Idaho Springs siftings., 1902-12-27
ABOUT
MINING AND
MILLING ~ ~
y The Truth IS Good Enough ~

first up the surface and tn IL freighted
down the mountain. The connection
between the tunnel and the workings of
this mine absolutely does away with any
necessity of pumping and naturally all
ventilation need ID will be provided there
by. The ore ana the waste can be ham
died by gravity instead Jf by steam or
electric pow with its accompanying ex-
penSe. and whereas it now costs so much
to lift every ton of ore to the top of the
mountain, and then further cost to load
it from The ore bins into the wagons. and
to haul 1t in the wagons to the level of
the creek and railroad in the valley,
very great part of this expense will in the
future be avoided as the tunnel is practi-
cally on the railroad and valley level, and
no hoistiug will have to be done.
"The practical benefits of a tunnel in
the development and conduct of a known
ore body cannot be doubted, and for
prospecting purposes either in driving on
the vein or cross cutting to intersect sew
eral veins at depth, where large area
has to be traversed, has its advantages.
The initial cost of driving 900 feet of
shaft is materially different From the
very beginning the cost of sinking is
much greater than that of tuuneling and
while the ration of cost per foot by the
tunnel method does show some increase
in cost it is very much heavier in the case
of sinking, and l can readily see that
working shaft I 900 feet deep with its
equipment might easily be five times the
cost of a tunnel run in the same distance.
l feel therefore that the topography of
this mining district is strictly in its
favor In fact there are marked evidences
today of the profitable operation of prop
critics there which in all probability
would be closed down and dead issue
were it not possible to give them the adj
vantage of this tunnel.
This mining country not only has the
ores to mine but has them in quantity
! and they are the kind of ores that can be
treaty. cheaply end there is an ample
water supply running between the noun
tains which can be and is being utilized
for this very purpose. About thirty five
miles distant is the city of Denver where
some of the largest mining machinery
and supply houses, such as the establish
ment of the Hendrie Bolthoff company
are located and where the high grade
ores can be treated at the smelters which
are even closer to the mines than is the
main part of the city. Railroad connec-
tion is by the Colorado and Southern
road which has direct lines 10 Idaho
Springs, Georgetown, Central City and
other points along this route. Some of
our readers who have not yet visited
Colorado may have heard of this trip in
connection with the famous Georgetown
loop. 1t is wonderful piece of engi-
ueering and the scenic grandeur of the
trip is wonderful. OF the thousands who
annually take the ride for sight seeing
purposes only very few actually realize to
what extent the business of mining is
being carried on all around them.
Taking everything into consideration,
tuC NdSluSSS Oh InlS INNING ulStrlct, the
abundance and size of the ore bodies, its
quality which permits of its being treated
by the cheapest of known methods, the
presence of ample waters to accomplish
this result, the advantageous topography
of the country permitting of mining by
tunnel, its closeness to the city of Denver,
and the smelters which treat and pur-
chase the high grade production, the
permanence of its mines proved by the
fact that after 40 years of activity a
greater production than ever before is
being made, all point to the fact that
this is most desirable camp in which to
operate and as the time goes on expect
to see this realized more and more, the
condition of things to still further i'm
prove and the mines and the mills to con-
tinue to grow"