The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-10
Bonanza of Desert Is Quietly
Adding Millions to the
Worlds Wealth.
HAS HAD IT'S SHARE
OF WILD-CATTERS
Interesting Details Given of a
Typical TOnopah Mine
in Action.


of 1900. 1t is now considered tn
metropolis of the desert. Substantial,
built, with water and power trans
nitted many miles. this settlement J,
now the center of the highest engi
neerine talent in Nevada It's mine
are we'll equipped and most of the uu
desirable characteristics Of the mining
camp are comparatively suppressed
Mills will soon be treating tonnae,
that will give the camp a period OF
remarkable prosperity, says the Min
ing snd Scientific Press.
In April of 1900, James l.. Butler
left Belmont to prospect in the district
south of the site of Tonopah near the
old camp of Southern Klondyke. Or
Mispah hill, he noticed the outcrops oi
the Burro veins, and took samples
These. like So many Of the rich out
crops OF Nevada. showed little to at
tract attention and were overlooked
for a time and then thrown away by
the assayer. Returning to Belmont
Butler broke off more specimens, which
he handed to T. l., Oddie, on the un
derstanding that the latter was to get
an interest in the find, If he got them
assayed. Oddie was then q LAWYER
in charge of the Stokes mine at Aus.
tin. The samples proved Surprisingly
rich. Butler and Oddie FASTENED TO the
discovery. 1t was in August that the
claims were located and two tons of
sorted ore were shipped while the loca-
tion work was being done This was
sold for 5000 and from that time the
mine has paid for it's own development.
During 1901, the mines were given over
TO lessces, who probably extracted about
100000. In 1902 the Tonopah Min
ing Company entered the field. At this
time the desert was covered by the
excited population of new mining
camp.
In the center of the town, rich ore
was struck in a shaft sunk in an un-
miueralized volcanic rock. Prospecto :
and promoters quickly took advantage
of the find Claims far away from
real discoveries were in demand Shafts
were sunk in many places, Some were
the honest investment of earnest men,
many were desperately forlorn hopes,
and still more were common swindles.
Rich ore was found at considerable
depth by sinking through the barren
andesite near The known producing
area, notably at the Montana Tonopah.
Desert Queen and Tonopah Extension
shafts. The geological features soon
became well understood and in 1903
the gambling element found another
field; the period of reckless and fever
Ish excitement was at an end.
Tonopah has all the appearance of a
mining town that depends upon the in
trinsIc value of its mines rather than
living on the ephemeral prosperity re-
sulting from wild speculation. The
hoatIng population, with all its unsa-
worry attendants, has come and gone.
and the mines are largely in the hands
OF companies that are exploiting them
with the help of the best engineering
talent. The town is situated in the
foothills, the monotony of the desert
being broken by the steep volcanic
buttes, The camp is a pleasant con
trast 10 The boisterous activity of Gold
heid, Tonopah has assumed proper
tions commensurate with its industry.
and IS now settling down TO work its
mines with the utmost economy that
the distressing conditions of the desert
will allow.
The Tonopah of Nevada and the Mon
tapa Tonopab are the principal com
panies operating in the camp and they
are now making every effort TO over
come the trying conditions, and. treat
their low-grade ores on a large and
economic scale. At the Montana Tono-
pah, high grade ore has been shipped
in sufficient quantities to pay the cost
OF development and the construction of
the mill, which is now nearing com
plction- No attempt has been made to
increase the production beyond this
point and the wisdom Of this policy is
self-evident. The cost of sorting.
freight and smelling last year was
1880 per ton, whereas it is estimated
that the ore will be milled at Tonopah
for So per ton. The shipping ore av-
erages $50 to $50 and is largely treated
by the smelters in California, where il
is used for fiuxing the highly basic
ores of Shasta county. For this purpose
1t is not altogether satisfactory The
quantity OF fine made by the samplers
and the high percentage of alumina arc
detrimental to blast-furnace work, the
former necessltatlng screening and bri.
quoting, while the latter thickens the
Stag and prevents an easy separation of
low-grade matter, Careful mill-tests
nave been made and "A mill is being
erected near the shaft. Water will cost
Sl per 1000 gallons and electric power
SO per h. p. per month.
q plant TO crush in two STAGES is
beng erected at the shaft immediately
below the steel ore-bins; this will con
slst OF one No. 5 and two No. 3 plra-
tory Gates crushers, which will break
the ore to u inch ring. From here the
ore will be elevated by belt conveyor
to the mill-bins. The ore will be crushed
In 4o-stamp mill TO IL mesh and it is
'HPNNhru iDb 10 LDD TONS VIII he
treated per "a hours This product is
TO be classified, the coarse material
passing to eight Wiley tables, while
the slime and fine, together with the
failing. from the Wiley tables go TO two
Dorr classifers, which precede the tnbc.
mills. The latter will grind the coarse
product to $50 mesh The re.gronnd
material then forms the overflow from
the Dorr machine and the whole pro.
duct will pass TO two large cone-classi
fiers, The underflow from these cones
goes TO l6 Frue vanners and the over
How Joins the stream of failing from
the vanners and runs to the settling.
watts IN the cyanide plant. From the
settlers the pulp is taken, as required,
TO the agitators, of which there are six
OF the Hendryx type. After the apita.
ton in a cyanide solution, the pulp is
drawn off large reservoir, where it is
stored for filtering by means of the
Buffers vacuum flter.press The gold
and silver. bearing solution recovered
from the Cutters filter will be precipi
tated ON zinc c-dust in the Merrill pre-
cipjtation- press, which has been so sue