Arizona republican., 1906-10-01
WILL SINK DEEPER
 AT THE RELIEF MINE
Shortage of Water the Only Hind
 rance to Large Operations.

Il Schuyler =. Moore, secretary of the Relief Gold Mining company, returned | yesterday from a few days visit at the
 mine and left last night for his home
 in New York.
 MT. Moore expressed himself as well
 pleased with conditions at the prop
 erty. though at a mine. like any other business enterprise. it is seldom that everything is perfect. The mill is run
 ming twelve hours daily and earning
 about S1OO a day, more than meeting ! the expense of mining and the devel-
 opment in progress. The only trouble is the shortage of water, for if there
 were an ample supply the mill would run constantly night and day, doubling the product with less than double the expense, hence more profit propor- | tionately.
 ] The water question is by no means discouraging, but only irritating. and will involve a little more expense or investment. Incidentally it is rather q unique and fncomprehensible situation. l There is nothing particularly new about it, for the conditions are just as ] they have been for some months past, { the mill having been handicapped by 1 lack of water ever since last spring. ] The water supply is at the lower ] level of the mine, which is operated through an incline shaft about 500 feet i deep. New river runs by the property a few miles to the east, and the Agua Fria a few miles to the west. When the shaft was first sunk the camp supply of water was hauled. the shaft being dry. Superintendent Hamlin figured from the geology of the coun' try that he could get a good supply of water by going deep enough. At the depth of 200 and 300 feet he ran into good ore bodies. and all the stOping ground now opened up is on these levels. but he continued sinking in the search for water. He finally struck IL at 300 feet or a little below, and con- tfnued another 200 feet or more to de- velop a good supply and was entirely successful. He opened up a capacious reservoir in the bottom and thought he had an everlasting supply of good water for it was during the unpreca- dented drouth of a few years ago, when every mountain stream went dry Strange as it may seem, after the big rains of a year ago the water supply began to shrink, and last spring he decided that it must be caused by the caving in of his reservoir. the rocks stopping up the water veins. So ho pumped out the water and found this to be partially true Then he tim bered it up little to prevent further caving. and hoped that all would be we'll It is. except that there is only water to run the mill half the time + has been decided now to sink the shaft deeper. keep going until there ia an ample supply. for it can hardly be doubted that plenty of it will be de veloped with depth. It is believed thar months work in sinking ought ["
 Nf more time will be taken. In the mean time the mill will be kept running. for the plant includes a sufficient tankags tO hold all the water available, and the shaft is equipped with good pumps.
 The ore now being worked is from the 2OO-foot level and runs from SS to s1O a ton. This level is opened up for about GOO feet from the shaft and iS connected with the surface by two air- shafts. one about 3T5 feet from the main shaft and the other a couple or hundred feet further. The 30O-foot level is opened up between 400 and 500 feet and is connected with the level above by a winze. so the mine has eX- ceIlent ventilation. StopinE is now be- ing done on a nine-foOt ledge of ore that runs from S1O to SIP. and that was encountered in sinking the winze between the two levels. This develop ment and stopiug will continue while the sinking Is going on
 Altogether. the property is doing well. is more than elf-sustaining, and once a good water supply can be per manently established the mine will be- ! gin paying dividends. for not only will the present output be doubled with the same machinery. but the mill will un- dOubtedly be enlarged
 
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