Mohave County miner., 1902-05-24
Mines of Bolivia.

years in Central America and five in
South America. When asked about
his travels at the Miners association
rooms yesterday he said: II have been
prospecting and mining down in the
Andes range, principally in Bolivia.
became little tired and returned
from the port of Antaforga~ta in Chile
"around the Horn" or rather through
Smiths strait, to New Orleans by an
ore boat. Smiths strait is "A strait to
the north of the straits of Magellan
and is struck on the west at Sand
Point, the southermost town in the
world The former strait can only be
navgated in the day time.
Tramp steamers and sailing vessels
get a great deal of ore from the west
coast of South America and take it to
the United States and Europe. The
boat came on had COW tons of silver
gold ore for Denver where it is to be
treated. The free milling ores are
treated in the country by stamp mills.
These shipping ores are silver gold
ores
"Ot course mining was an industry
considerably developed among the Ia
cas-. 1t was not long since that three
California miners in opening up cop
per mine near Papo, Bolivia, came into
great chamber where we're found deer
horn mining tools and three solid gold
cups which looked to me that the gold
had simply been beaten into sheet
aud then bent over the end of "A stick
into the shape of a cup. Some of the
native copper from this mine aud the
ores were very rich and was so soft
could cut it with pocket knife. Sill
yer has been produced by the hun
dreds of millions of dollars and some
of these old mines are still working.
"let the mineral resources are barely
touched. 1t is not generally known
that Bolivia has the principal tin de
posits of the world. 1t certainly has,
though comp mparatively little has been
done. A sample of what is actually
being done: An Englishman and
Scotchman have tin mine near me
and by means of hammers aud rock
mortars are taking out 10 0 Bolivianas
or 250S worth of tin ore per month.
They pound it up coarsely aud wash
out in sluice box with rifles just like
gold. They sell these concentrates
right at the railroad about fifteen
miles distant.
"The ores are very rich aud little
have vii b me runs as high as 70 per
cent tin. | was unfortunate in losing
most of my samples. am quite sure
Bolivia will yet produce the tin of the
world. The United States has very
little and the three Cornwall mines
have been worked for four hundred
years and are nearly worked out. |
have some tin prospects think very
highly of. Tin is very high, the refined /
bringing li9e per ton in Liverpool.
Where / am mining is about three or
four leagues from Machachamac,
Bolivia, on the railroad from Antafor-
gasta to Lake Titicaca The Bolivian
government is very liberal to miners. /
There is no particular limit to the min.
eral land a man can take up. / have /
taken up bout one square mile for my
tin mines and the same for my gold (
All | have 90 do is to mark my claim 4
plainly upon the ground take witness
and go before an alcaide and declare /
it. Then have a year in which TO get I
my deed by paying 45J Bolivianas. A
large claim cost no more than small .
one aud we always take enough so that
we are not troubled by working outside
the side lines There is 20 annual tax
as in Mexico. Where am located an
Englishmau and a Scotchmau and my
self are the only English speaking peo
pie there.
'There is wonderful tin mine be.
longing to & California com pany about
100 miles from Antaforgasta. Here
the ore is taken out, smelted and ship.
ped out 10 bins. A thirty mile road
runs from the main line right up into
the clouds 10 this mine where is town
of 4,00J people supported by the mine,
The company owns the road and the
mine and no one unless be has a pass
eau even go over the road.
"The mine is so much higher than