Graham guardian., 1914-02-13
TAILINGS in RIVER
CONTINUED from Page One)

the time. 10 avoid TINS, the com
pany is now building a dam across
the canyon above these three old
dams and has made quite large
cut, sufficient to carry off the food
water into by-canyon, which
empties into the MOrenci canyon be-
low the dams above mentioned, TAX
ing the food waters around these
deposits, so that when this work is
completed this will obviate that part
of the tailings question. At this
point where this dam is being made
to divert the water into this cut,
there is some chance if it should
rain in the near future, that this dam
would be broken and a considerable
amount Of tailingS come into the
river, but We are assured by Mr..
| Carmichael that the work would be
rushed to completion so as to avoid
any possibility of this dam breaking,
and the material was on the ground
and force of men working steadily
on the job. This, we think, is very
praiseworthY on the part OF the
companies, as those o'd tai,inRS We're
depOsi' ed there long before this suit
WIS decided.
The Arizona Copper Company also
has some large settling tanks i'm
mediateiy in the vicinity of Clifton.
These tanks do not appear to be of
as substantial nature lis the large
reservirs in the hills. for The reason
that they are butt entirely with
tailings all around and should food
water get at those loose banks, it
seems To US that it would not take
long to destroy them sufficiently to
let a large body of taiings into the
river. However, the company is
taking great precautions to re en-
force those banks with Stag from
their smeter, SO that should large
food come down the river it would
not destroy the banks of the reser.
vuir.
We had talk with Mr.. Carmichael
the Superintendent of the Arizona
Copper Company, and he gave US all
the assistance he could to facilitate
our getting the information we
wanted, and assured Us that the
company were doing and intended
to do all that they could to keep the
taiInas out Of the river.
On the morning Of February 4th,
we went over the ground Of the
Detroit Copper Company, whose
mills are located at Morenci. The
Detroit Copper Company mill is
ocated in canyon, which heads
just north of Morenci and emptics
into Chase creek, end in order to
take their taiIings out of the Chase
creek canyon, it has been necessary
for them to build fiume from their
mills around the cliffs in Chase creek
for distance of ahout2t miles to
their reservoir, which is built sub
stantiaily in the same manner as
those Of the Arizona Copper Com
pany. Within the last year they
have built an extra fume, or in other
words. a double fume, this whole
distance, so that in case of an acci-
dent with one fiume, the water can
Immediately be turned into the
other, thereby preventing the tail.
ings from going into Chase creek and
from there into the river. This
reservoir is also located in a canyon,
or arroyo, with short watershed,
so that it would take very great
water fall to break their dams. But
in Chase creek there are also, as in
the case of the Morenci canyon,
quite a large amount of tailings
which will come into the river with
the rains for some time to come,
but will not be of any great conse-
quence. If no more tailinps are
emptied into the canyon Immediately
from the mills.
There is. however, a very large
deposit right at the mill of the De-
troit Copper Company, across the
canyon, but the company is taking
every precaution to protect them
from comming down into the river
by making a cut in the solid rock
sufficiently large to carry all water
which comes down that branch can.
yon, so that it will not break the
dam and carry those old tailings
down the river. They have a man
who does nothing else but walk the
flume and look out for the tailings
Mr.. Thompson, the superintendent
of the Detroit Copper Company,
showed US over the ground in person
and gave us every facility for max
ing thorough investigation of their
mills. Mr.. Thompson has taken a
personal interest in this question
and we are sure will do everything
he can to keep the taiings out of
the river.
In conclusion, we desire to say
that we do not believe that all the
people connected with the manage
ment of the copper companies real
ize fully the great amount of dam
age the taiings are to the farmer