The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-12-27

To mention Utah TO mining man Is
at once TO bring before his nina one or
the great mines which have gone TO
make the state famous, the Utah Cop
per company. 1t has taken another step
forward during the past year in prov
ing that the great bodies of low-grade
ore which it has have all the CONNER
cial value which is claimed for them.
BY mining and treating them on large
scale they are a source of large profit.
Utah Copper in five years has been
developed into one of the low-cost cop
per producers of the country. Operat
ing under the disadvantage of just
starting and trying out new machinery.
Il yet has operated upon a dividend
paying basis throughout the period
when many of the largest producers of
the country were closed down because
they could not make a profit
The first four sections of the COM
pany's Garfield mill, with total capacity
of handling more than 5000 tons of
ore day, were placed in commission
I'm June, 1907. The twelfth and last sec
ton has been started up within the last
few weeks The plant was brought in
from one TO four sections at time to
facilitate the trying out process. But
there was more delay on account of
lack of ample transportation facilities
than from any other cause.
Despite the delay i'm bringing the big
concentration Up 10 its full capacity,
however. the company, with its LOCO
ton Copperton mill, built originally as
a test mill. in addition to the Garfield
mill. has handled an average of more
than 5000 tons cf ore a day through
out the year. and for the last several
months has been producing copper at
the rate of about 60,0CO000 pounds a
year. It is expected that by the end of
the year the rate VIII have been in
creased 70 10000. 900 pounds, which will
be about normal production until the
size of the Garfield mill shall be in
creased.
It is generally understood that plans
are being laid 10 double the capacity of
the Garfield plant. This will involve the
company's providing at least a portion
OF its own transportation facilities.
With the end in view the Bingham &
Garfield Railway company. subsi-
diary Of the Utah Copper company, was
recently Incorporated with a franchise
to build a line of railroad from Bling
ham to the mill and smelter at Gar
field. The company already owns and
operates about ten miles OF standard
gauge railroad in connection with its
mining operations in Bingham canyon
so that the expansion comes naturally
The cOmpany's milling operations al
Garfield have not only proven the ac-
curacy of previous estimates, but it is
believed that results are even better
than had been counted upon. So far
as is known. about the best that had
been promised by General Manager
lacking in his preliminary estimates
was to produce copper at a cost of
cents a pound. And the cost had been
fnWaam H. L. II
before the entire plant was brought into
commission, steady and consistent re-
ducton being shown with increase of
the scale of operations.
That Utah Copper is in reality an in
dustrlal-a great manufacturing con-
cern-is better understood when the
character and extent of it's ore deposits
and its methods Of mining are consid-
cred in connection with its successful
milling equipment. OF these features
no more comprehensive idea can be
gained than by reading a portion of
General Manager Jackling's latest re-
port, which says:
The mine has been developed by APP
proximately 10000 feet of underground
workings Very little underground de-
Neiopment has been done since Jan. l.
1917, as the ore bodies at that time were
blocked out for many years in advance.
ana Il was, therefore, thought best TO
conflne expenditures TO the removal of
Oxldized Overburden.
The ore bodies Of tire property con-
sist Of an altered silicious porphyry,
containing small grains Of copper min
erals, very uniformly disseminated
throughout the mass, both in fracture
seams and in the body of the rock, and
average about per cent copper, Obs OF
an ounce silver and 0.O15 of an ounce
gold The primary copper mineral is
chalcOpyrite, but as a result of oxidi-
zatiOn Of this mineral and secondary
deposition OF others, practically all OF
the sulphide minerals OF copper are now
present. the predominating one being
chalCocite- The developed and partial
" developed area covers seventy-twc
aces Of ground. About sixty OF the
seventy-two acres contain mineralized
porphyry Of the average value above
stated The remaining twelve acres av-
erage somewhat lower. probably not
much in excess OF LIS per cent. The av-
erage thickness Of the ore body ovel
this seventy-two acres has not yet beer
fully demonstrated by development, but
existing developments indicate an av-
erage depth Of about SIC feet, which is
equivalent to !, 000. 900 tons OF ore pei