The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-06-07


- Bell arrived in Wallace yester-
X day on official business and re-
ports prosperous conditions III
all the mining districts of the state
with lots of new activity in prospect
ing and development lines. This Is
particularly true of the Macllay dis
trict, in Custer county says Mr.. Bell,
where through the activities of for
mer Occur d'Alener, Pat Keenan,. of
Burke the Mackay district has re-
Gently blossomed out as an important
! producer of lead silver ore with daily
shipments of crude ore already aggre-
eating $50 tons. This is equal to the
copper ore production of that district
with very definite evidence of ex.
| panding capacity from this and num-
erous new prospects now being open
ed in the same vicinity.
Experimental Station.
| Mr. Bell worked hard during the re-
cent legislative session for the small
appropriations that were provided for
the mining industry of the state and
was decidedly chagrined at their sub
sequent~ loss through the executive
veto route. He was agreeably sur
prised on his arrival here to learn of
the endeavors of the university peo-
pie in seeking financial support among
the big local operators for the metal
lurgical research work at Moscow and
of the splendid encouragement they
were receiving. He believes this sup
port is well warranted and will bear
valuable fruit in the line of expanding
the availability of the mineral re-
sources of the state at large, as there
are some interesting problems in ore
treatment to be solved. This district
has some of them and there are num-
erous others in the state, each with
its individual problems.
There is only one Coeur d'Alene dis
trlct in the world. 1t has a remark
able record of production and an equal
ly promising future. However, there
is limit to all mines, and / doubt If
there was ever a lead silver district
in the world whose ore deposits have
been more persistently or more vigor-
ously worked and / think it is a wise
and patrotically generous act on the
part Of our chief operators to support
a movement that will broaden mining
opportunity and help TO perpetuate the
great reputation for lead-silver pro-
duction their efforts have established
in Idaho
South Central Idaho.
In this connection the deeply Oxl-
died limestone lead-silver ore depos-
it's of the south central part of the
state present an ore treatment prob
lem that should not be very compll-
Gated and whose successful solution
would prove of decided economic i'm
portance at this time. There are tens
of thousands of tons of well develop
ed lead carbonate ores in those south
ern districts equally as rich in both
lead and silver as the average mill
feed of this district that are only
ton without serious loss in treatment,
to dress them to shipping grade and
transform them from idle mines to
active and profitable enterprises.
We have new gold district in Owy-
hee county that is likely to assume
Nevada boom camp proportions before
the summer is over, with splendid
values in gold and silver locked up In
with finely disseminated arsenical and
antimonial sulphides that is likely to
call loudly for help on metallurgical
lines. The same is true I'm greater or
ing districts of the State where recent
rich strikes have been made, notably
at Big creek, Marshall lake, Atlanta
and Boise Basin, which, together with
our extensive and often complex cop
per and zinc ores, and well developed
deposits of dry silver ore, afford
broad field for useful investigation on
metallurgical lines. The business has
been decidedly emphasized by the new
demand for metals as result of our
participation in the great world war,
especially the rarer alloy metals, and
other minerals, including mercury,
tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt,
tin, potash and mica, all of which oc-
cur in promising prospects in different
Idaho mining districts and are being
eagerly sought and investigated by
time.
Coal in Idaho.
Coal Is the mineral about which