Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-20
Minimizing News of Butte
Durimg the Past Week

Special to The TRIBUNE.
Butte, Aug. 10.-The biggest gold
mine in Montana and probably the
richest is situated within 2h miles OF
Helena. according to reports received
from the capital city. Following IS
part of an article appearing IN q re-
cent newspaper:
"All reports agree as to this, and
aeveral have been made OF the Spring
hall mining property by competent and
conservative engineers. ant that Is
the mining property alluded to.
This great mine, which has been
developed in the past, and which has
at least two million dollars worth OF
gold. bearing ore blocked and very little
mined and milled, is in ideal condition
for working. Recent examination
has shown that the tunnels and shafts
are available for entrance, and an ex-
animation has been made by a local
engineer of repute and ability.
Furthermore, this same engineer
has measured and made samples Of
one block of ore in the Springhill that
averages $12 gold to the ton. This
ore body measures 60 feet in width
and has a proportionate length and
depth. A fortune exists in the body
of ore, not counting vast tonnage sur
rounding in the Madison lime and
'glory hole" operations at a cost that
means very little. The large amount
of ore is stated to average $3.50 a
ton, which is high enough to warrant
its mining and milling.
"a test was made of the Springhill
ore in a cyaniding plant in Unionville
a few years ago when Frank L. Sizer
was manager of the property. A tram
way had been constructed at consider
able cost and the ore was thus carried
to its destination from the SpringhiD,
q distance of about n mile.
Option Was Abandoned.
AT that time the owners of the
Springhill mine held an option to pur-
chase the Whitlack- Union property and
it was generally supposed that the
deal would go through. At any rate,
Mr.. Sizer took that view OF the situa,
ton, but after he had driven a tunnel
over 1900 feet north from the bottom
Of the Whitlach shaft, which is 800
feet deep, in an effort to strike the
east, but failed to make connections,
the company then abandoned its OPP
ton on the Whitlach. The tunnel
run into the head of Squaw gulch,
about 1900 feet east of the Spring
hill, penetrated a solid granite area
and found nothing that looked like q
lead, thus proving that the Springhill
is a mountain or ore, rising up neal
"Of course, the tunnel might have
been run direct to the Springhlll mlne
and would have reached it at no greater
length than the tunnel was extended
into the head of Squaw gulch, but that
was not the idea of the engineer IN
charge. However, the result was dis
appointing and in the end the entire
work was stopped and the property
has remained idle with the exception of
exporting from time to time, about a
dozen years ago, to the present.
"Now, it is the intention of the prln-
cinal owners, the Conrad estate, to
open the property and build a milling
plant on or near Grizzly gulch, below
the mining property, where there Is
ample water and room for talllnSs
storage"
Scratch Gravel Gold Mining COM
p,ny has resumed operations at Its
property in Scratch Gravel hills after
a shutdown of several years. During
the operation of this property it pro
duced in round numbers $3OO,OW
mostly gold. 1t was mined on an IN
cline 500 feet and several hundred feet
in length. But as the pay vein has a
very flat dip, the perpendicular depth
was not more thar 200 feet. The ore
was all quartz and much OF 1t carried
gold visible to the eye. /
The richest ore was mined IN a short
shoot next the Franklin or Cruise prop
erty. This shoot was taken out under
r V1vc1tar I n rSCon and
amounted in smelter returns to about
e OOO Mr.. LARSON held a lease on
the block of ground at the time the
ore was miner.
Col. Thomas B. Miller of Helena has
the Management of the Scratch Gravel
gold mine and he is to be in charge or
any new work from now on. lie was
notified from Spokane that at a meet
ing of the directors they had deter
mined to resume operations at once
and he was notified to get busy: the
work being done at present consists OF
surfacing to determine the existence
dip and strike of any ore shoots that
remain ~unexplored. At the conclusion
of this work there. active operations
will begin.
Veins Are Explored
The first thing to be done will be
the pumping out of the mine, and. as
all of the necessary machinery is IN
place and in good condition. this can
be done without n unnecessary delay.
Then it is contemplated to crosscut
south to probable ore veins which have
already beer explored by shallow work
ings. Several pits dug have disclosed
payable gold-bearing ore, and as the
distance from the old shaft and tun-
nels is less than 100 feet. the expecta-
ton of a new ore zone paralleling the