Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-12-19

MY report of the production OF
v v gold and silver durlne
the calendar year 1902
the following Is taken concerning
production IN Idaho, IL was
prepared by J. w. Cunningham, assay
or in charge United states assay Office
at Boise, Idaho
Annual reports covering n period Of
years show n marked steadiness In the
mineral output OF the state--a steadi-
ness not equalled in any other ma
terial production. There have been, to
be sure, considerable fluctuations from
year to year, in the production of In
dividual mines and Of mining districts,
but the gains and losses resulting from
these fluctuations have 80 nearly bal
aDced each other that when the reports
from All over the state are brought
together, but little change appears in
the total.
The year 1902 was noted for general
activity in the mining Industry
throughout the state, Development
work In the opening up of lodges has
been carried on steadily and mills and
IlldtniutI1 fHtNt Dftll dbN'h WITTY NAN
showings seemed to justify their pur-
chase. As a result. several additions
have been made to the list of producing
mines
Favorable reports are being received
from the newly discovered districts,
some OF which have attracted attention
throughout the country These districts
lie far back In the mountains and, at
present, are inaccessible during half OF
the year, and the development Of the
mines will be slow, owing TO the diff
Guilty in transporting machinery and
supplies
The old placer districts continue to
Yield In amounts governed mainly by
the amount OF water supply The sup
ply was small and the season short in
1902, as a result Of the light snowfall
In the winter OF l9O1-2.
Dredges operated by steam, or cleo
trio power, and, therefore independent
of the water supply, which is the sole
reliance OF the hydraulic miner, are
working successfully In several of the
old placer districts.
GOLD PRODUCTION.
The production of gold in Idaho has
not Increased so rapidly as In many
other states, but the prospect now is
that there Will be a pronounced revival
In the industry in the immediate future
and that this state will become one of
the largest producers in the country.
In passing, 1t viii be interesting to
review past conditions, as these serve
TO show why II is that Idaho has been
no backward in its gold mining devel-
opment. While the silver mining in
dustry OF the state has attained very
large proportions, gold mining has
Jagged behind for many years
II Is somewhat surprising to many
inouirers 10 find that the state OF
Idaho has been so slow In the devel-
opment of It's gold resources. They
know that the state, then n territory,
came into prominence as producer Of
placer gold forty years ago. They
also know that there was much lode
mining In Idaho at that time and dur
ing a long period thereafter II is
therefore difficult for such persons to
understand why It is that Idaho has not
kept pace with some other states. The
placer gold discoveries, during the pio-
neer days, brought numbers of miners
into this region. They were very rich
and produced enormously for number
of years In time, however the richest
placers were worked out. This left
" VAST UIllll VI IlllHtlS W ullll tlSt~
where. These secured the mountains
and valleys of Idaho, searching for pla-
GERS and lodes, and eventually took
their departure. In the minds OF all
such persons leaving the state there
was little, or no doubt that the mines
had been exhausted. They did not
expect to see important mining devel-
opments In the future, and they did
not hesitate to spread that impression
among mining men In all parts of the
country where they appeared.
PLACER MINING.
While the placer mining work was
going on, many lode mining discover
les were made and these were worked
with great deal of vigor. 1t devel-
oped, however, that the veins were free
milling only near The surface where the
ore had been oxidized. When devel-
opment had penetrated into those por-
tions OF the leads that had not been
changed by the action of the air, the
ore taken out could no longer be worked
by the processes that were then EN-
ployed, Methods of handling base ores
economically had not been discovered.
II was impossible 10 transport ores
TO distant markets and, consequently,
n great many such mines had TO be
closed down This added to the wide
spread impression that Idaho had moth
Ing to offer in a mining way.
LACK OF RAILWAYS
Again, the state has been seriously
deficient in railway transportation fa-
cilities. Such lines as existed within
its borders were generally construct
ed solely with the view of finding the
shortest and most available route
20 points on the coast. These lines were