Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-01-30
NEW YORK EQUATIONS.

our manager Is not man that takes
notice OF the opinions or experience OF
others; but u does seem to me that 20
months of fruitless effort should at
least be sufficient to justify one little
trial OF the old and tried methods In
use In every successful concentrating
plant on the globe. rather than longer
cdng to n hobby condemned by every
intelligent authority on the subject, and
long since discarded by every successful
operator.
But there are other serious objections
to the use of these mills. Because OF
the extreme hneness OF the resulting
pulp, the number OF concentrating ma
chimes necessary TO effect any degree of
saving Is multiplied al least three-fod;
and then, because of the more delicate
nature OF the machines required, the
number and cost OF attendants IL In
creased In like proportion, and thus to-
gether with other incidental evils, the
multiplication OF elevators and slime
pumps, our milling cost are sweled 10
four times any sum required to operate
q plant OF like capacity constructed up
on lines OF ordinary practise.
For Instance the Bunker Hin and
Sullivan mill at Wardner. Ida, crushing
with rolls and Huntington mills. and
treating ores much more difficult to
crush than ours, and subjecting them
TO process of concentration much
more elaborate and expensive than ours
should be, show a total average cost
for 1905, of 1914 cents per ton, as COM
pared to an approximate cost of 81 per
ton by the Jackling method
The mills OF the lake region, covering
total daily capacity Of probably 81, 900
tens, show an average cost OF about %
- ton a.l.t..
operating on our ores would show treb-
lie the crushing and double the concern
trattng capacity, for reasons indicated
at the opening OF this letter.
Bur this Is not the only evil from
which we are suffering. The lacking
method of mining df indeed It can be
called a method) Is quite as objections
able as his milling, and the plans out
lined for the future give no promise of
Improvement.
A system OF digging or gouging which
Involves the extraction of 80 per cent OF
the ore from drifts and short tunnels,
the loss of one-half the balance and
the shoveling into wheelbarrows and
trudging to chutes of all that is secur-
ed cannot be commended by the aver
age mining engineer OF today.
NO USE FOR STEAM SHOVEL.
But we are promised that the mining
Is soon to be done on a sale and In
manner that will startle the natives,
with the wonders of it's conception. A
steam shovel Is now on the ground and
only awaits the construction of some 81
miles OF railroad, when II will be plac-
ed In commission as the first unit"
OF this stupendous undertaking. The
necessity for this machine Is based up
on the unwarranted assumption that
some 80 feet I'm thickness OF the surface
"oyer-burden" must be stripped off,
hauled away and dumped as
waste. But even II this stripping
were necessary. the expedlency of em-
ploying a steam shovel for the purpose
may well be questioned. But 1t is not
necessary. On the contrary, | have
proven by exhaustive tests that the
entire oyer-burden. with the exception
of occasional patches Of surface loan
and gravel. II properly mined, crushed
and treated, win yield as much OF profit
FER ton as the average net yield thus
far obtained by the Jackling system
from our best ores.
This fact understood and recognized
the entire problem of cheap mining
becomes at once simple The mill
hole" or glory hole" system of open
pit work employed In many less favor
able localities, would place our ores in
chutes adapted to delivery In mine or
railroad cars At less than 10 cents per
ton. as against q cost Of 81 TO sl.i5 per
ton at present.
Again, by this method, and assuming
one ton OF absolute waste for each two
tons OF workable ore mined Ga proper
ton far In excess Of the widest sug-
gestion), the combined moss could be
mined, mixed together bear the entire
burden OF transportation and construc-
ton and yet afford a saving Of more
than 80 cents per ton on each ton Of
workable ore. as against the cost by the
present method of digging
SHOULD MAKE $3.50.
Now ON the basis Of costs indicated,
and with proper methods of milling, we
should now be earning more than $3.50
per ton net profit upon each and every
ton OF ore treated, as against 10 cents
per ton by the present system, and
should therefore now have in our
treasury a net surplus OF more than
81 C000 0O, q sun more than sufficient TO
meet all necessary costs OF construction
and equipment of our new plant thus
avoiding the necessity OF the $1,000, goo
bond and stock issue with which our
property is burdened.
But this Is not ALL For several
weeks past the Rio Grande Western
Railroad company's engineers have
been and are still struggling with the
difficult problem Of Locating line
OF road from our mine to the proposed
new mlllsite. The total length Of the
llne must approximate 81 miles, the
grade is to be 2ia per cent and tariff
"a nor fan az Tpp 0Tf. gantq mana zoo
much perhaps, considering the length
of line md difficult construction, but
much higher than would have been
necessary had the mill been properly
located
For six years | had maintained con-
troll Of the lands and water which are
now to be made the basis Of our new
plant Adjoining and unOccuped Il an
ideal millstc upon a side hill which
would afford natuml facilities for hand
Ing our ores by gravity" throughout,
leaving ample dump for tailings This
would require raising the necessary
water about 100 feet higher than the
site now being improved. involving a
cost of about throe.teuths Of cent
per ton of ore treated but the railroad
could then reach the min upOn ma
tural grade for several miles provided
hy one Of the old Shore lines OF Lake
bonneville end about 40 feet vertically
higher than the bin floor Of the mill
as now projected.
MILLSITE A MISTAKE.
By reason OF tie peculiar contour OF
the intervening country a road con-
structed upon this higher llne would
be at least 10 or II miles shorter than
the line now projected, and nowhere
moro difficult OF construction. The
advantages Of being able 20 handle our
ores by gravity as against innumsrable
mechanical elevtors would result In
saving OF at least % cents upon each
ton Of ore, besides the avoidance OF in