The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-09-03
SWEEPING TA|uNGS
SOURCE Of PROFIT
NEW sRANcH or MINING HAS
GROWN UP AROUND TON.
oPAH MILLS.

l.
OF the mining industry which u being
made profitable by some Nevadans of
Yankee ingenuity. The sands when
sacked are shipped to the smelters at
Salt Lake, which make an inclusive
charge for freight and treatment Of 50
q ton. but on average values In excess
Of $50 = ton good profits are made
even after the royalty has been paid
to the company.
This new and profitable occupation
first came into vogue in Tonopah in
the summer Of 1912. says the Eureka
Sentinel.
/ The history OF the origin Of this in
dustry is rather interesting. In the
year 1909 James Carter, who was
opening up SINAI prospect near the
Gold Roads mine in Arizona. acci-
dentally discovered that q thin crust
which had formed on top Of the tall
,,ings dump carried considerable values,
and obtained a lease from the COM
pany that was then operating the
property.
One OF the men working in this mill
investigated the matter very carefully
and found the same condition existed
on the tailings pond Of the Tom Reed.
The tailings from Tonopah mines
run in three separate streams from
the Montana West End. Tonopah Elk
tension and Mcnamara mills for
distance Of nearly Ave miles to the
west where they meet in one extreme
pond and from the Belmont mill to
the east and all Of these ponds. with
in reasonable distance from the
mills carry thin crust on the sur
face, which, on being carefully exam
ined was found to contain excellent
values.
! A large number Of leases have been
granted on royalty and are now in OPP
Grafton and the sweepings frequently
give returns Of from $40 to $40 a ton.
Curious Fact.
The condition is rather curious when
lit is remembered that tho values of
the ore milled in Tonopah, on an av-
erage, are about SIS q ton, and the
metalurgical losses only vary from 80
cents to 81 a ton. Hence 1t ID at first
difficult to understand why the sweep
ing of these tailings should yield such
very high values. The explanation
seems to be that the values recovered
are contained in the cyanide solution,
of which small quantity necessarily
escapes when the tailings are dis
charged from the mill. This solution
becomes concentrated in the tailings
bed and as the tailings dry and cracks
are formed in them by the heat Of the
lsun the solution is drawn to the sur
face, evaporates and Is spread as
thin crust over small portion Of the
bed, and is easily recognized by its
dark color, showing that 1t contains
silver sulphides. This crust is fire.
quently not more than one-fourth Of
an inch thick, and is carefully swept,
gathered and sacked, and 1t has since
been discovered that by cultivating
the bed in the same way as field Of
grain is cultivated the action Of the
sun produces recurring crops.
The lessees of these tailings have
now become expert in the gathering
up of the valuable sands, and in order
that these may not be carried too far
down the gulches have dug channels
for the outflow from the mills, built
dams and spread the tailings over an
increased area of ground so as to en-
able the sun to get better action on
the solutions.
Several hundred IONS OF these sands
have already been shipped out of the
camp from the tailings formed from
all the mills Of the camp, and as the
output Of the mills Is well maintained,
the crop is regarded as hardy annual
which will never fail 50 long as the
Tonopah mills are in operation.
An interesting point stated in con-
nection with this industry Is that 1t is
only profitable where grinding or an
all-sllming plant is in operation.