The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-03-25
Years of Disappointing and
Waiting Ends in Blaze
of Prosperity.
WHAT THE ENGINEERS
THINK OF RESOURCES
Generations Will Be Required
to Exhaust Ores Upon
Shallow Levels.

rield because of the rapid development
of It's enormous w-grade sulphide de
posi,s, is In White Pine county, moi
many miles from the Utah line. The
town itself lies in the beautiful Stcptoc
valley at the mouth OF Robinson canon
Throughout the latter, in Belt at pres
cnt estimated to be approximately IL
miles east and west. an immense por-
phyry intrusion cuts through the coun-
try shale and limestone OF the district.
SAYS the Engineering and Mining Journal.
The surface outcrops are badly wealth
cred. and the leached zone seems 10 cN-
tend in depth from 100 to $50 or 21b feet.
so far as present workings indicate.
Chalcopyriie and chalcocte are the most
frequent ores encountered, although
bornite. in comparatively small pockets,
is more common than in most copper
bearing ore-bodies. IL is tho belief OF
engineers thoroughly familiar with the
district that values Will not persist for
more than 400 or 500 feet below the zone
OF oxidation; but SO extensively are the
ore-bodes latcrally that they may not be
exhausted for generations.
In few cases are the walls OF the ore
bodies clearly defined; and on the Dor,
d-rs Of the ore zone values are reduced
The formation of the deposits Is gen
orally loose, and although timbering is
required in nearly all OF the workings.
the ore is very easily drilled and shot.
The cost Of operating, after having ac
ually located The ore chute should be
comparatively low.
To date the best developed properties
In the Robinson district arc those ot
the Cumberland Ely Copper company
and the Nevada Consolidated Copper
company. Each of these holdings is con-
slderably over 1000 acres In extent Four
shafts arc now down on various portions
OF the Cumberland Ely ground and de-
yelopnent work is going forward rapidly
The company's Veteran workings are
mine In themselves. Here are found some
al the best values In the district assays
from the Manhattan drift running off
from the main tunnel at the i66-foot
level showing from . TO per cent cop
pcr and about So gold. At the 36O-foot
level Of the main shaft drifts have been
run Tor over 500 feet north and south,
and for l75 fcct east and west. Each
OF these drifts is in ore all the way,
and although millions of tons have been
here can only be surmised. Ii is little
more than year ago since active deVel-
opment work was undertaken on the
Veteran, but for the time elapsed this
has been one OF the most successful
propositions in the entire district
Assay values AZ the Veteran in its
lower workings run from - TO per
cent In tho Ada and Jupiter shafts OF
the Cumberland Ely company values are
slightly lower. An average In either of
these two mines is hardly above q per
cent. In the Jupiter drifts more or less
limestone is encountered. and dikes of
1eached porphyry are occasionally In evil
dence 1t would seem. therefore that
these workings arc still somewhat above
probably some 500 feet below the surface.
The Wedge" shaft, which Is now being
put down at point about half mile
from the Jupiter, aud midway between
it and the Ada shaft has cut into a good
showing Of copper sulphides at the %
foot level. The collar Of the Wedge
shaft is several hundred feet lower down
in the guch than the, shaft houses of
either the Ada or the Jupiter. Ii seems
probable that the ore-body dips under
me hin from the Wedge In the dircc-
The workings Of The Nevada Consoli
dated are threc-the Ruth, the Star
Pointer and the Eureka. In June. 1904.
j. Parke Charming made report of
the company's holdings. and again In
July. 1905. visited the property and ex-
smined Its development work. At this
urged The construction OF a railroad 10
connect Ely with the Southern Pacific |
system 40 miles 10 the north, and sug-
eested the installation Of a concentrating |
1000 tons OF ore per day. Today the rail-
road from Ely 10 Cobre. on the Southern |
Pacific. IS an established iacd The
according to estimates. more than sixty |
million tons of material blocked out. and !
n concentrating and smelling plant with
cess of erection The completion, OF the
smelter. the first unit of which VIII |
be in operation before the end
or the year, makes 1t possible 10 handle
which otherwise would be Valucless from |
2 commercial standpoint. The snlelter
site is II miles north Of Ely on the east,
orn slope OF Steptoe valley The natural
water supply is amply sufficient TO treat
over 26.0oo tons of ore per day
In order 10 avoid complications similar
10 those which have arisen al Butte and
Bingham about the question OF smoke
nuisance and water pollution the COM
pany purchased over 5000 acres Of land
The site IS ideal for reduction plant,
skill can devise has been considered in
The layout Of the works An idea OF
the ground area covered may be gath
erod from the fact that the concentrate
-mel:er. and that $50 900 worth of cop
per cable for power transmission will he
ne used between the two structures. Over
Vclre miles of standard railroad tracks
viii oe put down in the smeter yards.
The smokestack is 10 be $50 feet in
1eght. the tallest in the country, and
At the top. The dust chambers between
he mcIter and the stack are 5Oxl50 feet,
and the dust 6ues 16x1o feet inside and
500 500 feet in length The first uni, Of
Sw. General Electric generators. two
0kw. Bullock generators. one SO, 600
'ubic-fect and one 1000 cubic feet
blower. and one 1000 -cubic-feet high-pres-
;ure air compressor In addition there
Will be eight l0o-horsc power Babcock s,
Wilcox boilers. equipped with Sturte-
ant forced draft fan blowers. The con-
lensers and air pumps will be on a pro-
extensive scale The first
init Of the concentrating plant will In
-lude 100 Wiley tables. o6 Fruc vanDers,
Huntington mills sets OF rolls and "a
The conccntrator. smeter
'ower plant and all other units OF the
liant will be so constructed that the ca
'acity can bc doubled in the most eco
lomical manner. The first unit OF the
liant will be capable OF handling approx
nately 5000 tens Of ore per day and by
he Time it is In operation the mines will
'e in readiness 20 furnish fully that
mount regularly. The smelter plant will
urnish electric power 10 the mines,
wenty-two miles distant. over a trans
mission line carrying 10000 volts
Ely has been known as a mining camp
or over forty years: Following the sill
er excitement at Hamilton some fifty
niles distant. In the early sixties dozens
4 prospectors drifted into Robinson can
ON in search OF gold and silver Their
l,I |