The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-03-28

A mining transaction of more than
ordinary interest to Idaho people was
the transfer of the Teton Valley Coal
property in December to
some successful northwest mineral OPP
orators from Spokane and Seattle. Inc
transaction involves a total payment
of $1,000 Of which $4,000 has al
ready been paid. The deal was con-
summated early in December, at which
time the new owners took possession
OF the property and commenced its
more vigorous development on the
plan in process by the old owners, who
were all local Idaho people and men
either without means or without ex-
perience in such matters, and who
were unable to take full advantage OF
the splendid coal resource prospect the
property embraced.
This property consists of over goo
acres of PATENTED coal land, title to
which was obtained from under three
government Withdrawals and involved
a tedious governmental red tape pro-
cess and eight or nine years effort to
get the title. 1t is situated 10 miles
from the nearest railway point ON the
Victor branch of the o. S. l.. railway
in Teton county The distance to be
covered is over an easy route on mod
crate grades and has recently been
surveyed at the request of the new
owners of the property with view to
an early construction of railway
spur to the mine, depending on the
pl esent development of the property,
which, however, is giving excellent
promise at this time.
During the summer the old owners
raised sufficient capital to install a
hosting plant and were sinking on the
5-foot vein of the group and had al
ready put the shaft down 250 feet,
which has since been driven to 400 feet
by the new owners, and will be carried
to the 50O-foot level, when, after some
further exploring work and crosscut-
ting TO the larger vein on the prop
erty, the plan of the new owners in
volve driving 5000-foot crosscut tun-
mel which will afford natural ventila-
ton, drainage and gravity handling to
a resource of coal conservatively esti-
mated by competent engineers and
biologists, to aggregate 100000 tons
above that horizon.
The property carries series of
steep pitching veins, closely parallel,
that vary from 6 inches to maximum
of 10 feet of clean coal Fully 20
veins have been identified by surface
work in this series over a lineal eX-
tent of two miles and three of the
veins have already received consider
able preliminary development. One OF
these, the Boise vein, feet thick, has
drift 800 feet long at maximum
face depth of 100 feet The Brown
Bear vein, feet thick, has been the
most extensively operated of the SER
les. 1t is opened at depth on the
dip of the vein of $50 feet and at this
horizon over 5000 feet of entry work
has been driven, from which 10000
tons of coal has been stopped and sold
to the farmers of the tributary re-
gion, who have come to the property
under favorable wagon or sleighing
conditions and gladly purchased the
product of the mine as fast as it could
be brought to the surface. The spot
selling value being an average OF
about SO per ton.
One of the veins is 10 feet thick and
has been developed at a maximum
depth of rs feet with adit entry work
totalling 500 to 900 feet in length
These deposits are definitely identified
by the quality of the coal and the fos-
sill associations of the enclosing form
atoms with the famous Kemmerer
horizon in western Wyoming. The
veins so far opened are decidedly clean
and free from bone, carrying quality
of coal that, according to government
analysis, is equal to the best bitumin-
Gus coal now imported into Idaho from
any source. The veins are somewhat
disturbed by vertical cross faults, but
as far as the quite extensive entry
work has been driven, these short steps
present no serious difficulty or injury
to the quality or quantity of coal. I'm
less these movements develop more
Objectionable conditions as work pro-
crosses i'm depth, which is doubtful as
they seem to be shortening in that di-
rection, the property should become an
| important producer of high grade do
nestle and steam coal that should be
capable of taking care of the entire
requirements of the upper Snake river
region and its extensive settlements
above Pocatello, and also supply other
coal requirements of Idaho and greatly
relieve coal famine dangers in the
balance of the state.
The four million ton estimate of this
deposit, above the 500-foot horizon,
does not necessarily limit the resources
of the property as there, is no mani
fest geologic reason why the coal veins
exhibited should not extend down in
to the earth on their dip, four or five
times that depth, in which event a
permanent resource of desirable fuel