Bisbee daily review., 1905-05-07
OLD DOMINION.

OLD DOMINION.
 Thefoliowing are the salient points in the report of l.. D. Ricketts, tha manager of Old Dominion:
 In the mines the new shaft has been sunk from the tenth to the twelfth level station, and crosscut from the new shaft on the third, fifth, eighth and twelfth levels have been completed. Owing to the search for and extraction Of the exceedingly rich ores throughout the ore-bearing ground tor the past twenty years, serious creeping has resulted, and Ie was found that the cost of mainte- nance of the extraction drifts on the various levels had become tremend. ous, owing to the settling of the ground and the cost of operation through these drifts was excessive owing to the local adverse grades. It was therefore imperative to open us new extraction drifts in the footwaH where no crushing and settling need be feared, where little timbering is required and cost of maintenance is light
 Since March 1st in spite of the ex. traordinary amount of this class of work, the expense has all beea charged to mining. Cost of instati- 1 ing pumps and other underground machinery has been charged to con struction.
 During the past year the shaft was ! sunk e4g feet to a depth of $40 1-2 feet. Fffty-eight hundred sixty-three feet of drifts and upraises were made as against 2,692 in 1909.
 Not including salaries and Eastern expenses, the cost of mining in 1904 | per ton in 1903. In 1903 $1.37 per ] ton for development work was charg- !. was s6.716 per ton as against s7.72o I per ton in 1903. In 1903 $1.37 per ton for development work was charged against cost, while in 1904, SS cents was so charged.
 Although the rich sulphide stopes on the eleventh and twelfth levels weie nearly exhausted in 1903 and 1904, and althought the company has not so far been able to open up the same class of ore known to exist further to the east, yet the ore re- serves in the mine are greater at the close of the year than at any time during the year.
 The chief development of the new ore has been in the extension of the known quartz ore body on the sixth level An important body of quartz | ore has also been opened on the eighth level, and perhaps the most | important discoveries of all have been very considerable bodies on the tenth, ! eleventh and twelfth levels.
 The old shelter was closed down | August 18th, and the new smelter was started September 26th, and no i production was made for forty-tws days. The net production of fine copper was 15.36S,147 pounds, as against 7,479.721 pounds in 1903. A total of 111,345 tons of ore was treat ed as against 57.210 tons in 1903 Of l this tonnage 35,000 tons in 1904 were custom ore against 1,444 tons in 1909.
 Smelling costs for the past two years have been:
 1904. 1903. Per ton of ore S3.93 s4.5s Per ton of charge copper 3.06 SIP
 The cost of operation of charge [ and there is reason to hope that be- fore the season of 1905 closes this cost can be reduced further. The | average contents in the slag in 1901 were 0.4S per cent as against 1.63 per cent in 1903.
 The estimated percentage of copper contained in the ores from the Old Dominion and the percentage of cop per saved per ton of mine ore smelt- ed have been:
 | Gross copper contents, 1904, T.19 | per cent; 1903, TIC per cent. 1 Copper saved in bullion. 1904. 6.4t | per cent: 1909, 6.54 per cent. ! The flue dust has not been utilized, but it has been preserved and wiH be briquetted and smelted in 1905. The company accumulated about 7,00s tons of dust in 1904, which averaged about per cent copper and will yield about 430 tons of refined copper when smelted. It is not carried as an asset, and aside from cost of treat ment, about 4 3-4 cents per pound, the proceeds from the treating will be clear profit. The total cost of converting copper for the year was O.6S cents per pound, or $13.60 per ton.
 During 1904 the total cost of cop per, including copper from custom ore and sulphides,. was HIS cents New York, deducting silver and gold value ! -o-
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