The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1917-03-02
SOLVING THE MINING PROBLEM.
Ore Shipments from the 0. X. Mine
Giving Such Encouraging Results
Much Activity Expected.

merly, Joint lessees of the 0. X. mine
shipped to the CRANKY smelter, al
Grand Forks. the most valuable car ol
ore that has ever been mined ant
shipped out Of this part Of the coun.
try. 1t was the second car load ship.
ped to the smelter from the o. X. The
returns on the first car were very en-.
couraging, but this last car goes the
initial shipment several hundred dol.
lars better. Shipments will be contin-
ued as rapidly as the ore can be ex.
tricated, hauled to the railroad and
loaded, for there is plenty more of the
same kind Of ore In sight where the
work of extraction Is in progress
This last shipment embraced 81 tons
The assay returns from the smelter
shows that the ore carried copper to
the value of $3.50: silver to the val
ue Of 1919; gold to the value Of $3.50,
with an approximate gross value for
the whole car of $2,165. From that
amount Is to be deducted the cost of
extraction. royalty, hauling to the
railroad. freight and smelter charges,
which leaves for the operators the
snug sum of $500. 1t can readily be
seen from this return that few car
loads of such ore per month woul1
soon place the operators and owner
in comfortable circumstances.
As stated above, this ore Ii from the
O. X. mine, located on Kruger noun
tain, only short distance north of
OrcIiile, and about on the interna-
t'onal boundary line. The property is
owned by Geo. A. Blackwell, Of River
side. A few months ago, Mr.. Neal, Mr..
Gormely and T j. Griffin, the Two
latter, old and experienced diners,
tcck 6 lease on the o. K, on the basis
Of royalty on the output. Only, few
DAYS ago Mr.. Griffin pulled gu. of the
and the mine Is now
worked by Messrs. Gormerly and Neal
who are well enough satisfied with
results to keep on extracting GRE.
With practically no capital to work
with the lessees did about all. the la
Dor themselves at the start, but re-
turns from the smelter have stimu-
lated a desire for more, and q crew
Of husky miners is now engaged in
breaking down and taking out ore. The
operators feel convinced that the ore
body is practically inexhaustible, or
at least cannot be worked or during
the life Of their lease Pres9ht extrac-
ton is only at a depth of so feet. The
ledge from which the ore is taken is
to all appearances in place, Is from
four to six feet wide, and has been
opened up along a trend of several
hundred feet. OF course the ledge is
not solid ore. although the quartz is
all mineralized, but there is a strong
pay chute, and 1t Is holding out as
progress is made on the drift.
1t looks now as though Messrs.
Neal and Glarmerly were solving the
problem of making a producing mine
IN northern Okanogan county, some
thing that has puzzled operators for
years. Granted that their success in
their present undertaking is largely
due to the present high value of met
ais, yet the ore as assayed at the
and the smelter never makes
the mistake of over valuing ore, gives
return of Z Per cent copper. and at
the normal ruling price of copper
such ore should be attractive to men
engaged in mining. The wonder is
that 1t has been left to this late day
to place the o. X. in the paying class.
The o. K. ia not the only mine of
merit on Kruger mountain, and what
has been done with the o. X. can be
done with other properties in imme-
diate juxtaposition If the owners will
only get In and drill. In the immediate
locality are such we'll known holdings
rs the 49th Parallel, the Golden Char
lott, Dividend, Gold Dust, and other
developed mines upon which
much ore of excellent grade has been
discovered. If the o. X. Can be work.
ed at profit, there seems no good
reason why other nearby claims can
not likewise be made to pay a hand
some margin above the cost Of pro-
duction. 1t can be stated that a force
Of men are at work on the Golden
Chariot, and a car load of ore will
soon be shipped from that mine. If
the returns are satisfactory the public
may look for great mining activity on
Kruger mountain this summer.
The distance from the railroad,
while not great, adds considerably to
the cost of getting ore to the smelter.
The solution to this handicap is a
mill Immediately at the
mines. This could be made a coop
erative mill to handle the ores of the
several mines in the vicinity If
mill could be installed upon that plan
all the claims in the neighborhood
would soon be working at full capacity.
LEGISLATIVE NOTES.