Bisbee daily review., 1909-12-29
MINE ENGINEER DISCUSSES
 BUSINESS
Goes Into Details and Tells Troubles That One in His Business Has to Face at Every Turn of Road.

Hampton's Magazine comes out in ! it's January number with an article tracing the history of the mining en- gineer and showing his importance in the development of modern mining. The article is by Eugene P. Lyle. Jr., wno has spent the greater part of Ine past year Investigating conditions in the mines of this country. Speaking of the mining engineers troubles, he says:
 Harder to detect than 'salting' is a mine that is dressed for examination. This means that on each level the vein is purposely and cunningly dug away, exposing a rich streak. This ] the engineer cannot fail to examine. |, If he is not on his guard. he gets much higher results than the mine warrants. Cave-ins, piles of waste. and so forth are used to conceal abandoned workings which, if seen by the engineer, would reveal that the vein at such places had either pinched out or been worked out
 At the Broken Hill mine in Aus tralia an engineer was deceived in this way. His client had an option on the property, but the owners struck 1t rich and did not wish to sell at the price in the contract. The new working was concealed so clever ' ly that the engineer, though an able man, was deceived He got only low grade samples, and advised against the purchase The mine has since produced 100.o0O,000 ounces of silver.
 John Hays Hammond tells story of his younger days that is pertinent.
 He was sent to examine a mine owned by Jews in a northern county of California. It was intimated to him before he started that if he made ! an unfavorable report he would never come out alive He arrived and, from the isolated situation of the mine, per |, ceived that it would be a very easy matter to carry out the threat He was, however. received most heartily and entertained at a big dinner by the owners. Then he went to work He was given all facilities for doing the sampling behind a bulkhead, which removed the possibility of any intrusion. No one, 1t seemed, could tamper with the ore while he was sampling it. The owners laid great emphasis on their enabling him to do this sampling with every fairness They thought him a green youngster. But, unperceived by them, he contriy- ed to take some samples of his own and assayed them. He found that they did not correspond with the sam ples that he had taken with their knowledge.
 He said nothing, however. but sug- gested that the samples be milled; this, he knew, was exactly what the owners wanted So the ore was ground fine in the mill, and proved to be very rich. Hammond showed the proper enthusiasm, but he said their mill man, though a good man, was not getting all the values out he proposed sending the camples away to be milled over again The owners looked worried, but they could not reasonably object, so Hammond sent the samples away by express, and followed himself few days later.
 At his leisure he extracted S200O in gold from the samples This $2000 was pure salt The mine owners had stfted that much gold into their sam pies. Hammonds own sample ran almost nothing He saved the salt and charged 1t to expenses. The ras- calls later threatened suit but Ham Emond merely replied that he wished they would sue him. They never did"
 Concerning the latest big engineer ing project at Cripple Creek, Lyle says:
 Tn January, 1907, the necessity for tunnel to tap the district at a great CT depth became evident Otherwise, Cripple Creek must have been aban- doned. The Catch Park tunnel, or Cripple Creek deep drainage tunnel. was then projected, and T. R. Coun- | tryman, one of the best mining en- glneers of the state. was made chief engineer. A. E. Carlton, chief promo ter of the project, is the contractor do- Ing the work. Different mines sub scribed the capital stock of S1, ,OOO, 900. The tunnel was begun at the foot of hill, near the creek Cripple Creek), and 1t is to be five miles in length. Last summer 9700 feet were already completed, leaving nearly 5000 feet to | be tunneled through the granite be- ! fore it reaches the porous breccia It i will tap the Vindicator mine. for in- stance, at point 2100 feet below the surface. It will lower the water for the S':ferent mines about 800 feet on l a a rd fs, 1 long the life of the camp by eight years or more. meaning gold produc- ton of s96.O00. 0.0OO at the present rate of the camps output. The water. flow ing down the creek. will be used for , irrigation in the valley below"
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