Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1905-08-26
SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY.
A Little Cooperation on Part OF Miae
Owners viii Secare Shelter for
This SeCtipa.

Mr.. J. H. Thompson, representing
the Nevada Smelling Company, has
been in Yerington for several days
this week projecting plan to erect
a smelling plant in this vicinity,
provided he can get the assurance of
the mine and prospect owners in
this locality to furnish the concern
with ore. Mr.. Thompson is asking
owners of copper prospects to begin
work on their claims and agree to
furnish ore extracted to his COM
pany for period OF two years. He
agrees to work the ore for $40 per
ton, and pay the New York market
value of copper in all ores in cash
after sampling same. Mr.. Thompson
states that there will be no contract
asked which will bind claim owners
in any manner to prevent them from
selling their properties at any time
they find buyer and may choose to
do so. His object in having their
signatures to any contract at all IS
simply to get their moral support
until plant can get on its feet, as it
were. He, and other representatives
OF his company, have visited this
section before and are pleased with
the outlook for the copper output.
Were they not, no proposition
would be made to erect a smelter.
They are confident that the numer-
Gus claims in this vicinity would
furnish enough ore to keep smelter
going practically all the year round.
Besides working the ores of this
section the Nevada Smelling Com
pany has secured contracts for the
reduction of many thousands of tons
of ore from Tonopah and the south
ern camps, and has also secured ex-
cellent rates from the railroad COM
pany on hauling ore in, the product
out, and also on fuel and other sup
plies.
Mr.. Thompson's company is now
negotiating for the purchase of the
old Boston-Nevada smelter across
the river from Yerington, which
would be the base for a larger and
better equipped plant. He states
that if the mine owners here will
not agree to furnish his company
with ore that the plant will be taken
out of this valley and placed at a
point on the railroad near Sodaville.
For years past the TIMES has been
advocating the erection of custom
smelter here. 1t would give the
place a great boom and would be a
paying institution on Legitimate
business lines. Now that the oppor
tunity is here will the mine owners
accept it? Under present conditions
not one copper claim owner in
twenty has ore of sufficient high
grade and quantity to ship to any of
the smelters on the coast or in Utah,
while all could produce few tons
of ore month which would pay to
reduce under the conditions offered
by Mr.. Thompson's company.
AS things now stand the owners
of copper claims must content them
selves with simply holding on to
their claims in the hope that some
one will come along and buy them
some day. With no development
work done on them a small figure
is all they can expect to get for
them. With smelter close at hand
and fair price only charged for
working the ores, they could obtain
from the ore taken from their claims
sufficient revenue to continue work
on their claims. This work would
in many instances, doubtless, open
up their claims so that they would
attract the attention of buyers, and
in case of sale, the properties
would bring ten times the amount
that could be asked for them as they
now stand.
1t is understood that Mr.. Thomp
son leaves today, but whether he
has decided to do business here is
not known If he has not, it seems
to US that his proposition is one that
should be given immediate consid.
Grafton, by the business men as well
as mine owners. Let US get that
comnanY to do business here.