Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-12-05
STEPS ARE TAKEN
TO OPEN STATE
GRAPHITE MINE
PLANS ARE MADE TO WORK DE-
POST IN BEAvERHEAD COUNTY
NEAR MADISON LINE

Montana soon may become an i'm
portant producer of graphite, mineral
necessary to the national defense pro-
gram, II plans materialize for work
ing a pure chrystal graphite deposit
located at the top Of the southern
extension Of the Ruby range in
Beaverhead county and a short dis
lance from the Madison county line.
The claims located by the late Pearl
I. Smith and his associates. were at
one time known as the Crystal Graph
lite group and were worked intermit-
tently for many years prior to the
beginning of World war No. and dur
ing that epoch was worked to a con-
siderable extent, some 100 tons hav-
ing been shipped to the Atlantic sea-
board for use in the steel industry,
graphite or crystal grade being neces-
sary for crucible making. After the
close OF hostilities in 1918, the prop
erty was closed down, due to high
mining and shipping costs
Early in 1941, Abbott S. Pond, an
operator formerly of Baltimore, Md,
and until recently connected with the
protective receiverShip of the "Inspir-
alton gold mining property near Sill
| yer Star, leased the graphite group
under an agreement to place this
strategic property in production.
! Alter careful survey Of the geology
Of the property. the condition of the
county road and private road leading
up TO the camp and tunnelsite to-
gether with shipping facilities, it was
apparent that if it were to be made
a paying proposition, freight rates to
the seaboard of $500 per ton, would
have to be lowered. The Oregon Short
Line (Union Pacific) co-operated in
that they supplied loading and storage
space, made application to the inter-
state commerce commission for re-
duction in the freight rate and this
was finally approved for approximately
SIS per ton to seaboard points.
Recently report was made on the
geology and possibilities of the prop
erty by M. r. Cooper of Butte, which
resulted in interesting Wayne L. Fen
ner. formerly with Cerro de Pasco in
South America and now superintend-
ent Of the Golden Sunlight mine at
Whitehall. in the operation Of the
graphite property.
Operations now consist of building
a road from the junction of the county
road up Axe canyon to the mine camp.
consisting Of a group of bunk houses,
office, boarding house and storage
quarters. A new dry house for the
miners and new compressor house
will be constructed to take care Of
equipment and provide adequate IA
cilities for miners comfort.
1t is contemplated that diesel
operated electric lighting plant will
be installed shortly to light the camp
and supply illumination for the tunnel
work. 1t is planned to tap the ore
body approximately 500 feet below the
crest of the range and 800 feet below
the bottom of a shaft sunk from the
crest of the range. This new tunnel
work will be at point near the camp
at an elevation of 7,l0O feet and will
croSscut the lead and should encoun-
ter several new veins not now shown
on the surface.
High-grade leads heretofore encoun-
tered in the vein matter have been
from to 6 or inches in width and
in one instance a pocket developed
which produced so tons of this high
grade ore, needing only to be SHOW
eled into the shipping sacks. 1t is
expected that in about As days that
the production will be about 100 tons
per month
The firm of Cummings g. Moore,
Detroit, Mich, has agreed to purchase
the entire output OF the property, and
the United States government has eX-
pressed the desire that shipments be
commenced at once, so great is the
need Of this strategic ore. Cummings
has expressed the opinion that the
crystal graphite of Dillon will now be
able to compete with the foreign prod
uct as he says that the labor costs,
transportation, wharfage, insurance,
commission, tariff import duty and
freights to inland points of consump-
ton can be met by improved mining
methods and the new freight rates
now authorized by the l C c.