Year: 1879




from which the gold and silver which II contains
could not be extracted. IL may be base and re-
tractory. but science can conquer II, although me
process NAV be so complex and expensive thai tue
product when obtained may be worth far less than
the cost Of obtaining II. / might give dozen ex-
ampies Of tine failure OF mining ventures ON TINS a-
count. In the Black Hills the cost of running
small quartz mills greater than the yaue
of the gold they turned out, while Large mills
have earned great profits for their owners.
In Montana almost every attempt to concentrate
ores has failed for the same reason, aud here ~
ltah, within a dozen miles Of this city. tue Ol'l
Telegraph concentrating works are the most per
feet and extensive have ever but their opera
ton Is attended with large daily loss. The essen
tlal conditions Of success In mining might be stated
in the form of mathematical problem as follows
Civen good mine, favorably situated, with aDunu-
Of ORE and The cost IF mining Plus the cost OF
reducing the ores should he less than the assay
value Of the ores minus the loss I'm working. This
may seem SO PLAIN as To be hardly worth writing.
but many company has failed because Whcn 10
came TO balance books tho opposite OF the Tor
mnla has heen found to he true.


4 mine that - easily accessible. other things De-
ing equal, will be much more likely to succeed tnan
one mat Is remote and reached with difficulty.
Many people who have not been IN the mountains
are not aware thai many of the richest gold anu
silver mines are hundreds of miles from rail or
water transport alton, and that some of them are
not even accessible with wagons In those eases
every pound OF machinery ana tools ana every aTl-
Gle of clothing and of food has 20 be carried long
distances with mue OF OK teams or on the backs OF
pack animals over roads that always difficult
and sometimes dangerous. The cost of every artl-
Gle OF necessity IN a mining camp under these cir
cumstances, is increased beyond all compaTlsOn'
and the wages OF labor advance IN Ike proportion.
IL has. therefore, frequently happened that Eastern
managers of mining enterprises, having taken into
consideration every Other element OF success, have
failed because they did not realize how enormous
their expenses would be- On account of the remote
ness of their undertaking.


Since came to Salt Lake City this time, gentle
man named H0llIster called here on bis way TO san
Francisco and while in this city met some of the
leading mining men of Utah. he SAID that he was
a machinist and represented company composed
chiefly Of farmers living IN Chautauqua County.
New-York. They had bought a nine IN Arizona
ana had purchased quartz mill. which be was Ia X
iIE out there TO set up. He never bad seen mine
himself and knew nothing abont the business. a
gentleman who Is acquainted in that part OF
Arizona ia which this mine rs said TO be 81 uated.
told me that t = very difficult ot access that the
only way tO reach it from the East IL % 20 70 >d
Francisco. thence down the coast and up the Gulf
of California. From the heal of that there Il
steamboat navigation up the Colorado River. From
the mouth Of the river the journey is at least SIX
days and how tar the mine Is from the nearest land
ing | did not learn, but the freight OH anything
sent from Chicago 10 cannot be less than % or 81
cents a pound. Ii was tine unanimous opinion Oh
the gentlemen who told me of Mr.. HOLSTERS erTand
that the enterprise had four chances Of failure "a
one of success, and this opinion was formed not
from any knowledge of the mine. but from the TACT
of ITS remOteness from the centres Of supply.


have not written this letter for the purpose OF
dIscOuTaging the investment of Eastern capital III
mining ventures, but 10 warn people who are not
acquain ed wish the business OF some or the most
frequent mistakes that have been made, ana Which
IN times past have been the cause of numerous
failures and great lasses These failures and losses
are what fTlgnten capital away from the Rocky
Mountains. and every man who is interested ~ the
rapid development OF the mineral resources OF the
West is interested IN reducing their number 10 q
minimum. As have already said once IN this let
ter, the production OF tue precious metals, when
managed properly, is legitimate business farm
ing or manufacturing selling goods. and If peO-
pie instead OF expecting " 10 dig money out Of the
ground will understand that success IN mining re-
qures the recognition and application Of the same
sound business principles which are considered
essential for success at home, less money will be-
lost, and mining schemes Will be looked upon with
less suspicion Than IN the past.


Many mines offered for sale in all the
great Eastern cltes and others are beng prepared
for the market. Most of these are undoubtedly y
good properties but there are some I" wildcats v
among them. 10 select the former and avoid the
the same precautions winch they would deem
necessary in the purchase Of a cotton mill a
grocery store. Z.L.w