The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-04
Notwithstanding
WHAT IT WILL Dc
Duluth & Iron Range Will Alone
Move 6,ooo,ooo Tons. 6
MUCH NEW TRAcKAGE AND STOCK
Contract for Stripping the Burt wiz
Require Several Years to
Complete.

Specia, to The Journal
Duluth. Mimi, April At Is expected
the Duluth & Iron Range road may be
called on to move this season 100000
gross tons Of ore to the lake. This will
mean for some months at least 1,250,O0G
tons, and it is expected the road will hau!
in single months as high as 100000 tons.
An officer Of the road says:
We will this year have the first full benefit
OF new trackase and rolling stock. We vii!
have track that will be as almost perfect
May 30 as it Is possible for permanent way to
be. Last summer We showed in ballast on
the new tracks till we have from four to Ave
feet of gravel under the rails for many miles
We have in all places where the heaviest use
will come 100-pound steel, and elsewhere
eighty-pound. We will build six pushing sta
tions along the road, where engines will be
stationed to assist trains over grades. These
stations are now being put in and equipped
with water tanks and coaling trestles. We
were able last fall, in an experimental way,
to haul eighty loaded cars of ore. each car
carrying twenty gross tons. We shall
do something like this, probably, as regular
thing this year after some initial experiment.
| ing. No full train of the fftv-ton steel cars
has ever been hauled over this road; expert
ments with these cars began with four cars
to the train, then ten were put in at the head
| end and later as high fifteen. There is no
|
for the steel car makes the safest train there
| is for such heavy traffic as iron ore. The
Duluth & Iron Range road has $50 of these
cars, and will have no addition to its last
years equipment except for $50 wood cars
formerly used by the Duluth, Missabe &
| Northern road.
Contracts for stripping 100000 yards of
earth and boulders from the Burt mine
have been made and work has commenced
with two steam shovels. The earth will
be dumped into the pit made by the un-
dergrOund work at the Sellers mine which
is close by. The contract is one of the
largest ever made for stripping and will
require several years for completion.
The Stevens mine will be opened this
season and about 100000 tons will be
shipped. This mine carries Is cent roy
atty and belongs to Detroit, Mich, lum-
bermen There is large amount of ore
in the mine, estimated at from $4,000 ,OOO
to 10000, 900 tons, and it lies SO close TO
the ground that it can be mined by the
steam shovel process. Preliminary work
has already been done by the Oliver Iron
Mining company which is the lessee.
Several propositions have been made for
the least of the famous Section 80 at least
one Of which involves the payment of a
bonus of several hundred thousand dollars
and all Of which are for rate Of royalty
that is higher than the average in the
Lake Superior region This is the property
on the Vermillion range Of Minnesota that
has been in litigation for twenty years
and has recently been decided to be the
property of three poor men of Duluth and
one wealthy individual Of Milwaukee. II
any one of the propositions is accepted
and if the contemplated explorations are
successful, the men will all be million
aires.
At the new Helen mine, they have just
completed boarding house that has din
ing room accommodation for 800 men al
one time More than $50 men are now
working in the mine, and a large shaft Is
being sunk, in ore all the way. .:--
At the Mansfield mine, Crystal Falls
they are driving rock drift on the sew
enth level that will be run mile, from
the old shaft to under where they are
sinking new shaft. At the point where
the drift will end an upraise will connect
it with the new shaft, which will call for
some careful engineering both above and
below ground. This mine is now being
opened to the eleventh level and will
make fine shipment this year. 1t Is
one of the very few bessemer mines OF
. the Menominee range.
An enormous amount OF exploration will
I be carried on in ltasca county, Mimi.
this year. This is the extreme western
1 end Of the Mesaba range and some finds
have been made there.