The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1917-10-20
SILVER
MINE REOPtNED
PROPERTY IN LANDER COUNTY
PROMISES LARGE FUTURE
OUTPUT

most mining men OF the county,
has been in Battle Mountain for the
past week in company with F.
oliver, mining engineer of repute.
Mr.. Getchell has just consummat-
ed a deal in which he took over
the famous Betty O'Neal and Stella
groups Of mining claims at Lewis
canyon, a short distance from Bat
tie Mountain.
The Betty O'Neal, a group of
four patented mining claims, is a
silver mine of record, having pro-
duced thousands in the eighties
when the veins were stripped only
of their picture ore while grades
of $50 or $40 were considered not
worthy of the miners attention and
were left untouched in the bowels
of the earth. At the time when old
Austin was pouring out it's millions,
extensive work was carried On by
the Betty O'Neal. A double COM
partment shaft was sunk to the 400
level with numerous laterals and
drifts opened. Immense veins yield
ing thousands of tons of ruby and
s~teffanite we're mined and treated
in the company mill on the pro-
perty.
At that time it cost $27 a ton to
mill ore which today can be treated
for $1.1O by flotation and with bet
ter extraction.
The Stella, composed of 5 claims
traversed by the same vein system
as is the Betty O'Neal, was worked
to some extent in the early days by
the latter company, and since more
extensively by the late e. T. George,
from whose estate the claims were
purchased.
l.. w. Getchell, we'll known as
the discoverer of the great pillars
of the famous Ward mine at Aus
tin, and one Of the men who helped
to bring Austin up to the sixty mil
lion dollar class, was connected with
various Lander hill mines from
1876 to 1889. He was an owner
and superintendent of the Ward in
80, when Superintendent Price of
the Betty invited him to Lewis
canyon To inspect the mines.
Dave Woolcock, father of w. j..
Woolcock, cashier for the S. p. at
the local office, was foreman at the
time. The party stepped on the
cage, was lowered int the shaft
and had inspected the rich veins on
the different levels, and were on
the 400 ready to give the engineer
the signal to raise when a terrific
explosion took place on top. Every
surface building was wrecked, ma
chinery blown to atoms and a num-
Der of employees killed by the ex-
plosion of a boiler and the fire
which followed. The visitors with
40 or SO men then employed at the
mine made their way to the surface
by means of the ladders.
Numerous damage suits were fill
ed against the company. Litigation
in regard to indemnities followed
which closed the mines. Silver
gradually declined and finally the
old company disbanded.
The claims were later purchased
by the late j. A. Blossom.
Mr.. G~etchell's faith in Lander
county has never wavered, nor has
he ever lost a trace of the mine in
which he has seen the ruby as red
as blood. He returned last fall and
bonded the property from Mrs. VIM.
Mcdonald. At that time the mine
was unwatered to the 800 level and
work carried on until the severe
weather made operations impossible.
Upon re-visiting the mines this
week the shaft was found to be in
practically as fine shape as when
worked years before. This speaks
volumes for the wonderful method
of timbering in the earlier days.
The group, one of the most i'm
portant in the vicinity, will be turn
ed over to a New York syndicate
upon Mr.. Getchell's return to the
east. The new company hopes
within 80 days to have the ma
chinery ready to install and active
work begun in development and
extraction.
The opening of these famous
mines mean much for Battle Noun
tain. With carloads of copper ore
going forward each week from Cop
per Canyon and Copper Basin and
oo-a of tho fapnnre old Anctin