Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-05-25
0NAMONG THE MINERS |
- III LATEST NEWS FROM THE TIMING CAMPS OF
ysI\ II FERGUS COUNTY AND ELSEWHERE. = =

siaaa',aa'u,. a'aas, s,,', 'a'>sA
The announcement that the New
house tunnel will be extended Is of
considerable interest to the numerous
other tunnel enterprises in the Clear
creek country, some of which give
promise of being profitable and i'm
portant in the development of the re-
sources of that section. The New
house tunnel is the pioneer of the tun-
mel enterprises. the number of which
is now legion, and although it has not
at the present time more than enter
ed the rich territory for which it was
intended, it has been profitable as a
transportation enterprise. says the
Mining World. The extension will
take the tunnel through the exceed
ingly rich district in which the veins
have been proven to carry profitable
values at depths sufficient to justify
the expectation that the tunnel will
open up profitable territory through the
whole of the extended course. At the
far end of the tunnel in Quartz hill
there is the famous New California
shaft which is $3.50 feet deep, the
deepest shaft in Colorado except the
Geyser shaft in Silver Cliff. This shaft
was in rich ore at the bottom and was
abandoned because the shaft followed
the crooked vein and the expense of
hosting ore and water was very great.
The bottom of this shaft is somewhat
below the level of the tunnel. Be-
tween the present base of the tunnel
and this shaft is the important belt
of Gilpin county which includes a
number of very profitable gold lodes
and at one place series of zinc veins
which it is expected will yield con-
siderable zinc when they can be work
ed largely through the tunnel. The
extension of the Newhouse tunnel will
add greatly to the revenue producing
ability of this enterprise and at the
the output Of Gilpin county. It is i'm.
possible to estimate the amount of
ore which will be made available by
the extension of the Newhouse tunnel
but it is safe to say that it will rem.
der available as much more ore as has
already been taken out of the county
The water problem, which once was
a very serious handicap and incon
venience to mining in the Butte dis
trict. is solving ITSELF The big Butte
mountain, which several years ago
appeared to be as full of water as a
sponge, is being drained dry, and the
amount of water that is now pumped
out of the mines is infinitesimal in
comparison with what was pumped Out
some years ago. All of the Anaconda
mines are now being drained through
the Anaconda High Ore mine from
which 1000 gallons per minute ara
pumped where formerly five and 81,
times that quantity flowed from the
mines. The High Ore drains the Ana
conda, Bell and Diamond, Wake.Up
Jim, Never Sweat, st. Lawrence, Sun
nyside, Mountain Con-. Green Noun
tain and several other mines. Ever
the Ophir, Emma, Belmont and Pitts
burg, have only fraction of the guam
tity of water that they formerly hat
to contend with.
A project which has long been con
templated, but until the present time
was impracticable. owing to the low
price of copper, is now about to be ca"
ried out. 1t has been the opinion o
mining men for many years that thu
big mountain range east of Butte con
tains great veins of copper, and thu
truth of this belief is to be demonstrat
ed by new company formed for tn
purpose of driving long tunnel int
the mountain to intersect the variou
veins of copper traversing the range
The company is capitalized for $50
100000 and has already secured sixt
patented claims. The tunnel will b
driven 4,50O feet a. depth of $50
feet, which will do away with the e,
pense of pumping water and at tn
same time furnish supply for millin
purposes. The tunnel will be larg
one with main track and side track
and switches at reasonable distance:
The work will occupy between tw
and three years.
Never in the history of gold mimi
on the Rand, not even before the wal