Bisbee daily review., 1904-02-07
|Warren nlinin9 District
Facts Relating to Drills
 in Exploring Mineral Lands


 established beyond a doubt their abil- ity and competence for adopting those netho6s of operation which give the best returns for money expended. Others Using Drills. Other companies, other than the ones mentioned above, who will em- ploy drills on their properties in the near future are the Calumet & Bisbee, Calumet & Cochise, Wolveine & Ari- zona. Portage Lake & Aizona, Bisbee Consolidated, Pittsburg & Duluth and ake Superior & Pittsburg. The Mitchell Development company will also soon operate a dril on its prop erty. The Copper Glance has already done quite extensive exploring by means of the drill. and will continue until the extent of their property's value is learned. The Houghton De- velopment cimpany is now sinking for water with a 6rill, and when that work is completed, the machine will be used for exploring fer mineral.
 What Drill Can Do. The diamond drill bores a perfectly straight. smooth hole to any depth or | in any given direction f,om vertical to horizontal, bringing to the sur.ace i solid section or core" of all strata | passed through, in order, showing their exact depth, thickness and character oi the rock This core is large enough to be thoroughly examined and tested, and what is of almost equal value, il the mineral sought for is absent, the act is determined beyond a doubt. It also gives positive information Of the material that would be met in sinking shaft to work the mineral whose presence has been determined, making it possible to estimate closely the cost of tn shaft. Skill required in the operation Of these machines is not unusual in amount, as any man of ordinary intelligence. with fair knowledge of engines and machinery, can run one for ordinary prospecting. Among the other inestimable adyan- tages gained by prospecting with the drill are the economy in time and ex- pense, and especially in accuracy of results. The core obtained is not on ly a correct and accurate record of the mineral sought fer, but record also of the material which shaft will have to penetrate 10 reach the min eral. By means of the core the value of the mineral and the cost of a shaft CT tunnel to it can be accurately de termined in aovance.
 Some interesting Facts.
 In recent issue of the Daily Min ing Gazette, Houghton, Michigan, the following interesting facts relating to the diamond drill were given:
 A comparison of financial economy and time economy in favor of diamond drill work as against shaft and drift shaft work, which has had a splencid chance to be averaged up during the last two years in the Bisbee camp, is 100 feet month as a maximum, while it will generally fall somewhat below this, prooabIy not standing better than three feet a day. An esumate made by one interested in the Junction prop erty, which operated a diamond drill for several months. shows that the drill work will average close to thirty feet a day, or ten times faster than shaft work.
 It costs the Michigan development companies operating in the Warren district about $6,000 a month to carry on operations in one shaft, with an in- crease in costs for each additional point of operation. The cost or oper- ating a diamond drill there will scarce y exceed s2,00O a month, or one-third the cost of shaft work.
 The original cost of a drill and out fit complete. including diamonds, boilers, pump and other necessary ap- performances, is $6,6O0, or the cost of enc months operation with a shaft. And when company is through with it's drill 1t has an outfit that can be sold at very little depreciation from its original cost.
 Tt is very evident, therefore, that the argument in favor of drill work is well taken. So far as results are con- eerned, 1t can be seen that with the greatly increased speed and the much reduced costs in operatg drill instead of sinking shaft, a company can put down ten holes at a given distance in the same length of time that it would take to put down one shaft that dis tance, and will only expend one-third the money.
 There are no regrets for the shafts which have been sunk and have not yet been bottomed in ore-the Michi- gan people are not celebrated for re- grets. But it is evident that tens of thousands of dollars might have been retained in the companies treasuries if drill work had been adopted from the first. It is true that the shafts would have been required ultimately; but they could have been sunk with view to the greatest economy and con- venience had the drills first located