Tonopah bonanza. [volume] (Butler City [i.e. Butler], Nev.) 1901-1909, 1904-08-27
TONOPAH BONANZA.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 81, 1904
why Good Mines Are Closed.

lying IDLE. Not infrequently the
property is offered on the market.
the owner extolling it's past history
and grand possibilities, and still
seemingly unwilling to work it him
self. There are a great many differ
ent kinds Of people engaged in mining
more, perhaps, than there are diff
ferent kinds of mines-and these are
legion. The fact that the owner of a
mine speaks enthusiasts tically of his
idle mine is not prima facie evidence
that the property is without merit.
Mines have periods in their history
as varied as those in the life of an
individual. AS an instance NAV be
mentioned a noted mine discovered
by a prospector, who still owns it.
In its early history this mine pro
duced high grade shipping ore. Elk
tensive development was made and a
large tonnage of ore exposed. The
character of the ore changediE depth.
and though shipping ore can still be
sorted from the vein, it is no longer
a producer in large quantities Of the
rich ore OF its palmy days. The ore
now exposed in the well developed
mine aggregates many thousands of
tons, and it is payable ore, too. but
not for the owner of the property,
who, though an expert miner, has no
knowledge Of metallurgy. AS a re
suit, the mine is being worked in a
small though careful way, paving all
the expenses Of development and
something over, and the tonnage of
ore in sight daily grows larger. The
metallurgical problem is not without
solution in a manner oft proven to be
successful elsewhere; but the owner
Of this property is not conversant
with this fact, and continues his de.
velopment work while Cooking for
something to turn up" Another
instance may be cited where a large
mine, which has produced a great
amount of gold, today lies idle wait
ing for a buver. II has a mill, the
mine is open, but the owner appar-
emily does not feel disposed to operate
it. At first sight this looks strange,
but a careful study Of the situation
reveals a reasonable Reuse for this
inactivity. In the prosperous period
of its history the production Of rich
ore was accomplished as rapidly as
possible, but development did not
keep pace with this extraction Of
known ore bodies. The character Of
the ore changed also, sulphides to a
great extent replacing the free .oxi-
died ore. Moreover, the values de-
creased as the workings ran out OF
the pay shoots, until comparatively
low grade r Is found in almost every
face, With the change in the value
and character of the ore, the mill
machinery and methods were not
changed materially, and as a result
as values went down the percentage
loss in tailings went up. The prop.
erty now needs capital for dead work
and a mill suited to the changed CON
dition Of the ores. These things the
owner is either unwilling or unable to
supply and the mine is Idle. These
are merely two instances which typi.
eally Illustrate the need OF a full un.
derstanding Of the problems OF mining
and metallurgy. Development must
be carried forward contemporaneous-
ly with the extraction of the reserves
or the life Of the mine is limited to
the removal Of all the ore in sight.
This may be a matter of several years
or only a few months-the principle
remains the same. So with the
m~etallurgical branch. A change in
the value or character Of ore usually
demands a more or less radical change
III treatment. When a rich mine is
being successfully operated, the man
agement is too often disposed to
neglect extensions Of development
prosecuting, retimbering and shaft
sinking to explore lower levels-and
sooner or later a good mine is closed.
An instance comes to mind where a
rich mine was operated to a depth
really beyond the capacity OF the
hosting and pumping machinery,
which were maintained by frequent
repairs. Finally the pump broke
down completely and the owners re-
fused a lew plant because the lowest
level looked less promising than those
above. Had a new equipment been
supplied at the proper time this mine,
now idle, would probably still be in
operation. In another instance a
rich gold mine was operated without
very necessary shaft repairs. The
hanging wall timbers slowly crowded
downward until the skip was in inn
minent danger when the wall plates
trimmed with axes until the
skip would pass safely. A few weeks
later this was repeated, and again,
until 1t became evident that it would
be unsafe tn cut the shaft timhers