The Virginia enterprise., 1908-02-14

duO IL IL c4peCteu tQat WOrk WILL
begin in the near future on the per-
manent washing plant.
According to the contract with
the Hill interests the United States
Steel corporation agrees to mine
100000 tons of ore this year. 1t is
hardly possible that this will be
done. If the corporation desired to
take out this tonnage, however,
there fs no one who would cay that
it could not or would not do it. In
performing big things the corpora
tion does not stop at half way meas
ures and if it saw fit to take 1,5OO,OO
tons of ore from the western Mesa ba
this year there is no doubt but that
it's steam shovels would load that
many tons of ore.
Next year, according to contract,
the corporation must take out $780,.
600 tons. Thereafter for the next
seven years the annual tonnage
follows: 1910, 100000; 1911, 3,75O,OOO;
1912, 100000; 1913, 5,250O0O; 1914, g.
100000; 1915, 6,75O,O00; 1916, 100000.
This increase of 10000 tons yearly
is maintained until the annual
shipments from the Hill lands are
8,25O,00O tons. Thereafter shipments
continue upon that basis. Last
year royalties were paid on 10000
tons.
This year the price per ton paid
by the corporation to the Hill in
terests is $l.184 delivered at the
docks at the head of Lake Superior.
An increase of "a cents each sue
ceeding year is effective 80 that in
1947 the price per ton will be $3O1
The price per ton includes the cost
of transportation to the docks at
the head of Superior and the terms
of the lease guarantee to the Great
Northern the ore traffic from the
mines. The cost of transportation
is 80 cents ton, which places the
royalty at 1874 cents. Added to this
is the expense of mining, which
will be comparatively low.
1t is likely that tonnage greater
than that called in the contract will
be sent to the docks from the west
ern Mesaba properties as it will be
to the interest of the corporation to
get out the ore as quickly as pos
sible on account of the increase
schedule of royalties each year.
Much has been said about the com
paratively big royalty paid to the
Hill interests, but IS cents per ton
by no means holds the record for
the Mesaba range, where the aver
age royalty is about 40 cents ton.
The New York State Steel company,
operators of the Kellogg mine near
Biwabik, pays the owners ST a ton
royalty whether or not the ore is
mined.
The basis of the Hill royalties is
on ore containing 80 per cent iron,
but not one-tenth comes within
striking distance of this percent
age. The royalty on 40 per cent of
ore is IS cents.
When it is considered that two
tons in the ground make one ton,
roughly speaking, after washing,
it is evident that the United States
Steel corporation did not make as
bad bargain and James J. Hill
did not make as advantageous a
deal as many citizens would have
the public believe-especially 80
far as the shipments and the devel-
opments of the near future are con-
cerned.
The trial washing plant is prov
ing successful and the permanent
plant must be erected before con-
siderable shipments can be made
from the Canisteo and Holman
mines. The present washing plant
has capacity of 700 tons a day 90
that this first years contract ship
ment of 100000 tons could not be
made without the permanent plant,
assuming 175 days constitutes the
average ore shipping season. In
fact the permanent plant of 10 units
or a daily capacity of 10000 tons
would be unable to take care of the
contracted output after next year.
In the trial washing plant are
three tromels or revolving screens
all of which wash their contents as
they turn under continuous steams
or jets of water. The top screen
has a large opening through which
the contents drop, after beins:
washed, on a moving plant which
carries the ore to second tromel
with smaller openings. After be-
ing washed in this the residue pas.
ses into a third tromel where the
granules of ore and foreign sub.
stance, consisting mostly of slice,
fall through small openings in the
screen. The remaining particles
comprise the waste, the ore being
left clean aud free OF the foreipn
substance. After being washed it
49,