The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-07-06
LIFE OF MICHIGAN MINES.
Interesting Information Secured in
the BigeloW.

Important information is contained in
the testimony of witnesses in the A >
Bigelow-Calumet & Hecla suit which
seeks to restrain the control of the Os-
ceola company by the Calumet az Hecld
Mining company, says the Boston News
Bureau.
The testimony of President Alexander
l. Agassiz contains the surprising state
ment that the life of the Calumet & Hecia
mine on the conglomerate lode cannot DE
placed beyond fifteen years.
In the course of mis- direct examination
Mr. Agassiz stated that he had been pres
ident of the Calumet & Hecia Mining
company a little over thirty years; that
the company never intended to control
prices. to control the metal market or to
create in any way, directly or indirectly,
monopoly of lake copper.
Questioned as TO the life of the mine
on the conglomerate lode he said: Il
should think ii would be between ten ana
fifteen years. OF course IL would depend
a great deal upon the amount of ore we
took out and the percentage of copper In
that ore. 1t was hoped, he said. that
during the above period the company
would develop sufficient amount OF cop
per on the properties which had been re-
Gently purchased to replace, to great
extent the diminution in the old mine.
Mr.. Agassiz was requested to give an
approximate estimate of the value of the
machinery of the Calumet < Hecla. he
replied that il would be difficult to make
this estimate, but he would state rough
ly that il might be worth perhaps Slo.Vo. :
600. which figure did not include several
million dollars invested in buildings and
shops.
MIR. Agassiz added: Il have served the
Calumet & Hecla Mining company from
the beginning; | have been perhaps an
autocrat in running It, L defy anybody
to find anything in my conduct pas,
which will in any way show that j have
benefited in the last at the expense OF
any of the other stockholders. If working
tooth and nail for forty years means any
thing, all l can say is that ii is not worth
while to anybody to work. II what ] nave
done Is subject to the attacks which l
have been subjected to the last six months
or So Mr.. Agassiz, of course, referred
to the suits which had been filed by MI
Bigelow.
General Manager MacNaughton. in his
examination confirmed the statements of
President AgassiZ as to the life of the
mine on the conSlomerate lode lie was
asked to state what portion of the mineral
lands owned by the Calumet Hecla
Mining company had been worked out at
the time of the enactment in 1895 of the
statute known as public act No. 100. he
replied that there were 40 acres wholly
worked out and that this would leave in
the conglomerate lode about 800 acres
developed. 800 acres in which there was a
fair prospect of finding copper, and the
balance. to make up 1900 acres, was
known to be bare.
met & Hecla's mineral lands. consisting
og 1850 acres. 1860 acres are underiain by
the Calumet & Hecla cQnglomerate. ZOO
acres are underlain by the Osceola
amygdaloid and 900 acres by the Kear-
sarge lode
Mr.. MacNaughton testified that the
value of the company's equipment, in
Guiding hosting and compressor ma
chinery, railroad. two large stamp mills.
two smelling works. blacksmith shops.
carpenter shops, machine shops and fodn-
dry. was. roughly speaking, between $15.-
100 and $1,000 900. In case the use OF
this machinery was discontinued the sal,
wage on such of it as could be moved
might be % per cent. On the equipment
that could not be moved it would be
nothing.
Mr.. MacNaughton further stated that
since 1878 the company had made an av-
erage annual increase in its output of
about 6 per cent. Since that year there
had been a constant increase i'm the year
ly production of rack beginning with an
output of 100000 tons and ending in 1906
with 100000 tons per year.
In 1873 there was saved from the rock
in the concentrating process almost per
cent of copper. whereas in 1906 the saw
ing was a very little over per cent.
Mr. MacNaughton was asked how much
timber was in the Calumet & Hecla mine
on the conglomerate lode. He replied that
il would probably amount to LOCO, 900. 0oC
feet and that at the present time the COM
pany was using about 100000 feet. board
| measure. per annum. which amount would
| exhaust from 1900 to 1,500 acres Of ordi-
nary timber land per annum-
Mr.. MacNaughton further testified thai
| four shafts on the Calumet & Hecla con-
! glomerate were to be abandoned within
J the coming year. Within two years hs
| said No. 3 Hecla will be abandoned ant
within possibly three years No. Hecls
| will be abandoned.
| He figured roughly that in $40 acre:
| above referred to 1.-TWO 320's) there still
existed in the conglomerate formation be
tween a0.000.000 and $500. 900 tons of COP
per rock