Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-12-11
MINES AND MINING
IN SAN JUAN
(Silverton Standard.)

VertOn Mining company, operating the
North Star mine on Sullivan mount
ain. has received seven carloads OF
machinery. Three more carloads from
Chicago will be in any day, when the
final touches will be made on the mill
and pumping station and then all will
be in readiness TO start the work in
earnest
Plans are being considered for the
resumption of work at the Hercules
propertigs on Sultan mountain. and
should they mature operations will be
carried on on larger scale than
ever. The plans include the driving
of the Hercules tunnel, already $500
feet long, 5000 feet in Sultan mount
ain, the enlarging of the Little Dora
mill and the replacing of the present
compressor plant with much larger
one.
Work on the Black Prince proper
ties on King Solomon mountain is
progressing in manner to give as
surance that the Contention mill,
which the new company has leased
will be in operation in about ten days.
Besides connecting the mines with
the Cont ltion tram the outside work
being done consists of erecting com
modious bunk and boarding house,
blacksmith shop and other smaller
buildings. About sixty men are en-
ployed above and below. The com
pany's lease on the Contention mill
runs until May and has been secured
for the sole purpose of testing the
Of ha To la Ia or IyiC
bility of erecting a mill for the Black
Prince. In the meantime a force of
six or eight men are working on the
Shenandoah h-Dives by contract-lease-
that is the contractors will do $50
feet of drifting on the vein and will
take in payment certain ores. This
work is expected to open up that
part of the Contention company's hold
ings in such shape that operations can
be resumed on large scale when the
Black Prince lease on the mill has
expired, early next spring.
From a reliable mining man who
had the privilege Of seeing the recent
strike in the Highland Mary when it
was first made, we learn that it is one
of the richest of the year. The ore,
which our informant says will net
800 per ton, was opened up in go
foot upraise about 1000 feet from the
entrance to the Innis tunnel. The
streak of grey copper had been follow
ed from the bottom of the upraise and
when it widened into such a magnifi-
cent showing it occasioned no great
surprise. The Lookout vein has a
ii,
and as near as our informant could
Judge the new ore body fills the en-
tire space between walls at point
where the vein may be said to be an
average width. AS this is the deepest
working in San Juan county. the apex
of the Lookout being 500 feet di-
rectly above, another triumph has
been recorded as to the claim that
the fissure veins of this camp lose
none Of their value or size with depth.
In regard to the new mill at the mine
our informant states that the machin.
cry has been loosened up and every
thing seems to be satisfactory. A
few minor details are yet to be ar
ranged and the pipe line completed
before the mill can be started up on
ore, but it is the intention when that
is done to run steadily throughout
the winter. The management is par
ticularly anxious to run the mill by
water power, as it represents a cost
of only about s1OO per month, where
as steam will cost 81 500 per month
Monday of this week when the
shots in the Royal tunnel on Sultan
mountain were put in at the 1,040-
foot mark, 30-inch vein of ore was
encountered and the King vein expos
ed at depth of 800 feet Drifting to
the south on the vein where the larger
and better ore has been developed by
upper workings is now in order and
at the same time the tunnel will be
pushed on ahead 200 feet to where
the second and more prominent claim
Of the company. known as the Mazep
pa, will be cut at depth of 900 or
more feet. Our interview with Sup
elintendent w. r. Pyke, upon learning
of the new strike, convinces us that
at least one of the new COMPANY
is plzased with the find and presages
b5untifui supply for those who
have confidence in the tunnel project
The ore Is a quartz filed with a fine
ealena and copper aad while the same
is not Of sufficient value to make a
shipping product just at the point of
intersection of tunnel, it is very de
sirable milling ore. The company
during the prosecution of the long
tunnel, has from time to time been do
ing little work in the upper tunnels
near the surface and has shipped some
fourteen carloads of high grade cop
per-silver ore during the past summer
but now that the vein accessible and
convenient from below Will confine all
efforts to drilling and upraising where
the winters inclemency cannot pre-
vent the energy of an enterprising
people.
THE