The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1913-03-13
MINE ALASKA GOLD
ON IMMENSE SCALE
PLAN QUARTZ MILL OF 10000
TONS DAILY
CAPACITY.

from extremely low grade ore, nothinl
In the world seems to compare will
the work and plans of the Alaska Golt
Mines company. The following detail,
concerning its great ore body and TIL,
proposed handling of the product from
the Boston Commercial is Of nteres
to practical mining and n1ilImer
everywhere:
There has been disposition ir
some quarters to doubt the estimate
OF the company's engineers that golt
ore carrying an average OF only about
$3.50 In total values of which $1.5t
is recoverable, can be made to yield q
net profit OF rs cents ton.
What are currently referred to az
the engineers estimates, however, are
in reality, based upon tn rsults of OPP
eratlons conducted by the present
management before the property was
taken over and the Alaska Gold Mines
company organized.
AT the time the option was secured
the property was equipped with mill
of 500 tons daily capacity. Under the
direction of D. c. lacking, $4,000 tons
of ore was mined and treated in this
mill and the total operating expenses.
during the period of about 100 days
IN which this ore was being mined and
will
treated. Included in these costs were
travelling expenses, experimntal work
shipment and sale of product and all
other expenditures of every character
The mining cost averaged about
II 1-2 cents ton, and because or
lack Of underground equipment, which
will be provided later tramming cost
Is cents ton. With electric haul
age this latter item can probably be
cut in halves
Other items OF cost carried dur
ing this period of experimental opera
ton will be susceptible of so great a re-
lative reduction when conducting OPP
erations on a very large scale that it
is thought quite probable that total
costs may be as low as IS cents or
even so cents ton.
Operating conditions at the proper
ty are ideal in every respect. On the
coast, where the mill Is located, elm
attic conditions in winter are even
more mild than they are in Massachu-
sets: but 1900 to $500 feet higher
where the vein outcrops along the
mountains two miles back from the
coast, the winters, OF course, are ex-
tremely cold.
"The plan OF operations, however
eliminates all work in the high alti-
tudes. The ore will be mined through
long tunnels which go in from just
above the coast level and shafts tc
the surface will serve only for pur-
poses Of ventilation.
when the property was taken over
II was estimated that it contained
50,000,000 tons Of workable ore More
recent developments make 1t reason
ably certain that the big vein. averag
''is1 " iNNN III "tdtlI. SNNCttuS Luz IL us
lance of almost three miles through
the property and rises to average
heigth Of 1000 feet above sea level
"a body Of ore $4,000 feet long 70
feet wide and 1000 feet deep woult'
contain approximately 175,O00,000 tons
AS 1t Is quite probable, however thu
this deposit can be mined to still
greater depth of 1000 to 5000 feet be-
low water level, the possibilities of tor
mage run into figures which 1t is diff.
ficult for the average mind to comp
rehend.
1.-The vein dips at an angle of about
10 degrees away from the ovean The
mine is an unusually dry one The
gold occurs in a vein of facture zone
in the slate, where 1t comes in contract
with the gabbro the latter forminc
the footwall. The vein itself consists
Of slate which at some time has been
profoundly shattered and the facture
planes filed with innumerabe small
veinlets of quartz.
Mining practice will consist of rails.
from the tunnel levels. Crosscut.
will be driven through the vein at in
tervals of 200 feet from the surface
down and the ore will be drilled and
shot down in immense masses. AS II
falls and finds its way into branch
raises from the main chutes ii breaks
up into small pieces convenient to
handle in ordinary mining cars.
1.-TWO men with one drill will Slope
from rs to 40 tons of ore in the Alas
ka mine in a single days work. No
timbering is required The walls are
very firm and the ore breaks clean
from them.
"Of course as mining progresses to
great depth the hanging wall will break
away and fill up the wide opening left,
but such small portions Of it as cleave
off and mix with the ore will carry
about 81 per ton in gold and there
fore, will not tend greatly to reduce
or dilute the average grade.
1T has ben stated that Alaska Trend
wells operating costs are around 81 to
$3.50 a ton of ore handled. According
to the company's annual report for the
year of 1911, it's costs were fraction
less than $1.40 a ton.
"The Trcadwell Is now mining be-