The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1912-08-29
LITTLE MINES WORTHY ~
OF ATTENTION.
(Salt Lake Mining Review)


A small business. If well conducted,
is oftimes more profitable than large
affairs in which there are many leaks
applies to mining as we'll as to other
occupations. and yet the trend of the
times is to engage in mining on
large scale rather than to give atten-
ton to seemingly small producers.
This tendency has often resulted in
failure when, If the individual, or COM
pany, had confined operations to small
profits with comparatively little outlay.
success would have crowned their eff
forts.
All producing mines traces their orr
gin to the prospect. Some of these
are more promising than others, and
some, to begin with, offer greater
promise for the future. 1t Is often
the case that a prospect possessing
considerable merit and that could be
transformed into producing and pay
ing mine, on q modest scale, Is not
given the recognition it deserves, and
the owner, looking for greater things
lis not content until he has secured
large number of claims in one group
and organized company with
heavy capitalization, for Its operation
and development. Heavy work is in
augurated, hundreds of thousands are
expended for mine and mill equip
ment, and years are employed in the
futile effort to make a dividend-payer
when as a matter of fact, the enter
prise is weighed down with burden
too heavy for the company to carry,
and in excess of the real, intrinsic val
ue of its property to overcome.
| And yet, If the owner of the pros
pect, with holdings aggregating only
few claims, had employed a few
men and opened up his mine, he
might have been able to ship few
cars of good ore, monthly, with nice
profit to his credit in the bank on
which to draw upon for dividends ev-
cry few months.
The real merit OF little mines is Of
ten ignored; but, in the hands OF the
right men, the right people, they are
constant source of revenue, Of salts
faction, of real pleasure. Take the
Utah mine, for instance; an isolated
property in the Fish Springs district,
Tooele county, Utah. This mine was
discovered some 20 years ago and fell
into the hands Of some very conserva-
tive people who worked 1t for what 1t
was worth, and for profits and divi-
dends Since then the property has
never been closed down. A day has
never been missed in its operation and
development; the stock Of the company
has never been assessed and yet the
mine has produced $1,19S,00O and has
paid $281,S6O in dividends. Today the
mine is finely equipped, is extensively
developed and is making regular
monthly shipments and is good for
dividends for long time to come.
There are many similar properties In
the west today that could be as pro-
fltably operated. They abound in al
most every canyon, in almost every
mountain range; but they are ignored
because investors and mining men are
looking for something bigger over
looking the fact that it is safer to own
a score Of little mines which can make
sure but small profits than it is to
have the entire investment in one big
property of doubtful or unproven
character.
Were more attention given to the
little mines there would be more pro-
ducers in the west than now adorn the
list and the steady income from these
would place hundreds in an independ-
ent position, financially, who now live
from hand to mouth while waiting for
something big to materialize.