The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-01-14
LOW GRADE MINES
COST OF OPERATION
REDUCING The EXPENSES HAS
COME TO BE MAIN QUESTION
IN SUCCESSFUL MINING.

y
ally considered remarkable period in
point of advancement made in the
methods of operating mines, still wit
messed considerable advancement in
a number of properties where the ne
cessity of low-cost operations were
vital to profitable working, says the
Mining and Engineering World.
The successful operation of mines
has become more and more a question
of reducing the expenses of all opera
tions from the mining of the ore to the
marketing of the ore concentrate or
metal products. This is due largely
to the necessity of handling the go
called low grade ore. The old time
gold miner who merely condescendpd
to work the rich pay gravel of the
placers or the rich outcrops Of gold
bearing veins did not need any great
amount of business or executive ability
to make success of working accord
ing to his own standards. But in the
operation Of the present day low grade
mines great foresight and managerial
skill is imperative to assure success.
Low grade Mines Regular Payers.
The conditions of mining have so
changed that 1t Is the low grade mines
that are paying the steadiest and m1st
certain dividends. This is made pos
sible only by the continual advance
ment in mining methods. Profits are
not now measured so much by The
grade of the ore as by the quantity
handled and the degree of economy
practiced at every step. The magni-
tude of the results achieved are illus
trated by operations Of the great dredg-
ing plants on the gold placers of Cali
fornia, the Homestake of South Da-
kota and the Alaska -Treadwell of
Alaska, and the great pOrphyry cop
pers of Utah. Nevada, Arizona and
others. The Homestake has paid in
dividends to date over $34,OOO,O00 the
Alaska Treadwell nearly $15,OOO,OOO;
the Utah Copper over $25,OOO,OOO and
the Nevada Con. over $17,OO0,OOO.
The great copper mines of the Lake
Superior region really belong to the
so-caled low grade class, yet they
have been remarkable dividend pay
ers as will be seen by reference to the
dividend tables published in the Min
ing and Engineering World. As an in.
stance may be cited in the Calumet and
Hecla which has paid dividends to the
total of very close to $125,O0O,O 900
Size and Uniformity of Ore First
Importance.
The grade Of ore, then, is of less
consequence than the size and uni
formity of the deposit and the economy
with which the product may be han
died and converted into money The
progress that has been made in re-
cent years in making it possible tn
profltably operate low grade mineral
deposits has been due to great changes
in mining and the application Of up
to date business methods. There is
no reason to believe this advance
ment has yet reached its highest point
or anywhere near it. It is not at all
improbable that what we now call low
grade ores will some day be looked
upon as rather high grade.
The significance Of every forward
step in the development Of ways and
means for handling and treating low
grade ores can be appreciated when 1t
is considered that by making available
for profitable mining slightly lower
grade mineral means the increasing
Of tons. The future of mining, then,
looks bright despite the pessimlstic
walls of those who are endeavoring to
create the impression that our ore re-
serves are being rapidly depleted,