Bisbee daily review., 1918-03-10
RAY HERCULES HAS
 LARGE ORE RESERF
 AND BRIGHT FUTURE

few which enjoy greater inherent speculative value at ruling quotations.
 Comparing with the $4.50 per share market price for the stock the Ray Hercules Copper company, in the present 231a-cent copper market, can earn annually, according to expert cal culatiOn, $274 per share net on a 3000-ton per diem mill run. Within six weeks the company's new concen- trating mill is scheduled to start oper- ations on 1500 per diem schedule. Soon thereafter it is planned to dOu- ble the size of the concentrator.
 With the turning on of the 15OO-tOn mill, Ray Hercules will be ushered into the ranks of the great porphyry producers. It is just another property which starts off, not only with as- sured ore reserves sufficient to keep its mill running for many years, but with mechanical equipment, financial resources and general outlook equal. if not superior, to those of any other porphyry copper at the same stage of its history.
 In the two and a half years which have elapsed since the property passed into the hands of the strong group that now controls its destiny it has been transformed from a partially developed, unemployed mine into po- tential leviathian, fully equipped with modern machinery of the most i'm proved design to secure the maximum efficiency, and opened up underground in a manner to insure regular produc- tion on a scale four or five times as great as provided for in the initial unit of the mill whose wheels will be turned over in the next few weeks.
 On August 1, 1910 there were de- veloped 3,42S,774 tons of ore, showing an average assay of 2.36 per cent. cop, per. which has been increased to g. 500,000 tons of TIT per cent copper ore as of October 31, 1917. While the development work was going on, putting this additional ore in sight, the work of constructing the necessary surface equipment was successfully completed. These ore reserves indi- cate profit of S2,044.000 per. annum, equal to $1.S7 per share on the 1,4S9,- 222 shares outstanding, based on an initial production of 1500 tons per day and 2315 cents per pound for copper.
 That this 1500-ton per day output does not measure the full capabilities of the property is evidenced by the fact that the mining equipment has a capacity of 300 tons per hour, equiva- lent to 7200 tons per day on the basis of 24-hour operation. Of course, it is not possible to operate and mine con tinuously throughout the A hours. but on the other hand the history of the porphyry copper mines has shown that when the equipment is put to the test it has usually been able greatly to ex- ceed the initial estimates That this is true is shown by reference to the records made by Inspiration Copper, which started work about two years ago, and which has managed to ex- ceed the original estimates of produc- ton by nearly 100 per cent
 The 95,000,00O tons of ore which the Ray Hercules company's engineers re port as developed ore do not allow for any etxension of the ore reserves be- yond the actual limit of the drill holes that have been put down, and do not of course measure the limits of the ore body. It is explained in the an nual report, which was recently is, sued. that drilling operations were suspended owing to the fact that the depth of the superincumbent barren rock overlying the ore body was so great as to make the cost of drilling excessive, and in view of the large tonnage of ore that had already been proved, sufficient to last the company for many years, it was decided that there was no urgency in demonsrat- ing further .tonnages at this time. The orebody will be further proved by means of drifts extending from the underground workings, and as these underground workings are extended not only will they prove additional ore reserves. but they will be designed for use in the actual subsequent min ing operations.
 It is pointed out in the report also that aonther body of ore lying at greater depth has been shown to ex- ist Referring to the extending of the main haulage drift which connects the cOmpany's two shafts, the report states:
 'In the progress of this work more ore is being encountered showing higher assay value than the average assay value of the ore developed by | additional ore bodies in our under ground work indicates the existence of a large tonnage of higher grade ore than the average of the mine as now estimated"
 The report further states that it is intention of the management to con tinue with the development of these new ore bodies to determine the quan- titles and values of the ore lying in this lower horizon. and also that dia- mond drilling will be started from the No. 1 level with this same object in view. The report continues:
 There is no doubt that when the extent of these new ore bodies has been determined the ore reserves of the mine will be substantially added be made in the average assay value to. and that substantial advance Will .HN IL. Al.