The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-06-11
WISCONSIN
BEDS OF SOLID ORE
Southwestern Wisconsin Will Lead
the World in Lead and Zinc
Mining.
Three Badger Counties, With Platte
vile as a Center, Are Busting
With Activity.
Special to The Journal.

Special to The journal. ~,
Platteville, Wis, June 11--southwestern Wis
cousin Is to be the greatest lead and zinc min
ing district in the world. Scores of mines are
being put into operation. Three counties have
been found to be undertake with beds of solid
ore. the zinc as the upper layer, then the lead
below in untold quantities. Only recently has
any outside capital been invested but as q re-
suit of the past years Developments, the fol-
lowing facts may be given as a brief summary
of the situation:
Three counties, agriculturally rich, are being
covered with mining apparatus, and promising
shafts are as plenty as gopher holes, in a pas
ture.
Options are being taken by capitalists on
thousands of acres of unexplored land.
Mines in actual operation with modern ma
chinery paying from to per cent month
dividends.
Offers being made for rival buyers to producers
Of both lead and zinc ore have lifted prices to
higher point than ever before touched in the
Wisconsin mining district.
Owners Of properties considering combining in
terests to force buyers to pay still higher prices
for ore.
Owners of score of properties consider union
Of properties and combination Of entire district
in one gigantic company.
= Producers offered contract for erection of
shelters and other great factories using large
quantities Of lead and zinc in center Of mining
region, If fixed amount Of ore can be guaranteed.
Electric railway being built from Platseville
to Dubuque, Iowa, to aid miners in shipment
of ore to refners and factories.
Eastern capitalists try In vain to get control of
big mines in various parts Of the district!
Illinois Central railroad plans construction Of
branch to Platteville to secure business which
will result from development of the mining fields
and also the development Of the mines in its
own properties.
smelter Needed.
The most essential features in the develop
ment of the region is the hope of the producers
to secure the erection Of shelters at the mines
At present the nearest shelters are In the st..
Louis district. and the miners have no adequate
! means of shipping their ore without great ex-
pense to the refners: The railroad facilities are
also lacking, there being no direct roads to ST.
Louis, tho the Milwaukee and Northwestern rail-
| roads run east and west from this city. The
Illinois Central and the proposed electric line,
| however, will remedy this defect,
The owners of the best mines however are
| men who are largely interested in real estate in
this part of tn state, Their hope, in addition
| to the erection of smeters to convert the ore on
the ground. is to secure the location in Wiscon-
| sin Of the factories which make commercial use
OF the metals produced here II this end can
be attained there is no question Of the future
| of the tricounty lead and zinc region That
this is probable is the opinion Of many mine
owners. One st, Louis company offered to build
| a smelter here If enough mines could be COM
bined to guarantee a supply Of 200 tons Of ore
a day. ss.
! One set Of mines has already pledged it.
quota of 40 tons, and the papers will be soon
signed which will provide for the erection OF the
| snelter.
scheme OF much wider scope, however, /,
that to combine all the properties Of the entire
district under one ownership This, however
is not likely, inasmuch as the publicity giver
TO- the great discoveries has interested! too man.
capitalists. who have secured mining leasel
which could not be included In the propose,
trusts properties. ~
American Company Mena There.
Representatives Of Tie American Zinc Ore com
pany have been here the past week looking owe
hte field, and 1t ~ expected that in addition
to making offers for the output OF the variou
mines, that thee company will buy up several o
the more promising properties. The company i
willing to offer the mine owners higher prize
for their ore than the present ruling quotation
In this field %t5
a final and essential feature Of the PIattevill
district Is that the owners Of mines refuse t
handle ore which contains under thirty ne
cent Of metal. While in the Joplin distric
mines are paying big dividends on a showing o
J from eight to twelve per cent OF metal In tn
, disseminated ore, In the Platteville district tn
only properties worth working, according to tn
I views Of the owners, are those which are eithe
solid sheets Of almost pure metal or those wit
from thirty to fifty per cent Of metal in til
> disseminated ore AS "a result, the easterner
who are looking over the field may be able
secure paying mines in what the Wisconsi
! owners consider waste heaps.