The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-13
RAY WORK GIVES
MANY SURPRISES
Mining Cost Less Than Was Ex-
pected and Grade Holds
Up Well.
MILL IS TREATING
SPLENDID TONNAGE
Company's Own Smelter May Be
Ready for Operation by
January 1.

In the operations which have been con
Quoted up To the present time at Ray
Consolidated several important and far
reaching results have been obtained.
which have direct bearing on earn
ing power. These are a lower cost OF
mining than that used heretofore in all
calculations. the maner in which the ore
is mining with no appreciablc dlminution
in grade, the favorable results being OBJ
tained in extracting the values from the
ore, and the increased tonnage which II
has been found impossible 10 handle per
qo's Towle q CO. cSon'e"'rS'0h say thompson
AT the mine the caving OF the ore is
meeting with excellent results, and the
overburden Is found TO stand exception
ally we'll. The ore which Is now being
taken from locations next 10 the over
burden is breaking clean. and Is showing
practically no decrease In grade over that
as indicated by samplInS. Another i'm
portant point which has been demon
strated in competition With these ores is
that Il is possible TO mine In thick slices.
one Of the Slopes being worked over a
distance of more than 60 feet. The de-
markation at the Ray property between
the ore and the overburden is very pro-
nounced and this condition facilitates
maintaining the grade.
Lowest Mining Cost.
A most gratifying point in connection
with operations al the mine has been the
lower mining cost attained over the orig
insl estimates. This is matter OF great
Importance, as 1t Is this item which plays
such an important part In tho cost of pro-
ducing copper at the porphyry mines.
With the exception OF some construction
work which Is going on at the No 9
shaft, which should be completed by the
end Of this month, all surface work at
the mine has benn finished, The open
Ing UP of the ore bodies underground is
being pushed vigorously. and on an av
erage Of $500 feet OF headings a month
are driven.
AT the concentrator three sections are
now now operating. and approximately 2SOo
through. The grade or the ore has varied
according 10 the location OF the mine.
Some OF the material has averaged un-
Of less than the average grade. which is
2.17 per cent an extraction OF more than
40 per cent has been made On certain
days at the conoentrator as high as l16o
tons Of ore per section has been put
through, and IL is now confidently be-
lieved that when the entire plant has
settled down and Is running smoothly
that the production on eight units will
reach lO0, 100000 pounds of copper per an
mum. The concentrator construction ia
more rapidly advanced than the Slopes al
the mine. and, il necessary, It would be
possible to complete the mill In ninety
days time. The fourth section Will prob
ably go into commission late In August,
the fifth In October. the sixth early in
ANONSluOCI, tHe SGbenlH III december
the eighth, shortly after the first Of The
year. at which time the mine will be able
10 supply the full tonnage.
Smelter Construction.
The smelter construction is pro-
cecding well at Hayden. The foun-
sation work has been completed the
stack is up and the structural steel is
OH the ground. and IL is expected that the
plant will be operating by January 1.
Pending. the completion of the concen-
traitor II was the intention to send the
TO the a. s. & r. plant at
FL Paso. where reyeI beratory furnaces
are being erected for the handling OF this
product. However. since June 20 the
has been sending them to the
Aguas Calientes smelter In Mexico, In
view OF the excellent results which are
being obtained at the Ray mine and con-
centrator, the management believes now
that not only will an Sic cost per pound
be realized. but that this figure Will be
bettered when the plant Is producing to
capacity.