURICE STATION
Victoria Mining Company, Composed
Largely of Omaha People, Push
ing work and Employ
inE Many Men.

ing Many Men.
DEADWooD, s. D., Aug. 17.-(special.)
"A great deal Of quiet work is being done
In the Ragged Top district in the vicinity
OF Maurice station, and some good ore
bodies being developed. The Fitzpatrick
brothers recently took a lease and a bond
on the property Of Madill and others on
Iron creek. and since taking charge Of the
ground have been working a large force
OF men on It. The work which is at present
being done is merely in the nature of
prospecting, but several fine shoots Of ore
have been exposed by 1t. A number Of
open cuts have been made on these ore
deposits and they have been found to be
Of an average thickness Of ten feet, while
their width has not as yet been determined.
These shoots occur in the fiat formations
and the ore which they carry is similar in
every respect to that taken from the mines
OF the Spear1sh company on johnson gulch;
II Is a good cyaniding proposition and car
ries fair commercial values. 1t is not
known what the intention Of the Kilpat-
ricks Is, but II is said that should they
conclude to purchase the ground when their
bond expires they will erect a plant to
treat the ores on the ground.
Work on the Victoria Mining company's
ground at Maurice station has been re-
sumed, and It is said tina a large shoot
Of ore has been found In the drifts which
the company has started on the ground.
This company is composed OF Black Hills
and Omaha people, VIC have expended con-
siderable money in the development Of the
ground owned by 1t. and has at present
quite a force Of men employed. The ground
Is in q productive district and should prove
to be as good as any OF the excellent prop
critics by which It lie surrounded.
The Mercur company, which is owned
and controlled by Utah capitalists, has
since 1t has taken hold Of the property In.
cluded In the group of claims which It
owns, done a great deal of Develop
ment work, and at the present time has a
larger force Of men employed than any
company in the neighborhood. The COM
pany began operations about four months
ago, but since that time has developed the
known ore bodies and exposed others.
Three Tunnels Started.
Three tunnels were started from the
Spearfsh side Of the property, following
shoots of ore into the hill on the Star mine.
These tunnels have been driven in for a
distance Of about IT'S feet each and are
still in ore, but no attempt has been made
to crosscut these shoots as yet, but they
are known to be very extensive. The ore
IL q cyaniding proposition and carries val
ues which will average hettar than Sc a ton.
On the Nelson group. a part of the COM
pany's holdings, a force OF men was lately
put to work making open cuts on a num-
Der of ore bodies which are exposed on the
surface. This work has shown that the ore
In these deposits is similar to that found In
the other mines OF the company and that
some Of the shoots carry even better values.
Since beginning operations the company
has built boarding houses. Offices, black
smith and machine shops and erected other
buildings necessary for the carrying on Of
It's work on an extensive scale. The plans
for it's 15O-ton wet crushing cyanide plant
have been prepared, and It is expected that
work on It will be started In a short time,
In order that It may be completed before
the setting In OF cold weather and deep
SHOWS. The work at the property is being
done under the superintendency OF ]. G.
Warren, one Of the officers of the company,
and also one Of the most experienced min
ing men Of Utah.
The Eleventh Hour, one OF the new prop
critics in the district. on which work has
been started within the past few weeks, is
showing up we'll and producing some very
rich ore. The ore shoots occur in the lime
formations, and where they are being
worked are about seven feet thick. It is a
perfect cyaniding proposition and easily
mined; in fact, 1t is q~uarried out OF the
ground, all Of the work being done in open
cuts. The ore-a lime ore-carries values
ranging from SO to $40 a ton. Three feet
OF this shoot is being taken out for ship
ment and the other four feet piled on tho
dunn. IL heinz NJ n 10war oroda CHI.
ments will be made to one OF the Dead
wood cyanide plants.
EIkhOrn Working ON Spur.
The Elkhorn will soon have its spur COM
pleted to the Imperial company's ground and
next week shipments from the mines will be
made to the company's plant in Deadwood.
The company at present is getting its ore
from its mines in Blacktail, and treating
considerable custom ore. but when the
branch Of the Elkhorn has been completed
to its mines in this section about 100 tons
a day will be shipped, and as It is a higher
grade and a much better cyaniding ore than
that taken from the mines in Blacktail, the
semi-monthly cleanup Of the plant will be
much larger.
The Tartar group OF claims In Carbonate.
owned by Maurice Welsh and associates. ia
at present producing some very rich silver
lead ore. There is a large body OF It on the
property, which has been opened up by sew
eral tunnels and crosscuts. Numerous as
says from the ore body within the last few
weeks show that 1t cares an average value
OF about S24 a ton. The ore also carries a
little gold. but It is being worked for the
silver and lead that is in It. Quite a lot Of
this rich ore has accumulated on the dump.
and arrangements are being made to ship IL
to the Deadwood smelter and. II possible TO
have It treated there. shipments will be