Weekly journal-miner., 1910-01-12

KINGMAN, Ariz., Jan. 10.-The Needles Mining and Smelling com pany is the latest addition to the list of subsidiary companies of the giant United States Smelling, Re- fning and Mining company, already operating custom smelters and re- fineries at Midvale, Utah, Kennel, Cal, Grasselli, Ind, Chrome, N. J., and Pachuca, Mexico. Just as this corporation was the first to appre- ciate the wonderful ore deposits in Pachuca and started operations, which resulted in its supremacy in Mexico, so is it now the first to grasp the great mining possibilities in our own Southwest, as evidenced by its entrance into MOhave county and its purchase of the smelter at Needles.
 The Needles company will be of feered by Dr. L. D. Godshall, man ager, who was at the head of the former Needles Shelter company, and has had a wide range of mining ex- perience throughout the west. D. R. Muir. former assistant superintendent of the Kennel plant, referred to above, will be assistant manager, and H. E. Benedict, formerly assistant superintendent of the Salt Lake Smelling plant, will be shelter sup erintendent. Offices have been open ed at Needles and Kingman.
 While it has been generally under stood here for several months that the many purchases of Mohave eoun- ty mining property made by Dr. Godshan were preliminary to vast work to be done by the big company, the nature and great extent of this work have been largely a matter of conjecture until last night when Dr. Godshan in an interview gave out the first authentic facts. He said that his company had entered this mining field with intention to operate here permanently, and that preparations are being made as rap idly as conditions will allow to be- gin the development of their various properties on an extensive scale.
 At Needles additional smelting and roasting furnaces, sampling facilities and all other necessary equipments will be installed to bring the ea- pacity of the present smelter to 300 tons per day.
 In addition 10 enlarging the smell ter, preparations are under way for the immediate construction of a GUS tom concentrating mill where ores from not only the eompany's mines, but from practically every mine in the district may be shipped and con sentrated at a small expense. Such a mill will afford a ready market for shippers of ore that is too low grade for direct smelling, and as special rates will be made by the Santa Fe railroad for hauling these low grade concentrating ores to Needles from all points tributary to it, the entire Cerbat range of this county, which is dotted with mines for a distance of thirty miles, will be the scene of active operations.
 Another feature of the new works at Needles will be a separating plant for the purpose of separating zinc from the various mixed and refrae- tory sulphide ores. This will be an- other advantage in favor of ship pers of such ores, as it will do away with the zine penalty, which they would otherwise have to pay in ad- dition to the regular smelting charges, and where the percentage of zine will be high enough, zine will be paid for as well as the other values. This feature is perhaps one of the most important as affecting the sul- phide ores of this county, for with lut tACtDLlOu Ol luC OOlNOnuds NhACl has been shipping exceptionally high grade zine ores to a zine shelter, ores carrying zinc have been, as a general thing, bug-bears to Oper- ators.
 There are scores of mines in this range that should resume operations under the new conditions of cheap transportation to a central coneen. trating plant, zine separation and cheaper smelling.
 Being centrally located, it will nat urally be as large as the needs of the entire district warrants and by virtue of a large capacity, the costs of operation will be materially less than a corresponding work car ried on in a number of small plants scattered over the district, which us- ually have to contend with an in o,ficien+ ua+ar sunD1v hiuh charUa