The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-01-30
Yice-President Wall Writes a
Letter to President Mac
Neill About Matter.
TROUBLE CLAIMED DUE
TO MISMANAGEMENT
Thousands of Dollars Going
Down Creek Which Change
Would Save.

| Nlcc-President f. A. Wall of tho Utsh
Copper company has addressed n letter
to the president OF that company c. NJ
MacNeill, 10 regard to the management OF
the Utah Copper company under the con-
troll of General Manager D. C. Jackline
Tho letter sets forth the several suGges-
tIons by which Col Wall would both in
crease the percentage OF metal saved
| from the ore as well in0ugurate new
methods OF mining the property. and II Is
practically explanatory. 1t reads as
| follows
Charles NJ. MacNcul President Utah Cop
Per Company. care Guggenheim Exploration
Company, New york-My Dear Sir;--In Wow
Of your early departure and probable extend
ed absence abroad. haye thought II most ex-
pedien; 10 urge upon you before you go the
| Importance OF ordering a radical change In
! inc methods in use both In tho mining and
concentration Of our ores. That results have
not boon what we Ind every reason TO hope
for, oil freely admit. and doubtless no one
| regrets more than yourself but that in
telig"nt effort should thus far have been
| made to remedy or cure the evils from which
We sufier seems inexcusablc
Having encouraged our friends and tho pub
| lie to purchase OF our sharoe OF ever -lncreas-
Ing prices 1 Insist that the dogmatic deter
| minnton OF our general manager TO persist
In runous methods rather than confess a lack
| received any training, ought not longer be
| permitted TO deprive our stockholders and
| ourselves OF the benefits OF Intelligent modern
skill and modern methods in the operation OF
| our mine and the treatment OF its incxhausti-
| bic bodies
! We have allowed the statement TO go abroad
| that there Is exposed In our property. twenty.
forty. even q hundred million OF tonS OF ore.
| tho ores OF the Lake Superior mines which
! alone have supplied large portion OF the
worlds demand for copper during ths last
| tory yearS, and We have truthfully said that
| because OF our exceptional facilities for cheap
mining the extremely soft and friable nature
| ol our ores and the freedom with which Its
Values Yield 10 simple methods OF concentra-
| ton. wo con produce copper at lower rates
OF cost than any Of the great mines of that
| favored region. And all this Is true but
what OF results5 And why have our reason
able expectations failed OF rcslzaton7
/ IL Is useless 10 say that our mill ls only ex-
| Ierimental or that II is too small 10 Insure
toms dnily capacity should be operated al
practically as low rate Of cost per ton OF ore
treated as II 1t We're OF lvo times thot capac-
ity The difficulty lies deeper; 1t Ia runda-
been urged upon yourself and your manager
from the hrst. his inscnSste arrogance
by sudden unexpected and uncarned wealthy
you'd not permit him to change his system
lest MS total Ignorance OF even the ruaimcnts
OF the work In hand should thereby lie be-
Up 10 this date nearly 400 OCo tons Of valua-
bic ores have bccn ground into impalpabIe
Hour by the JaoklIng Chill mills. and ibe 20.
s'utlnS pulp treated and rctrcatcd by every
conceivable device, until every grain OF the
Shiny mass should have become as familiar 10
the attendance operator as household words
and until In absolute despair the rcbclIous
with It a quantity Of mineral equal in value
TO more than two and one-hnlf times the net
prcit recovered
Nr. JacklinE admits loss OF fourteen
I"Gnds OF FREQ copper per ton IN tho tails but
II Is more nearly twenty pounds, Eighty per
cent OF this, or eleven pounds II properly
ctNshcd could be easily recovered which
With included gold and silver. would add 81
per ton or 25D per cent to our net profits
We have in use In our mill an aSeouo.A
n9nleeG OF the best type OF standard machines
sdapted 10 tho concentration of our ores ami
HnEr
than average care and ability and vet resnl,s
have continued from the 'nrst most dlsappolnt.
than the day We INST began nearly two wears
ago, Eut notwithstanding this fact our
manager several months ago declared s.hIs
fNsten, complete in overy detail and there.
upon began th9 construction Of our new con
Ion plant. fashioned upon the same lines ami
embracing all the Objectionable and dcs,r1ioI
tive features OF tho old mill
Having so often impressed upon YOU the foot
that failure obtain higher rccoye1es Is t%S Smo
solely To the Jachling method OF crushing or
rather grinding, have hcsItatcd In urging
tho matter upon you further, but the meRni
tude of personal interest involved not nor
than the interests OF our stockholders In gon
eral. lmpeIs mo not only to Insist thnt ~.
Jackling grinding mills. but the Jackline nm
aGement be forthwith and forever dispensed
with. h''S'
These mills as you aware. were pur
chased from the scrap hoaps' OF the Washos |
conoentrutor at Anaconda, Mont where they
mad been discarded and thrown out after hc
Ing subjected TO exhaustive test unon tbo |
work OF that great plant. and found ahsoIutci,,
un!lttcd for the duty required which In n,'! |
respect Gimiar to our own All ~ ,rsIlS |
facts together with full explanation OF Tho |
cause Of failure tthe excessive production OF |
refractory slums) was furnished by tho noIu |
supernten lent and published In the New w. |
Engineering end Mining Journal at the tims
some Tour years ago. as motto OF warning 10 |
others having similar problems to solve. hny |
our manager Is not that takes notIca |
OF the opinions or experience of others. but II |
docs seem 10 DC that twenty months OF fruit |
less cnort should at least be sufficient TO iusii
fy one nttlc trial OF the old and tried mctbo,is
In use In every succesSful concentrating niant
on the globe, rather than longer cling 10 a
hobby condemned by every Intelligent authori
~ on the subject. and long since dIscordcd h,.
every successful operator. -
But there are other serious objections to ~
use OF these mils Because Of the extreme nno-
ness OF the resulting pulp. the number OF con.
machines necessary 10 effect nn,.
degree OF saving 10 multiplied at least throe
nature OF the machines required the nunhor
and cost OF attendants Is increased in III
.i pr ropo,t'on ana mus together with other incl
dental evils. tho multiplication OF elevators
and slime pumpe. our milling costs are suotiaS
TO four times any sum required TO operate n |
plant or Hike capacity constructed upon IIncs
Of ordinary practice. 'eS
For Instance. the Bunker Hin and Sullivan
mill at Wumcr Ida. crushing with roIis nm nn
huntington mills and treating ores much ,nnro
1lmeuit TO crush than ours. and subjeotinp
elaborate and expensive than ours sbomI5 ~
show a total average for 1906 oT n,ne'
teen and four-tenths cents Der ton % o hine @
oared 10 an approximate coat OF 81 nor ,on ~, |
the JacknR method ' W" "S
The mills OF tho lake region, covering n to
al daily capacity or probably 30 coo tons sbnn,
IN average cost OF about % cents per Ton |
The same machinery operating on our ores
WOULD show treble the crushing and doubls
,otcd at the opening OF this letter ''
But THIS Is not the only evil from which yo
ire suffering The Jackllng method OF nni,,m !
u Indeed II can he called a method) is quite
ls Questionable as his milling and tho ,Inno |
outlined for the future give no promise ~ p,'s t
)rovemcnt - "'-
system Of digging gouging which in
'olNes ths extraction of % per cent OF the ora |
rom drifts and short tunnols. tho oss of onn |
inf tho balance and the shoveling into wbnni |
'arrows and trudging TO chutes OF nil thai 10 |
occurred cnnnot be commended by tho nycrorS |
mining engineer OF today "e"
But we are promised that tho mining is soo,
o be done on Il scnlc and in n manner ,hS, |
vill startlc tho nntives with the wondors ~ |
Is conception y steam shovel IL now on tha | !
round and only awaits the cons,ructIon ~ |
omc thlrty-ocycn miles OF railroad whan Z, |
VII be plnccd In commission as tho a. |
unit OF this stupendous undertaking. The !
eccSsity for this machine is based upo, e ,h
nwarrtnted assumption that como nfty roo, )
n thickness OF tho surface "over-bnrd.nS
must DO stripped or. hauled away and dumne,