Tonopah bonanza. [volume] (Butler City [i.e. Butler], Nev.) 1901-1909, 1905-09-30
THE GKEAT
It's Mines win BE Unwatered
by Electricity.

Comstock mine romance IS beng en-
acted today under conditions OF SUI
preme interest to the world. 1t is
typical Of the changes which have
converted gold mining from ventures
Of luck and uncertainty into scien-
ti6c industrial investments, What
science ten and twenty years ago
could not accomplish, the electrical
engineer is slowly but surely doing
today, and the priceless wealth Of
the great Comstock lode will be de-
livered from lbs subterranean beds
three and five thousand feet below
the earth's surface, to be added to
the worlds store Of gold,
The great lode known as the Com
stock runs north and south, and is a
little over four miles in width. 1T
extends down to unknown depths,
even to five thousand feet under the
very city of Virginia.
BY Harvesting the Truckee river
nearly thirty-five miles away, and
carrying a large current Of electrical
power into the mines, the engineers
have practically solved the problem
Of unwatering the Comstock mines
and Of reducing the temperature OF
the lower levels so that miners can
work comfortably two or three thou
sand feet below the famous Sutro
tunnel. In all these years OF practi-
cal abandonment Of the mines, engi-
neers have persistently tried one
scheme after another to reach the
hidden wealth, and great fortunes
have been sunk ia the mines by en-
gineers and capitalists. The efforts
appeared justified, however, in view
of the known wealth that existed be-
low the working levels. In 1876 the
Consolidated Virginia-the name APP
piled to about half Of the southern
mines OF the Comstock lode-pro-
duced 142, 600 tons of ore, which
yielded SIG, 600, 600 worth of gold and
from 1872 to 1879, the California. or
northern group of mining claims,
yielded upward Of sos, 900. 600 worth
of gold.
-Four years of electrical pumping
demonstrated the possibilities of m-
watering the mines proftably il
power could be obtained at cheaper
rates. Thirty two mining companies
owning the central group Of claims
associated themselves together under
the name Of ''The Comstock Pump
ing Association, and entered into an
agreement to take 5000 horse power
for mine uses at a rate of 81. 80 per
horse power per month. The power
company Immediately proceeded to
construct a second electric general
ing station on the Truckee river un.
der a head Of 14l feet, and transmit
the electrical energy direct to the
mines. The power thus obtained
from the river will be used for mine
pumping, hosting and ventilating.
The first two new pumps to be in
stalled are electrically driven by 800
horse power slow induction motors,
and each one will have a lifting
capacity Of 1900 gallons of water per
minnie against a pressure equiva.
lent to a height of 1900 feet. Thus
mining will be extended down to the
5000 level, or 1900 feet below the
Sutro tunnel at once. AS the work
progresses new pumps will be in.
stalled at lower levels, and the com
plete unwatering Of the mines is an.
ticipated. Cold air will be forced by
electric fans to the lowest levels, and
then through the various shafts at
different levels the ventilation will
be made complete. The excessive
heat Of the low levels and the great
saturation from hot water will lose
their terrors under the new engineer
ing enterprise, and the engineers
promise definitely to the stockholders
that they will be able TO reach depths
from four to five thousand feet below
the surface.
This awakening Of the Comstock
is no mere prediction, but an exact
scientific, or rather engineering fact,
and the mineral deposits Of the rug
ged slope Of Mount Davidson will be
torn from their beds in spite Of IA.
lures most persistent efforts to con
ceal them. Modern science has con.
quered in the long run, but not until