The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-05-31
TWO GREAT MINES
OUT At BINGHAM
Eastern Writer Is 'AstOnished
at Size and Activity of
Copper Mines.
BOSTON con. AND
UTAH COPPER FACTS
Only Unsatisfactory Feature Is
the Present Very Poor
Railroad Service.

A no properties in the West is there
more activity or greater evidence of a
determination to get results than at the
Boston Consolidated and Utah Copper.
says Hayden, Stone and company. With,
out an actual visit to the porphyry
mines of these companies il is next to
impossible TO get any conception of the
tremendous scale on which they are laid
ont. At the Boston Consolidated four
giant steam shovels have already
gouged out an enormous cavity in the
crest Of the hill and have exposed a
good deal of orc Each of these shovels
has maximum capacity of 300 tons
and they are actually moving 5000 20
1000 tons daily. Five different levels
of railroad have been constructed on
the mountain side for dumping the over
burden and waste rock covering the ore
! When actual mining begins narrow
gauge railroad will take the ore in large
bins. from which in turn tie ore VIII
be loaded onto standard gauge cars and
taken 10 the mill The whole PROPOSE
tlon presents ideal conditions for mining
copper ore al minimum costs no hoist
ing, no water troubles, no expensive
. tlmbcrlng, no underground workings to
be kept open IT is no wonder that,
the officials are looking forward to the
lowest mining costs in the world, csti-
mating them at 40 cents per ton, to
which 27 cents must be added for trans
portation. The milling costs are reckon
cd at 40 cents ton, and the smelling
at %, making q total cost for the trent
ment of this porphyrY ore of l.32, To
be on the safe side we should increase
this by perhaps 30 per cent, and call II
in round figures So ton. Even at this
the total cost should not be over nine
cents per pound
The suIphide mine of the Boston Con
soIidated is on the opposite side of the
a much larger affair than the writer
expected TO find. On account OF the
inability of the smelters in the neigh
borhood 10 treat all the ore and the
INADEQUATE supply of cars, The ship
ments have been very irregular. but
average perhaps 500 tons a day. When
affairs are thoroughly Strengthened out,
il is expected that the output will be
maintained steadily st T50 tons day.
and the mines are in such condition
that this could be increased TO 1000
if it is desired The cost of extraction
here is surprisingly low, the ore being
carried down from one level TO another
and taken out by tunnels, thus avoiding
the expense of raising. 1t is safe to
mine al not over 9 cents pound.
The Utah Copper company is but
little behind the Boston Consoudated IN
the matter of mining expense. 1t has
three steam shovels at work uncovering
the porphyry ore. and in addition to
this has its tremendous underground
mine, which IL has opened up by
main tunnel with lateral tunnels radiat-
ing from il. II will use the csving
system in extracting its ore and the
total cost FOR the same should not eX-
ceed 60 cents n ton. The mills OF the
two companies in Garfield arc built on
scale beftting the size Of the mines.
The mill of the Utah Copper company is
twice as large as that of the Boston
Consolidated and is considerably far
ther advanced II is in two units Of
1000 tons each both units being con.
structed in six independent sections of
500 tons capacity Practically all the
machinery is installed and two or three
of the sections arc Just about ready to
idated mill will probably not he ready
until October lst, ss The superstructure
is only partially completed and none of
the machinery has vet beer put IN place.
II will, however have the advantage Of
the Utah Copper company S experience
and its cost of treating the ore should
be even less than that of the latter
these companies are as far as is possible
making up for time lost by lack of
labor aud materials and offer every
prospect of successful operation. There
is, however, one weak feature in The
situation, and that is the railroad con
Meeting the mines and mills This is
a single-track affair about p miles IN
length, of which six miles winds around
the steep mountain sides and Will make
transportation very tedious and eXpcu-
sive. The road moreover, Will not bc
operated by the companies, but by the
Rio Grandc Western n not altogether
efficient system. The Utah Copper com
pany bas already had trouble in procur
ing enough cars to do the little shipping
that has already been done, and we pre-
dict that the companies will have diff
Guilty in moving 10 per cent of the ION
mage which the capacity IF the mills
Will call for. 1t is doubtful If this
point will he satisfactorily worked out
until separate independent line is
built. This transportation problem
largely nulliiies the advantage which the
Uaah Copper company would otherwise
have over the Boston Consolidated in
having a mill twice the size of the
latter and, indeed, for the first wear
or two il is probable that The advantage
will rest with the Boston Consolidated,
through its possession Of Il sulphide
than 81 100000 annually.
When both properties are operating
on the largest scale which the made
qunac transportation will permit, say BY
the first of next January, we figure
that the Boston Consolidated should be
handling easily 2500 tons of porphyry
Gre per day, with a resultant net profit
on twenty-cent copper ot $4,000, 900.
This, should be borne in mind. is not
merely random guess, bur IS based
on actual operations of the experimental
MILLS Of both companies. rl this should
be added the net earnings frcm the s.!
phide mine Of S1,250,0oO, giving total
OF S3,450000, equivalent, say, TO s.. IN
per share. The Utah Cooper company s
mill, as stated above, wil have
capacity, when completed, of 600O tons
Gaily. but if the company can secure
two thirds Of this it may consider itself
fortunate. If to this is added the
capacity Of the experimental plant, 1000
tons daily. we may figure on rotai
treatment of 5000 tons, the output from