Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-09-22
AMONG THE MINERS
Devoted to the Large and Small News of the Timing
i Camps Of Fergus County. - -

goeoloasDaeasua ...ssf
on as a curse BY the old.time min
ers ana bankers and was segregated
with difficulty from the gold and
thrown away as useless. After the
placer mining excitement began tc
wane, some assayer took the opportun
lty to make an assay of this black
sand. The result showed that it car
ried gold in paying quantities; that
1t was richer than the richest of con
centrates. The Bannack dredges were
the first to begin saving this black
sand Systematically and they shipped
1t to the shelters, often getting as
nigh as $400 per ton for it. Now some
OF the black sand thus thrown away
is being recovered where they have
dredges, but in every other placer To-
cality 1t is mixed with the tailings
and sand powders which came through
the sluice boxes and Is lost forever
and Joined the other countless thous.
ands Of dollars which were allowed
to go down the creeks by the early
day miners of Montana" Anaconda
Standard.
More than $15.O0O,0O0 of gold froul
the Alaskan and Klondyke fields has
already been deposited in the United
States treasury this season. and, bas-
ed in the output of prior years, it is
probable that some 100000 or S.
100000 additional will be received
before the close of navigation, says
the Mining World. The total receipts
OF the previous summer were $4,000
900, in round numbers, and this years
aggregate will probably exceed that
sum by 100000 or 100000. Up
to September 1, $13.000,00O Of this sea-
sons cleanup had been deposited at
the Seattle assay office, whence It will
be sent to the Philadelphia mint for
coinage, and $15,O00,OOO was deposit.
ed at the San Francisco mint for coin
age there. The coinage of that mint
last month was exclusively gold, of the
value of $9,0O0,O0O. Nearly all of
this has gone into cvirculation through
the issuance of gold certificates, and
the new Alaskan gold, as fast as it is
coined by the Philadelphia mint, will
be treated in a like manner. The
amount of gold certificates now out
standing is $522,984,969, being an in.
crease Of nearly $8,O00,000 within the
last month. OF silver certificates
$472, 100000 are outstanding, show.
ing a similar increase in the same
period.
The ore shipments from Tonopah
for the month of August amounted 10
1854 tons, contributed by the follow
ing mines: Tonopah Mining COM
pany, $3.50 tons; Tonopah Extension,
1,455 tons; Montana-Tonopah, 59S
tons; Tonopah Belmont, 43O tons;
Tonopah Midway, 1874 tons; North
Star, $50 tons; the balance was made
up by Goldfield mines, 43O tons; Lone
Mountain, 80 tons; Reveille, Al tons;
Gold Mountain, 81 tons. The greatest
increase is in Tonopah Extension ship
ments, which next month will be ev.
en- greater, as it is now sending out
from 20 to 100 tons daily. The North
Star is a new shipper and the West
End and Jim Butler should commence
shipments this month. The develop.
ment in the big Tonopah mines is
highly satisfactory, the Mizpah vein
on the 6OO-foot level, where it has
been proved by wines and also by a
cross-cut on that level from the Miz-
pah shaft. The Tonopah Extension
on the 9Th inst. declared a dividend
of ten cents share, 100000, pay
able on October 1, this being the Sec
ond quarterly dividend, the first of
five cents having been paid July 1. On
On that date the management of the
property was taken over byb the DON
aid B. Gillies, late of the Montana
Ionopah, who since then has not on
ly doubled the dividend, but doubled
the output. In addition to this, large
sums have been expended on the sur.
face improvements. including a two
story stone Office building and resi-.
dence, a 32-gallon cement tank for
crude oil, large warehouse and new
ore bins are now being constructed
The mine is looking we'll, especially
In the west drift on the 5OO.foot lev
Ell. The shaft is now being sunk from
the 500-fOot level, an Underground com.
pressed air hoist having been install.
ed.
Filtration through cloth is no doubt
one of the most efficient methods of
saving fume and very fine dust in
metallurgical practice. At the Globe
smelling and refining works, at Den.
yer, Colo, the cost of attending a bag
house, collecting the fume, etc., is
about ten cents per ton of ore smelted.
At smaller plants the cost will average
about rs. cents per ton of ore treated.
The bags are simply tubes of cotton
or wollen cloth, 10 to 20 inches in di.
ameter. and 20 to 35 feet in length,
usually about 80 feet.
The amount of ammonia required to
protect potassium cyanide solution
from dissolving large quantities of
the cyanide solution, but is not affect.
ed by the amount of copper up to 3
per cent. With more than per cent
copper, a large amount of ammonia
is necessary to obtain a good extrac.
ton of gold. With ores containing
from 1.5 to per cent copper, and
with OPS per cent solution of pot
assium cyanide. the best extraction
is effected in the presence of Of per
cent of ammonia.