Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1937-07-17

and gave King q quarter interest in the min
Ing property
Phelps wrote Prof. Traphagen 70 send him
the brightest pupil in metallurgy that Trap
hagen had in his school Traphagen sent
win Shaw stivers had made much trouble
In milling the ore. Shaw went 70 work on the
problem and soon evolved formula that
mastered the shines From then on It was
plain sailing for Phelps. He hired stool pigeons
10 jump the claims around the Gilt EDGE on
technicaHties and thus scared the owners
into taking Phelps own price for their claims.
For some obscure reason these birds did not
Jump my Chickadee. Possibly II might have
been because ] on the ground with my
40 high power rifle. Phelps hired some
Of the best lawyers in the state including his
uncle Martin Maginnis, to search for flaws
In my title 10 the Chickadee mine. The search
proved fruitless and much TO his chagrin'
Phelps was placed under the necessity OF ouy-
ing the mine from me which he did
Everything now was Jake. In a comparatively
short time the old mill had produced enough
money to settle the creditors claims and have
a large surplus. It was decided to build new
and larger mill up at the mines. SPLENDID
plant with all improvements, and capable,
King told me, OF working 200 tons Of ore per
day, was erected.
/ do not remember how long Phelps and
King operated the property. but long enough,
it was stated by those who claimed to be in
the know, for the mines to show profit ex-
A promoter named Byrd now appeared on
the scene and negotiated q deal whereby
John A. Drake Of Chicago purchased the
property for a price said to be around half
million dollars Most Of the oxidizng ore that
was Of easy access had been worked out. But
there a large amount OF unoxidized ore,
known as BLACK ore" IN sight. The black
ore could not be cyanided until II was roasted
Drake installed the latest improved roasters
which handled that end Of the process at a
cost Of 81 per ton OF ore. How much money
Drake took out OF the mines, no one kho 9,g
But he put a lot Of money into erecting fine
buildings and bringing a water supply seven
or eight miles to the works, and 1t was gen
orally supposed that he did not take out as
much as he put in. He finally turned the
property over to some leasers and went back
to Chicago.
good profit was made by the leasers while
the roasters lasted. but when the roasters
wore out operations we're suspended.
In 1919 a forest fire reduced all the buildings
TO ashes and the property has been idle since.
Lately, however. a Billings syndicate heaoeo
by Lyman II. Brooks jr., mining man OF
Sheridan. Wyo, and Cooke CITY Mont. mas
acquired the property with the intention OF
putting in a new cyanide plant and operating
the mines in the near future There is plenty
Of ore still in the mines, and under eIlicient
greater sum of money than has already been
taken from them.
have gone thus infinitely into the history
Of these mines for the reason that the entry
of the Gilt Edge mines into the gold produc-
ton field was epochal The Gilt Edge plant
was the first cyanide plant in the world on a
large Commercial lscale. test plant IN COLO
RADIO and a small commercial plant IN o
southwestern state we're the only ones that
preceded the Gilt Edge plant. Imminent min
ing men from all parts Of the outside world
as well as the United States, came to Gilt
Edge to observe and learn the process.
The history of cyanide mining IN Fergus
county centers largely in the Gilt Edge mines
1t was Harry KendaIl's knowledge OF the Gilt
Edge ores that led him to believe the Ken
dan was a mine. And the money for the de-
velopment of the Barnes-King properties at
Kendall was taken out Of the Gilt Edge. other
cyanide reduction plants in the Judith noun
tains were placed on the following mines;
the New Year, Whisky gulch, Mammoth Cum
berland Tail Hold McEvony mines and
group Of mines in the Lone Butte district
The Tail Hold mill was built by George
Wieglenda and J. H Mclean, the mine owners.
to work out a known body Of ore that paid
well for all development expenses When this
ore was worked out, the mill was moved and
is now in operation on the Barnes-king mine
at Kendall with excellent results, I am told.
The mill on the McEvony property for some
reason failed to extract the gold from the
ore and is now idle. But there is plenty OF
ore In the mines and wherever the mill is
placed in operation by an expert on the
cyanide process, it is likely to pay handsomely.
All the other mines mentioned as being