The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-30
C0TT0NW00DS ARE
ATTRACTING NOTICE
Deep Mining Expected to De-
velop Many New Prop
critics.

During the year considerable interes,
has been manifested by mining men In
| Alta and the Cottonwood districts. and
the recent strike reported from the prop
erty Of the Utah Mines Coalition COM
pnnF. being made as IL was q depth here
! tofore not attained In the workings OF
| the district, has attracted stlll further at
| tcntion to the consideration OF the future
| possibilities OF that section. In the carly
days Alta was the premier Silver-lead
camp of the state. and millions OF dollars
| worth OF ore were proiltably placed ON
| the market and turned Into dividends for
| the fortunate ones. In spite OF the expcn-
sivc mining necessary and the heavy costs
OF transportation through the ruggeS
mountain passes.
Practically all of the mining done there.
however. was on the surface. II the carly
day operators considered the possibilities
OF deep development they never attempt
ed such work, being satisfied, apparently,
with the fortunes they were making from
the ores found In quantity almost at the
grass roots Then, too. followed the de-
structton of the camp of Alta by fire. the
destructive snowSides being also "A source
of menace to the prospcctor. whose cabin
on the mountain side was likely at any
time 10 be carried down into the gulch
beneath. came the slump I'm silver. and
all these things combined to cause the
abandonment of the camp and It's mines.
For n number Of years scarcely any at
tentlon was paid to the Cottonwoods, big
machinery plants and surface buildings
were allowed To fan into ruin and decay,
and when only comparatively short time
ago operators again went into the dis
trict, they had quite an undertaking on
hand in bringing order out of the chaos
which prevailed
Work Successful.
The work Of the past two or three
years. however, has been productive Of
splendid results. the district is again
terprises looking TO the further develop
ment OF old mines, and the making OF
new ones. are under way. The deepest
workings in the section as yet do not
reach a vertical depth great as that
attained in the mines Of Park City dis
trict 10 which in many ways il is similar.
Mining men OF experience and knowledge
claim that with proper depth another
district, fully as extensive as Park City,
will he developed. and II is for depth
that many operators arc now working.
Owing 10 the mountainous and rugged
forma tions OF the Alta country. mining
in the district is quite an expensive prop
osition, and long tunnels are the logical
developments for the proving UP Of the
depth and for tho advantages of draining,
Mining men say that the Big Cotton
wood side OF the range also Is the bet
ter section Of the country in which TO
operate. as it allows OF deeper depths, for
the length driven, and the Big Cotton
wood stream is always high and capable
of furnishing great power for the oper-
alton OF power plants where II may he
deemed advisable TO install them. The
possibilities for aerial lines are also
greater than on the Littlo Cottonwood
side and in view OF all OF these condi-
tions, together with underground pros
poets IL is believed that Big Cotton wood
Will be especially active during the COM
ing year.
North Belt.
Mining men familiar with the forma-
tions at Alta are also Of the opinion that
the lime beds To the north, which have
not as yet been developed 10 any apprc-
ciable extent. will Yield great riches In
the future. and II Is probable that this
end OF the district will also be worked
in more extensively in the near future,
The formations Of Alta have boon COM
pared to those Of the Leadville, Colo, dis
trIct. and recent developments are tend
ing to establish more fully this similar
ity.