The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1913-05-15
A VERY INTERESTING
GOLD NINE OF UTAH
REMARKABLE HISTORY OF THE
MERcuR GOLD MINING
COMPANY.

When the management of the Con-
solidated Mercur c. M. Co. closed the
mine early in April there ended not
only the largest gold producing mine
of Utah. but one of the most remark
able in the history of western mines,
says the Mining and Scientific Press.
There ended also gold mining dis
trict once termed the johannesburg of
America. Twenty years ago the Mcr-
cur district of Utah was the hub of
the gold mining world and the story
Is told of the three Nebraska farmers,
John Dern, John Heimerich and L.
H. Airs, to whom smooth talking
promoter sold big block of Mercur
district mining stock after the height
Of the boom had passed, thinking he
had duped the Nebraskans. They
came to Utah, investigated the Mercur
properties and returned much dis
couraged. They took with them. how
ever. three sacks of what people in
the district laughingly styled Mercur
mud. At Omaha they had this assay
ed.
Three Sacks OF Rich Orc.
The next morning the assayer paid
the farmers $13,653 for the gold con-
tanned in the three sacks. The upshot
of the matter was that these Nebraska
farmers returned to Utah and mapped
out a program which resulted in the
merger of the principal mines of Mer-
cur into the Consolidated Mercur G.
NJ Co Included within this merger
were the Mercur G. M. Co, with 3
record of $1,491,5sS and the De La
Mar Mercur NJ Company, with pro-
duction up to that time of $6S9.S12
The consolidated company was organ
lied in July. 1900 1t was in the Con-
solidated Mercur milling plant that
the cyanidation of gold was developed
on a commercial scale and the Moore
vacuum filter was invented. When
the mill was completed so as to ham
die 1000 tons of ore per day it was
the largest of it's kind in the world.
and the engineers who planned and
built 1t considered It the final word in
milling.
Many Miles Of Work.
The ore deposits of the property
consisted of three blanket veins in al
tered limestone, which accounts for
the fact that the property has been
mined only to comparatively shallow
depth, $50 feet, vet throughout the
900 to 1000 acres within the company's
lines there were driven almost count
less miles of drifts, crosscuts, WINES
and raises, the extent of the under
ground work being better appreciated
when 1t is mentioned that there is an
electric underground tramway In the
mine miles in length. One of the
first reports issued by the company
set forth that in 1900 there were h.
1890 tons of gold ore in sight, of
the value of &6.0S per ton. with only
one-fourth of the total property pros
pected.
Tremendous Record Of Production.
It will be of interest to learn that
when the mine closed it had produce
ed over 100000 tons Of gold ore, the
mill having operated at daily capac-
ity of 800 tons for 20 years without
an interruption until the last few
wears The consolidated company has
paid $1.235,OOO in dividends. while the
property in the hands of it's predeces
sors paid out 2.1S0,313. bringing the
total to $3,415.313. This record was
made by the production of about SIS
900 900 worth of gold bearing ores. In
1900 when the ore bodies developed
averaged $6.OS per ton in value, 1t was
figured that the cost of mining and
milling would be SO per ton. Were
the company today In possession OF
ore averaging 50 per ton in gold thai
would be considered sufficiently higf
to enable It to operate at profit, FOL
the ore which many years ago ran az
high as $40 per ton in gold has In the
last few years of operation averaged
as low as $3.15; making the Mercul
one of the lowest grade go'd mines
operated anywhere in the world.
ote cMcI TINE CONCERN