The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1911-01-20
WILL It COME BACK?
Extensive Development to Be
Pushed At the Palmer
Mountain Tunnel.

Will it come back? That is the
question confronting and interesting
the people of the northern part of the
county in general, and Loomis in
particular, relative to prospective ex-
tensive development work on the Pal
mer mountain tunnel. When the re-
suits that have followed more system
attic mining in the neighborhood Of Re-
public are taken into consideration,
one feels like asking, why should it
not come back?" Only a short time
ago the mines in and about Republic
were practically abandoned after hun
dreds OF thousands of dollars had been
spent under and above ground. EX-
perts examined properties, made ad
verse reports, advised suspension of
operations. In one case an enormous
treatment plant, costing a fortune to
erect and equip, was dismantled and
moved away. No mining camp in the
Ntol NN'l iNtNlNCu a Dldthtl CyC tIdh
Republic. The town was dead one,
and hope was abandoned. There was
no payroll, and no expectation OF one.
Then a & reat transformation took
place. Mining men who knew how to
mine right and believed in the country
secured control of some of the best
known of the old properties and TO-
and behold, claims that had been pro-
nounced worthless are now paying div
idends, have ore reserves blocked out,
and know that they eXist,that will Keep
them disbursing dividends for years to
come. The town is revivified by the
discovery of new ore deposits in old
tunnels and shafts, and a new and
buoyant condition prevails where erst-
while small and discouraged popula-
ton had abandoned hope and was
bowed down in gloom.
If intelligent mining has worked
such remarkable change for the bet
ter in Ferry county there is no reason
why the application of the same brand
of intelligent effort around Loomis
should not produce like results. EX-
perts were mistaken in Ferry county,
is it not barely possible that they may
have erred in Okanogan county? The
cropping ledges, the ore deposits at
slight depth, the rich samples, are as
plentiful about Loomis as they ever
were about Republic, and if these indi-
cations at last led up to paying mines
in the latter locality there is no good
reason why they should not do the
same in the former
However, let that be as it may, and
it may be as profitable in results in one
case as the other, information is re-
ceived at this Office from reliable sour
ces that plans are being formulated
for very extensive work at the Palmer
mountain tunnel in the spring Time
will demonstrate if that particular
property is in the class that can come
back. 1t is generally known that the
big tunnel, and a big tunnel it is, rep
leScHtIuS oS me d piece vi HllHluS en-
gineering as can be found in any dis
trict where mining is carried on, is
already into the mountain several
thousand feet. Immediately ahead of
the breast of this tunnel, yet long
distance beyond, is located the Cop
per World and Copper World EXten-
sion two prOunS pf claims lpOn which
are very extensive deposits of copper
ore. This is especially the case on the
Extension, that joins the east end lines
of the Copper World, where at a depth
shoot, or lens, of solid copper ore. For
a long time negotiations have been
pending with the tunnel company look
ing to the extension of the tunnel to
tap the ledges on the properties nam
ed. 1t now seems that an understand
ing has been about reached, and as
our informant puts it, This will mean
the resumption of work in the tunnel
in the early spring, and the INSTALL
ment of additional machinery to drive
it in on record time"
While the main object may be the
tapping of the copper ore deposits on
the Copper World and Copper World
Extension, that is not alone the incen-
tive for the resumption of work in the
Palmer mountain tunnel on an extern
sive scale. There is still much ground
owned by the company to go through