The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1922-02-09
ENGINEERS OF NOTE
SEE PROFIT IN STAR
ORE AT GREAT DEPTH
Reports by Wiley and Burch
on Star Show What Testi-
mony Would Have Been

-HE SUDDEN termination of the
Day Smith case against Hecla
and Bunker Hill necessarily pre-
vented w. H. Wiley and Albert
Burch, two nationally known mining
engineers, from testifying in behalf OF
the defendants In this situation Pres
ident Mccarthy. of the Heca, re-
quested both these gentlemen to pre-
pare reports on the Star covering the
main facts to which they would have
testified if they had been called in the
case, to be submitted to Hecla stock
holders at the meeting last Saturday.
In view of the testimony of engineers
for the plaintiffs claiming that there
was no commercial ore in the Star, the
views of Mr.. Wiley and Mr.. Burch are
especially interesting Both Mr.. Wiley
and Mr.. Burch made an extended
study of the Star mine in connection
with THO Star Federal litigation and
made further investigations of the
property in preparation for testifying
in the case just ended. Without going
into extended details some most in
teresting facts follow taken from these
reports showing the amount of ore in
the star. it's value and profit it should
yield.
Wiley's Figures.
In his report Mr. Wiley says there is
a body of developed ore in the Star
extending from the 500 level to the
1850 Assuming that it extends west
for so feet from the face of the 1850
level it would contain i66,597 tons,
having an average value. as sampled
by the Star of 229 ounces silver. S.26
per cent lead and 926 per cent zinc.
The Day Smith sampling of this ore
gave .2.O6 ounces silver. 7SS per cent
lead and 9.O2 per cent zinc, and Mr.
Wiley takes these last figures as a
basis for his calculations. This ton
mage is reduced 20 per cent by sorting
under ground and on the belt, making
the actual tons 373.277, the elimination
of waste raising the grade to 2.5 ounces
silver, S97 per cent lead and 1923 per
cent zinc Metal prices silver 60 cents
lead cents and zinc SIS cents. Mr..
Wiley first calculates the value of lead
and silver alone, which he finds will
give a net smelter return of S4.96 per
ton of ore milled From this is de-
Quoted cost of mining and milling, ,
S322 per ton leaving a net profit on
lead and silver of $1.74 per ton. or a
total of $649,501. In the Star tunnel
through a similar calculation he finds
that IS, 900 tons of ore will yield net
profit of $2.45 per ton or s166.6O0, Civ
ing the total profit on lead and silver
in these two shoots of sS161O1 On |
the zinc in the first block S73.277 tons |
he figures a profit of 1923 per ton. or
sS32.4O7. making the total profit on
lead, silver and zinc from these known |
ore bodies s1.64S,5OS.
Continuation at Depth.
After referring to other resources of |
the STAR Mr. Wiley says in closing:
Down to the lowest level in the
star the 1860. there are no indica-
tons to even suggest a decrease
OF ore in amount or value. The
fact that the Morning mine is
largely in the upper Revett quartz
ite and that the Canyon creek
mines, on which work has ceased
because Improbable in depth.
have extended a long distance into
the Burke quartzite, which under
lies the Revett is reason to expect
the Star Morning shoot will con-
tinue to a considerable depth be-
low the proposed Hecla crosscut
and large additional profits be re-
allied"
Mr.. Bureh's Report.
Mr. Burch enumerates the various
steps taken by him in the investiga-
ton of the Star in reaching his con-
illusions. and also supplements his re-
port with many figures showing ore
blocked out and probable ore, assay
value, milling and mining cost. and in
fact every detail bearing upon the
treatment of the ore down to the final
net profit. Discussing his conclusions
Mr. Burch says in part
1.-THE development work done by
the Federal company within the
star mine resulted in blocking out,
in addition to what they had re-
moved. s3O.OS5 tons of ore, from
which I estimate that you can
make profit of about $4,000. and
they developed on one side only;
and ore 10 the probable amount of
$4,000 tons from which you can
make an operating profit of about