The Harrison times., 1912-04-27
Arkansas Zinc Mining
Past and Present of the Indus
try-Its Needs and Its Future.

try-lts Needs and Its Future.
Following is an article on the
"Past and Present of Zinc Mining
in Arkansas" which appeared in the
Mining and Engineering World.
Zinc mining has been carried on
in the Arkansas zinc region for
many years, but the activity now
being displayed in Boone, Baxter,
Marion, Searcy and Newton coun-
ties, comprising the North Arkan-
sas field, is the greatest in the his
tory of that district, A total OF .
mines are now working and ship
ping regularly from the field, They
are the Red Cloud and the Philadcl-
phia at Rush, Marion county, on
the Buffalo river and the Tar klln,
Coker Hollow and the Wheeler
Bros. in Boone county. Besides
there are number of intermittent
shippers The Wheeler Bros. have
no mill, but are mining free ore for
the most part, and are piling up the
disseminated ores, until such time
as they feel justified in building a
concentrating plant,
THE PRODUCING PROPERTIES.
Among the many properties that
have been opened up in this district,
the Red Cloud mine at the mouth OF
Rush Creek on Buffalo River is the
greatest producer the field has ever
had, During the past l12 years the
mine has been operated, there have
been shipped in excess Of $500 tons
of zinc concentrates The mill has
been shut down only once for re-
pairs, and that for a very short
time, Mining is being carried ON by
tunnels The headings are back GOO
f., and a breast of ore 200 #, wide
with an average thickness Of S f.
that will mill out 5 per cent zine
blende, has been exposed, Some OF
the headings show richer ore than
this, but others are leancr, From
the very start the mill has been sup
piled at approximately full capacity
The mill stands below the mine on
the banks of the Buffalo river while
the ore is conveyed from the tunnel
to the mill hopper in a long chute,
"Thc mill is the largest in the field,
having a capacity Of 200 tons per
ten hours, and was built by Joplin
contractors, and embodies the prin-
ciplcs ofmilling practice in the Jop-
lin district
"The Philadelphia mill on Clobbcr
Creek, Just below the Red Cloud
mine about half a mile, is another
producer of the Rush district, Min
ING is carried ON in the Samcmanncr
and under practically the same con-
ditions as at the Red Cloud; the
null is the same type OF concentrate
ing plant. This plant is, however,
a 1OO-ton mill, but is making an
average of 5 tons of clean conccn-
trates per shift The concentrated
ore is mostly q gray carbonate, as
saying nearly 80 per cent 2inc Both
the Philadelphia and the Red Cloud
ship their ore from Buffalo in Baxter
county a distance Of s miles from
the mills, The two mines together
ship from two TO three cars per
week.
"ln the Zinc district in Boone
county, the Cokcr Hollow, Tar Kiln
and Bleau are steady workers and
shippers, Unlike the properties on
Rush creek, these companies are
now doing their mining in shafts the
ore occurring in the valleys rather
than ON the mountain sides The
Coker Hollow is equipped with
modern lOO.ton mill built last year.
ms is also the Tar Kiln, The ore
body ut the Cocker Hollow has the
highest face Of any deposit yet open.
ed up in the district, being 10 f.
thick, and the drifts which are now
some 100 f. or more from the shaft
have never cut dead rock yet The
ore runs approximately Z per cent
zinc, and some OF the time is better
than that Records have been made
ola ton an hour from the iigs.
"The Tar Kiln mill isnot yet run
ming steadily as the ground has not
been opened up sufficiently to secure
the necessary tonnage to run the
mill full capacity While running
approximately 80 per cent Of the
time, the mine turns out from | to
. cars Of ore per month, while the
Coker Hollow is getting out from 3
to 8,
NBw Work CONTEMPLATED AND
UNDERWAY,