The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-04-19
MADE
IN ZINC MINING
DISTRICT NEXT IN
IMPORTANCE TO JoPLIN's.
Farmer owner First Obtained Easy
Spending Money Then the Local
Capitalist Made Competency and
Now the Outsider Is on the Ground
Floor-surprising Activity Around
Platteville.

Special to The Journal.
Platteyille, Wis. April 19.--Citizens of Grant
Lafayette and iowa counties have recently
awakened to the knowledge that theysare living
in the center Of what is undoubtedly, with one
possible exception, the greatest zinc mining
district in the world. For many years there
| has been more or less lead and zinc mining
here, but it has been done in small way
barren spot Of land would sink hole few
| feet in the ground take out carload or two OF i
reproducing earth, ship 1t to smelter and
accept the few dollars he received in return
as easy spending money, The thought Of
going into the business as business did not
occur to the men who understood only the
Then came the Joplin discovery and after several
years someone with capital and more en-
| terprise decided to see If southwestern Wiscon-
not ha the eauf Q, smart
sunk, a vein was struck and fortune was
| in sight.
| Thus the small capitalist of this part of the
state made the experiment. Some of them re-
| NAMED to reap the benefit, but many OF them
have been satisfied to let the outsider come in
on the first ground moor themselves retlrlns
While this is true in many cases, there are
yet hundreds of farmers who absolutely refuse
to let their land be Disturbed by mining opera.
| to rest with the knowledge that vast wealth Is
under the rich soil, and that some day perhaps
their children will profit by it.. In hundreds
Of other cases the farmers taking out the
ore in the primitive methods and at such In
| teryals as they may have need Of the cash.
1t is like bank to this class Of farmers
Examples Of Zinc Mines.
On the actual legitimate modern mining side
Of the question there have been rapid develop
ments. The most prominent examples are 70 pc
| found in the Empire and Enterprise minesS both
of which near this city and are operated
by stock companies. Empire shares are $lOV
par. but there is not a share Tor sale altno
| cho OfRpF00 within
a week The company declared dividends amount
ing to $50 in February and March OF this year,
and has paid back to stockholders Us Tor every
dollar invested besides expending about $125,OOO
in permanent improvements and having its orig
inai capital unimpaired and nice cash sur
plus. The Enterprise mine Is almost as 5000
q having proposition and is SO we'll thought
of that investors and spectators have long
since given up hope Of getting any of the stock.
These two and most of the others that are
making these fabulous returns are well-developed
zinc mines They have passed the experimental
stage and have ore enough in sight to run
twenty five years. There are others that are
lint for every vein of lead In this field there
is believed to be a vein OF zinc, and 1t IS
usually larger vein and more easily WORKED
| The zinc comes below the lead. This fact was
not known to the early miners and the result
Is that some of the most promising OF the
mines today are abandoned lead mines note
worthy example of this Kind is the Sally Water
mine near Dodgevlle. The lead was worked
out some years ago and the mine was aban-
doned. More recently it was taken up by some
!, practical men who showed the Galena Iron
Works Of Galena ILL.,. that 1t was valuable
enough to advance $4,000. The Galena COM
pany installed machinery for working the mine
and operations were we'll under way when the
Galena company became suspicious OF Its debtors
and foreclosed taking over the machinery ana
workings at the subsequent sale to protect Its
debt Recently deal was closed by which this
was transferred to the Standard Lead & Zinc
Smelling & Mining company. The company has
ample resources and a new Empire or Enterprise
is prophesied. s ii 4idg g.aaui
,a. I zine ore, FORMATIONS.
The earth, formation about the Sally Water
is almost identical with those about the. others
and other districts in the fact that there are
r series Of fats and pitches from 80 to $50 feet
in some % foa
. west Other zinc fields show the deposits t
be in pockets chimneys, and when one pocke'
is exhausted there is nothing to direct ta@
: miner to another. In the Wisconsin district
} If the ore "pinches out" the drift Is driver
. east and west and If necessary short cross -cut'
{ are made north and south. This usually strikes
The deal for the Sally Water was closed II
Galena Monday. the purchase price being abou
$40, 900, including the machinery, all building
are desired The new owner will begin opera
ton at once. 1t is the intention to- enlarge tn
company or form a new one Tor the WORKING
of, this mine exclusively.
The Davidor Promoting company, also a Nil
waukec concern, is going into the zinc MINING
= on a large scale near Hazel Green. The. com
2 pany controls several valuable claims there.
Q The Jefferson mine at Hazel Green, owned b.
o GAINESVILLE men. has just put In one Of the bes
- pumping plants in, the district This compan
has proved it's property by the use Of the dia
mond drill, and has found valuable ore deposits
i The sinking Of a shaft which is already dow
1117 feet, is no experiment.
The Dahl mine near here has established
rooster. and it's stock is booming. At pa
value Of 81 a block OF, 500 shares was sol
this week. at So, and 1t is now held at $35
share.
The Cardiff Coal company of Chicago is sinh
ing shaft on its property near Petosi.
The Trego mine Is In operation and give
promise from the early ore produced Of becon
ing the greatest zinc producer In the Unite
States.
The Empire and Enterprise are each shipp1n
about twenty five tons Of ore a day. Abot
half Of it is lead. ~ 2