Bisbee daily review., 1917-05-20
ANAC0NDA COMPANY
 LOSES BIG TONNAGE
 OF SEALED COPPER ORE
Fire In Big Butte Mines Nee essitates The Sealing of a Large Part of The Work ings. Will Be Closed In definitely.

BUTTE, Mont. May 19.-A great body of copper ore, the richest in all the mines of the Anaconda Copper Company, in Montana, and valued at millions of dollars, has been removed from the available ore reserves of the company for the time being and may possibly never be reopened. This body of ore has been dramatically sealed up within the confines of what is known as the fire zone of the Tramway, Leon ard and West Colusa mines. Huge con crete bulkheads have been constructed reaching from the surface down to the 2,200-foot level, shutting off communi- cation and air from this great district from which in the past few months thousands of tons of ore per day had been taken.
 The fire which has caused this great loss broke out on March and is SUD- posed to have been the breaking through of the old Minnie Healy fire, which has been burning for over ten years in ground close by.
 The actual cost of the fire to the Anaconda Company no one has been able to estimate. In property loss it far exceeds any fire of it's kind in any mining district in the United States.
 The ore body affected has length of 500 feet and takes in part of the stopes of the Tramway, Leonard and West Colusa mines On every level from the 2,200 to the surface. From this ore body, previous to the fire, the Ana conda Company was taking 2,000 tons of ore per day on the Tramway side, 1000 tons of ore in the Leonard stopes and 1000 tons per day from the West Colusa This made a total of 4,00O tons per day coming direct from the district that has been cut off. This was all rich ore, averaging fully 5 per cent in copper and some of it running very nigh in values.
 From the ores that were mined there the Anaconda Company was making from 25o,00O to SO0,000 pounds of copper per day, or nearly a fourth of the entire output of the Washoe an- Great Falls smelters
 The efforts of the company are being directed now to putting out the fire by smothering it. Whether this will sue ceed and later on these ore values be recovered is uncertain. A fire which bioke out in the Anaconda and St. Lawrence mines of this company in 1889 is still burning as fiercely as ever after 2S years and shows no sign of dying out It may be that part of the fire district will be recovered by shov- ing hack the bulk-heads gradually.
 The direct cost to the company of this fire has been something enormous and will run into many thousands of dollars During the month of April force of close to 700 men on the aver age was kept at work putting in the concrete bulkheads and fighting the fire back At the present time there are 400 men on the rolls doing this and in two months time not pound of rock was hoisted from the Tramway.
 When the fire broke out, the Anacon- day Company secured every concrete mixer in the Butte district and brought in a number from outside. Fifty teams were put to work hauling sand and Co ment. Every foot of finch lumber in the lumber yards of the district was bought for use in making the forms.
 During the past week operations have been resumed in the Rarus mine, a part of the Tramway. Some 250 men have been put to work and the ore is being hoisted from there through the Pennsylvania as the Tramway shaft is being repaired and retimbered. It is probably the Tramway can start again within two weeks and that operations in the mine outside of the fire zone can go on steadily.
 The fire condition at the High Ore mine have improved greatly. The Granite Mountain mine of the North Butte, which was closed oown on ac- count of the gas and smoke getting in to it from the Modoe, mas had no fur. ther trouble since it resumed opera tions week ago. The Speculator shaft of that company is still down for re pairs.
 A new air line has been run 70 the High Ore by using the Parnell shaft and it is expected that this mine will start within a few days The same Is true of the Tuolumne and Butte-Bala' klava, which have both been down for two weeks on account of this fire.
 A feature of this fire. as we'll as the one at the Tramway. has been the extreme care taken by all the compan' ies to take no chances on losing hu man lives. All told in both fires three men lost their lives. They were caught before the conditions were known and died frcm the effects of the gases. After the conditions were discovered, however, the mines affect ed have been closd down promptly and kept closed down as long as there was a possibility of the men being in the slightest danger.
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