The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1908-04-11
Leasing Old Dumps.

The rapid progress of metallurSy
I and the disposition TO increase the Ia
cilities in all mining districts, Is re-
I sponsible for a greater saving OF val
ues than was possible at any time in
the past. says the Daily Mining Record
1 The person of average interest in min
| ing matters perhaps pays too little at
I tention TO the economies OF the busl-
| ness In fact. there is a certain lure
of gold this is very apt to cause people
I to consider that finding the yellow
metal is equivalent to net proht,
/ amounting to the total amount discov-
cred. This does not intimate that the
/ investor does not know any better
/ but he cannot feel the full force OF
] this argument where men actually en-
/ gagged in the business of mining do not
take advantage of economies. We must
admit that a great many of the pres
! ent economies in mining and III lne
treatment of ore were overlooked III
i the years that have past and as mat
ter of choice but for the very simple
and sufficient reason that they did not
exist.
An Illustration, to which the Record
[ has previously directed attention. Is
to be found in the large number OF
leases that have been taken on the Ola
/ dumps in the Cripple Creek district
| Lessees have recently secured lease
on the tailings dump of the old, diS-
mantled Gold and Globe mill. A ship
ment amounting to little less thah
twenty-five tons was shoveled out OF
the old creek banks and bed and gave
a gross return OF $313, or an average
/ of S1440 a ton. AT the bottom of the
dump. averages as high as s31 ton
| have been secured. We must look
back to the days when this mill was
in its prime This was during the early
boom period in the district, and all the
concentrates had to be hauled by
wagon TO Divide. a point on the Colo
RADIO Midland road that has long since
been connected with Cripple Creek by
the Midland. Terminal railway. Neither
! the Cripple Creek Short Line nor the
narrow guage lF'lorence & Cripple
Creek was then in existence; nor
We're other methods of concentration
that would have the values that can
be saved today.
The persistent lowering of rates for
the treating of ore and for hauling il,
added to the reduced cost in power and
labor and the very ordinary price for
commodities and supplies, have all
combined to make waste ore of those
/ days very valuable today. Since cY-
aniding has become part of the reco2-
nzed treatment of Cripple Greek ores.
there is practically nothing that nee
essarily goes to waite. The economies
are similar to those of the large pack
ing plants. where, as the humOrist puts
it. everything about the pig is utilized
| except it's Suueal." A great many OF
he old dumps of the camps that con
| tanned base ores at the time they We're
mined have gone through the natural
process of oxidation and are now
amenable to cyaniding without the
necessity Of roasting.
1t is not essential that We confine
ourselves to the Cripple Creek district
for examples of this nature. A para
dox is presented in the silver-lead
camps. On the one hand instead
of finding silver marketable at better
han 81 90 fine ounce, it is selling
! for about Sc cents an ounce. and lead
is much lower than ii was in those
days. On the other hand the trans
portation facilities, the low cost of
supplies and commodities OF all kinds.
/ the abundance of labor that can af-
| ford to work at moderate prices, and
The advances in the methods of treat
ing ore. have resulted in the profitable
working over of old dumps in the sill
ver-lead districts.
Taking later examples, We find that
| Goldtield is realizing profit out of the
cheaper ores that could not be treated
! with any margin of net returns about
two or three years ago. A novel fea-
ture is to be noted in the Goldtield dis
trict. where the taiings dumps have
been losing a large part of their val
ues through seepage. BY means OF IA
salvage of this seepage water, excel
lent profits have been made The dav
is not far distant when it will be pos
sible to save practically all of the val
ues in the treatment of ore.