The Arizona copper camp., 1916-05-12
Continued from page y

end of 1915. 1,571,279 shares were out
standing. This stock is now quoted
above s22 a share and has sold above
$24.
Altogether the Ray Consolidated
owns $3.50 acres of mining lands at
Ray. Hayden and Kelvin. Its hold
ines at Ray include 1850 acres; its
developed ore body comprises $50
acres. Development was by means of
churn drills. A total of 95S drill
holes were put down, 23s within the
ore body. These 2sS holes represent
1O6.971 feet of drilling.
Today the Ray Consolidated mine
has 121 miles of underground work.
ings. All the underground develop
ment proves the accuracy of the de-
terminations made by drillings.
Enough ore is blocked out to con-
tinue the present rate of produc-
ton, $500 tons day for twenty
years.
The Ray ore body is not only one
of the largest in the world. but 1t
has many characteristics peculiar to
itself. It's length is approximately
5000 feet. At the east end its width
narrow but at the west end it widens
to 1000 feet. In depth the ore varies
from few feet to 40 feet, the aver
age being 121. Most of the ore is
chalcocite disseminated in schist. but
most of the granite porphyry. forma-
tion,, lying contiguous to the schist,
Is also mineralized. The Gaping is
a body of leached iron-stained schist,
averaging 252 feet in depth. At sew
eral points on the surface high grade
carbonate ore, ready for smelling
without concentrating. is found. and
800 tons of seven per cent ore are
lifted from the Ray Central workings,
other day. The general average of
the ore that is sent to the concen-
traitor is only 1.75- per cent copper.
With the exception of that which
comes from the Ray Central, all the
ore now being mined at the Ray
Consolidated is from the first and
second levels. The shrinkage system
of mining has been brought to
state of perfection at Ray Drifts
are first run at right angles from the
main tunnels. From these drifts six
teen-foot Slopes are run straight up
ward. Between each two slopes a
nine-foot pillar of unbroken ore is
left. When two OF three slopes are
completed and stand filled with broken
ore, the support beneath the pillars
Is removed and the ore, pillars and
all. drops through chutes into five
ton cars. The cars are hauled to
the tipples. one of which is on each
level. A tipple takes three cars and
turns them completely over. the ore
dropping into a pocket underneath.
The ore Is conveyed to the surface,
where great gyratory crushers and
Garfield rolls reduce 1t to a material
that looks like it would make ex-
cellent paving. It is carried to stor.
age bins and from them dropped into
sixty-ton ore cars. The cars-150 to
100 of them day-are hauled down
the Ray and Gila Valley railroad, six
miles, to Ray Junction, thence they
pass over the Arizona Eastern tracks
to the concentrator at Hayden.
In spite of the fact that the caving
system, commonly supposed to be
hazardous, Is used. accidents are Of
extremely infrequent occurrence In
the workings Of the Ray Consolidated.
Safety First" is the motto and the
careless workmen finds no welcome at
Ray. Warning signs in both Eng
lish and Spanish are displayed
throughout the well lighted drifts and
tunnels.
Much attention is given to train
ing the employees in first aid work
and they have been supplied with
much expensive modern equipment
for this purpose. Teams from the
Ray Consolidated mine have taken
high honors in many first aid con-
tests, including one held at the San
Francisco exposition last fall.
In order to make the mine even
more safe than it is now, the COM
pany is preparing to substitute air
haulage underground for its present
highly efficient electrical haulage sys-
tenn. Four air locomotives have al
ready been received and more are to
be ordered. Where electricity is used
there is always the danger that some
one will come in contact with troll
ley wire, but with the air this risk
is entirely eliminated.
The Mill
The Ray Consolidated mill at Hay
den, Of which Mr.. D. D. Moffat is
superintendent is one Of the most