The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1906-03-13
GU TER COUNTY.
REPORT of Mine Inspector Bell
for the year 1905.
MACKAY DISTRICT.

WHITE KNOB. -Ihe w n G
Knob copper mine, at Mackay,
experienced one Of the most in
teresting years Of its checkered
career during 1905.
This property was originally
developed by Wayne Darlington,
ex- State Engineer of Idaho, who
did some extensive exploration
work on the immense bodies of
low grade ore that the property
carries and opened up big re
source of copper carbonate and
oxide mineral near the surface.
He built a 50-ton smelter and
made several test runs of the ore
from different parts of the prop
erty, producing total of some
thing like 10000 pounds of base
copper bullion by direct smelt
ing.
This demonstration of handling
the low grade ore of this mine
was so successful that it's extern
sive equipment with a 600-ton
smelter was undertaken and
about half completed when one
of the principal hackers of the
enterprise died and the control
of the property passed into the
hands of Others who we're antag
onistic to Mr.. Darlington's plans.
This resulted in the manage
ment being turned over to other
people who changed his plan
design of the big smelter, trans
forming it into matte plant,
which, in the hands of number
of high-priced operators, proved
unsuccessful from lack of suffi-
Gent sulphur in the ore to make
matte and save the values, with
the result that last spring the
property was turned over to a
practical operator from Califor-
MIA, Frank Leland, who instruct,
ed to junk the plant and wind uI
the affairs of the company.
Mr.. Leland found severa
Thousand tons of low grade ore
on hand, and thought he coulc
, make a success of smelling it
He sold off all the superfuou'
supplies and equipments, put thu
company's assayer in charge 0
: one of the furnaces at the smell
ter and put the mine into tn,
hands of some intelligent leas
ors, who went to mining on tn
best ore and sweetened up tn
values of the mineral he had Oh
= hand, with the result that one o
! the big furnaces was kept run
Q ming for several months and sue
n cessfully handled the materia
i on hand, producing twenty. fv
: carload shipments of high grad
d gold and silver bearing cope
n matte, and Stag result containing
4 considerably less than one-hal
:; of 1 per cent copper. The SINE
:" ter was shut doWn late in til
4 fall and the leasing system &
:, mine extended under what
If known as the Macbeth Lease. :
Under the leasing system til
: mines are now furnishing en-
a ployment for about one hundre
men, and recent reports sho
5, that they are putting out ore
far better grade than was eve
before produced from the min'
/, land the prospect seems brigl
at this date for the White Knc
s to become a profitable source
copper bullion after all its vici
= STUDIES.
The White Knob ore deposi
! occur at contact between lin
= stone and porphyritic granite,
! rather between an immense boo
: of garnet rock, mixed with 9th
J contact metamorphic minera
le and the everything limestone.
J, The ore occurs in big, irreg
Is lar shaped bodies so feet wide
be 100 feet in length in some insta
U. ces. It has continued in lara
Ia ly oxidized and carbonated co
=, 49, dition to a depth 700 feet belC