The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-03-23
Distinguished Mining Writer Re-
views Conditions in Great
Copper Camp
MINES AND INDUSTRIES
Clear Presentation Of What Is Being
Done Here TO Add to Worlds
Supply of Red Metal

Supply of Red Metal
BY William Starr Bullock in Hngin-
eering and Mining fournal)
ely Nevada s. hien is now rttfhet- :
ing such attention throughout the
mining field because OF the rapid de-
velopment OF it's enormous low grade
sulphide deposits, is in White Pine
county, not many miles from the
Utah line. The tovSp itself lies i'll the
beautiful Steptoe Valley at the mouth
of Robinson canyon. Throughout
the latter in a belt at present estima-
ted to be approximately II miles cast
and west, an immense porphyry IN
trusion cuts through the country
shale and limestone Of the district
The surface outcrops are badly
weathered, and the leached zone ap-
pears to extend in depth from 100
to 250 or 275 feet, SO far as present
workings indicate. ChalcoDyrite and
chalcocite are the most frequent ores
encountered although bornite in conf
paratively small pockets is more COM
mon than in most copper bearing ore
bodies.
1t is the belief of engineers thor
oughly familiar with the district that
values will not persist for more than
400 or 500 feet below the zone of OK
idation, but so extensive are the ore
bodies laterally that they may not be
exhausted ior generations.
In few cases are the wells of the
ore bodies clearly defined; and on the
borders OF the ore zone values are
reduced gradually below the limit of
pay ore. The formation of the de-
posits is generally loose and although
timbering is required in nearly all of
the workings the ore is very easily
drilled and shot. The cost Of operat-
ing after having actually located the
ore shoot would he comparatively
low.
The Veteran Workings.
To date the best developed proper
ties in the Robinson district are those
of the Cumberland-Ely Copper COM
pany and the Nevada Consolidated
Copper company. Each of these hold
ings is considerably over 1000 acres
in extent Four shafts are now down
on various portions of the Cumber-
land-Ely ground and development is
going forward rapidly. The compa-
ny's Veteran wonkins are a mine in
themselves. Here are found some OF
the best values in the district, assays
from the Manhattan drift running off
from the main tunnel at 166 foot lev
ell showing from to . per cent cop
per and about So gold
At the $50 foot level of the main
shaft drifts have been run for over
500 feet. north and south. and for
175 feet east and west. Each OF the
drifts is in ore all the way, and al
though millions of tons have been al
ready blocked out, the extent of the
ore body here can only be surmised
1t is little more than a year since
active development work was under
taken on the Veteran, but for the bit
of time that has elapsed this has been
one Of the most. successful PROPOSE
tions in the entire district.
Assay values at the Veteran in its
lower workings run from 2 1-2 to 3
per cent In the Ada and Jupiter
shafts of the Cumberland COM
pany values are slightly lower. An
average in either OF these two mines
is hardly above IA per cent
In the Jupiter drifts more or less
limestone is encountered, and dikes
of leached porphyry are occasionally
in evidence 1t would seem, there
fore. that these workings are some
what above the pay ore which in this
locality is probably some 800 feet be-
low the surface.
The Wedge shaft, which is now be-
ing put down at a point about half a
nlllc from lHC JupiNNl tbiit
between it and ahe Ada shaft, has
cut into Il good showing of copper
sulphides at the 95 foot level. The
collar of the Wedge shaft is several
hundred feet lower down in the gulch
than the shaft houses of either the
Ada or the Jupiter. II seems prob
able that the ore body dips under the
hill from the Wedge in the direction
of the other shafts.
Nevada Consolidated.
The workings of the Nevada Con
solidated are three-t Ruth Stal
Pointer and the Eureka. In June
1904. j Parke Claiming made a re-
port of the company's holdings, and
again in July, 1905, visited the prop
erty and examined its development
work. Al this time he reported an
abundance of ore. urged the con
struction of railroad to connect Ely
with the Southern Pacific system 40
miles. to the north, and suggested the
installation Of concentrating and
smelling plant with capacity for