El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-12-04
BLACK JACK IS
EAGERLY SOUGHT
Despised Ore is Found Rich
in Tungsten and Arizona
Has Much of It.

Phoenix. Ariz.. Dec. Hundreds Of
Arizona prospectors have given over
their search for gold, silver and cop
per 10 search for black jack, a once
despised ore.
Black Jack is either wolframite or
hubnerite, and wolframite and hub
ernite carry tungsten, metal Whlch
manufacturers of electric light bulbs
and steel are anxious TO buy at $40
a unit OF 20 pounds.
For years Arizona has led the world
in the production Of copper and now
producer of tungsten Already she
has one important tungsten prOduc-
ing mine Shipments of ore, raw or
concentrated, are being made frequent
" from three or four other mines, and
a dozen discoveries are being devel-
Oped as fast as the energy and capi-
tai of their owners will allow
@SIeepers7 Are Being Relocated.
"Sleepers"-mines which were aban-
dOned years ago as worthlesS-Ere
row being relocated for their lungs
ten. The old Tip Top, in pioneer days
one OF the most famous silver mines
in the west but ultimately abandoned
because black Jack made its ores diff
cult to treat, is now worth more than
II ever was, all because OF that same
''black jack" The fortunes OF Col
W F. Cody (BuffalO Bid may be
rehabilitated through his Arizona
tungsten NINE
Wolframite and huhnrite are usually
black but sometimes they are brown
ish in color. When mixed with ores
carrying other metals they play hob"
generally with the reduction process.
They were long known as refractory
or outlaw" ores and nothing was quite
so much dreaded
A Few years ago it was discovered
that tungsten, when mixed with steel.
made il extraordinarily tough Tool
fzrr~ ~arrre -Ar1rrf rrna
steel Tungsten steel is used for bat
tleship armor plate. for guns, for
wearing parts OF automobiles and 9th
er machinery
Arizona,s Largest Producer.
Arizona's biggest tungsten producer
is in the Dragon mountains OF CO.
chise county and is owned by the
Chemos Chemical company, OF Roch-
ester, N Y. The Chemos company
employs 200 men in getting out the
wolframite and concentrating IL in
mill Six tons of concentrates are
shipped daily to Rochester for final
reduction.
The Tip Top. which will probably be-
come a heavier producer than the
Dragon mine before many months
have passed. is in southern Yavapai
county. some so miles north Of Phoe-
nix. On the Tip Top dumps are 10000
pounds Of ore carrying one and one
half percent tungstic acid. Much Of
silver ore and thrown away. In ad-
dition to the dumps. thousands upon
thousands OF tons Of wolframite are
exposed in the old workings. An ex-
perimental mill has proven success
ful in concentrating the ore and =
larger plant is now being installed
Col Cody has spent fortune IN
developing his WOlframite property in
Bonita, northeast of Tucson. A mill
was erected several years ago but it
= Il .
cal treatment OF the ore and opera
tons were suspended. Since then
methods OF reductions have been great
ly improved and the price Of tungsten
has gone "out OF sight" so ii is quite
possible that the Bonita mine will be
revived.
William Conner and partners own a
group Of hubnerite claims in Eureka
district. few miles southeast OF Pres
colt These claims cover vein from
two TO six feet wide, which was dis
covered only years ago. A Colorado
syndicate headed by T. S Temple. of
Boulder. has just taken over this pop
erty and will develop 1t on an extern
ments OF high-grad hubnerite to Pitts
burg.
OrviIe and Asa Bozarth and several
other Prescott citizens own the extern
sion OF the Connor ledge and have q
promising hubnerite showing.
Los Angeles Men interested.
Los Angeles investors have bonded
4 group OF hubnerite claims owned by
Ed Williams in the Aquarius noun
tains, Of Mohave county Williams has
also shipped much ore 10 eastern steel
plants Near Yucca. in the same coun-
~, Adam Mason has a vein of hub
nerite and is erecting a small concen-
trating mill
Clifford Koontz and Lester Johnson.
two cowboys, accidentally discovered
an 1S-inch ledge of wolframite south