The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-03-11

by slow degrees and scraDe It yer,
thoroughly to clean up every vestig'
OF gold Few people can be convinced
that any machine could be construct
ed strong enough to Gig up the sole
bedrock encountered on our properly
for instance. until they have seen the
work actually performed
The time is too limited to attempt
detailed technical description OF the
dredge throughout The most inter
esting point is the fact that the ma
terial is handled mechanically from
start to finish; no hand or tool touches
1t from the moment it is excavated till
it is stacked in high piles Of failing.
This accounts for the great economy
Of operation Thirteen men as our
complete crew G men to a shift, plus
dredgemaster and goldman, etc, in
the daytime) with this machine handle
live times as much tonnage as the
biggest of the Occur d'Alene mines
with 700 men, and at a fraction of the
cost. Yet there are many dredges Of
three times our size and capacity One
Of these dredges will handle in a day
as much as 5000 old placer miners
could even excavate/ let alone their
eleyating, washing and disposal of
tailngs. one man in the winchroom
controls the entire mechanism Of this
huge plant by a system of levers.
Electrical power is used exclusively,
400 to 1000 horsepower in individual
drives
one secret Of operating success is
continuous -capacity-vol
ume. only thus can the big low grade
deposits be proftably mined. Every
effort is made to keep the wheels |
turning "a hours per day and S65 days /
a year. Each winchman must ac-
count on his shift sheet for every |
minute of time lost Running time
throughout the year will average Is |
to 80 per cent allowing for all delays
Of every nature.
only a visit to a dredge in operation
IAN give one a fair idea Of its size and
power modern all-stee dredge
weighs from 1000 to 5000 tons, and
appears like floating three story
,mce building
Production.
An idea of the contribution to the
gold production made by dredges is
Indicated as follows, the figures given
overing the preiod from 1900 to 1914.
he output for the past five years not
icing at hand:
r $, including Alaska,
Approximately ...-..- ..-.-S1OO, OOO, 900
IF this
California contributed - 100000
Alaska contributed over 100000
Montana contributed M 100000
Idaho contributed ...-.... 100000
Colorado contributed - 1900, 900
I'm the Yukon territory dredges pro-
uced $2O,OOO,OOO up to the end of
914. of which one American company.
contributed over S16.OO0,OOO in eight
easons of five months each, according
o government reports
Character of Ground Mined.
Considerable misinformation seems
urrent as to what may be considered
ground The ideal fields are
he wide level flat grade. so-called
lood plain deposits. formed where the
reat canyon. rivers Of California de-
ouched into the inland seas or val
ays depositing there in a great ex-
anse their burden of gravel, gold and
and. with the thorough exploitation
r these large districts. operators are
DING further away with their equip
lent in order to keep it working.
Narrow river valleys canyons. {
mall creek deposits which formerly
'ere not considered of interest on ac-
cunt Of their small size. or flood haz-
ards, or inaccessibility. or low values
re now being dredged. Many proper
les turned down" by engineers 10
ears ago are now sought after The
round has been dredged varying in
epth from 10 feet to 100 feet Be
.des gold and platinum. dredging is
ow done for stream tin I'm many To-
llities
Summary.
The time has been too limited e. 20
no many OF the important phases /
nj details of dredge operation and
seemed advisable TO skip technical d,
alta for some of the more interesting +
eneral features The larger fields OF t
ie United States are known and 1
loroughly exploited, operating COM q
lnies are looking for smaller proper v
es. even though isolated 1t is my IL
'inion that such properties are still a
be found in your great northwest. a
ld if this talk has suggested any c
cas- which might ultimately bring to f'
CHIT any dredgeable areas, then it has d
rived at least a small part towards "
creasing the production of that met I,
Of which the world stands i'm so
uch need today. E