The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Business of Mining, by Arthur J. Hoskin
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Business of Mining
A brief non-technical exposition of the principles involved
in the profitable operation of mines
Author: Arthur J. Hoskin
Release Date: February 16, 2012 [EBook #38903]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BUSINESS OF MINING ***
Produced by Eric Skeet and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Transcriber's Notes :
(1) Obvious misspellings, punctuation faults and misprints
have been corrected.
(2) Italic text is denoted by _underscores_
(3) Subscripts are denoted by an _underscore followed by the symbol in {braces}
(4) "Par/Share" = Par Value per Share, in the table of share values
[Illustration: UTAH COPPER COMPANY'S OPEN PIT MINE, BINGHAM, UTAH.
This Mountain is Copper Ore.]
THE BUSINESS
OF MINING
A BRIEF, NON-TECHNICAL EXPOSITION
OF THE PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN THE
PROFITABLE OPERATION OF MINES
BY
ARTHUR J. HOSKIN, M.E.,
CONSULTING AND GENERAL MINING ENGINEER; WESTERN EDITOR, "MINES
AND MINERALS"; FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF MINING, COLORADO SCHOOL
OF MINES; MEMBER, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS;
MEMBER, COLORADO SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY
_WITH 16 FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS AND ONE CHART_
[Illustration: Publisher's Logo]
PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
1912
COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PUBLISHED JULY, 1912
PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS
PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
I. WHAT IS A MINE? 4
II. WHAT IS MINING? 12
III. THE ANTIQUITY OF MINING 22
IV. MINING'S PLACE IN COMMERCE 28
V. THE FINDING OF MINES 39
VI. MINING CLAIMS 46
VII. PLACERING 60
VIII. OPEN MINING 72
IX. CONSIDERATIONS PRECEDING THE OPENING OF MINES 78
X. MINE OPENINGS 93
XI. TYPES OF ORE BODIES 107
XII. THE QUESTIONS OF DEPTH AND GRADES OF ORE 115
XIII. VALUATION OF MINING PROPERTY 129
XIV. THE MINE PROMOTER 134
XV. INCORPORATION AND CAPITALIZATION 140
XVI. MINING INVESTMENTS 148
XVII. MINE EQUIPMENTS 154
XVIII. MINE MANAGEMENT 162
XIX. PRICES OF METALS 170
XX. MINE ACCOUNTING 179
XXI. INVESTMENT IN MINING STOCKS 185
XXII. THE MEN OF THE FUTURE IN MINING 202
XXIII. MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS 210
CAPITALIZATION AND DIVIDENDS OF NORTH
AMERICAN METAL MINES 216
INDEX 221
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
UTAH COPPER COMPANY'S OPEN PIT MINE, BINGHAM, UTAH _Frontispiece_
HACKETT MINE AND MILL, JOPLIN, MO. 12
COAL WASHING PLANT, PANA, ILLINOIS 16
UNIVERSAL MINE, CLINTON, IND. 20
KENNEDY MINE, JACKSON, CAL. 30
A GILPIN COUNTY, COL., SCENE 52
DREDGES OF YUBA CONSOLIDATED GOLDFIELDS, HAMMONTON,
CAL. 66
THE SNOWSTORM PLACER, FAIRPLAY, COL. 70
STEAM SHOVELS AND CHURN DRILLS, COPPER FLAT, ELY,
NEV. 74
MILL OF THE PITTSBURG-SILVER PEAK GOLD MINING
CO., BLAIR, NEV. 88
MILLS AND SHAFT HOUSE OF DALY WEST MINE, PARK
CITY, UTAH 100
SHAFT NO. 3, TAMARACK MINING CO., CALUMET, MICH. 114
SMELTERY OF THE BALAKLALA CONSOLIDATED COPPER
CO., CORAM, CAL. 114
WASHOE REDUCTION WORKS OF THE ANACONDA COPPER
MINING CO., ANACONDA, MONT. 118
MILL OF THE ROODEPOORT-UNITED MINES, TRANSVAAL,
SOUTH AFRICA 148
SPRAY SHAFT HOUSE OF COPPER QUEEN CONSOLIDATED
MINING CO., BISBEE, ARIZ. 160
DIAGRAM OF METAL MARKET FOR ONE-THIRD OF A CENTURY 178
FLORENCE MINE AND MILL, GOLDFIELD, NEV. 200
THE BUSINESS OF MINING
INTRODUCTION
There is probably no line of human activity that is not beset with
malicious and ignorant intruders. The fact that any occupation or
business is really legitimate seems often to stimulate the operations of
these disreputable persons.
Mining does not escape the application of this postulate. For ages, the
industry has afforded most fertile opportunities for the machinations of
the unscrupulous and the erring. Somehow, there weaves throughout the
history of mining a sort of magnetism rendering us unduly susceptible to
the allurements which are presented with every mining proposition.
It is not, however, always intentional deceit that is perpetrated upon
the unwary. Often, mining failures result from actual ignorance of the
business upon the part of those entrusted with its conduct, or if not
from actual lack of knowledge, then from erroneous conceptions with the
consequent misapplication of honest endeavor. A victim of such misplaced
faith is perhaps more leniently inclined than is the person who has been
duped by a "shark," but the effect upon the great industry is hurtful in
either case.
The purpose of this short monograph will be served if the author can
feel assured that his readers will finish its perusal with the belief
that mining may be followed as a business with just as much assurance of
success as attaches to any one of the many lines of industrial activity.
Many persons who have sustained losses in mining ventures deserve no
sympathy whatever, since they have not exercised even the simplest
precautions. So long as men--or women--will take as fact the word of any
untrained or inexperienced individual concerning investments, just so
long will there be resultant financial losses, no matter what the line
of business. Because there have been elements of chance observed in the
records of mining, this business appeals to the speculative side of our
human natures, with the result that untold numbers of individuals have
had ample reason to regret their ventures. But, as will be found in the
text matter, mining can be relied upon with precisely as much assurance
as can any other business.
Nothing of a technical or engineering sort has been attempted herein,
the sole aim of the writer being to establish the reliability and the
credit of the mining industry as a whole by pointing out the lines of
conduct which should be followed by those who enter its precincts as
business people. When investors of small or large means will put their
money into mining projects with the same precautions that they would
exercise in placing their cash in other enterprises, they will be
rewarded with corresponding remuneration. In this firm conviction, then,
this little work is dedicated to the intelligence of American laymen in
mining matters.
I
WHAT IS A MINE?
Before entering into a discussion of the economic features of the mining
industry, it will be well to be sure that we understand, definitely,
what is meant by mining. As one investigates the question, he is bound
to run across varying shades of meaning for the words _Mine_ and
_Mining_, and so we must pause long enough to define these words
according to the best usages.
A search through works on mining written at various periods reveals
differing ideas that have prevailed among authors. Less than a hundred
years ago, it was said that a mine "consists of subterranean workings
from which valuable minerals are extracted." One early writer said that
a mine is one only when the operations are conducted in the absence of
daylight. As time has created new fields for the industry, we find that
ideas concerning the meaning of the word mine have necessarily altered,
until now (according to The Coal and Metal Miners' Pocketbook), we may
think of a mine as "any excavation made for the extraction of minerals."
Under this definition, we properly think of the rather unusual
operations of marketing coal right from the surface of the earth, in
eastern Kansas, as mining. There is, in this case, no covering of earth
above the workmen; neither are the operations necessarily carried on at
night to avoid the illumination of the sun.
So, also, placers are now correctly spoken of as mines, although but a
few years ago there was drawn a strict line, eliminating such worked
deposits from the category of mines. One may still run across a few men
who are sticklers upon the point that a placer is not a mine. Throughout
the world, at the present time, there are many places where immense
deposits of valuable minerals are being excavated from open pits by
out-of-doors methods, and our common term for these places is mines.
Thus, in Minnesota, in that wonderful Lake Superior country, that is
famous as the world's greatest known producer of iron ore, tremendous
tonnages are handled every year by the modern steam shovel, which works
in natural light by day and by electric lamps at night. In Utah and
Nevada we find similar operations conducted in the excavation of copper
ores. In Australia, the famous Mount Morgan mine is using open air
methods in the mining of precious metal ore.
But what about quarries from which are taken building stone, salt,
kaolin or clay? Are not such substances of the mineral kingdom? Here we
run across a hitch in the definition quoted above; for while we hear of
"salt mines" (not "salted mines"), our parlance has not, as yet,
warranted this term except for such excavations of salt as are carried
on in subterranean deposits; and it is quite out of place to speak of
stone or clay mines.
Evidently we must pass through another transition in our conceptions
about mines, or we must permit quarries and pits to be included within
our realm of mines. At the present time, the prevailing practice of the
men best qualified in such matters is to designate as mines those
workings from which only coal, metallic ores, or gems are extracted.
Hence, we should not speak of a slate, sulphur, mica, clay or phosphate
mine.
And yet, with all the above restriction in our nomenclature, we have not
reached one very important consideration, one which we have been
approaching for a number of years and which, of late, has been met and
forcibly applied by the best men in the profession of mining
engineering.
An excavation that will produce coal, metals or gems is not necessarily
a mine. The simple fact that a man can get some gold-bearing dirt from a
hole in the ground does not mean that he has a mine. The occasional
finding of a diamond on the sidewalks of a great city does not give
anybody the impression that city sidewalks are diamond mines. There are
many places in which small amounts of combustible coal can be scratched
from its natural depository, but no company appears to think highly
enough of these seams to install machinery and to carry on operations.
In the eastern part of Kentucky there are well-defined deposits of
lead-bearing baryta, though, up to date, their development has not
proved successful. In Brazil there are known to be very rich areas of
placer ground, and still the deposits are not worked. A friend of the
writer discovered some very good gold-bearing gravels in Alaska, but he
was unable to mine.
There is something besides the presence of valuable minerals and the
ability to win them from their natural matrices that is essential to a
mine. It is here, in our considerations of the mining industry, that we
come into real economic notions for the first time. Yes, according to
the latest ideas, we are wrong in stating that any worked or workable
mineral deposit is a mine, _if it does not contain possibilities of
profitable working_. This is now the prime thought of every up-to-date
mining manager or engineer. It is this notion that will distinguish a
mine from a prospect. The prospect may become a mine by proving itself
profitably workable: if it simply carries values which cannot be
realized to advantage, then it must continue as a mere prospect. There
are cases of properties which possess rich deposits and which are
loosely called mines. These properties may be observed to be erratic in
their productiveness, owing to the very pockety nature of the deposits;
and the owners, although they do, indeed, strike occasional handsome
bonanzas, expend all the profits of such finds--or even greater
amounts--in searching for other pockets. Is such work profitable? Is it
mining?
The trouble with the cited placers of South America is that climatic,
hygienic and political conditions have been antagonistic to successful
working: the ground is rich, but it cannot be handled to make money. In
the case of the Alaska gravels, there was no available, though
essential, water supply. The Kentucky galena cannot be economically
separated from the containing heavy spar. Coal, which is sold at
comparatively low figures per ton, must be handled at the mines in
large quantities to pay, so that a thin seam or a scattered deposit is
not suitable for mining.
Under these restrictions of our new definitions, we run across many
interesting points. For instance, one may ask the question about the old
abandoned hole in the ground which is occasionally found by prospectors,
"Is it a mine?" The answer can be simply another query as to whether the
hole was abandoned because it contained no value, or because, containing
value, it could not be profitably worked. As we think of mines nowadays,
we can conceive several reasons why, before the advent of transportation
lines and the invention of modern metallurgical processes and many forms
of labor-saving machinery now so common in and about mines, many very
rich deposits may have been necessarily forsaken by their discoverers.
But such a property would, if now worked, probably prove highly
profitable. We thus note that there exists some elasticity in the
meaning of the word mine. An unprofitable project at one time may
develop into a mine at a later period. Many gold mines have become
worthless propositions merely through changes in the ore that have
rendered further work unremunerative.
II
WHAT IS MINING?
Having considered the accepted definition of a mine, let us now extend
our reasoning a little and inquire just what is meant by mining. At
first thought, one would say that mining is, in a broad sense, the art
or practice of excavating, at a profit, the ores of metals, the beds of
coal, the gravels of placers and the deposits containing precious
stones. Are we justified in letting this definition stand as it is? If
we do not make any change, we must exclude all quarries, sand banks,
clay pits, and the numerous sorts of works that are producing the
non-metallic minerals of commerce. Very well, since we find good usage
will warrant us, we will do so.
[Illustration: HACKETT MINE AND MILL, JOPLIN, MISSOURI.]
Still, there are other pertinent questions arising. Does the practice of
mining cover the treatment of the excavated products? Here we run across
a mooted point. The British and the American uses of the word mining
seem to be a bit different in this regard. Upon the Rand, South Africa,
a territory dominated by Englishmen, every mine is equipped with its own
mill, and all notions of mining cover the inseparable idea of local ore
treatment. Here, in our country, there are many, many mines which have
absolutely no means of treating their own products and the managers give
no thought whatever to metallurgical or milling lines. There are, on the
other hand, many companies that have erected private plants at their
mines for the extraction of metallic contents from the ores. Here it
may, or it may not, happen that the operations of mining are considered
as distinct from those of treatment. In some instances, as at the
Tonopah Mining Company's plants, there is separate superintendence of
the milling and the mining; but in the Joplin, Missouri, zinc region one
superintendent looks after the running of a mine and its omnipresent
mill.
There may be drawn a sharp distinction between what is really mining and
what is the subsequent treatment of the ores for the extraction of
values. The latter field is denoted _Metallurgy_ when the operations are
of such a nature as to actually recover or extract metallic products or
metals. If the treatment process has for its object merely the rejection
of some of the worthless materials in the original ore, thus causing a
concentration of the valuable minerals, but without actually obtaining
any metal, then the term _Ore Dressing_ is warranted. At some mines,
there is maintained a practice of culling out, often by hand, a certain
percentage of the obviously worthless ingredients of the ore before
shipping the products to treatment plants. This is neither milling,
metallurgy, nor ore dressing, but is more properly called _Sorting_. It
is one of the operations connected with mining. Milling may be either
ore dressing or metallurgy.
In the operations of placering, there is a simultaneous _excavation_ of
a deposit and an _extraction_ of the valuable contents. In this case,
shall we call the process mining or metallurgy? If it is a gold placer,
one may see the recovery of the metallic values. Here, the usage of the
majority of practical mining men will uphold us in always speaking of
the work as mining.
In its original significance and use, metallurgy involved the use of
fire for the concentration and recovery of metals. With recent advances
in chemistry, there have been numerous discoveries of wet or fireless
methods for arriving at equivalent results, so that it is now perfectly
proper to allow the word metallurgy to cover such processes as
cyanidation, chlorination, electrolysis, and the host of new inventions
that are continually appearing.
The writer has consulted a number of authorities on mining lines to
ascertain just what sort of a position to give to the practice of ore
dressing. Prof. Robert H. Richards, the head of the mining department in
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the inventor of machines
which have made him famous among mining men, says, "Ore dressing is an
essential part of mining. The whole object of ore dressing is to remove
gangue before shipment and so save in freight and treatment charges."
Mr. A. G. Charleton, the eminent English mining engineer and author of
numerous books, in discussing this question, writes, "Personally, I am
of the opinion that ore dressing should be included in mining." One has
but to look through the catalogues of most of the American and foreign
mining schools to find that little or no line is drawn between the
courses in mining and metallurgy, and almost universally the dressing of
a mine's product is taken up as an inseparable part of mining. In a very
few exceptions, the courses of study are so planned as to draw an
imaginary line between mining and metallurgy, and in these instances,
ore dressing is placed with metallurgy only for convenience in the use
and arrangement of college laboratories. But, since it is a common
practice for mining companies to install plants right at the mines for
the purpose of diminishing the bulk of ore shipped and to thus save in
freight and custom treatment charges, mine superintendents and even the
common miners have become accustomed to thinking of such plants as
but units of the "mining" plants. At bituminous and anthracite mines
whose products contain objectionable amounts of impurities, it is a
common practice to subject the output to a _Washing_ to remove the
deleterious substances before shipment to the market.
[Illustration: COAL WASHING PLANT, PANA, ILLINOIS.]
In view, then, of these reasons, it is proper to decide that mining is a
term broad enough to cover the operations of extracting coal and
metallic ores from the ground and of preparing them for shipment or
metallurgical treatment.
Coal is always coal, no matter in what thickness of deposit it is found.
It may not be minable coal because in thin seams or because so
intercalated with layers of slate or "bone," that the mine's mixture, or
so-called "run of mine," is not salable. But with metallic ores, we run
across an idea that is occupying the attention of many prominent
geologists and mining men.
What is ore? This is a question to which there have been many attempted
answers. There has been an evolution of ideas, with a corresponding
gradation of definition. To set a uniform standard of thought upon this
point, officers of the United States Geological Survey, a few years ago,
proposed the following definition. It must be conceded that this
definition, while embodying many splendid features, is not altogether
exempt from criticism; but in the absence of anything better, we shall
not be very far in error if we use it:
_Ore_ is a _natural_ aggregation of one or more _minerals_ from which
useful _metal_ may be _profitably_ extracted.
There is, then, no such thing as "pay ore" or "non-pay ore," expressions
still quite common among miners and prospectors of the uneducated types.
Prof. James F. Kemp, probably America's best-posted writer upon the
subject, in an attempt to formulate one acceptable and unchangeable
meaning for the word ore, says, "In its technical sense, an ore is a
metalliferous mineral or an aggregate of such minerals, more or less
mixed with gangue, and capable of being won and treated at a profit.
The test of _yielding the metal or metals at a profit_ seems to me, in
the last analysis, the only feasible one to employ." This definition
eliminates one of the weak points in the first definition, namely, that
an ore must be an association of minerals: there are some common ores
(as for example, magnetite) which are not associations, but single
minerals.
We now reach certain fundamental concepts which must be accepted by the
mining man who desires to be recognized as abreast of modern ideas.
Following the publication of Kemp's definition of ore, there was much
comment--as was anticipated--with the result that there has been noted a
vacancy in scientific matters and it has been thought proper to permit
another definition for purely scientific uses. This other definition of
ore will cover the materials or aggregates of minerals from which gem
stones and other valuable, but not metallic, substances are recovered.
Let us recapitulate. An _ore_ must be an aggregate or association of
natural minerals, or a single mineral, from which metal may be
profitably recovered. _Mines_ are excavations in the earth from which
ore, coal or gems are taken. _Mining_ is the art or practice of
operating mines.
Throughout the subject, we see the inseparable idea of _profit_. The
work of carrying on operations in a railroad tunnel is not mining; the
driving of adits through barren rocks to reach ore bodies is not mining;
the sinking of shafts through worthless "wash" or rocks with a view of
opening avenues for the removal of ore is not mining. Mining is carried
on only when ore is being produced. The wildcat practice of erecting
small, temporary plants and digging prospect holes can be condemned as
not being real mining.
[Illustration: UNIVERSAL MINE (BITUMINOUS), CLINTON, INDIANA.]
There is usually little question about the validity of a coal mining
proposition, since "the goods show for themselves." Comparatively few
cases of fraudulent ventures in coal properties are of record. The
product of a coal mine is ready for market just as soon as it is loaded
into railroad cars, the mining company receiving its pay, commonly,
upon its own recorded weights. There is no freight to pay, no waiting
for assays or analyses, and no settlements with mills or smelteries.
There are not the allurements for getting rich quickly in coal mining
that are so beguiling to the class of investors generally approached by
the promoters of mines(?). This must not be construed as stating that
nobody has ever been deceived in a coal mine proposition, for, indeed,
there have been many failures; however, they have been due, chiefly, to
auto-deception as to area, thickness or quality of the coal measures.
III
THE ANTIQUITY OF MINING.
Mining is believed to have been one of man's earliest occupations. In
historical writings, many of which date back into antiquity, there are
allusions, as well as direct statements, concerning the art and tasks of
obtaining valuable metals from Mother Earth. We are told that the very
ancient Egyptians made common use of metals and that they possessed
knowledge of certain metallurgical and metal-working processes (as for
example, the tempering of copper) which we, of today, cannot claim. Six
thousand years ago Egypt became a world power through her mining of
copper in the Sinai Peninsula. Iron implements found in the great Gizeh
Pyramid are supposed to date back to 4,000 B.C. Copper tools have been
found in the ruins of ancient Troy. In Assyria, a very good steel saw,
44 inches long, was taken from the ruins of Nimrod. Iron was utilized by
the Chinese some 2,000 years B.C. Near Delhi, India, there exists an
iron pillar, 22 feet long and weighing six tons, dating back to 400 B.C.
It is chiefly interesting in exhibiting an ancient knowledge of welding
which is the envy of our modern iron workers. If we accept the Hebrew
Scriptures, we must believe that mining was carried on in the time of
Tubalcain, spoken of in Genesis. The Old Testament contains numerous
verses referring to the mining of metals, the land of perfect abundance
being paraphrased in Deuteronomy thus: "Where the stones are of iron and
out of its hills are digged mines of brass." Coal was mined and used in
Greece in 1330 B.C.
It is quite probable that gold was the earliest metal to be worked.
There are two good reasons for this assumption: First, gold was to be
found in the native state or as nuggets, thus requiring no reduction
process. Second, the ores of gold are usually less refractory than are
the ores of other metals. This is especially true of the oxidized ores
such as would naturally be discovered by primitive man. These facts,
together with the further properties of gold, _viz._, that its color is
attractive, that it resists corrosion or tarnish, and that it is easily
worked into ornaments or coin merely by hammering, make it highly
probable that humans early made use of this yellow material.
We read in Job 28:1, that "gold is refined;" and modern investigations
tend to prove that the Ophir of Biblical reference is the southern
portion of Matabeleland or the Rhodesia of present fame among mining
regions. It is possible and quite probable that the great quantities of
gold used in the building and furnishing of King Solomon's Temple came
from the vicinity of the present city of Johannesburg. The "golden
fleece" of literature has been explained as a figure of speech for the
skins of sheep which were laid in troughs to catch gold upon the
principle of the riffle in a modern sluice-box.
Copper was perhaps the second metal to be worked by man. As a rule, it,
also, is easily smelted from its ores; and, as above mentioned, we have
relics that give evidence of wonderful skill in working this metal in
times of remote antiquity.
However, other metals are believed to have been mined, upon commercial
scales, before the Christian era. Silver and lead were handled in large
quantities from the mines of Laurium, Greece, in the sixth century B.C.,
and the same mines are being worked to this day, the principal values
now being in the lead rather than, as formerly, in the white metal. The
Phoenicians, about 500 B.C., invaded Spain for gold, copper and
mercury, and Cornwall for tin and copper. The Almaden quicksilver mines
of Spain have been operated, almost incessantly, since 415 B.C., and in
the 16th century, A.D., the wealth of Europe's greatest family of
financiers, the Fügers, was based upon the operation of this remarkable
deposit.
Del Mar, in his _History of the Precious Metals_, says, "Desire for the
precious metals, rather than geographical researches or military
conquest, is the principal motive which has led to the dominion of the
earth by civilized races. Gold has invariably invited commerce,
invasion has followed commerce, and permanent occupation has completed
the process. It is the history of the past as well as of the present.
Scipio went to Africa, Cæsar to Gaul, Columbus to America, Cortez to
Mexico, Pizarro to Peru, Clive to the conquest and Hastings to plunder
Bengal."
Our own day has witnessed the subjugation of the Boer. Because of
Mexico's mineral wealth, many optimistic Americans are beginning to
prophesy the annexation of our sister republic. For gold, Englishmen
populated Australia in 1850, about the same time (1849) that we
witnessed the rush to California gold fields. Spaniards settled Central
and South American countries merely to gain the precious metals. It is
mining which has been responsible for the population of the arid,
southwestern portion of our own domain.
In this, as in every other age of the world's development, we shall find
that the mining industry lies at the heart of all commerce. It is well
for the student of mining economics to fully appreciate this fact, for
it will whet his interest in this great world industry.
"Truly, it has been a great seeking and finding. The story of mining may
have been staled by commonplace, and the romance of it dulled, often
enough, by greed; yet, in the main, it has linked the generations of
earth as with a golden thread--and if not golden only, then there has
been the red glint of copper or the white sheen of silver. Mining
districts may come and go, but mining remains."--(Editorial,
_Engineering and Mining Journal_).
IV
MINING'S PLACE IN COMMERCE.
It is said that upon two of the world's commercial industries, every
other form of activity depends. These two fundamental industries are
agriculture and mining. Statisticians prove the above statement and the
further fact that these two dissimilar branches of civilization's
business are so closely related as to be quite inter-dependent. Strides
are made by one of these industries only when advance is noted in the
other. While it may not be possible to explain just why this is so, it
is worth our attention to consider some brief figures that show this
condition of affairs.
The agitation conducted during the past few years, leading to the
establishment of a Bureau of Mines in the Department of the Interior,
attracted the thoughts of many students of economics who had not
previously or seriously considered the industry of mining. The delivery
of brilliant addresses showed that mining had been unjustly retarded.
While agriculture has for years been fostered by the government and with
remarkably satisfactory results, the great sister industry has been
required, until recently, to struggle along without any governmental
recognition in the matter of support. Yet it has forged its way in
unmistakable terms of progress and there was an insistent demand, among
those men particularly interested in the welfare of mining, for the
protection and the assistance which would and has now come through the
establishment of a governmental department. Various states have long
recognized the importance of the mining industry by the establishment of
departments. The Canadian and Mexican governments maintain very
creditable Departments of Mines. It was but a question of time until the
shortsightedness of our politicians (not our statesmen) was revealed,
and the mining industry has now come under the auspices of a federal
department.
Taking the world as a whole, it would be hard to conceive the sum total
of annual mineral productions. The middle of the past century seems to
have been a critical period in the mining industry of the earth. There
was a great impetus given to mining by the greed for gold which caused
the settlement of our western states and the Australian states, as
already mentioned. But there gradually followed the opening up of mining
in many other and hitherto unpopulated and uncivilized portions of the
globe. The search for gold was successful.
Prior to 1850, the production of gold had not kept pace with the
increase in population. Soon, however, it began to take leaps, in almost
geometrical ratios, until, by 1900, the annual production of gold
throughout the world was some 2,200 per cent. of the production for 1800
(as nearly as may be ascertained). The 1900 gold production was of a
weight of about 400 tons, in round figures. During 1911, the world
produced approximately $470,000,000 (about 779 tons) in new gold
bullion. It is estimated that with a continuance of the remarkable
progress, the next 20 years will duplicate _the amount of gold now
known in the world_. _This means that the amount of gold which has been
accumulating from mining during the world's ages will be doubled during
a fraction of our lifetime._ This is significant of the world's
progress, in gold mining, at least.
[Illustration: KENNEDY MINE, JACKSON, CALIFORNIA.]
It seems coincidental that the rush for gold in 1849-50 should have been
almost simultaneous with the remarkable development of our other mineral
resources. All of our great discoveries of coal, oil, silver, iron,
lead, copper, and zinc can be said to have followed closely upon the
discovery of gold in California. It is not supposed that the discovery
of iron in northern Michigan in the early eighties had any connection
with the "Pike's-Peak-or-Bust" expeditions, nor that the opening and
development of the vast coal beds of Pennsylvania had any bearing on the
discoveries of lead and zinc in the great Mississippi Valley. But, on
the other hand, there can be traced a very intimate relation between the
finding of gold, silver, copper, and lead in the Rocky Mountain states
and the search for gold in California: the pioneers en route to the
coast were the discoverers and settlers in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and
Montana.
Figures are not available for arriving at such striking or reliable
conclusions in regard to the world's production of metals other than
gold, but there is no logical reason to doubt that such increases have
been just as pronounced as in the case of the yellow metal. In fact,
there are good grounds for assuming that the figures for silver, lead,
iron, and zinc would show up even more spectacularly; while with coal,
we know that we are now in the greatest period of the world's
production.
The United States leads the world in the production of the base metals,
such as copper, iron, manganese, lead, and zinc, taken collectively or
separately. Our country stands second in the production of the precious
metals, gold, platinum, and silver. We have the greatest variety of
mineral products, as well as the greatest production of complex ores, or
those carrying more than one valuable metal. We produce more copper
than the rest of the world combined. Although we stand in second place
when considering the production of gold, we still possess the Homestake
mine in the Black Hills, famous as being the gold mine with the greatest
tonnage in the world; and the Camp Bird mine, in the San Juan district
of Colorado, famous the world over for its highest average value of gold
ore. This great mine is now nearly exhausted and is about to close down
after making a wonderful record.
South Africa produces the greatest amount of, and the purest, natural
gold in the world. Great Britain has an insignificant production of both
gold and copper, and still it is noteworthy that the English-speaking
nations control the world's production of both these metals. British and
American citizens own seven-eighths of the world's gold mines. England
stands second in the consumption of copper, which, of course, is mainly
imported.
Russia controls the world's output of platinum, with very little
competition. In a similar manner, Canada has the control of nickel
production. Mexico, although not commonly regarded as a gold mining
country, is rapidly coming to the front and possesses the Esperanza
mine, said to be one of the most profitable gold mines in the world.
To more emphatically show the importance of the mining industry,
especially in our own country, the following facts are taken from 1900
census returns: Agriculture produces annually about $725 per capita;
mining, $1,910; and manufacturing, which is dependent upon the others,
$760. _The National Banker_ has said: "Statistics show that the combined
dividends paid by the gold and silver mining companies of the United
States are greater than the combined dividends paid by all of the
banking institutions of the country; and the combined dividends paid by
the copper mining companies of the United States exceed the combined
dividends paid by all of our railroads."
There is one thought that will always comfort any person who is engaged
in furthering legitimate mining: Wealth acquired from a mine is not
wrested from any being but Mother Earth, and it is not, therefore, in
the class with the much discussed "tainted money" that is said to be
wrung from unfortunate human beings.
The following tables are presented to give the reader ideas concerning
the productions of gold and silver during recent years. Among the
interesting points that may be noted are the following:
The gold production of the world took a sudden drop in 1900, but it
immediately resumed its upward climb. During the decade from 1900 to
1910, this production increased over 81 per cent.
There is a remarkable similarity noticeable in the gold productions of
the United States during the years 1910 and 1911.
Without the notable increase in the gold output of the Transvaal in
1911, the world's total gold production for that year would have shown a
decrease.
The silver production of the United States remained practically
unchanged during 1911.
GOLD PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD FOR 20 YEARS
1892 $146,292,600 1902 $298,812,493
1893 158,437,551 1903 329,475,401
1894 182,509,283 1904 349,088,293
1895 198,995,741 1905 378,411,054
1896 211,242,081 1906 405,551,022
1897 237,833,984 1907 411,294,458
1898 287,327,833 1908 443,434,527
1899 311,505,947 1909 459,927,482
1900 258,829,703 1910 469,365,110
1901 260,877,429 1911 473,383,543
UNITED STATES SILVER PRODUCTION
(In Fine Ounces)
1910 1911
Alabama 300 174
Alaska 153,900 275,691
Arizona 2,655,700 1,594,428
California 1,791,600 2,727,336
Colorado 8,523,000 7,530,940
Georgia 300 225
Idaho 7,027,000 7,507,802
Illinois 2,100 4,648
Michigan 262,200 507,234
Maryland ...... 87
Missouri 32,200 56,228
Montana 12,282,900 11,116,778
Nevada 12,366,000 10,651,571
N. Mexico 779,000 1,142,335
N. Carolina 8,300 2,227
Oklahoma ...... 168,245
Oregon 43,800 69,116
Pennsylvania 700 13,262
S. Carolina ...... 14
S. Dakota 120,600 206,188
Tennessee 69,800 126,683
Texas 364,400 442,486
Utah 10,445,900 12,679,633
Virginia 200 45
Washington 204,900 142,196
Wyoming 1,300 1,009
Porto Rico ...... 51
Philippines 1,800 3,383
Miscellaneous ...... 826,102
---------- ----------
Total 57,137,900 57,796,117
UNITED STATES GOLD PRODUCTION
(In Value)
1910 1911
Alabama $32,900 $18,335
Alaska 16,271,800 16,002,976
Arizona 3,413,200 2,954,790
California 20,441,400 20,310,987
Colorado 20,526,500 19,153,860
Georgia 24,000 30,532
Idaho 1,035,000 1,169,261
Illinois ------ 5,788
Michigan ------ 20
Maryland ------ 20
Montana 3,720,400 3,169,840
Nevada 18,783,700 18,968,578
New Mexico 477,200 639,897
N. Carolina 64,500 76,693
Oklahoma ------ 30,698
Oregon 681,400 599,235
Pennsylvania 5,900 7,814
S. Carolina 37,800 13,437
S. Dakota 5,380,200 7,430,367
Tennessee 2,800 14,140
Texas 400 1,178
Utah 4,312,700 4,709,747
Virginia 900 4,300
Washington 806,000 504,537
Wyoming 4,100 18,791
Porto Rico 1,000 2,191
Philippines 154,400 130,501
Miscellaneous ------ 265,013
----------- -----------
Total $96,269,100 $96,233,528
GOLD PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD
1910 1911
Transvaal $155,730,260 $170,487,900
United States including Alaska 96,269,100 96,233,528
Australia 65,634,340 61,072,409
Russia 43,168,389 40,600,000
Mexico 24,073,100 19,500,000
Rhodesia 12,607,791 13,045,100
India 12,089,400 10,505,506
Canada 10,224,910 10,646,000
China 10,102,300 10,000,000
Japan, East Indies, etc. 10,522,437 10,600,000
West Africa 3,674,087 5,268,100
Madagascar 2,149,721 1,900,000
France 1,114,700 1,275,000
Central and South America 14,886,234 15,000,000
Other countries 7,118,841 7,250,000
------------ ------------
Total $469,365,610 $473,383,543
V
THE FINDING OF MINES.
Mines are discovered in many ways. One hears much about prospecting, and
since this is a practice which is rapidly changing from a mystical to a
scientific basis, a few considerations will here be in order.
Persons who have lived in mining communities are familiar with two types
of prospector, the roving and the settled. Somehow, when we think of the
former, there comes to mind a bearded, roughly clad man, usually
accompanied by a "jack" and both packing the outfit consisting of a few
tools, a pan, some blankets, a gun, and a supply of "grub." If we have
in mind the other type of prospector, we imagine him as living an
isolated life in a log cabin up in the hills, spending his daytime in
putting in a few, short drill-holes and blasting down a ton or two of
usually worthless rock in a "tunnel" or shallow shaft, confident that
each succeeding shot will disclose a treasure.
Both of these types represent the utmost in optimism. These men endure
many hardships and privations, they can have little converse with other
humans, often they can see no provisions for the next day; in fact, they
receive few of the benefits of modern civilization--if we except the
food-preserving features. Still, a typical, old-style prospector keeps
on with absolute faith that fortune will smile tomorrow. We must reach
the conclusion that these uneducated men are led on by subtle beliefs
which, to a technically-trained man, seem like the rankest folly. They
are diviners, dreamers. They are disappearing now and, a generation
hence, there will be but memories of them. They are giving way to
successors of a different type.
The newer kind of prospector is well educated, and, perchance, he is
rather youthful. His chances of success are many times those of the man
he supplants. Why? Because he is taking advantage of the work that has
been done by all former prospectors. He is guided by theories deduced
from observations through ages, and he has the advice of the best
contemporary men of experience in matters of geology as applied to
mining. In other words, he is a scientific prospector.
The prospector of today has a general understanding of mineralogy and
geology; he must have knowledge of mining methods, so that he may know
whether a deposit, once found, can be exploited at a profit; he must be
ready to account for all discovered mineral bodies, and he must be
capable of applying theories to actualities.
There are so many metals and minerals sought for the markets of the
world today that we see there are many fields of study and practice open
to prospectors. It is not the purpose here to explain the details of
scientific prospecting, for the study of this one subject would, in
itself, fill a volume. The object of the above remarks is to draw to the
attention of the economist the propriety (amounting almost to a
necessity) of giving heed to the findings of the educated, trained
searcher for mineral bodies, in preference to those of the illiterate
man who has furnished themes for artists, narrators, and dramatists,
because of his quaint characteristics.
Some writers have classified mineral discoveries into Search, Chance and
Adventitious.
_Search_ discoveries, being the rewards of earnest seeking, it is not
surprising that, under the past guide of notions and mysticism, the
percentage of such discoveries has been small. Under the new order of
things, with science as a guide, the percentage is growing and, in the
future, this kind of discovery will undoubtedly strongly outnumber the
others.
_Chance_ discoveries are those that are made purely without
premeditation. They have been a dominant factor in the mineral
development of the past. The discovery of _gold_ in California came
about through the noticing of shiny, yellow flakes of metal in a ditch
leading to a saw-mill. The great _iron_ mines of the Mesabi Range were
found by the ore clinging to the roots of an overturned tree. The
Wallaroo _copper_ mine, the greatest in Australia, was discovered by the
green minerals brought to the surface in the excavations of a wombat.
The famous Sudbury _nickel-silver_ ore bodies were disclosed when making
a railroad cut on the Canadian Pacific Railroad. The Reddington
_quicksilver_ mine, in California, was similarly opened in a cut for a
wagon road. The mining of _silver_ at Catorce, Mexico, followed the
discovery of shining silver nuggets in the camp-fire of a native, who
had camped right upon a rich outcrop. The Kimberly _diamond_ mines are
said to have been disclosed by the burrowings of an ichneumon, which
fetched a brilliant stone to the sunlight.
_Adventitious_ finds are such as occasionally occur when, while really
searching for, or actually mining, one metal, discovery is made of a
different metal, or possibly the same metal is found in an entirely
different kind of ore. The Comstock lode of Nevada was originally a
_search_ gold discovery, the gold having been sought and found by two
prospectors with ordinary gold pans. In their working to recover gold,
a black mineral and a yellow sand were discarded from the pans and
rockers. Curiosity of one man resulted in the identification of these
two minerals as ores of silver which henceforth were held as valuable as
the native gold. The Anaconda mine, at Butte, Montana, was located, and
for some time worked as a silver proposition; but the values gradually
changed with depth from silver to copper, until now silver is only a
valuable by-product. The rich lead-silver ores of Leadville were
discovered as _adventitious_ to the operation of the rich gold placers
in California Gulch. A heavy, troublesome rock which accumulated in the
sluices, much to the disgust of the miners, turned out to be cerussite,
a fine ore of lead. This same district now produces in commercial
amounts gold, silver, lead, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese. The
Treadwell mine on Douglas Island, Alaska, was first worked as a placer
and the values were found to extend downward into the underlying rock in
a place which proved to be an immense deposit of eruptive, gold-bearing
ore.
As the old-fashioned, venturesome kind of prospecting has but recently
been crowded off the scene by the better, scientific kind, let us not
overlook the great discoveries that were made in the past before we had
applied "organized common sense" to such a field of activity. Those
original prospectors were searchers, hunters. They had no guides, but
they did accomplish a great deal, and their discoveries were rewards for
diligence and hard labor which were, to a great extent, often
misdirected.
VI
MINING CLAIMS.
The process of acquiring title to mining property may be viewed from a
number of points. Such property is real estate and, as such, it may be
bought and sold or otherwise transferred exactly the same as farms or
city lots.
The United States has constructed an elaborate system for the disposal
of its public lands to individuals, under various classifications, such
as homestead, desert land, timber and stone, timber culture, coal,
placer, and lode claims. Different rules apply to the filing upon,
improvement and patenting (acquiring deed from the Government) of these
various kinds of claims. The character of the lands in the public domain
is decided by the surveyors who execute contracts from the General Land
Office for subdividing or staking the country off into townships and
sections, according to our American system. In the return of each
surveyor's notes, he recommends the sale of the land according to his
judgment as to its highest value. There has naturally been a good deal
of erroneous conception upon these points, with the result that, often,
land has been later shown to be entirely different in its character from
the classification given to it by the contracting surveyor; for the
qualifications of such a person are not always of a high grade, when it
comes to geological questions. And yet, on the whole, the scheme has
worked out well and much fraud against the Government has been prevented
by the rigid practice.
The Government prices for some of the various classes of land have been
as follows: agricultural, $1.25 per acre; coal, $10 per acre when the
land was not closer to a railroad than 15 miles, and $20 per acre when
it lay within this limit; placer, $2.50 per acre; lode, $5 per acre.
These have been the prices demanded for the land only; the payment of
these amounts, in many cases, has constituted a small fraction of the
expense of securing the original deeds from the Federal Government.
Coal lands may be located very much the same as a homestead, with the
exception that residence upon the ground is not required, nor are
improvements essential. In cases of dispute as to priority of location,
the land office will recognize those claimants who have expended the
greater amounts in improvements. One citizen may locate but one claim of
160 acres.
Since April 10, 1909, the Government has been disposing of its public
coal lands under a classification that takes note of many details. The
kind, grade, thickness, and purity of coal; the number of workable
seams; the depth; the features of local supply; transportation
facilities; and the average prices at which similar private tracts are
held, are among the items recognized in the classification. Probably no
two tracts will be sold at the same rate. In general, the new prices are
higher than the flat prices that formerly prevailed and some pieces of
land are now estimated as high as $175 per acre. In every case of
application to purchase coal land, hereafter, the area in question will
undergo inspection by Government experts and a price will then be
assessed. This law is being severely opposed as being unreasonably
severe, and its amendment may be looked for.
Placer lands were formerly permitted to be taken up in any shape, the
boundary stakes being placed upon the ground in such a manner as to
include only the desirable area, which is usually of an alluvial nature
along some valley or gulch. This practice has been forbidden, however,
and a locator is now obliged to take up his land in quadrilateral tracts
conforming to the subdivisions of the so-called Public Survey. By this
rule, it is permissible to file upon land which is laid off into lots of
not less than 1/16 of a quarter section--or ten acres--and a claim may
be composed of such lots as lie contiguously and which may thus be
considered as one complete workable area. The claims are often of zigzag
or L shapes, but the locator is enabled, at the extra expense of
subdivision surveying, to avoid filing upon, and paying for, much ground
that he feels is not desirable in a placer claim. The Government does
not survey public domain into smaller tracts than quarter sections of
160 acres each, so that in the taking up of placers it often involves a
great deal of expense to carry the subdivisions upon the ground into
sufficient detail to ascertain the location of boundary corners.
One person is entitled to as many placer claims as he desires. Each
claim of a single individual may contain not to exceed 20 acres and, as
said, it must be of one continuous area. Associations of citizens to the
number of eight may unite in the location of 160 acres, which will then
be held in equal and common interest by the several locators. The
restraint placed upon greed in the matter of locations, either placer or
lode, lies in certain expenses entailed in work or improvements upon the
land before patent may be issued and the legal requirement of the
performance of labor upon each claim amounting to $100 per annum. Also,
it is required that _bona fide_ values be disclosed upon the ground. For
each 20 acres located under the placer laws of the United States, not
less than $500 worth of improvements must be made before the issuance
of a patent.
The legal (not the technical) definition of lode land covers all grounds
containing deposits of ore in its natural and original place of deposit.
Under the laws, therefore, a citizen may file upon a tract of land to
include a vein, lode, mass, chimney or any other form of ore body. The
laws were framed at a time when miners were familiar only with the
steep, tabular forms, synonymously termed veins or lodes in their
nomenclature, and there were introduced features which time and progress
in geological investigations have proved to be entirely unsuited to the
needs of locators in many districts.
Our statutes provide that a lode claim may not exceed an area of 20,662
acres, this being the area of a parallelogram 1,500 feet long by 600
feet wide. The intention is to permit a discoverer to lay off a "lode
line" along the outcrop of his vein for a distance of 1,500 feet and, at
each end, to measure off, at right angles, a distance of 300 feet each
way, merely as assurance that he covers the entire thickness of his
lode. Since the surface contours of rugged country will crook the
outcrop of a dipping plane (such as we may imagine a vein to be) the
laws were constructed to permit a claim being laid off with angles or
bends in the boundaries so that the outcrop might be kept closely along
the middle of the claim.
The above dimensions and area are the maximum permissible under the
Federal laws. The Government does not say that claims may not be less in
extent, anywhere, nor does it prevent states, counties or even mining
districts from making further limitations. In most of the western mining
states and territories that have applied the mining law, the full
maximum is allowed; but in Colorado no claim is legal if it exceeds a
width of 300 feet, while in four counties of the same state claims have
been restricted in width to 150 feet. By legislative enactment, since
September 1, 1911, claims in all counties of Colorado are permitted to
be taken up 300 feet in width. The citizens or miners of any new
district, in any state or territory, may elect to limit claims to any
size less than the maximum granted by the statutes and such a decision
will be recognized by courts as binding upon all comers. This is an
example of the rights of custom in establishing common law. In all
shapes and widths of lode claims, there is now the rigid restriction
that the two end-lines must be laid off exactly parallel.
[Illustration: A GILPIN COUNTY, COLORADO, SCENE, Showing the Prize,
Gunnell, Concrete, Gold Collar, and Eureka Mines.]
The laws of our country contemplate the right of any locator of a vein
to follow such vein down upon its dip, even if it extends beyond
vertical planes passed through the side boundaries. The vertical planes
through the end-lines, however, may not lawfully be penetrated in the
extraction of ore bodies. The application of this doctrine of
"extra-lateral rights" has led to innumerable controversies that have
crippled many worthy mining enterprises. The inevitable habit of
different veins to intersect, branch, unite, and in many other ways to
cause complications, has served no purpose but to delay operations,
cause legal warfare and embitter neighbors. So unjust have been courts'
decisions in interpreting the lax laws that various mining districts
have taken unto themselves the prerogative of deciding for themselves
what is justice to all concerned; and we therefore find that many
"camps" have unwritten laws under which claimants are restrained in
their underground operations, to the ground contained between vertical
planes _through all boundaries_, whether end or side. This is obviously
the only fair plan, and it is hoped that, whenever the legislators at
Washington get time to give to the matter the attention it deserves, our
nation will be favored with a revision of this and a number of other
objectionable mining laws which have retarded the industry. Ours is the
only country having laws permitting extra-lateral rights and, upon this
score, we are criticized by all foreigners.
The Canadian government appears to leave the framing of mining laws to
the several provincial governments. Ontario and Quebec have very good
and simple laws relative to mining claims. In some respects the laws of
the two provinces are similar. For example, in each province a claim
must be laid out as a subdivision of the usual public survey and is
normally 40 acres in extent. Again, no prospecting or locating may be
done except by persons holding so-called miners' licenses or miners'
certificates, which cost $5 to $10 per year. No extra-lateral rights are
recognized.
In Ontario, a patent may be applied for any time within 3-1/2 years of
the date of certificate of record, and the land is purchased outright by
the payment of $3 per acre. The patent thus obtained conveys no rights
to timber or water on the property. In Quebec, patents are never issued
and mining claims are held by a sort of lease, as it were. A license to
hold a mining claim costs a flat fee of $10, plus an extra fee of one
dollar per acre. At times, arrangements are made for holding and working
mining property upon a 3 per cent royalty basis.
The Mexican laws permit the location of any number of claims by
individuals. A locator is required to employ an expert (_perito_) to
make a careful survey of his claims (_pertinencias_), which are taken up
in rectangular form. Measurements are according to the metric system,
and the unit of area is the _hectara_, which is the area of a square
with 100-meter (328-feet) sides, and is equivalent to 2.471 acres. The
government's sale price for mineral ground is 5 _pesos_ (about $2.50)
per hectare, or approximately one dollar, United States money, per acre.
The unit size of a claim is a hectare, and it thus comes about that the
words _pertinencia_ and _hectara_ are used somewhat synonymously.
Under United States laws, the owner of agricultural land, if he has not
committed perjury in perfecting his title, will hold all minerals which
may be disclosed subsequently to the granting of his deed. The proof of
false representations will rescind any such patent and the ground will
revert to the Government and be again open to location.
In the surveying and laying off of mineral claims for patent purposes,
the United States laws require the claimant to put the work into the
hands of a mineral surveyor. Such a surveyor may usually be engaged in
any mining district and he will hold a commission from the Department
of the Interior authorizing him to do this sort of work. He will have
passed certain examinations as to his capabilities and he will have
filed bonds in the sum of $5,000 for the faithful performance of his
duties to both the Government and his client. He receives no
compensation from the Government, and each claimant may make such terms
with him as are equitable. He must hold no interest, directly or
otherwise, in the property he surveys, nor is he permitted to file upon
any mineral land. If he undertakes a case for a client his duties
require him to survey the boundaries of every other mineral claim which
may be contiguous to, or conflicting with, the one in question, and his
maps must accurately show all such claims. His notes will contain
sufficient data to accurately convey the exact location, the chief
topographical features, the conflicts with all other locations, the
position, and description of all mining improvements, and many other
details which will be required in the final purchase of the land from
the Government. The surveyor's fee will vary from $50 to possibly $200
for a single claim, much depending upon the nature of the survey,
whether simple or difficult, and upon local financial conditions and
competition.
After the filing of the mineral surveyor's notes and plats with the
Surveyor-General, critical examination of the documents is made, and if
they are found to conform with all requirements, the case is "approved"
and it may then pass to the local land office of the district. Next
begins a publication period of sixty days, during which opportunity is
offered the public to enter objections to the issuance of a patent,
either for reasons of conflict or because of fraud. If no such adverse
proceedings are instituted, the patent will follow, in due time.
The ultimate expense of securing a patent to a claim of, say, the
maximum area will not be less than $225, and it may run as high as $300
if in a region difficult to survey or if there are a good many
conflicting surveys.
A mineral surveyor is prohibited from acting as attorney for the
claimant in presenting his claims before the Land Office, so an
attorney's fee must be added to the above rough estimates. As a matter
of fact, although the surveyor does not nominally appear as the
attorney, in many a case it is he who makes out all of the documents to
be then signed by an attorney in fact. The laws are faulty in this
respect. The lawyer recognizes this fact and he asks the surveyor to
make out the many legal forms; for who is so fully cognizant of the
property and the desires of the claimant as the surveyor who has become
intimately acquainted with the premises, its workings, its desirable
features and everything concerned with the adjustment of conflicts? It
is to be expected that he could best protect the claimant's interests,
and it is wrong to retire him at this very critical time prescribed by a
foolish law. The fee of an additional man in the case is an unjust
burden upon the client. Land Office officials have recognized this fact.
They know that the best documents reaching their offices are those
prepared by mineral surveyors.
VII
PLACERING.
Different writers hold the following slightly different definitions of a
placer: One says, "a placer is a surface _accumulation_ of minerals in
the wash of streams and seas," while another writes that a placer is "a
_place_ where surface depositions _are washed_ for valuable minerals,
such as gold, tin, tungsten, gems, etc." One definition conveys no
notion of the operations of mining, but is merely geological, while the
other involves the thought of the recovery of values.
No matter how or where found, placers were all originally of surface
deposition. They are now found in gulches, cañons, valleys, ocean and
lake beaches, glacial drifts, and sometimes beneath eruptive flows. Such
placers as occupy the courses of streams are spoken of as gulch, valley,
bar, and bench placers. The meanings of the first three names are
obvious. By a bench placer is understood a deposit that was originally
the bed of a stream, but which, in the course of time, has been cut
down, or through, in such a manner as to leave a shelf or bench of the
"wash" hanging up some distance above the present base of the gulch or
valley.
When such deposits that have been covered by lava flows are disclosed
and worked, they go by the name of "buried placers." They are, by no
means, uncommon, and typical "drift mines" of this sort are operated in
California and New Zealand. They present the novelty of working alluvial
deposits under cover of solid rocks, and they thus conform to one of the
early definitions of a mine, as previously given. Since the workings of
such subterranean placers are generally confined to an approximately
horizontal zone, the mine passages, to a certain degree, resemble those
of a coal mine.
Placer deposits, being of a secondary nature, the materials are not in
the place nor form of the original components. The gravels and sands,
together with the valuable contents, probably originally existed in
some solid forms such as rocks or massive minerals. The primary
structures, in the course of ages and by atmospheric agencies, have been
disintegrated and carried by gravity and flowing water to lower levels.
The finer the decomposed material, the further it has been transported.
If the original rocks carried gold, the flakes of the metal, being of
high specific gravity, would tend to settle to the bottom of the
channels and to be carried shorter distances than would the lighter,
non-metallic particles. The finer the gold, the more evenly will it be
distributed in the bed of gravel. Likewise, placers near the heads of
gulches, as a rule, carry coarser gold than those farther down stream.
The valuable materials found in placers must, of necessity, be those
that possess the property of resisting corrosion and disintegration. The
minerals and metals are, therefore, of a very permanent character.
Every find of "values" in a placer is unquestioned evidence that
somewhere, above the present deposit, there originally existed primary
depositions containing the valuable metals or minerals. The trail can
frequently be traced back to them. These so-called "mother lodes" are
not necessarily rich. In the case of gold, for instance, these original
deposits of ore may not carry the metal in coarse enough particles to be
visible and yet the placers may contain nuggets. There are numerous
theories proposed to account for this observed phenomenon, but we will
not discuss them here. The fact remains that nuggets have been actually
produced artificially in flowing water under conditions similar to
Nature's.
The methods of prospecting and working placer ground have undergone many
improvements, but there are still many men practicing the primitive ways
of a generation ago. The use of devices of simple construction and for
operation by muscular effort is still familiar in many regions; and
there are good miners who cling to such practice in the belief that it
is the cheapest and truest way in which to ascertain the values of wash
deposits. Also, there are many placers of limited areas and irregular
shapes that cannot be well handled in any other manner.
With a "pan," a man can wash, in ten hours, not over one cubic yard of
dirt; and to accomplish this amount of washing the ground must be very
loose and favorable. An ordinary ten-hour day's work is about 100 pans.
This is equivalent to about one-half of a cubic yard, which is the unit
of volume in all placering operations. One may thus readily arrive at
the cost of carrying on operations in this way. A cubic yard of ordinary
placer dirt is the equivalent of less than two tons. A _batea_ is the
Mexican equivalent for the American iron gold pan. It is a sort of
broad, conical, wooden bowl and its capacity is not equal to the pan.
A "rocker" or "cradle" is a trough on rockers somewhat like the
old-fashioned child's cradle. In using it, a stream of water is caused
to flow into the device which has been nearly filled with gravel and the
miner gives it a rocking motion that causes the contents to classify or
stratify according to the laws of specific gravity. The valuable
particles, being the heaviest, will settle to the bottom, whence they
may be subsequently removed. A "long tom" is an inclined, narrow box set
stationary with a constant stream of water entering at the upper end.
Gravel is also shoveled into the device at the same point. The process
is more continuous than the preceding ones, the values accumulating at
the bottom of the lower end, while the upper layers of gravel are
carefully removed by skimming with shovels. The work will keep two men
busy and the capacity is correspondingly greater. With a long tom, two
men will ordinarily handle about five or six cubic yards in ten hours.
Whenever deposits of a broad area, with considerable and uniform depth,
are thought to be valuable, it has become a practice to prove their
value by "prospect drilling." This is a mechanical method and one form
of apparatus employed is of the churn-drill type common throughout oil
and coal regions. With these portable machines, holes are put down to
bed-rock at intervals across the ground. As they are sunk, the holes are
cased with iron pipes, the drillings are carefully saved and washed, and
the values are estimated for each foot of descent. From the summation
and averages obtained from all the holes, a very fair knowledge of the
ground's worth can be obtained.
Intensive placering is now the order of things and the marvelous
increase in the use of dredges attests the success which these "gold
ships" have attained. It is very interesting to watch the operations of
these huge boats loaded with ponderous machines, especially when they
are installed in inland regions or up in high mountain gulches. Yet
numbers of them are thus in steady use. Wherever suitable beds with a
tolerably uniform size of boulders and gravel are found, dams are built
to retain the flows of streams until ponds are created of sufficient
size to contain and float the barges.
[Illustration: DREDGES OF YUBA CONSOLIDATED GOLDFIELDS, HAMMONTON,
CALIFORNIA.]
Continual improvements are being made in the construction of these
mammoth machines with a view to economy in operations that will
result from greater capacities. All costs of placering are reckoned per
cubic yard washed. Costs have been rapidly dropping during the past
decade until now some companies, with extensive operations, are handling
dirt at not to exceed three cents per cubic yard for excavating,
washing, wasting the refuse, maintenance, repairs, labor, taxes,
interest on investment, and the depreciation of equipment. Such figures
will hold good only under very favorable natural conditions of ground
and climate such as prevail in California; they have not been attained
in the frigid regions of Alaska nor in the torrid South American
interior. In view of the wonderful improvements brought forth by
mechanical engineers, it is improper to deny that the future will bring
still further reductions in placer costs. On the contrary, the signs are
good for material reductions.
Dredges are very costly in their installation. They are usually designed
to handle so many thousands of cubic yards per day. It has been stated,
as a fair but rough rule, that "bucket" dredges will average, in
initial cost, one dollar for every cubic yard the boats will handle per
month. Thus, if a dredge of this type is built to treat fifty or seventy
thousand cubic yards in a month, working steadily, the costs will be
respectively $50,000 or $70,000. Other types of dredges, known as the
"dipper" and the "suction," will cost less than the bucket type, but
have not gained general usage.
"Hydraulicking" is extensively practiced. This term signifies the
working of placer deposits by water which is conducted through flumes
and pipe-lines and, by means of nozzles called "giants" or "monitors,"
is directed, in huge jets, against the banks of gravel. These banks or
walls are thus torn down and, by the same water, the loosened,
disintegrated materials are caused to flow into and through long,
wooden, box-like troughs known as "sluices." The floors of these sluices
are paved with ribs, cleats or other obstructions termed "riffles" whose
function it is to retard and collect the heavy particles which may,
later, during the process of cleaning up, be removed as the valuable
product. The word "sluicing" is frequently used quite synonymously with
hydraulicking.
Costs of this latter sort of placering are considerably higher than
those of dredging; but there are many deposits not adapted to dredging
operations that may be nicely worked by sluicing, so that there will
always be a field for this scheme. Average costs are difficult to obtain
since it happens that most of the companies now operating hydraulically
are secretive in their accounts. More labor is entailed, more time is
required, greater delay is occasioned in cleaning up, and the amount of
water used is much greater. Where water is abundant, this last item need
not be considered. It is well to remember that even a very large dredge,
while requiring a continual and large flow of water through its devices,
can still operate with just the water in which it floats, this water
being pumped and used repeatedly; whereas, in the case of hydraulic
mining, the water may be used but once and, consequently, there must be
a large supply and at a good head or pressure.
But, in spite of these disparaging points, we find instances in which,
under peculiarly favorable conditions, hydraulicking has been carried on
at very low figures. E. B. Wilson says: "The yield of the gravel at
North Bloomfield was 7.75 cents per cubic yard; the cost of mining, 4.1
cents per cubic yard. The yield per cubic yard of gravel at La Grange
was 10.19 cents, the cost of mining, 6 cents. The costs of mining at
these two mines would analyze about as follows: Labor, 60 per cent;
supplies, 17 per cent; water, 13 per cent; office, 10 per cent. Ground
carrying but 3.99 cents per cubic yard has been worked at a profit at
the first mine. With such a small margin to work on, it is evident that
skill and executive ability must be provided from the pipemen up." It is
claimed that an Idaho mine was worked profitably with less than two
cents value in the dirt, but this is to be regarded with some doubt.
[Illustration: THE SNOWSTORM PLACER, FAIRPLAY, COLORADO. A Typical
Hydraulic Mine.]
There are large deposits in the arid portions of the globe where water
for working is not obtainable. To meet such conditions, numerous
inventions continue to be placed upon the market. These devices are all
planned in such a way as to use very little or no water. If water is
required at all, the machines are expected to use it repeatedly. The
machines are built to effect the segregation of the precious contents
gravitationally, electrostatically, pneumatically, and by amalgamation
with mercury. It is too early to say how successful such devices will
prove in commercial operations. Because some of them have not "made
good" does not mean that genius will not yet cope with the situation;
and we look into the future to see large operations efficiently and
economically conducted by dry placer machinery. There are now no
authentic figures obtainable upon this question of dry placering costs.
VIII
OPEN MINING.
Some mention has been already made of open mining. The greatest
development of this sort of mining has come about since the application
of the modern steam shovel to the excavation of ore. This practice was
an American innovation and it is being adopted throughout the world
wherever natural conditions will warrant.
Within the past few years, immense bodies of iron ore have been
discovered in northern Minnesota and the adoption of these immense,
mechanically operated shovels has worked such economies in the mining of
this kind of ore that entirely new cost figures have been established
and tonnages are being produced which, a few years ago, would have
seemed unbelievable. There are about a dozen mines of this "open pit"
type that have each produced over a million tons of ore per year in a
season that must cease with the close of navigation on the Great Lakes.
One mine has shipped over three million tons a season.
At the Utah Copper Company's mine in Bingham Cañon, Utah, a great
deposit of low grade, copper-bearing eruptive rock is being handled upon
a steep mountain-side by this same scheme. This ore averages a little
less than two per cent. in copper, but so economical is the handling of
it in such vast amounts that a neat profit is made above all mining,
transportation and milling charges. When the red metal sells at thirteen
cents per pound, the gross value of this ore is about $5.20 per ton.
This mine has maintained an output of ten thousand tons or more per day
over long periods.
A famous gold mine in Queensland, Australia--the Mount Morgan--is also
being worked by steam shovel methods. The deposit is here in the form of
a small mountain and the operations are gradually razing this landmark
to the level of the surrounding plains.
The mining of low-grade _gold_ ores by open-pit methods has taken hold
in America, and an example of the practice may be found at the Wasp No.
2 mine in the Black Hills. According to published accounts of the
operations of this company, all of the costs of mining and treating the
ore amount to only $1.02 per ton. The ore body is a bed of quartzite
lying nearly flat, and averaging in the neighborhood of only $2.50 per
ton in gold, the only mineral of value. The recovery of this metal is at
the rate of between 75 and 80 per cent. efficiency, or about $2 from
each ton. The net profit is therefore close to one dollar per ton. This
very modern scheme of mining has been made possible through the recent
advances made in the cyanidation of ore, and it is going to pave the way
for many more such mining plants.
[Illustration: STEAM SHOVELS AND CHURN DRILLS, COPPER FLAT, ELY,
NEVADA.]
The Nevada Consolidated Copper Company has conducted vast mining
operations "in the open" at Ely, Nevada, by the use of 95-ton shovels
having a capacity of two and one-half cubic yards per dip. One shovel
has handled as high as 2,800 cubic yards (the equivalent of about 5,500
tons) in nine hours; but this must be recognized as an exceptional
run, and cannot be taken as an average. The ore has a thickness of about
200 feet and covers many acres. As in the majority of such properties,
there is here a large amount of "overburden" to be removed and disposed
of before the ore can be excavated. This process of uncovering the ore
body by the removal of the overburden is called "stripping." The cost
per ton of ore mined is said to average 55 cents.
In an open mine there must be maintained a system of continually
changing tracks placed upon grades (sometimes rather steep) and with
sharp curves. With multiple switches, numbers of small locomotives are
kept busy pulling and pushing up and down the tracks with their strings
of loaded cars and replacing the "loads" with "empties." When such
operations are upon a mountain-side, a very beautiful panoramic view may
be had from the opposite side of the gulch.
Generally, the ore material is disintegrated to some extent. In some
cases, it will actually crumble down before the advance of a steam
shovel. In other mines, it is necessary to drill large holes which are
loaded and blasted.
It is becoming more and more important for the active mining man to post
himself upon the methods and economies of this latter-day mining
practice. The development of this open or surface mining has introduced
entirely new economic ideas. With no costs for timbering of mine
passages, for ventilation, or for hoisting, and with a very material
decrease in manual labor per ton mined, immense masses of rocks are now
really ore, although a few years ago they were nothing but lean, country
rock.
In consequence of the success attained by the pioneers in this kind of
mining, there has been created a demand for properties possessing large
deposits of low grade ore that is workable on this intensive scale.
Copper properties have been holding a prominent place recently and
stockbrokers carry regular lists of "Porphyries," this nickname having
been coined to cover the companies operating in the low grade porphyry
ores of the Western United States. Not all of these porphyry companies
will use surface mining methods. Some companies in the Globe District of
Arizona have started extensive underground schemes for mining large
tonnages very cheaply by "caving" methods.
IX
CONSIDERATIONS PRECEDING THE OPENING OF MINES.
The word "exploitation" is used by many mining men and engineers to
signify a plan of so opening up ore deposits as to render the contents
removable. The same persons use the word "mining" to mean the operations
involved in the actual extraction of the ore exploited. It is sometimes
difficult to draw any line between the meanings of these two words for,
as handled by different men, with varying shades of intention, they are
sometimes synonymous. Thus, if exploiting an underground mine, which
carries ore right from the surface, means developing the mine in such a
way as to provide for a large, steady production, it is difficult to see
why the ore taken out in this process cannot be said to be "mined."
By "dead work" is usually meant that work of opening up a mine which
will put or keep it in a producing condition but which does not supply
any remuneration in the shape of ore (or coal). Again, as used by some
men, there is little distinction between this work and exploitation.
There may, however, be lines reasonably drawn between these three terms,
and therefore the following definitions are proposed:
_Dead work_ is such work as is necessary to develop an ore body, but it
does not produce any ore. It may be prosecuted for drainage or
ventilation purposes or for creating passage-ways for men and products.
_Exploitation_ is also work performed in opening up or developing a
property, but it does not contemplate the value of the extracted
materials which may, or may not, be of any commercial importance.
Indeed, much ore might be extracted during work which was carried on
merely to define extents or boundaries of ore bodies. In this last
supposition, the original sense of exploration is brought out and this
should serve to fix the definition clearly in mind.
_Mining_ may be restricted to mean the methods and work involved in the
profitable production of the mine's ore (or coal). The term would not be
used to cover operations of shaft-sinking, tunneling, and the like,
unless such work be in the valuable materials. Mining may be said to
begin whenever there is produced an output upon which there is some
profit. Exploitation may be in valuable ground. If so, we may say that
mining is in progress during the exploitation. The driving of levels or
drifts in an ore body--or of entries in a bed of coal--produces the
valuable products of the mine, and we may, therefore, consider that
mining is taking place.
The driving of a crosscut through barren rock to reach an ore body is
dead work; but the driving of a drift or level in a vein is either
exploitation or mining. Dead work produces _no_ ore. Exploitation may,
or may not, produce ore. Mining must produce ore.
Throughout all of the above and the following discussion of this
chapter, the reader should bear in mind the point that the word "coal"
may be substituted for the word "ore" without altering the substance of
the definitions or the conclusions.
Before a mine is opened up, the economist-manager will consider many
items. In the first place, care must be exercised in the _examination of
the title_ to the property. A mineral property may have passed through
the most complicated kind of transfers of fractional interests in the
title, just as is true with ordinary real estate. The abstract must be
traced back clear to the issuance of patent from the Government, and
then on back to the original location. With an undeveloped property (a
prospect), this precaution is essential to estop any possible
pretensions to ownership, by outside parties, in case the ground
subsequently turns out to be exceptionally valuable. It has often been
the case that no obstructions from any adverse claimants have been met
until owners have, in good faith and at great expense, developed
splendid mines. Then suits for possession or partial ownership have been
instituted, sometimes with marked success for the plaintiffs. There are
persons who make it a special line of business to examine titles to
mining property, and it is economy for the average manager to employ
such experienced men to attend to these matters.
_Topographical considerations_ will hold a place in the study preceding
the opening of a new mine. The nature of the surface of the property and
the surrounding country will largely influence in the selection of the
proper site for the mine's mouth. Neglect upon this point has been a
common cause of failure in mining operations.
A mine opening must be away from all dangers of snow-slides,
rock-slides, cloud-bursts and deluges from overflowing streams or
breaking dams. It may make a difference in the mine's ventilation as to
which direction the prevailing winds blow and therefore upon which side
of a hill the mouth be opened.
_Transportation_ facilities must be given due thought. If means are not
already at hand, one must inquire into the feasibility of constructing
some form of carrier; and here, again, will enter the question of the
surface's contour. If a railroad is out of question, possibly an aerial
tramway may be constructed. These modern conveyances stop at no
obstacles of surface configuration and are dependent only upon the
necessity of having the point of delivery lower in altitude than the
point of loading at the mine. With some of the modern improvements in
these installations, mine products are being transported up-hill as well
as down-hill through the application of power. In mining regions, it is
generally the case that the mines, themselves, are above the settlements
in which are the railroads or treatment plants, so that the mine
products will transport readily by the natural force of gravity.
_Climate_ holds an important place in the economics of mining. The
working of very rich pieces of ground may prove a losing proposition in
some portions of the world where the climatic conditions are such as to
render operations possible during only a very small portion of the year.
Extremes of heat or cold, malaria or other pestilential obstacles, long
rainy seasons with floods, and the hostility of native humans, beasts
or insects have accounted for the abandonment of seemingly attractive
mining projects.
The question of _labor_ must be given due thought. It is true that the
best miners on earth are Americans. We do not deny that many of our
miners are of foreign birth, but the fact remains that they perform
better and more intelligent service than do their fellow countrymen who
have not been adopted into our country. Our men are in demand in the
mining development of foreign countries. An American mine manager will
always experience dissatisfaction while endeavoring to get, from natives
in foreign parts, the same efficiency that he is accustomed to receive
from the miners "at home." He may be paying a good deal less per capita
for such labor, but he finds he is actually paying more per ton of
output.
Even within a single country, there are notable differences in the worth
of labor. The natives of some of the Mexican states are far preferable
to those of other states. Within the United States, there may be
discerned material differences between the efficiencies of the citizens
of various sections, when it comes to mining. One cannot procure as
competent miners in some of the agricultural states as in the typical
mining states. This is but to be expected. For instance, there are
deposits of lead ore in the "moonshine" regions of Kentucky which have
never been successfully worked, and the real cause of failure, in the
writer's belief, lies in the inability of superintendents to obtain real
miners either in that region or from the outside. The residents will
never become miners; outsiders will not enter for work under existing
sociological conditions.
The question of _unionism_ is sometimes held by managers as a deciding
one when debating the opening of a mine. While there are those who will
broadly denounce such organizations, there may be found other and just
as successful mine operators who declare that the effects of union
control over their miners are beneficial to their companies' interests.
Probably the greatest objection to unionism raised by operators is that
they resent the dictation that accompanies the inauguration of union
rules in their mines. The owners and managers prefer to run their own
business to suit themselves. Some managers are so imbued with this
conviction of their own rights that they will refuse to open up mines
or, if they are operating, they will close down their mines before they
will submit to the demands made upon them by the union officials.
On the other hand, there are mine managers who prefer the presence of
some central, labor-controlling body; for they believe that the men who
belong to such a large federation or organization will, and do, have
less complaint to make and therefore work more freely than is the case
with the independent laborers. The argument is that these union men are
satisfied because they feel that their interests are being looked after
with a sort of attention that they, individually, could not give.
This is not a place to discuss the crimes that have been laid at the
doors of both the labor organizations and the mine owners' associations.
It is safe to assume that wrong has probably been done by both sides.
But it is furthermore right to believe that most of the crimes were not
authorized, nor recognized, by the officers or the majority of members
of either side. Individual members must not be taken as averages of the
membership in any kind of civil, social or political organization.
It seems entirely wrong that _politics_ should enter into the
considerations of a mine manager whose operations are apparently so
apart from affairs of state; but the fact remains that there are places
where mining operations cannot be carried on without the good will of
certain officials of the state or national governments. It is not
advisable to enter into any compromising terms to gain privileges for
carrying on any legitimate business for there are other, better ways,
generally, of attaining the justice that is deserved.
One must not omit to investigate the _sources of supply_ for all the
needs of a mine and its camp. There are many kinds of materials needed
to keep a mine going. Fuel, machinery, timber, water, food for men and
beasts, lumber, and all household furnishings and necessities must come
from some markets or natural sources. It behooves the cautious manager
to see that all these things may be had in ample amount and at figures
which will not prove annihilating to his business.
In Utah, there are mines which have all their timbers framed in and
shipped from the forests of Oregon, the sawing and framing being done
before shipment to save on freight. The fir of Oregon is shipped to
distant Australia for mining purposes. The arid camps of Nevada get
their supplies of timber from the sister state, California. The Michigan
mines are fortunate in being in a lumber region. Colorado's metal mines
are more favored in the matter of timbers than are the coal mines of the
same state. Most of the coal mines are upon the barren plains, while the
metal mines are chiefly in the wooded mountains.
[Illustration: MILL OF THE PITTSBURG-SILVER PEAK GOLD MINING CO., BLAIR,
NEVADA.]
Water may be too scarce for the needs of a mine or its community. There
may not be sufficient to supply boilers or a mill, or for the domestic
purposes of the workers. On the other hand, water may be so abundant
in the mine workings as to prove a deterrent factor in profitable
operation. With shaft mines, having deep workings and low grades of ore,
if water must be delivered mechanically, the costs for such drainage are
frequently prohibitive of mining. Some mines, in arid regions, have been
fortunate in striking such flows of underground water that it has been
possible to operate mills right at the mines. In this way, the cost of
water hoisting has been more than compensated in the milling benefits
which, in turn, have decreased freights and treatment charges.
_Machinery_ is usually purchased at centres of mining supplies and
manufactures. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Denver and
Chicago are the principal _rendezvous_ in the West for mining men in
need of machinery. Mexico City is, similarly, the outfitting point for
the mines of southern Mexico. The United States holds the supremacy of
the world in the matter of equipping mines and mills, large orders of
American-made mining machinery being shipped to even the antipodes.
The nearer a property is to a depot of supplies, the less is bound to be
the cost of getting goods onto the ground. It is this last item--the
delivery of goods--that must be recognized as a very pertinent, and
sometimes a critical, factor upon the cost side of mining accounts.
Mines that are remote or in rugged countries are frequently dependent
upon animal transportation. In some cases, machinery going to the mines
must be so built that it may be taken apart into small portions suitable
for loading upon the backs of horses or burros, or even, in the Andes,
upon the frail llamas.
Operations, if planned to be conducted for a long term of years and
therefore warranting the installation of large and expensive plants,
should be based upon the holding of extensive ore-bearing ground. Here
enters the notion of the _shape and size of a mining property_.
With some kinds of mining ground, the best form for the holdings would
probably be a compact, approximately equilateral tract, covering a
reasonably large acreage. This would be the case with ores that occur in
sedimentary beds, for instance, where it is advisable to have the mining
plant centrally located so as to work expeditiously the entire area.
This would apply to a region like the Cripple Creek District, which
contains innumerable veins running in all directions but displaying no
outcrops.
In other instances, the most desirable shape might be long, narrow
strips so laid off as to contain the strikes of persistent lodes or
veins, as those of the wonderful Comstock Lode region. It is not acreage
that counts here so much as lineal extent.
In the Transvaal, land is held in rectangular blocks. The first owners
of the ground took it up for agricultural purposes. This same statement
is also true of the mining properties in the Joplin District of Missouri
and Kansas.
In the case of the South African properties, every company has definite
boundaries to which operations may be planned. Hence it is possible for
the management to so plant any mine as to operate it at a given rate
for a predetermined life of the enterprise. The work is planned to
maintain a certain output that will exhaust the ore bodies in just so
many years, and all the equipment may thus be purchased with the
forecast that it will serve its purpose and perform its economic share
within the prescribed time.
This notion will be more readily understood when we consider the various
types of ore bodies. With properties wherein there is no possible way of
predicting the number, size, and worth of discoverable ore bodies, the
life is wholly problematical and it is therefore difficult for a manager
to decide how much he should expend in the initial equipment.
X
MINE OPENINGS.
In every new mining project, there is much to be considered concerning
the expediency of opening up through shafts, inclines or adits. More
attention has lately been given to this subject than formerly. There are
very good reasons for the selection of any one of these kinds of mine
openings.
The words shaft, incline, and tunnel have been handled with careless
meanings by mining men. It is time that some definitions be accepted so
that everybody will use these terms with the same meanings.
A shaft has loosely been any steep opening sunk through the ground. An
incline--sometimes spoken of also as an incline shaft--has been taken to
mean an opening resembling a shaft, but not very steep and not
approaching verticality. Right here, there has been too much latitude
of speech and it has entailed the necessity of many awkward
explanations.
By a tunnel has been intended any (approximately) horizontal passageway
driven from the natural surface. Objection to this use of the word rests
in the strict definition of a tunnel, which states that it must have
both ends open to the natural surface of the earth, as for example, an
irrigation or a railroad tunnel. A level passageway which has but one
end open to daylight is not properly spoken of as a tunnel. In mining
practice, practically every horizontal opening of this nature is open at
only one end, and it is an adit rather than a tunnel. If the precaution
of speaking of it as a "mining tunnel" is observed, very well, for this
may be taken to be an expression synonymous with adit. The latter term
is, however, shorter and more correct.
For the sake of a uniform usage, the following definitions are proposed.
Their use will conform with the usages of those well-informed persons
who adhere to correct speech.
A _shaft_ is a truly vertical mine passage which may, or may not, be
sunk in or along an ore or a coal body.
An _incline_ is any mine passage which occupies a sloping position and
which may, or may not, maintain a uniform inclination throughout its
length. It may be sunk along, or in, a pitching vein or seam and it may
thus conform to the irregularities of the dip of such body. It is
neither horizontal nor vertical. Such an inclined passage following a
seam of coal is known as a _slope_.
It sometimes happens, especially in coal mining, that a sloping
passageway is driven through barren rock either to get at known bodies
by the shortest means or to establish uniform grades for tracks. In a
strict sense, these are not inclines or slopes, for they do not even
approximately follow, nor parallel, bodies of value. The miner's term
for such an opening is _rock slope_.
An _adit_ or _mining tunnel_ is a horizontal opening driven from the
surface. If it be driven along an ore body, as a vein, it is properly
called a _vein adit_; if it is driven _across_ barren country to
intercept presumed or known bodies, it is spoken of as a _crosscut
adit_. All adits must be given a small amount of grade for drainage
necessities.
Before getting underground we should consider what is required in the
way of opening our mine; what is positively known about our body of coal
or ore; and what conditions are liable to confront us later on. We must
consider the type of ore body; character of material to be extracted;
average thickness and hardness of the body; desired tonnage; power
facilities; probable surface and underground drainage to be maintained;
and dozens of other things which only the experienced man will think of
and appreciate. The right kind of a manager will know that he cannot
afford to overlook such points.
Every case involves different contingencies, and therefore extreme
forethought must be given to the subject before deciding upon any
particular kind of an opening into the ground for mining purposes. This
remark does not apply to such openings as prospect drill-holes,
openings which are not for mining purposes, but for exploitation.
Assuming that sufficient data are known concerning the property to
warrant the expenditures incident to the making of a mine, the question
remains as to the best way of proceeding.
It is a well-established fact that it is much cheaper to drive an adit
than to sink a shaft of equal transporting capacity. It is also cheaper
to drive an adit than to sink an incline. If the topography is such that
an adit can be driven into or beneath an ore body and thus expose it
from a low elevation, the temptation is strong and along lines of good
practice to do so. If the country is quite flat or nearly so, or, if the
surface is such that, while rough, an adit of reasonable length cannot
be driven to tap the valuable mineral and handle it economically, then
it is good practice to decide upon a shaft mine.
An adit will not only be cheaper, foot for foot, than a shaft or
incline, but, if given the proper, slight grade, it will afford a
natural drainage outlet for all subsequent workings above its level.
The cost of pumping, as already suggested, may be a considerable item
and it may be a deciding factor in favor of an adit when this form of
opening is possible.
Furthermore, an adit will obviate the installation and use of hoisting
machinery, and thus there may be maintained a greater efficiency in the
operating expense of the mine than would be possible with a shaft.
Again, it is a simpler and cheaper matter to maintain a mining tunnel in
working shape than it is a shaft, particularly in bad ground. By the
settling or "working" of the ground, a shaft may be thrown perhaps but
slightly out of alignment and annoying interferences will be experienced
in hoisting, especially when rapid and uninterrupted hoisting is
necessary to maintain the desired output. While the same amount of
disturbance does take place in an adit, it is an easy matter to readjust
track grades while continuing regular haulage operations.
The timbers, in the case of either a shaft or an adit, will require
occasional renewal, but the expense of such repairs is less in adits
than in shafts or inclines, while the delay to other operations of
mining, in the case of the adit, will be inappreciable.
Topography has been referred to above, but it must be again briefly
mentioned. There are some places in which ore bodies extend to, or exist
at, such depths that adits could not be projected to get beneath enough
of the ore to warrant their construction. An adit mine is not a
practicable thing in a flat country like Nevada or the Rand, but in the
rough country of the San Juan it is the customary kind of a mine. In the
very early days of Comstock Lode mining, shafts were sunk by each of the
hundreds of companies. Before a great while, the advantages that would
accrue from having a deep "tunnel" became evident, and the famous Sutro
Tunnel, with its historic, checkered career, was driven. Although it
loomed up like a gigantic undertaking for that period, the immense
prospective or future value of it could not be denied.
The following relative advantages of the several types of mine mouths
are in addition to those already given and are worth consideration:
With an incline, the value of a tabular deposit is determined as work
progresses; the course and dip of the body will be known at all depths
along the incline; the body may be explored from the incline in both
directions, simultaneously, with a resulting doubling of the development
and production; all, or nearly all, the material removed is "vein stuff"
and its value may repay the sinking expenses; there is no losing of the
ore body unless a geological fault is met.
With a shaft, more rapid hoisting is possible than with an incline; the
timbering labor is less than in the case of an incline, but greater than
in the case of an adit; with ground containing ore bodies in irregular
masses and at no uniform intervals, vertically or horizontally, stations
and levels may be started wherever desirable; the crosscuts which are
usually necessary to reach the bodies may disclose otherwise unknown
bodies.
[Illustration: MILLS AND SHAFT HOUSE OF DALY WEST MINE, PARK CITY,
UTAH.]
With a vein adit, the vein is prospected as work advances; the ore
removed may pay its own way, as it were; the drainage is automatic; ore
is transportable from the mine by haulage rather than by hoisting; the
ore in place is above the level and will handle itself to the outgoing
passage by gravity.
With a crosscut adit, in addition to the last three advantages noted for
the vein adit, there is bound to be exploration of the ground upon at
least one side of the known body; there will generally be easier haulage
because of the straighter track, since an adit driven along a vein will
conform to the geological irregularities and the track is bound to be
more or less crooked.
Without counting upon the doubtful success of the numerous propositions
in tunneling machines, but judging only from past experiences, we may
say that a shaft will cost about three times as much as a "tunnel" of
equal transporting capacity. If the ground is wet, the discrepancy in
first costs becomes much larger. In a remote region, with difficult
transportation of machinery and fuel, it may be better to drive and use
a long adit rather than a shallow shaft. An adit will transport more
product than will a shaft of equal dimensions.
An adit may be driven to intercept a shaft and to serve as a sort of
artificial surface, as it were, and thus save expenses in pumping and in
hoisting up to the original collar of the shaft at the surface of the
ground.
No matter how crooked an incline may be, it is possible to hoist ore in
conveyances known as skips, although the hoisting may be necessarily
somewhat slow. These same conveyances are useful for lowering and
hoisting men, and the parody, "Men go down to the mine in skips," here
finds its significance. The usual hoisting conveyances used in shafts
are known as cages. They usually produce less friction than do incline
skips. A skip in an incline must travel upon a track, while a cage,
somewhat resembling a passenger elevator, has no wheels, but slides upon
guides. However, an incline skip, because of the inclination of the
passage, does not exert the same dead weight upon the cable and
hoisting engine and hence these parts of the equipment may be made
correspondingly lighter. Skips for shafts are similar to cages in their
lack of wheels.
Complete estimates of probable future requirements should be made before
a shaft is sunk. When it becomes necessary to enlarge a
single-compartment shaft to one with two compartments, the expense has
been found to exceed one-half the original cost of sinking; while, to
convert a one-compartment shaft into a three-compartment shaft costs
fully three-fourths of the original sinking expense. Approximately the
same ratios of cost will hold in the case of enlarging inclines.
Character of ore sometimes influences the selection of the kind of
passageway. Some high grade, brittle ores must not be dumped nor handled
repeatedly, since values are lost in the "fines." Iron and copper ores
will not probably be injured by any amount of dumping. Coal should be
handled as few times as possible. In view of this fact, other things
being equal, adopt that system that will injure the ore or coal the
least.
As a rule, workmen are safer in tunnels than in shafts, since there is
little danger from objects falling any great distance. Tiny bits of rock
have been known to kill men in shafts. On the other hand, there is less
liability of injury from falls of large rocks in shafts than in adits.
Roof falls are a very prolific source of mine accidents.
The workmen of neighboring mines will often be able to give much
valuable information as to the proper procedure in opening a new
property. For instance, water levels, amounts and kinds of gases that
may be expected, the nature of the wall rocks, and other pertinent
points may be learned by interviewing the men who are employed in
adjacent mines. Still better information may be obtained by personal
visits to the underground workings of the nearby mines. In this
connection, one must not permit himself to be unduly influenced by the
prejudices or hobbies of the neighboring operators or their employés if
there is reason to suppose that such notions are contrary to good
practice.
Due consideration must always be given to the selection of some method
of opening up what might be supposed will never amount to a great mine,
so that, should subsequent disclosures exceed expectations, enlargement
of the scale of operations can be advantageously effected. Always bear
in mind that legitimate mining is just as much a commercial enterprise
as is any other kind of business. The utmost concern for financial
showings must be constantly borne in mind. Select a scale of operations
consistent with the known--not the hoped-for--bodies of coal or ore; but
have a certain feature of elasticity about the plans that may take care
of future increase in business if found desirable. Do not "over-plant."
Never plant, at all, _prematurely_. It is better to postpone the
installation of the equipment until some specific facts are available.
Many companies have met defeat in the exhaustion of capital through the
purchase and installation of elaborate plants which were never
warranted.
After a mine is once opened and preparations have all been perfected to
operate upon a certain scale of output, it is quite essential that
exploitation and production be maintained without material fluctuations,
if the greatest economy is to be attained. Exploitation, _i.e._,
development work, must be kept well in advance of actual mining
operations to assure plenty of working space for the extraction of the
normal output.
XI
TYPES OF ORE BODIES.
It has been necessary, a number of times in this discussion, heretofore,
to make mention of kinds of ore bodies. It is well, at this time, to get
some fixed ideas concerning the leading types of bodies of minerals
which are extracted as ores.
Because of the laxity in type differentiation which has prevailed among
miners and writers, the same geologists who have framed definitions of
ore, have also defined the various types of ore bodies. The definitions,
having been accepted by the leading mining geologists and engineers of
the present day, it is well for us to fall into line and to agree with
the authorities in such matters.
A _vein_ is a _single, ore-bearing fissure_, generally, though not
necessarily, with at least one well-defined wall.
When we run across a tabular-shaped deposit of ore that looks as though
it may have been put into a pre-existing fissure or chasm, the chances
are that it is a vein. But a vein must not be confounded with a dike. A
dike is a filling that has been injected, while molten or fluid, into an
open passageway or rupture across rocks, or into an opening which it
created for itself. A little examination of the material should tell, to
even the novice, whether or not the substance is of plutonic origin. The
filling of a vein is not eruptive, at all. Veins have been filled from
circulating aqueous solutions, by slow depositions, that have occupied
very long periods.
A vein may be any thickness, since a fissure may have been opened to any
width. Hence, a vein may be as thin as a sheet of paper, or it may be a
hundred feet across. However, it is true that some wide veins have
resulted by a sort of enlargement from original thin seams. Very few of
the notable wide veins of the world are believed to have been created by
the filling up of chasms originally as wide as the present ore bodies.
But, in all cases of real veins, there were original fissures,
fractures or crevices which acted as channels for circulating solutions
that contained the materials which were left to make the vein matter.
A _lode_ is an _assemblage of veins_ so closely spaced that the ground
between the veins becomes, in places, ore-bearing, and the entire width
of the aggregation becomes an ore body.
A zone of sheeted rocks like schist or slate, if sufficiently
mineralized to warrant mining, would be a lode. Sometimes, in certain
districts, the earth's crust has been subjected to many approximately
parallel, closely-spaced fractures, and by the subsequent filling of
these cracks, with the accompanying corrosion of the walls and their
replacement by ore, extraction of the entire mass of rocks across a
considerable distance will be found to yield a profit. Any such body is
a lode.
In the Cripple Creek District, the ground is criss-crossed in every
direction by tiny fissures which have resulted from the contraction of
the country rock, just as a bed of mud is fissured in the process of
drying up after a rain. Wherever these fissures are found in aggregates
that are closely spaced and in which a majority of the cracks have a
general trend so that the whole assemblage can be readily worked as one
mass, this whole body of fractured rock may be found worth mining and it
will then constitute a lode. It may be mentioned here that the so-called
ore of this district is not really ore according to the accepted
definition. The true ore, the filling of these innumerable, tiny cracks,
really constitutes but about five per cent. of the material that is
shipped as ore, but which is principally the "country rock" broken down
with the small volume of ore.
In _legal_ phraseology, the word lode has come to include all sorts of
ore bodies. When the word is thus used, in a legal sense, it should not
be confused with the strictly technical meaning.
It has been the fashion for prospectors to dilate upon the fact that
they have located "true fissure veins." This expression, formerly on the
tongues of most mining men in districts possessing veins at all, is now
obsolete and hence should be placed in the discard. There can be no
such thing as an "untrue" vein nor an "untrue" fissure. Neither can
there be any vein without a fissure. Therefore, if there is any vein, it
must be a real or true vein. Accordingly, the verbiage is to be
discouraged. The intention of a miner, in using this pet phrase, has
been to convey the impression that his vein extended downward,
indefinitely; there having arisen a notion that some veins are rather
superficial and liable to "peter out" at slight depths, while
others--the kind he invariably has located--persist both in size and
value to extreme depths.
There are districts in which are found short fissures, generally
confined to certain horizons in sedimentary rocks, such as the
limestones of the great Mississippi Valley, from which are mined lead
and zinc ores. These are called "gash veins." These are always readily
recognized and there is not the slightest excuse for confusing them with
the fissures which are common to other kinds of rock formations.
A _bed_ or _blanket vein_ is the term applied to any nearly flat
deposit conforming to the bedding. Such a body of ore must be in a
sedimentary series of rocks. Coal bodies are all of this type. Many
bodies of iron ore are also of this type.
A _chimney_ is an ore body which has not the tabular form of a vein but
is rudely elliptical in outline, horizontally, and with a very
considerable vertical extent. A _stock_ is a similar body but it is of
still greater irregularity of boundary.
These bodies are usually the filling of extinct volcanoes or geysers,
and therefore they are presumed to extend to very great depths. The
diamond mines of Kimberly, Africa, are of this type and the ore is a
sort of hardened geyserite or mud in which are enclosed the precious
gems. In Custer County, Colorado, the ore body of the Bassick Mine is a
conglomerate of rounded boulders of all sizes cemented together,
somewhat like concrete, by the materials which really carry the values.
This mass occupies an ancient volcanic neck or throat of a geyser,
probably the latter. The main portion of the Cripple Creek District is
the crater of a great prehistoric volcano. It might be called a great
chimney, but custom seems to limit the use of the word chimney to a
smaller body such as might be included in a single mining property.
A _mass_ is a deposit whose irregularity of shape is so great that it
cannot be recognized as belonging to any of the types already mentioned.
Masses conform to no rules as to shape or size. They are usually the
result of a chemical dissolving of the original barren rocks with a
simultaneous or subsequent substitution of valuable materials. There are
many instances of ores that have been deposited, molecule by molecule,
replacing equal volumes of the previous rock, much upon the order of the
petrifaction of wood. Again, there are immense masses which are believed
to have accumulated in caves already dissolved out of the containing
rocks.
While recent geological study of the districts in which such ore bodies
abound have disclosed numerous facts about their occurrence, there still
remains much conjecture concerning their origins, and we may still
believe that they do not conform to any rules as to regularity or size.
The ore bodies of Leadville are of this type, and they may be described
by the homely similes that they are as like and as unlike, and their
occurrences are about as regular, as potatoes in a hill. The potato-tops
give the farmer a suggestion as to where to dig. So, also, do certain
geological relations guide the miner. And yet a shaft may be sunk
hundreds of feet down among masses and not happen to penetrate a single
one.
There are numerous recognized types of ore body not enumerated here; but
it is sufficient for the average layman in mining matters to understand
these few distinct types and to believe that all other types are
rarities, and are, as a general thing, but intermediate forms of those
defined.
[Illustration: Shaft No. 3, TAMARACK MINING COMPANY, CALUMET, MICHIGAN.]
[Illustration: SMELTERY OF THE BALAKLALA CONSOLIDATED COPPER CO., CORAM,
CALIFORNIA.]
XII
THE QUESTIONS OF DEPTH AND GRADES OF ORE.
The prevailing belief of a few years ago that ore bodies always improve
with depth has been discredited. Not a single mining geologist will
longer maintain such a notion. The evidence of many thousands of mines
has refuted this older belief and it has been proven that quite the
opposite view is the correct one concerning changes of value with depth.
Values, instead of getting better, do actually, in the majority of
cases, grow poorer as depth is gained.
President C. R. Van Hise, of the University of Wisconsin, was among the
early expounders of the newer theories to account for this fact. The
writer heard him state, years ago, before a scientific gathering (which,
at that time, was not quite ready to agree with him), that if he were
given his choice, he would much prefer to own the upper thousand feet of
the earth's crust than all the rest of the globe. In this remark, he
was referring only to mineral values, of course.
This belief that the best values are to be found not far from the
surface has since become popular, for it is based upon proven facts. It
is not claimed that values are never mined below an elevation that is a
thousand feet from the surface. There are many mines, and great ones,
too, that are operating at depths greatly exceeding this distance; but
in these same mines there will be found valid reasons for not applying
the general statement to their particular cases. For instance, the great
copper mines of the Keweenaw Peninsula are productive at depths of a
mile or more from the surface; but we believe that here the ore must
have been originally deposited at, or near, the surface, that it was
then overlain with rock strata; and subsequently steeply tilted by earth
movements which carried some of the ore bodies down to the depths where
they are now found.
The "reefs" or bankets of the Rand are so termed because these ore
bodies were undoubtedly ancient coast beaches or sea placers. The
gravel, sand, and gold particles were cemented together into a
conglomerate, then covered with many later sedimentaries, and finally
the continent of Africa was so raised or altered in some manner as to
bring these gold deposits into their present inland and tilted
positions.
In veins or lodes, it is not supposed that ore-making minerals could
have been precipitated from solutions travelling either upward or
downward and obeying chemical laws if the depth were sufficient to
furnish great temperature or high rock and hydrostatic pressures.
Therefore minerals which were deposited from aqueous solutions rising
from depths, for example, must have retained their dissolved condition
until they ascended to horizons in which both pressure and temperature
were low enough to permit the precipitation and crystallization that
create ores. Contrarily, descending solutions must have given off their
contents before reaching the deep zones of heat and pressure, or not at
all.
It is a quite common phenomenon to observe that the richest _gold_ ore
in a mine is found close to the surface, if not actually at "grass
roots." The explanation is simple. The gold, being the most stable of
the aggregate of minerals composing the original ore, has the better
resisted the corrosive attacks of atmospheric agencies and has remained
nearly intact, while its associated minerals have been dissolved or
altered and carried away. The same amount of gold remaining with a
diminished quantity of the worthless, non-metallic minerals--the
"gangue"--inevitably renders the ore richer per unit of weight (such as
a ton), although per unit of volume the value remains constant, or
nearly so, so far as the gold is concerned.
But with other kinds of ore, as, for example, copper, the best grades
are found, not close to the surface but some two hundred or more feet
down. The explanation is that the minerals of copper are considerably
more soluble than the ordinary gangues and therefore the weathering and
oxidation that takes place in the upper horizons of ore bodies will
dissolve out the cupriferous compounds and thus deplete the
superficial ore. But, by the flowing of the copper solutions to a lower
zone, there occur certain reactions that reprecipitate the salts of
copper upon compounds of the metal already formed and we have instances
of the phenomenon known as "secondary enrichment."
[Illustration: CONCENTRATOR DIVISION, WASHOE REDUCTION WORKS OF THE
ANACONDA COPPER MINING CO., ANACONDA, MONTANA. Largest Copper Works in
the World.]
It was this very process that effected the changes in the character of
the ore in the famous Anaconda Mine, previously mentioned (page 44). The
locator's discovery was upon an outcrop rich in silver. Probably the
original compounds of the vein were of both silver and copper. The
silver was more stable against dissolution than was the copper, with the
result that the base metal was removed more rapidly and completely than
was the precious metal. The upper portion of the vein was therefore left
rich in silver, and low in copper. But, as depth of mining increased,
there was found a gradual diminution of the silver content with a
simultaneous increase in the copper. The mines of Butte have become
known as copper mines, and the wonderful records they have made are
ample testimony to the fact that the change in the prevailing metallic
values has not wrought serious havoc in the mining industry of the
district.
Regarding the probability of veins persisting to great depths, there is
this thought suggested by J. E. Spurr: "Owing to the pressure exerted by
gravity, it is doubtless more difficult for a fissure to stay open in
depth than near the surface. The tendency is to press the sides
together. At a certain depth, it is probably the case that the pressure
and the plasticity resulting from this, together with the increase in
heat, makes it impossible for fissures, fractures or any openings to
exist."
There are still many persons who are reluctant to let go of the
cherished notion about the improvement of ores with depth. But there is
no economy in deceiving one's self, and the wise thing to do is to
accept the truths as they are daily proven. It may be worth while to
again refer to the wonderful Camp Bird Mine. This mine was discovered
in its true worth years after it had been abandoned by early prospectors
because it lacked showy, base-metal minerals. However, since its true
merit has been recognized, it has maintained large and remarkably rich
annual outputs. As values were beginning to show a material decrease,
about five years ago, an experienced mining engineer of recognized
standing was engaged to give advice concerning the future exploitation
of the property. After exhaustive investigation of the ground, and in
the face of adverse opinions, he recommended the discontinuance of
further development in depth. At the same time, however, he advised the
exploitation of the ground laterally or along the strike of the very
persistent vein. His advice was followed and the company's stockholders
had reason to be advocates of the new theory; for a very reasonable
amount of horizontal development work opened up vast stores of rich gold
ore.
And yet, notwithstanding this disquieting feature that seems to apply to
mining, there is comfort to be found in the consideration of the
exceptional cases. Every man may hope that when he locates a new mine he
is taking possession of a property that will have as extensive ore
bodies as those that have been proven to exist in the lead-silver mines
of Laurium, Greece, the quicksilver mines of Spain, or the copper and
tin mines of Cornwall. These mines are in lodes which have persisted and
have been mineralized to comparatively great depths, so that their
bottoms have not been reached.
There is a modern idea that has taken root in the minds of mining men of
the last generation to the effect that the mines with rich ore are not
necessarily the ones with big profits. There are many men looking for
investments in mines whose contents are of low grade but in large bodies
readily worked. If a mine with rich ore can be found and the ore abounds
in such liberal amounts as to warrant the inauguration of a company with
the essential working equipment, such a proposition will naturally not
be turned down. However, the faith of some men is placed in those mines
that may be operated upon very large scales for long periods even if the
profit per ton be very small. With a large plant, the unit of expense,
_i.e._, the cost of mining per ton, is less than with a small mine. With
the assurance of regular outputs of ore of a reasonably uniform grade,
the milling equipment can be planned to handle a mine's product to the
greatest advantage. The Alaska-Treadwell Mine, on Douglas Island, is an
instance of a splendid property that has been continuously operated for
about a third of a century. The ore is low grade in gold but immense
dividends have been declared because the ore body, a tremendous mass of
eruptive rock, has lain in such a position that the owners found it
possible to excavate the stuff, to a great extent, by open-pit methods,
although not by using steam shovels. The ore is treated in a vast mill
contiguous to the mine.
The Homestake, another gold mine, has an ore body quite dissimilar
geologically from, but of dimensions approximating those of, the
Treadwell. It is a great body of mineralized, crushed shales, standing
steeply in the shape of a lode and carrying about $3.75 per ton. It has
been followed down considerably over one thousand feet and although the
grade has dropped somewhat with depth, there are known to still be
millions of tons in reserve. According to estimates, the mine has enough
positive ore in reserve to keep the mill running at the rate of 4,000
tons per day for several years even if no more ore were to be opened up.
This ore nets but 53 cents per ton above all mining and milling
expenses; but a little arithmetic will show that this mine is worth
twice as much as the mine that is producing, with more or less
regularity, an average daily output of, say, forty tons of high grade
ore upon which there is a net gain of $25 per ton, a figure that is
rather high for the average of so-called "high grade" mines.
We must, therefore, decide that it is always wise to think twice before
condemning a mine because its grade of product is low. It is only
recently and by virtue of marked improvements in metallurgical
processes that many bodies of mineral have become "ore." Hence it is but
natural that many of the older miners fail to grasp the possibilities
that lie in such deposits.
What is the line of value separating a low grade from a high grade of
precious metal ore? There is no uniform practice along this line. One
will notice that ores are nowadays spoken of as high grade that, before
the practice of mining these described meagre deposits, were reckoned as
low grade. This fact is due to two reasons, viz., the cheapening of
metallurgical operations, and the greater respect that is entertained
for ores of low metallic content. The Esperanza Mine, in Mexico, is
called a high-grade gold mine. Its ore has averaged about $33 per ton
and the profit therefrom about $19. The Oroya-Brownhill Mine, in western
Australia, has had ore that carried a value of about $22 per ton and
from it a profit of about $15 per ton was made. In the Cripple Creek
District, ores that run above $30 per ton are considered high grade.
This means that the average rich ore shipments of the district have a
gold content of about 1-1/2 ounces per ton. The expenses of mining,
freight, and treatment will probably total close to one-half the gross
value, or about $15 per ton.
When one speaks of $30 or $40 ore as rich or high grade, it is not to be
inferred that there is no ore in the shipments which is not worth a
great deal more than this amount per ton. Such lots of ore will, no
doubt, contain a great many chunks that would assay many times the
average value. Such selected materials would not, however, be samples;
they would be what are called "specimens." The specimen has its place in
mine economic discussions because it furnishes the basis of operations
for the ubiquitous "high grader" with which nearly every new and rich
mining camp must contend.
Some writers claim that the high grader is a product of modern
conditions; but we find that he has existed for such a long time that he
was given mention by the Scotch historian and scientist Andrew Ure, who
wrote of the precautions that were exercised in working the graphite
mines of England, a century ago, to prevent the pilfering of even this
comparatively low-grade material. Even the ignorant African natives of
today cannot be trusted to wear clothing while working in the diamond
mines. No, the cause of high grading is the innate greed of human beings
and it has existed from prehistoric time and among all peoples.
In this discussion as to grades of ore, the question may arise as to
what might be reasonably considered the most attractive kind of a mining
proposition. This is too knotty a query to be answered in a few words.
There are so many different phases that must be given due weight. Every
mine is a problem in itself. The Minnesota mines afford the best
examples of profitable iron mining. Under the classification of
underground, tabular deposits such as veins or lodes, no matter in what
metals their values are found, Mr. T. A. Rickard believes that the ideal
mine would be one carrying ore worth $10 per ton, in a body five feet
thick, with costs not exceeding $5 per ton, and so mined as to keep one
million tons continually in reserve. According to these restrictions, he
thinks the Robinson Mine, of Johannesburg, will about fill the bill as
an ideal _gold_ mine. It has a deposit of about the right thickness to
avoid excessive timbering expense and this ore body is in such a vast,
continuous sheet that its superintendent can depend upon maintaining a
systematic development that will assure a constant supply of ore to the
immense mill for ten or twelve years in advance. This same ore averages
about fourteen pennyweights (approximately $14) per ton and upon this
there is assured a profit of over five dollars per ton.
XIII
VALUATION OF MINING PROPERTY.
Whenever a piece of mining property is to change hands, it is the proper
procedure to employ an expert engineer to investigate the ground and the
improvements and so arrive at some estimate concerning its intrinsic
value. Nobody is infallible and it is a trite saying that "nobody can
see into a mine farther than the last drill hole." But there is a great
difference in the reliabilities of reports made by trained and by
untrained men. A self-styled "expert" of the type which is so abundant
in every new mining centre and about cities frequented by mining
investors will probably not be able to comprehend anything beyond his
vision; but the mining geologist and engineer--the man who has devoted
the better part of his life to study and experience along these
lines--will be able to reach conclusions upon which much reliance may
be placed. This fact has come to be recognized by the men who exercise
business judgment in their mining investments.
The sampling of mines has been studied and improved upon by succeeding
engineers, until one may say that it is conducted along strictly
scientific lines. The old method of taking a sample of a mine by
scratching ore from the sides of a shaft from top to bottom and letting
the collected material at the bottom represent a fair average of the ore
body, has been relegated to its proper place in the evolution of mine
valuation.
Without entering into a description of the methods now employed by the
best examiners of mines, let it be said that every scientific precaution
is taken to obtain representative portions of the ore bodies, at such
intervals as seem best in each particular case; that measurements and
assays are made for each and every sample taken and not for the
aggregate of all the samples; that no opportunity is allowed
unscrupulous persons to vitiate results in any manner; that a
professional engineer will not hold nor acquire, in any way, an
interest in any proposition which he examines; and that the report of a
reputable engineer is equally acceptable to the seller and to the
purchaser, no matter for whom the work is done.
Much discussion has prevailed as to the best means of estimating the
amount and the value of ore in unbroken reserves. Associated with these
beneficial disputes, there has been a further controversy as to the
correct classification for reserves of unbroken ore. It is now conceded
among mining men and engineers to be improper to longer make use of the
meaningless but tongue-worn expression "ore in sight" as signifying any
known or unknown volumes of ore in the ground. The only ore in sight is
that which has been hoisted or which has been broken and stored
underground. Well-known engineers have proposed the following
expressions:
To denote the contents of ore bodies which have been exposed on four
sides, we may say _ore blocked out_, _positive ore_ or _ore developed_;
for bodies exposed upon three sides, it is considered correct to
describe the contents as _ore partly blocked_; for such bodies as are
proved upon two sides only, the terms _ore faces_, _ore developing_ or
_probable ore_ are appropriate; while in speaking of all ore that may be
expected or suspected, but which is beyond the last exposures, we may
use the expressions _ore expectant_ and _possible ore_.
When it comes to the question of placing a value upon an undeveloped
property--one in which there is little, or no, development work or
exploitation--it takes more than the ability of the common "expert" of
the curbstone variety to arrive at any dependable figures. Without any
exposures, except those that may have been produced by Nature, and
perhaps with no guidance from facts that might be obtainable were there
adjoining mines, one might suppose that the whole matter would resolve
itself into mysticism. Right here is where the trained man best shows
his ability.
The greatest error of the usual investor in mining schemes is to rely
upon either no report at all or upon a worthless one furnished by an
impostor. _In no sort of a mining proposition is a reliable report so
essential as when one is contemplating the purchase of a "prospect."_
Successful engineers, whose predictions concerning such properties have
come true, are sometimes complimented (?) by being accused of possessing
intuition or prophetic vision. Call this ability what we will, we must
admit that _education and training_ give certain qualifications that
will enable a man to arrive at conclusions which, in the majority of
cases, will be found to wear.
XIV
THE MINE PROMOTER.
With the thought that has justly been given to the place occupied (or
that should be occupied) in the world's financial and economic affairs
by legitimate mining, there has developed a well-founded stigma upon the
operations of a class of persons who have styled themselves by what was
formerly considered a worthy title, that of "promoters." Since men have
found that it is as possible to go into a mining deal with the same
chances for success as attach to any other line of investment; since it
has been proved that real, worthy mining property does not require the
exertions of many middlemen to obtain capital for its development; and
since it has usually turned out that these "promoters" have handed the
hot end of deals to their investors, it is not to be wondered that some
sort of a brand would attach itself to the men who are not in the
business to benefit the industry of mining in the least, but really for
the selfish gains which they can pocket at the expense of the industry.
These men are legion. The mails are laden with their seductive letters
and "literature." Brokerage firms are numbered among these leeches on
legitimate mining. Charlatans appear almost daily upon mining scenes.
The men who engage in these deplorable practices are not from any one
walk in life: they spring up from various branches of our social
structure. The general public has learned that a very prominent Boston
magnate will not scruple to promote a mining property even though it
lacks the merit essential in attracting the conservative capitalist.
Thousands of people of small means throughout the United States and
Canada have been recipients of nicely worded and familiarly-addressed
letters signed by the son of a famous American author. This son, himself
a writer of some repute, presumed to speak to his "friends" concerning a
mining property which he promoted and into which he was glad to allow
them to get with him "on the ground floor." He frankly stated that he
was not offering such privileges to the big capitalists. He inwardly
knew that such men do not require holdings in the Cobalt or any other
region. Through the splendid work carried on by the Government postal
authorities many of these frauds have been exposed and the perpetrators
brought to justice. In January, 1912, the above-mentioned author,
together with a number of his ilk, were brought before the Federal Grand
Jury, and found guilty.
It is not the men of great capital who are induced, as a rule, into the
deals of the "promoter." It is usually the common people, the persons of
small means who have saved up a little spare money from which they hope
to realize competencies for rainy days--a class of beings inexperienced
in investments--who become the dupes of the promoter.
There have been notable exceptions to the statement that capitalists do
not yield to the seductions of these men, but recurrences are liable to
be few. The great business man is fortified by experience against forms
of treachery and he is, therefore, not so susceptible to the allurements
of any "promotion," be it mining or otherwise.
If one investigates these advertised mining "promotions," he will often
find that the money paid in by the small investors purchases a very
small portion only of the capitalization. The men who conceived the
scheme of "promoting" a concern have carefully arranged to hold a
majority of the stock, so that should there, by any chance, prove to be
a mine, they are the ones who will reap the greatest benefits. Further,
it often transpires that the contributions of cash that purchase the
small interests do not perform the function of development for which the
stock was ostensibly put upon the market. Perhaps somebody has a desire
to get rich quickly. The operations of such frauds are so obscured and
so complex to the average individual that sufficient evidence can seldom
be procured to prove any violation of law.
A witty newspaper paragrapher once remarked that out in Nevada the old
adage "Death loves a shining mark" was changed to "Death loves a mining
shark." It would seem, however, that if Death were to love the person
bearing the odious, well-understood title of "shark" enough to claim him
early, the business of mining would be materially benefited. The
post-office officials of the United States are to be commended for their
efforts at curbing the despicable operations of these fakirs.
Occasionally the papers come out with the news that a firm's offices
have been raided and their business stopped. These news items fall as
awakeners upon the hundreds of gullible, middle-class persons all over
the country who are known to actually force their cash remittances upon
these fraudulent operators, much upon the plan of a department store's
supposed bargain sale.
In spite of the "bad name" that has been attached to the persons engaged
in starting up enterprises, there is a real need for more activity in
the matter of inaugurating real, legitimate mining enterprises. Persons
who devote their brains and energies in the direction of furthering
worthy mining propositions do really "promote" the interests of such
companies. What shall such persons be called if not "promoters"? There
does not seem to be any other word that expresses the occupation of such
persons. The real solution of this dilemma in which the honest men
engaged in such work find themselves placed is to denounce, forcefully,
the charlatan as being not a real promoter but a gross misrepresentation
of one.
Let us, therefore, remove the odium from this title and give our
approbation to those persons who are earnestly endeavoring, by honest
means, to place mining enterprises upon strictly business-like footings.
The mining industry needs promotion and promoters.
XV
INCORPORATION AND CAPITALIZATION.
Let us consider the legitimate financing of a new or a reorganized,
worthy, mining proposition. It is the universal custom to own and work a
mine under the laws that govern a corporation and, for this reason, the
mining man of the day is familiar with the practices of incorporating.
It is something of a question at the start to decide what is a fair
price to fix upon a property as a whole--that is, to decide what the
capitalization should be. There is no rule to be followed in this
matter. Some organizers will decide to capitalize at what is expected
will be the value of the property after some time. Other men will stick
to the idea that it is the proper thing to capitalize for what the
property will invoice at the time. The higher the capital stock, the
greater number of shares there are for sale, usually. With a
conservative capitalization, there may be fewer shares for sale, but
each share is worth correspondingly more and the chances are much better
for an advance in the price per share whenever the mine becomes
productive. There are investors who will carefully investigate this
feature and will shun any mining stock which has any appearance of
over-capitalization. It would be well if all investors were to follow
this precaution.
But what about the price at which to capitalize a prospect? By a
prospect we here mean a property that has been favorably reported upon
as worthy of development but in which, up to date, there is little, if
any, showing of values or reserves. The engineer's report has
recommended the property as containing the possibilities of a mine. How
much is it worth? Can he or can anybody even roughly estimate the sum?
An engineer frequently does fix the sale-purchase price of a property,
but it is not so usual for him to decide upon a valuation for
capitalization. A very good guess may be made, perhaps, if there are
similar and neighboring properties which have been developed.
Assuming a prospect that has been reliably reported to the owners as
possessing the earmarks of a mine and as warranting expenditures for
exploitation, upon what basis should a company be capitalized? If the
owners of the property have capital, the chances are that they will not
care to share their holdings with other parties. But very frequently
worthy "prospects" are held by men of no means, and in order to develop
their mines the owners feel the necessity of coöperation with parties
who can furnish working funds. In every such instance, there will arise
this debate as to the proper basis of capitalization.
There is no human means of arriving at a _close_ valuation of any
prospect, so it becomes a matter of pure judgment as to future
probabilities and the possibility of placing the stock at the most
advantageous price. A company will, therefore, be stocked for some round
number of shares, say 100,000, upon which some empirical par valuation,
say $1, is placed per share. This is not to be understood as stating nor
assuming that the property has a present valuation equalling the par of
the entire capitalization. Who would assert that any mere prospect ever
had such a value as $100,000? No, it is not the intention of the
organizers to claim that the ground is worth the par valuation; but some
start must be made and so, in the absence of something precise, round
numbers are made to do service.
Stock is then offered at figures much below the par valuation and in
such quantities as will maintain sufficient capital in the treasury of
the new concern to get the property's exploitation under way and to so
sustain it as to make the prospect grow into a mine.
If shares are offered at 10 cents, it does not mean that a prospect is
worth even that valuation. It does mean (we are considering now only the
operations of honest concerns) that the men who are managing affairs
believe that the sale of so many shares at ten cents each will furnish
adequate means for the development and equipment of the mine. Therefore,
there is a _prospective_ valuation placed upon all such enterprises.
Is an investment in such a company to be considered as gambling? If
there have been sound assurances from reliable examiners concerning the
likelihood of the ground carrying the essentials of a mine and the only
uncertain element is the ultimate magnitude of the mine, then we might
say that the investment is not a gamble at all, since there is no chance
to lose. The purchase of such stock is a very sane investment and there
is no telling what the returns may reach.
When incorporating a new company, it has become the fashion for the
owners of the ground to exchange their titles for certain specified
fractional interests in the company. This is effected usually by going
through the formality of having the owners sell their holdings outright
for the entire issue of the capital stock. Then, according to
prearranged agreements, these owners donate to the treasury of the
company a portion of this capital stock to be henceforth termed
"treasury stock." The first step makes the capital stock "fully paid
for," since it has been accepted in full payment for the property. The
second step supplies the company with the necessary means for raising
funds to develop.
There can be no reasonable objection to this practice. But there is much
criticism of the usual apportionment of the owners' and the treasury
stock. It is agreed that the incorporators are, as a rule, greedy in
this respect, since they generally issue more than 50 per cent. (and
frequently 60 per cent.) of the capital stock to themselves and expect
to float the project to success upon the money derivable from the sale
of the balance or treasury stock.
Is a mere prospect, even under the best natural conditions, plus the
effort incidental to the organization of a mining company, worth
one-half or more of a producing mine? During an extended experience in
the business of converting discoveries into patented claims and
prospects into mines, the writer has found that _there is never an owner
who is willing to sell a developed mine for twice the price he had set
upon the original prospect_. The valuation of his holdings goes up by
greater multiples than mere doubling or even trebling and it is a rare
thing to find a man willing to sell out a proved mine at less than ten
times the prevailing valuation that would have been placed upon the same
piece of property before its development.
Hence, there is no propriety in the act of self-appropriating half the
capital stock by the organizers. Investors should be wary about taking
interests in companies which have been so organized. If an owner
believes that a mine is worth ten times as much as a prospect, let him
be consistent and offer his undeveloped property for a tithe of the
capital stock in the anticipated mine. If he has a worthy piece of
ground, he will reap the same benefits as the holders of the stock who
place their cash against his title to a tract of virgin territory. If he
will not thus act fairly, it indicates either a questionable piece of
property or an avidity undesirable in a partner. It is accordingly
advisable to shun offerings in such concerns.
Another matter to be considered here is that of overloading a fairly
good mining enterprise with so much capital investment that the
property cannot be made to pay proper dividends and fair interest on the
capital. Many worthy, though perhaps small, mining concerns have made
failures through a disregard for this economic feature. The proper
adjustment of this matter is a serious thing and it should not be passed
over lightly. Investors should look into this phase of mining
thoroughly.
XVI
MINING INVESTMENTS.
One should be able to establish, in his mind, a distinction between the
value of investments in operating mines and in prospective mines; and he
should likewise be competent to fix some difference in his attitude when
purchasing the stocks in these dissimilar projects. One should invest in
an established mine with the same business precautions that would guide
him in buying an interest in a mercantile establishment.
It is possible to obtain, through competent engineers, the approximate
present valuation and the probable life of any mine and thus to arrive
at conservative figures that will govern one's investments. But, when
debating the purchase of stock in a prospect, a man should learn all the
available facts concerning the geology and the organizers and should
then decide, in his own way, whether he cares to make the purchase. Even
the prospects offering the finest inducements have been known to
disappoint, just as some less promising prospects have occasionally
exceeded expectations.
[Illustration: MILL OF THE ROODEPOORT-UNITED MINES, TRANSVAAL, SOUTH
AFRICA.]
So, while there are certain safeguards to investments, there should also
be accepted the uncertainties which must accompany the placing of faith
in unseen things.
The same general rules for business success will attend both commercial
and mining enterprises. Any incorporation must be handled according to
recognized, successful methods, no matter what its scope or activity. In
most lines of business, there is a likelihood of growth with longevity,
there being no reason to limit the life of the usual mercantile
business. With advancing years, a manufacturing company, for instance,
with good management, will establish a reputation and will gradually
increase its business and its stock in trade. But with a mine, the
business is one which is most successful only when actually depleting
the assets at the most rapid rate. With some kinds of mines such as
coal, placer, iron or the "reef" gold mines of the Rand, the life can
be very accurately forecast and all activities may be planned for
specified periods.
In some kinds of mining ground--as for instance, the irregular masses of
Leadville or the crooked and uncertain veins of Tonopah--there can be no
predictions that will reliably or even approximately decide the probable
life of the mining activities of any company. The duration of mines of
this second class is wholly problematical. A few years ago, there was
much discussion of this subject and one writer, who had collected
statistics over an extended period and covering various kinds of mines,
arrived at the conclusion that the average life of a mine is about
eleven years. J. P. Wallace, in his work, _Ore Deposits for the
Practical Miner_, in discussing this point says, "The average mine, if
continuously worked, seldom lasts longer than three to five years. A
mine is valuable not for what it has produced, but for what it is
capable of producing." This opinion cannot be borne out by facts, for
the brevity he ascribes to the average mine is altogether unreasonable
and his statement is pessimistic. The cases of mines which have petered
out in three or five years are exceptionally few. It must be that the
experiences of this author have been in "pockety" districts, for he
could not have lived in any of the worthy mining camps of the world very
long and have come away with any such notion.
To take care of this intrinsic feature of mining, and to place
propositions fairly before the public, there should be attention given
to the matter of recovering the invested capital before the expiration
of activities through the exhaustion of mining assets, the ore bodies.
This practice, known as "amortization," is being given more and more
consideration as people come to realize this peculiarity of mining. Some
companies are now so organized and managed that there is a guaranteed
refund, at stated periods, or whenever profits have accrued, of
fractions of the invested capital with accumulated interest thereon.
These funds are calculated to continue over the number of years which it
is presumed the mines will live so that upon the cessation of mining,
the owners of the stocks will have been completely reimbursed with their
original outlay in addition to the dividends that have resulted from the
success of the enterprise. It is here that the problem of the life of a
mine enters into economics, and it is important that it be given its due
share of study. Amortization is not of American origin and it has not
been adopted in this country to the extent which it is bound to be in
the future.
One means of providing against an extinction of a mining company's
activity with the exhaustion of the ore bodies in the mines is to
provide new mining territory to which operations may be transferred at
the proper time. This plan has been very successfully carried out by a
number of large mining companies. When a mining company has been
maintaining its identity for a considerable period, it has reached a
very desirable stage of economy in the make-up of its various lists of
officials, superintendents and engineers. All this efficiency can be
very readily transferred to the operation of virgin mining property.
Often much of the equipment of a mine can be moved and used again. When
a mine is known to be nearing its finish, there is a hesitancy on the
part of the owners in replenishing the equipment and sometimes the
mining is kept up through the use of worn-out, inefficient apparatus
when, were the owners expecting to continue mining, they would purchase
and install the new equipment when it is needed.
One company in the San Juan region of Colorado prepared for the
contingency by purchasing neighboring property to which it moved its
operations. Another large company bought a large piece of mining
property in Mexico, although its initial operations were in Colorado.
Placer mining companies frequently dismantle, move and re-erect
dredges.
XVII
MINE EQUIPMENTS.
There is a constant tendency toward the adoption of machinery for the
performance of every mining act which, formerly, was done by manual or
animal labor. There are good reasons for this tendency. Good, trained
labor is scarce; wages are slowly but gradually rising; ores of lower
grade must be mined, and the tonnages must be correspondingly greater.
The increased economy in production can be brought about by the adoption
of devices that will supplant, and even excel, muscular effort.
A machine can now be installed and can be operated by a single man to
perform the work formerly done by many men. There have been machines
invented to entirely, or partially, perform every operation in and
around mines, and one might imagine an ideal mine in which all such
machines were installed. But even there, we should have to grant the
presence of some few men, for it would not be possible to keep all the
machines working without human, intelligent control. In such a mine, it
might be possible to maintain a large production with very few laborers
or overseers. Fewer men means less wages, less labor trouble, fewer
fatalities, and less time occupied in handling men into and out of the
workings.
In some ways, copper mines are ahead of gold mines in their equipment.
Coal mines have adopted car loaders which as yet and without any very
good reasons metal mines have not.
Plants for mines must utilize the same sources of power as are used by
any other plants. Steam and water have been the usual forms, but
electricity is gaining in favor in places where it can be cheaply
obtained. At a coal mine, we naturally expect to see all the power
generated through the combustion of coal under boilers. At metal
mines--which are frequently remote from sources of coal supply--we run
across the use of expensive coal for all power purposes. When it is
possible to obtain a sufficient supply and head, water is adopted to
furnish the required power for operation. At mines, with water
sufficient to produce a part only of the needed power, we may see both
steam and water power utilized. In the cases of some mines which are
distant from sources of both coal and water supply, power is generated
at points where stores of natural energy are available for use and the
power is transmitted (usually as electricity, sometimes as compressed
air) over long distances to the mines.
Some mines cannot be economically operated without the treatment of the
ores upon, or close to, the mining property. With certain sorts of
low-grade ore, or with those kinds of ores that may be concentrated
before shipment, provision should be early made for the erection of
appropriately designed mills. We say the subject should be considered
early, but we do not advocate the premature erection of any mill. The
hills of the Western mining states are dotted with monuments to men's
error in this particular. Here and there (not in our own country alone,
but throughout the mining world) one may run across an abandoned mine
plant, a complete mill, a smeltery, a railroad or an aerial tramway, all
prematurely provided for outputs which failed to materialize.
There are men still trying to succeed in the mining business while
thinking it is essential in mining that a complete plant be the first
thing given attention. Upon the showing in a ten-foot hole, such men
will induce capital to take interests enough to provide the wherewithal
for purchasing and installing an equipment capable of handling and
treating the output of a big mine. This is a grievous mistake that comes
about through misconceptions. It is often true that ores of the kind
these mines are expected to produce should be treated upon the ground.
But it is also true, and far more essential, that there be enough ore to
supply the treatment works. It is rank folly then to spend the money
needed to make a mine upon a plant to handle the product. Money should
be spent, first, in exploitation and proving the value of a property. If
the proof is forthcoming, it is then time enough to erect the plant.
Meanwhile, during the development stages of a mine, the proper amount of
experimentation can be conducted to ascertain the correct process for
treating the ore. If ores are produced in abundance, they may be shipped
for treatment in custom works until such time as the company's own plant
is ready; or the ores may be stocked up for emergency mill supply at
future times when it may be compulsory to curtail the mine production
because of accidents or other unforeseen causes.
One who considers these matters from an economic standpoint will
recognize that there must exist some proper ratio of mine output to
treatment capacity. Just what this relationship is constitutes a serious
problem for each particular mine and there cannot be stated any
ironclad rules that may be applied to all cases.
In the first place, we believe _a mine will be operated at its greatest
economy when it is making its largest and most regular output_. This
being the case, we must agree that the plant and mill must be capable of
taking care of this maximum output. It would then seem axiomatic that
the equipment must be calculated according to the mine's capabilities.
But, in the youth of a mine, how are we to know what its mature capacity
will be? Here comes the rub.
Very nice discussions along this line have been indulged in by British
and American representative mining men. When speaking of operations that
are typical of some foreign mining districts and especially those that
possess ore-bodies whose extents are readily calculated, no clever
prophecy is required to ascertain the proper amount of equipment. But
there are many regions, especially in our own country, where nobody can
predict, with any degree of accuracy, how extensive will prove to be
the natural reserves of any mine. It is in such places as these that
hard study and careful guessing are needed, and we are inclined to agree
with George J. Bancroft when he says, "To my mind, there is more credit
due to those who take up the hard propositions and make them pay than to
those who exploit bonanzas along purely scientific lines. The first
usually require energy, sagacity, perseverance and, very often, daring;
while the others need chiefly cool calculation."
It is a safe practice, throughout the world, whenever there is no
absolute means of reaching figures of a mine's ultimate production, to
erect the treatment installations in units. By a "unit" is here meant
the outfit of machinery and the other equipment which will handle a
specified round number of tons per day. In some districts, a unit will
be for the treatment of 10 tons; in other districts this number may run
up to 100 tons. In the plans provisions are made for additions, from
time to time, as mining development warrants. Very much the same scheme
should be followed in the erection of the plant for carrying on the
operations, which are strictly those of obtaining the ore from the
earth. That is, mining equipment, as well as the milling equipment,
should be on a flexible plan so as to be readily adapted to an increased
scale of operation. There must be space provided for harmonious
additions to the initial plant whenever such extra parts are required.
[Illustration: SPRAY SHAFT HOUSE OF COPPER QUEEN CONSOLIDATED MINING
CO., BISBEE, ARIZONA.]
XVIII
MINE MANAGEMENT.
No matter how splendid a company's holdings may be naturally, there
cannot be expected any profits from the workings of the deposits if
there be not a sound business management. H. C. Hoover, the prominent
mining engineer and mine manager, says, "Good mine management is based
upon three elements: first, sound engineering; second, proper
coördination and efficiency of every human unit; third, economy in the
purchase and consumption of supplies." And he goes on to emphasize the
fact that "no complete manual will ever be published upon 'How to Become
a Good Mine Manager.'" In view of this damper upon good intentions one
might possess, and granting that the subject is one that cannot be
taught (except along very general lines possibly), no attempt will be
made to enter into arguments concerning this important subject of Mine
Management.
Good administrative ability can be improved by cultivation just as can
an individual of the vegetable kingdom; but there must first be the
existent, innate ability. No man should attempt such a hard proposition
as the management of a mine, with its varied phases of activity, unless
he has found himself possessing the fundamentals that go to assure
success in managerial positions. Furthermore, he should not think,
because he has been successful in running a clothing business or any
other mercantile line, that he is certain to succeed in running a mine.
The duties of directors and president are pretty much the same in all
sorts of incorporations. But, while there are many mining companies--and
successful ones, too--that hold upon their directorates men who probably
never saw a mine prior to their present ventures, it may still be stated
that it is obviously advisable to select for such places men who have
knowledge and sound ideas concerning the industry of mining. To be sure,
if they are ignorant along mining lines, they can, and often do, place
the blame for their shortcomings upon their manager, their consulting
engineer, or their superintendent. But this is not an auspicious state
of affairs and it were well for stockholders to see to it that they
elect to the directorate men who are cognizant of mining economics.
The well-organized mining concerns of today maintain their engineering
staffs just as completely as do other great technical businesses. The
engineer is a very important man in mining affairs. His duties are
probably more varied than those that appertain to any other sort of
engineering. His operations will extend into the realms of the
mechanical, the civil, the chemical, the metallurgical, the hydraulic,
and the electrical engineers. He must be posted along the latest
conceptions in geology, mineralogy, and physics. Besides he should be an
accurate and rapid mathematician and draftsman.
The manager finds in the engineer his most helpful and trusted aid.
Often the engineer performs many of the functions usually attaching to
the office of manager and, in the absence of the latter person, he may
attend to all of the management. As stated above, the qualities that
make a good manager are inherent; hence, to a certain extent, we may
hold the deduction that good mining engineers, also, must possess innate
qualities. Yet there may be pointed out this distinction between the
make-up of a good man for manager and that of a good mining engineer:
one, as said, cannot learn his business except through his own
experience, while the other can receive vast benefit by _study_ of a
theoretical nature and by _practice_.
Lately, there is much said about the _consulting_ mining engineer. His
field of usefulness is broad. He can be asked to add his opinions and
recommendations to those of the regular engineer, at any time; he can be
used at times when the duties are too much for the resident engineer; he
can be called upon to substitute; he need not live near the property,
but may visit it periodically. Thus, while his retention is deemed
remunerative, his services are available at a fractional part of what
he would demand if he were employed exclusively by the company.
Under ordinary working conditions, it should be considered just as
essential for a mine to take an occasional inventory as it is for a
mercantile establishment. In truth, there is far more need in mining
operations of the knowledge thus derived than in any other business. In
mining, as already suggested, the business is one of selling off the
stock in trade without replenishing it. The opening of more reserves of
ore is not bringing more goods into the stock, but it may be likened to
simply unpacking more goods in the storehouse. No new reserve can be
added--they can simply be found and unpacked, as it were.
This finding entails the greatest amount of concern, and upon its
successful practice depends the life of the mine. The presumption is
strong that many mines have been abandoned while they really contained
possibilities; but lack of knowledge of things geological, or perhaps
failures to explore, permitted the operators to remain ignorant of the
splendid assets that were available. Proof of this error has been found
in many mines that have been subsequently re-opened.
The work of sizing up the quantity and the value of available ore is
known as sampling. It is not well to limit the practice of sampling to
the times only when a sale is contemplated. Reports based upon careful
sampling should be issued frequently. Some companies employ men whose
sole occupation is the daily sampling of every working face. The assay
results obtained from the collected samples inform the superintendent
just "how the stuff is holding up" throughout the mine and he governs
his work accordingly. At longer intervals, the engineer should go into
the work more thoroughly by not only taking very careful, scientific
samples (not the usual "grab" samples taken by the daily sampler) but
also by making careful memoranda of the physical appearances of the ore
with its thickness and all geological data that will tend to throw light
upon the permanency of each body. The engineer's monthly report will
then be a substantial guide to the manager and the directors.
Managers, too, are expected to make periodical reports--monthly,
quarterly, or annually--to the directors who, in turn, issue reports to
the stockholders. The reports of managers and directors are not usually
technical in their nature, although sometimes it is the practice of a
manager to attach the engineer's report to his own for the perusal of
such readers as may desire to dip into the technical affairs of the
operations. Usually, the directors' reports are of a simple, financial
nature, stating the conditions of affairs in plain business language to
the persons whose cash has been invested in the enterprise.
It may happen that, for some reason, a special report is desired by the
directors who may be contemplating some consolidation or other financial
move and both the manager and the engineer will be required to furnish
detailed statements concerning their respective branches. If a sale is
planned, it may be that not only the company's engineer, but very
probably another engineer engaged by the contemplative purchaser, will
make examinations. They may work together or separately, as best suits
them mutually, but it is upon the reports issued by them that the
satisfactory price for the exchange of title is based.
XIX
PRICES OF METALS.
There is only one product of mines that has a constant market value,
viz., gold. The precious metals, gold, silver, and platinum, are sold by
the Troy ounce: the base metals are all handled and dealt with on
avoirdupois weights. Copper, lead, zinc, tin, and nickel are quoted in
cents per pound avoirdupois. Iron and manganese are curiously sold by
mines to smelting companies on the ton of ore basis.
Since gold has been found in every known rock of every geologic age and
is of world-wide distribution; since it possesses physical properties
that long ago placed it at the head of the list of desirable metals; and
further, since it does not occur in very condensed amounts, generally;
this metal was selected as the standard of value by which the worth of
every other commodity in the world is fixed. It must therefore be
possessed of a fixed market value, and one never looks for quotations
on pure gold. The price of pure gold is set at $20.6718. This very
peculiar value is known as the "mint value," and is the price which the
Government of the United States pays for all of its coinage gold. Among
miners, as a rule, the price is thought of as $20 per ounce, and this is
probably because this is more nearly the actual return the miner has
been accustomed to obtain from companies who have bought and treated his
ores. Most all the gold produced in the world is associated with other
metals, such as silver, copper, or platinum, so that the bullion
recovered in milling or smelting will usually contain the gold alloyed
with such other metals and the gold is said to be not "fine," or pure.
The fineness of gold in the metallic state is expressed in two ways.
Jewelers have the carat system, while mints use the decimal system in
expressing such degrees of purity. Pure gold is 24-carat fine. An alloy
of 3 parts gold and 1 part copper would be considered as 18-carat gold.
In the decimal system, pure gold is called 1,000 fine, and the various
degrees of purity are then expressed in their true proportional amounts.
Thus the same alloy as cited above would be called 750 fine gold.
Silver has a fluctuating market value although attempts have been made,
at times, to establish its value at some fixed ratio to the value of
gold. In fact, a reader may occasionally run across statistics of silver
production in which it appears as though there were a fixed value for
the metal, but this will be found to be due to the use of what is known
as the "coinage value," which is $1.29198. This figure will be
recognized as our old acquaintance, "16 to 1," _i.e._, this price for
silver being one-sixteenth of the fixed price for gold. There is
actually no such fixation, and prices for silver are established every
business day of the year in the great metal markets of the world, London
and New York.
Platinum has been increasing in market value during recent years and the
quotations have ranged up so high that it is now more than twice as
valuable as gold. The reasons for this high price are that the
production of the metal is limited, whereas the uses for the metal have
been increasing. The greatest production of this metal is in the Ural
Mountains of Russia, and the output from this region is handled by a few
concerns who virtually possess a monopoly. These companies are able to
maintain the production practically constant and to cause the market
price to fluctuate.
Tin is found in commercial amounts in but very few regions. There is but
one mineral mined as an ore of tin, viz., cassiterite, the oxide, which
is 78 per cent tin. Tin is found in both veins and placers and the great
bulk of the metal is now being derived from the latter type of bodies in
the Malay Peninsula and the Straits of the East Indies. Formerly,
Cornwall produced the world's supply, from veins. Although the United
States consumes 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the world's production,
the country does not produce 1 per cent of this production. Since the
main source of our tin is British territory, the markets are controlled
by London, and quotations are issued daily from that center. Such
quotations are given in units of English money per long ton (2240
pounds) of metal. However, prices are also quoted at New York, daily, in
cents per pound, and there is a real difference in value between the two
quotations to take care of freights and duty. For instance, on a certain
date, quotations were £190 10s, and 42c. The average price during 1911
in New York was 42.281 cents.
The chief supply of nickel now comes from the Canadian districts of
Cobalt and Sudbury, where this metal occurs accompanying rich silver
deposits. The metal is sold by the pound avoirdupois and prices in
January, 1912, ranged from 40c. to 50c.
Tungsten is a metal which has been finding more and more uses of late
years, but the production has remained quite limited. Three-quarters of
the world's total production in 1911 came from a small district in
Boulder County. Colorado. The quotations on this metal are given in
dollars per ton of concentrated ore, and the price is for a certain
percentage of WO_{3}, the oxide of wolfram (tungsten). The schedule of
prices announced in April, 1912, for Boulder County ores and
concentrates provides as follows, a unit being understood to mean 1 per
cent or 20 pounds per ton: For material assaying 10 per cent WO_{3},
$3.50 per unit; for 20 per cent WO_{3}, $4.40 per unit; for 40 per cent
and more, $4.90 per unit. Ore containing, say, 50 per cent of the
tungsten radical is thus salable at $245 per ton, the mineral itself
thus bringing a price of 24-1/2 cents per pound.
Although copper is used and sold in very large lots commercially, it
continues to be quoted upon the pound basis. The United States produces
about 60 per cent of the whole amount mined in the world and the prices
are made in New York daily. The amount of copper mined in this country
in 1911 was 1,431,938,338 pounds and the price varied between 11.989
cents and 13.768 cents. There are always at least two quotations every
day on copper, one being on "lake" and another on "electrolytic". By
these terms are meant, respectively, copper produced in the Lake
Superior region and the copper from other mines. The Lake Superior
copper is the purest in the world and it always sells for a fraction of
a cent per pound more than the other coppers which are refined by
electrolysis.
Metallic iron is reduced from a number of different ores, but by far the
bulk of pig-iron is made from the oxides and carbonates of iron. Such
ores, in the United States, are obtained principally in Minnesota,
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Alabama. As already stated, the quotations on
iron are based upon the ores rather than the pig-iron, and there are two
types of such ore recognized. If the ore is suitable for the making of
Bessemer steel, it is given a certain quotation per ton, while if it
cannot be used for such a purpose, it is given a non-Bessemer rating and
is used for casting. The greatest iron-mining region in the world is in
the Lake Superior country. Here are a number of districts that are known
as "ranges." In some of these ranges mining is by underground methods,
while in others the excavation is entirely in the open by the use of
great steam shovels. The outputs of these ranges go by rail and water to
the great smelting points along the Great Lakes and at Pittsburg.
The metallic zinc on the market is known as spelter. All quotations on
this metal are given in two systems, the "pounds Sterling per long ton"
and the "cents per pound." The average prices during 1911 were
respectively, £25.281 and 5.758 c. The American quotations are
frequently given in the unit of dollars per hundredweight. This offers
no confusion, whatever, for under this nomenclature, the average price
for 1911 would be stated as $5.758. In the zinc-mining regions of the
Mississippi Valley, the producers of ore have a practice of putting the
mines' products through their own mills at the mines and making
concentrates of the zinc mineral, which is usually blende or "jack," and
this concentrated stuff is then sold to smelting companies at the daily
quotations per ton of 60 per cent ore. During 1911 the average price
paid in the Joplin District was $41.45. Since this amount bought 1,200
pounds of metallic zinc, it is evident that the miner received only
about 3.45 cents per pound for his metal, the discrepancy between this
sum and the New York quotation being consumed in costs of smelting and
shipment and in profits to the middlemen.
Lead is sold upon a plan exactly similar to zinc. It has the same
various quotations. For example, the 1911 prices in London, New York,
and Joplin averaged, respectively, £13.970, 4.420c., and $56.76.
Quicksilver is sold by the "flask" of 75 pounds. The price ranges in the
neighborhood of $43 to $45.
There are numerous other metals, but the more common ones are given
above. Below is given a graphical exhibit of the course of the prices of
lead, spelter, standard (electrolytic) and lake copper, pig-iron, and
tin for a number of years. A study of this chart is interesting in
noting the waves or fluctuations that have covered periods of years.
This chart is reproduced from _The Engineering and Mining Journal_.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF METAL MARKET FOR ONE-THIRD OF A CENTURY]
XX
MINE ACCOUNTING.
While there has been a great deal of attention given to the matter of
keeping systematic mine accounts, both in the main offices and those at
the works, there still is a lack of uniformity in practice. In the
bookkeeping of manufacturing and mercantile institutions, uniform
practices or systems have become a feature. But there have been good
reasons for the absence of similar methods in mine offices.
There will be found to exist some uniformity in the accounting as
practised by the mines of a particular district which are operating
under similar conditions; but when one considers that the mines of
various districts have quite dissimilar conditions throughout almost
every phase of the business, it is not surprising that different methods
must be employed in the keeping of their accounts. It is unavoidable.
Mines extracting different metals or different kinds of coal will find
it necessary to keep quite unlike records. Mines with their own mills
will likewise require a different system of accounting from those that
ship their products to custom works. Open and underground mines will
need quite different styles of accounts.
So, it is not possible to recommend any one method of mine accounting.
The best way to become posted upon this subject is to investigate the
schemes, the blank forms and the books of some of the established,
successful companies here and there about the world. In this way, ideas
will be collected, and it will be possible for the investigator to
evolve his own schemes for recording the accounts of his company.
It has come to be recognized as contributing to economy to maintain
systems of accounts that will enter into minutiæ concerning every branch
of the business. Just how far this can be carried without creating
office expenses that will exceed the benefits to be derived from the
detailed information remains a question to be decided by each manager.
There are companies with accounts so perfected that it is possible to
quickly ascertain, to a fraction of a cent, what the expenditures of any
day have been for any particular part of the operations, as for
instance, the haulage per ton underground, or the fuse employed in the
blasting of a particular stope. Such details are highly useful since
they prevent leaks in the costs; but it is a problem to decide to what
extent it is economy to carry them. These data also furnish the
superintendent information concerning the efficiency of his many
laborers and the machinery. Labor-saving inventions, such as the printed
blank form, and the loose leaf, are put to excellent use in mining
offices.
There are strong companies operating great mining plants whose records
are open to the perusal of any individual, be he stockholder or not. In
the office of such a company, a person may turn to the accounts and see
for himself how much it costs to maintain each and all of the operations
and he can learn the size and the value of all shipments of products of
any sort--ore, concentrates, coal, matte, or bullion. Again, there are
those companies that are so secretive about everything connected with
their work that even the Government is unable to learn any particulars,
except at very great trouble.
The Portland Gold Mining Company, operating a great property at Victor,
in the Cripple Creek District, is an instance of the first sort, while
the United Verde mine, at Jerome, Arizona, may be taken to represent the
second sort. Both of these mines have made splendid records. It cannot
be seen wherein the second mine is required to maintain secrecy, for
there is no danger of litigation from neighboring property holders, the
one company controlling, practically, the mining in its neighborhood.
The presumption is that the owners hold their business to be nobody's
else and they have a right to keep their affairs secret if they desire.
On the other hand, the Portland is surrounded by good mines which profit
by knowing the details of operating costs and incomes of their
neighbor; but it is found to cost no more to be open and above board
than to keep things under guard. The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company will
not divulge any particulars concerning its mining movements; but there
are other just as great mining companies that will explain every detail.
The Clark copper companies, of Butte, Montana, did not permit much
information to escape their offices, while the neighboring Amalgamated
companies gave particulars freely.
The question of secrecy should be considered, and if there is no very
good excuse for maintaining a privacy it should not be instituted. The
trend of all modern thought is along the line of publicity in all our
dealings. The only persons who have a reasonable right to be secretive
are those who have something they do not care to share or divulge to
their fellow-men. Law breakers, tax dodgers, and trespassers, could be
put into one class; persons doing research work which it is premature to
publish are a more respectable class; manufacturers with strong
competition in the sales markets are in a measure excusable; even a mine
which is producing some material in the sale of which it attempts to
maintain a monopoly might be excusable. But it is hard to see what
excuse or benefit there is for a coal or a copper mining company to
prevent a knowledge of its affairs, if the business is being conducted
along strictly legitimate lines.
XXI
INVESTMENT IN MINING STOCKS.
As a feature of investment in mining stocks, there has always been a
more or less open lure. Generally much larger returns are promised or
are expected than in other kinds of investments. There may be absolutely
no intention on the part of the seller to create this impression; but
there does, somehow, exist in the memories of people accounts of
wonderful fortunes that have been made in mining.
There is an amount of uncertainty about any mine or prospect that
appeals to the speculative proclivities in humans and it is hard for
most persons to resist the notion that greater or richer bodies of ore
may, at any time, be discovered in their particular mining properties.
Concerning the average stock purchaser, then, we may conclude that it is
speculation rather than true investment that he is seeking.
The writer hopes that, even in the short preceding discussions, the
reader will have come to agree with him and to understand that safe
investments are as possible in mining as in any other business. It would
be a great benefit to this great industry of mining were the public
taught to take interests--that is, financial interests--in mining
concerns with the same precautions and with the same sound business
sense that accompany the purchases of interests in other enterprises.
Writing along this line of thought, Mr. P. A. Leonard has this to say in
_The Mining World_: "One very general difficulty seems to be that the
man unacquainted with mines who is asked to invest either expects an
unreasonable return for his money, or he blindly closes his eyes and
takes what he calls a 'flyer,' expecting little more from it than he
would if he bought margins on 'change or bet on a horse race."
About the first thing that the promoters of a new mining company do is
to issue a neat, attractive prospectus. It is a bait, no matter how
reliable these men may be nor how worthy the property they desire to
work. Many of these documents are written in absolutely good faith and
every representation is intended to be accurate. There are occasionally
offered for sale stocks in mining properties that warrant the fullest
confidence of the promoters and the investors. However, careful perusal
of a great many of these pamphlets has led the writer to the conclusion
that at least 75 per cent. of them are unreliable from the fact that
they either wilfully misrepresent or because they grossly exaggerate the
probabilities of success beyond all reason. Exaggeration is a habit with
some people and it is used many times with no real criminal intent or
even consciousness upon the part of the offender. But its effect is just
as baneful when innocently inflicted as when it is used in a
premeditated manner.
Good, worthy mining property does not need to be hawked, usually. There
have been periods of financial unrest when it has seemed quite
impossible for honest men to dispose of interests in what were
unquestionably reliable mining enterprises. At such times, there has
been nothing to gain by any amount of teasing the public, and any
attempts at forceful disposal of interests in the concerns have but
served to kill any small remnants of confidence that the public may have
possessed.
Prospectuses are usually prepared for the reading of small investors who
may feel inclined to risk a few dollars or, in other words, to speculate
upon the representations contained in the seductive pamphlets. There are
a few "Don'ts" which it would be well for any person inclined to invest
in mining stocks to read, consider, and follow. For instance, never
invest in any new stock whose company _guarantees_ specific dividends.
Profits in mining, except in rare cases, cannot be so accurately
foretold as to warrant such a guarantee. We should remember that the
success of any mine depends upon many, very many, contingencies and that
some of them are invisible and are among Nature's secrets. Again, avoid
placing any confidence in those companies that are simultaneously
selling treasury stock and declaring dividends. This is a very common
practice of the numerous "get-rich-quick" concerns which Uncle Sam has
been routing the past few years. Such crooked practice is difficult to
eradicate, although severe penalties are awarded the transgressors.
The success which has been met in the operation of the _great_ mining
companies of the world can, in the majority of cases, be traced to the
common sense which was exercised in the business management. The
_business of mining is legitimate_. If mining is one of the basic
industries of the world, how could the operation of a real mine be
anything but a legitimate business? The mere fact that there have been
neat opportunities for, and the practice of, fraud in the growth of this
tremendous industry does not by any means, argue that the whole thing is
founded upon unstable premises.
What is needed is a presentation of the industry in its legitimate
aspect before all kinds of investors and this can be done properly and
effectively only by the rank and file of men interested in mining. These
men should place themselves boldly on record as combating all sorts of
deals that smack of fraud, and they should do their utmost to discourage
all delusions that may exist in the mind of the public with reference to
the supposed lure offered by mining.
There have been too many causes of failure in mining for even a partial
enumeration of them. There have been many errors in getting started,
both on the part of the organizers and the investors. There have been
many mistakes in management. Many blunders have been evidenced in the
operation of mines which made very good starts. All of these failures
are attributable to something outside of the mine's intrinsic worth;
they are mistakes due to inexperience or misconception. Such
shortcomings should not be tolerated in the make-up of a mine's
managerial staff.
Perhaps one of the most common mistakes of mine managers is to submit to
a condition of nepotism that is often furthered by directors or
stockholders. No responsible position around a mine should be filled by
a novice. Just because a director has two or three sons needing
situations does not make it incumbent upon a superintendent or a manager
to jeopardize his reputation by employing these young men. Percy
Williams, a veteran mining man, advised "Don't take your son or nephew
or your clerk out of your store or business house and send him to
Arizona or Colorado to run things for you at the mine. Sell out first.
If you are a director in a mining company, do not force the manager or
superintendent to find a job for all your unsuccessful friends and
relatives. Let him hire his own men. Don't convert your mine into an
asylum for ne'er-do-wells."
As already stated, there is protection obtainable by every investor in
mining. One may always secure, at reasonable cost, the services of
competent engineers whose business consists in sizing up the worth of
mining property. If the services of these men were more generally
appreciated and secured, there would be a great diminution in the
number of disappointments following investments in mining. An eastern
man of means complained to the writer about the way in which he had been
"stung" in various mining investments. A little catechizing brought
forth the facts that he knew absolutely nothing about mining in general
and that, worse still, he had never investigated--that is, in a
business-like manner--any of the propositions which had absorbed his
ready money. Receiving no sympathy during the recital of his troubles
but, instead, the assurance that he "got what was coming to him," he was
prepared to sit up, take notice, and listen to a severe roasting which
opened his eyes about mining matters. Now, this man has proved
successful in other lines of business. He is a prominent lawyer and
banker in his own city and has numerous, scattered, money-making
interests. But he was content to go into mining without the
investigation which it is certain he would have given to any other sort
of an investment.
The time should come when there would not be such a prevalent
"slaughter of the innocents" in mining investments. People must learn to
curb their gullibility in such affairs. But this has proved almost
impossible. Just as it is in the nature of some persons to gamble, and
it takes something more than misfortune at gaming to wean them from the
vice, so it is with a certain class of men who can not overcome the
temptations of dabbling in mining. Such men will not desist even when
they have suffered several delusions, and will continue to "send their
good money after their bad," absolutely defiant of the well-meant advice
of friends who are often in position to judge of the merits of any
contemplated investment. Probably every mining engineer of any extended
experience can tell of instances in which he has endeavored to
discourage clients from investment in unworthy mining enterprises but in
which the gambling instinct of the clients has overridden the sound
advice.
During the early days of the wonderful Cripple Creek District, all sorts
of wildcat tricks were successfully practiced upon the "tenderfeet" and
the "down-east suckers." In one case, stock was readily unloaded upon
the representation that a person could stand in the door of the cabin on
the property and "look right into the shaft-house of the Independence
mine." This statement was not untrue, although grossly misleading; for
while it was actually quite possible by the use of a telescope to span
the intervening three or four miles, visually, the prospect lacked the
propinquity to the famous mine that was the bait implied by the
statement in the prospectus. This is but one of many ingenious tricks
that were played. Did the outcome of this one fraud cure the victims of
irrational mining investment?
Railroads, too, have, in the past, added their troubles to the mining
men. Recent laws have, however, to a great extent, mitigated the
annoyances and unjust practices that the common carrying companies have
been in the habit of committing. It is now obligatory upon a railroad
company to treat all shippers without favor or discrimination, so that
the difficulties formerly experienced by one mining company in getting
enough ore cars to transport its shipments while its rival company could
have cars in abundance, is now almost a thing of the past. It takes time
to right all wrongs of this sort. It is a slow matter to get laws
framed, passed through the necessary legislation, and made effective.
But the outlook is favorable, along this line.
The leasing system has exercised an influence upon the mining activity
of many districts. By this system is meant the custom of renting or
letting the whole, or fractional parts, of a mining property to miners
who enter upon and work the premises, extract the ores, and pay to the
owners a specified percentage of the receipts from the marketing of the
ore. This practice has frequently been the only successful way of
operating some mines. It has, at times, been the manner of operating
practically every mine in certain districts.
In districts carrying pockets of very rich ore, "high grading" has been
discouraged in this way, for the "leasers" (incorrect, though common,
word for lessees) do their own mining and there is much less object in
stealing.
In other instances of mines which have been operated by the owning
companies until they were past a profitable stage, it has been proved
possible to prolong the life of operations very materially by leasing
the property to miners, who always work with more diligence and economy
for themselves than they ever do when working under "day's pay." This
feature of leasing has been quite a factor in the lives of some of the
mines of the Cripple Creek District. Until the recent drainage of the
district through the Roosevelt Tunnel, there were numerous small--and
even some large--properties that had worked all the ore bodies
previously known to exist above the water level of the district, and had
been obliged to shut down because of the heavy pumping expenses. Company
operation did not longer pay. But the plain "leaser" and his partner
could go into such old workings and they could prospect and find ore
bodies that had escaped the observation of the superintendents. The
expenses incurred in leasing are low. It is true that lessees will not
probably take as good care of mine workings and equipment as will
"company men," and often a property may be seriously crippled through
the lack of sufficient timbering after having been in the hands of a set
of lessees for some time. But, on the whole, there has probably been
more benefit than loss through the letting of leases.
When, a few years ago, the plans of the National Forestry Service were
put into effect, there was great complaint recorded concerning the
rulings that were made against various miners. Some very well
authenticated cases of wrongs were cited. However, it is now believed by
all fair-minded men that there has been no intention, on the part of the
officials of the Forest Service, to interfere with any legitimate mining
enterprise. There was a well-founded object, viz., to put a stop to
dishonest practices in obtaining title to timber lands by the
misrepresentation of mineral finds.
The General Land Office passed a rule authorizing Foresters and
Assistant Foresters to make inspections of all mining claims within
their reserves and to report to the Secretary of the Interior. The idea
embodied in this rule was that these men, being agents of the Government
and upon the ground, are able to investigate the facts concerning every
mining claim and its claimant and so to run across any evidences of
fraud that might be attempted in the securing of title. Trouble
immediately arose because the Foresters were not all experienced miners
and prospectors and so were not thoroughly qualified to pass judgment
upon the merits of mineral lands. This weakness has been admitted by the
officers of the Service but the excuse has been offered that there was
an immediate need for a great many Foresters and it was not possible to
secure men trained in both forestry and mining at such short notice.
"Just as soon as conditions became better understood, and money was
available to allow the Service to hire men whose judgment in mining
matters could not be gainsaid, such men were employed," says Paul G.
Reddington, recently Forester for the Rocky Mountain Regions. It is
true that much fraud has been prevented in the practice of taking up
Government lands and it is also quite true that the Forest Service is
endeavoring to uplift the mining industry in the western portions of the
United States.
Mining is bound to become a still stronger factor in civilization as
metallurgical processes multiply and there are discovered means of more
economically extracting the valuable contents of ores. Minerals which
are not now ores--according to the accepted, scientific definition,
because the values cannot be recovered at a profit--will, at some future
period, become ores. It is not safe to make any close predictions along
this line, for such marked reductions in treatment costs have been going
on during the last few years that mining men are entertaining great
expectations. Inventions for improvement in metallurgical lines are
being placed upon the market so frequently that it is difficult for even
the professional metallurgist to keep posted. This being true, it is
clear that the layman cannot expect to keep abreast of the
metallurgical advance. At the same time, it is well for everybody to be
slightly conversant with the wonderful advances being made in the
reduction and dressing of ores. Conspicuous in this field are the
improvements that have been effected in cyanidation, electrolytic
amalgamation and extraction, and flotation. These processes are
applicable to the lower grades of ore. Among the very recent successes
in the treatment of very low-grade gold ores are the operations
conducted in the new mills of the Portland Gold Mining Company,
Stratton's Independence, and the Ajax Gold Mining Company, all in the
Cripple Creek District. All of these mills are now treating old mine
dumps, the contents of which were considered as absolutely waste matter
at the time it was excavated. This stuff is now ore and its treatment is
making fine profits. There is still a demand for cheaper methods of
reducing ores of zinc. There are vast quantities of stuff that contains
very good percentages of zinc, but the material cannot be mined and
treated at a profit under existing conditions. With the invention of
something radically new in the metallurgy of this metal, there will be
opened an entirely different aspect in the zinc-mining regions. The
Leadville District possesses great reserves of this material that is
being held until it may become "ore."
[Illustration: FLORENCE MINE AND MILL, GOLDFIELD, NEVADA.]
XXII
THE MEN OF THE FUTURE IN MINING.
The mining of the future will probably be largely in the hands of young
men. To arrive at any conclusions concerning the probabilities of
success, therefore, we are obliged to recognize the dual conditions. In
other words, there is to be an interdependence between men and mining.
Up to this point in our discussion, we have dwelt upon the probabilities
as viewed from the standpoints of natural resources and of human
capability. In a certain degree, we have already covered the ground of
this present chapter; and yet there are some points that must be given
special consideration.
What is the true status of metal mining? Alarmists would have us believe
that civilization is rapidly exhausting the world's reserves of
available metals. Conservative investigation, however, repudiates such
notions. The best that can be claimed for the reliability of such
disconcerting statements is that they may apply in _some_ districts, to
_some_ grades of _some_ kinds of desirable mineral matter.
It may be true that the early miners have removed the "cream" from
Nature's deposits in some districts, in the sense that they have skimmed
off, as it were, the rich surface portions. But this does not signify
the exhaustion of deeper ore bodies, nor does it mean that the pioneers
were the only capable prospectors.
Why should we have any reason to deny the ability of present or future
generations to find just as good mineral deposits as did our
predecessors? Persons in some of the older of the western mining
states--as for instance, Colorado or California--are apt to carry a
misconception along this line. They can see a number of idle "camps"
that are mere relics of former thriving mining communities and they are
liable to jump to the conclusion that the day of mining at such places
is past, forever. However, as we look at the subject in a more rational
light, we shall see that there is no more authority for such an
assumption than there is for one to the effect that a farm in the
wintertime is a worthless proposition simply because, temporarily, it is
not producing its customary summer yield. Just as Nature brings about
changing conditions for the farmer, so will economic forces establish
varying degrees of attractiveness to the miner.
It is unfair to judge one of the pioneer mining districts by its
activity at the present time, if the productiveness happens to be small.
Let us look for the reasons of the apparent decline. The chances are
that the inactivity will be shown to be due, not to an exhaustion of ore
bodies, but to some needed changes in mining or metallurgical methods.
Very likely, under a readjustment of our notions about that particular
district there will appear to be as great latent possibilities as ever
cheered the earlier operators. The prospects may appear to be even
better than this, and the future may appear to extend greater
opportunities than were ever manifested in the past. Investigation may
disclose great bodies of ore that could not be seriously considered in
the earlier working of the region. In fact, speaking technically, the
stuff in question was not ore at the time of previous operations, for it
could not then be made to yield a profit. And yet, by introducing some
changes in equipment or methods of working or treatment, there may be
possibilities of making a great deal of money from an abandoned
property; and the chances are good that this same profit may be won at a
much more rapid rate than was ever before possible and that therefore
the economic conditions are enhanced. For we must not lose sight of the
fact that the greatest profits in mining usually accrue from the most
rapid exhaustion of the ore bodies.
A mine, or even a whole district, may have been deserted because of
failure on the part of original miners to recognize the value of certain
minerals. The recent revival of activity that has been noted in
Leadville mining circles is but an instance in point. In this district,
miners have given a delayed recognition to some important minerals of
zinc, and the indications are that Leadville has entered upon another
of its eras of mining activity.
But, it is not necessary to restrict our thoughts to the old mining
regions, for if we can observe how easy it has been to overlook valuable
deposits in a country that has been subjected to severe mining work, for
years and years, what must we conclude concerning the possibilities of
the many and vast undeveloped areas in remote portions of the globe? It
would seem that there is indeed very small cause for alarm about the
exhaustion of the earth's metals.
No, it can be shown that mining, which is one of the very fundamental
industries of the world and the one upon which every other form of
commercialism rests, will be carried on with a continual increase in
magnitude just as long as man exists. As the richer and more easily
mined ore reserves of Nature are exhausted, improved and cheaper methods
of mining, transportation, and treatment will be introduced and at a
pace that will equalize this exhaustion. We, of the present generation,
see the eminently successful handling of copper ores of grades so low
that they were not given passing consideration ten years ago. The
outlook would appear to be that the improvements in methods and costs
will not only keep abreast of needs in such matters, but the
probabilities are that they will take a very marked lead, with the
result of a continually increasing scope to the mining industry. Let us
then entertain optimistic views about the _future of mining_.
Now, as to the future of the young man who engages in mining there is
just as much to be said as there is concerning the career of a young man
in any other line of business. This word "business" is used advisedly,
for the day is past when any person has a right to say that mining is
anything but strictly legitimate business.
We look to the young men of the present and future to correct all of the
shortcomings that have hindered the establishment of mining upon its
deserved plane of stability in the minds of the general public. Young
blood will take a lead in the dissemination of the correct thoughts
about mining.
The successful man in mining will be, as heretofore, the one with the
right qualifications in his make-up. Is a college education an essential
prerequisite to success in mining? No, the writer is not one to declare
that young men cannot succeed in the business without college training.
However, there can be no avoidance of the proposition that the chances
of the college-trained man are better than are those of the man who has
not had the benefits of such a career.
A man may be said to engage in mining in three different ways. Thus, he
may operate mining property; or he may perform any of the manifold lines
of mining engineering; or he may be an investor in mining property or
mining stocks.
To prove a success when enrolled in either of the first two classes,
there is no denying the advantages of technical, mining education. The
successful investor likewise will do well to make a consistent study of
mining economics, and the more attention he gives to the many phases of
approved modern mining, the greater will be his ultimate achievement,
financially. Just as education along usual school branches is of
immeasurable benefit to any man of business, so is it to the mining man.
And in just as great ratio is the possession of innate business ability.
Education and natural ability are the two elements that will count in
the future of any young man in mining.
Space might be devoted to the discussion of the possibilities of young
men in the field of research work along scientific lines that would add
materially to the economy and scope of mining. Such a career offers
inducements looking to the achievement of honor as well as fortune. The
field for such service is ready.
XXIII
MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS.
There are regions producing ores that are too refractory for the simple
treatments that might be given by company plants located at the mines.
There are districts that have many small gold and silver mines with ores
that do not yield to simple milling processes and which must therefore
be shipped to custom smelteries. Even were the ores amenable to milling
of some sort, it is often the case that the mines are not of sufficient
magnitude to warrant the maintenance of their own treatment plants.
Under proper trade and commercial conditions, there is no impropriety in
shipping ore to a custom plant or in selling it outright to a company
owning such a plant. But, contemporaneously with much of the mining in
the West, there has been such a monopoly on ore treatment that great
injustice has been wrought to the shippers of small lots of ore. Not
only has this accusation been true of smelting concerns but also of
milling companies. Once in a while representatives of such corporations
will arise and attempt to refute these statements, but the evidence is
overwhelmingly against them, and their arguments of being benefactors of
the miner fall flat.
By consolidation of companies and the elimination of competition,
arrogant methods and unreasonable charges have been put into force; and
the managers of mines have been obliged to accept whatever rates the
monopolists saw fit to charge for treatment and whatever arbitrary
prices they cared to pay for the metallic contents of the shipped ores.
Very gross extortion has been practised and even yet there are many
mining camps which are so absolutely under the control of these concerns
that properties which should pay well, under just and favorable
conditions, are forced to remain idle. These conditions could not be
expected to prevail forever, and the time is now at hand when the
extortionate smelting and milling trusts are meeting with pronounced
opposition and a greatly diminished business. The state of Utah has
demonstrated the ability of ore producers to bring the oppressors to
time and the mine owners of that state are in a much more favored
position right now than are the miners of Colorado, for instance, who
really have been the greater sufferers. The Utah mining men have
benefited by the sad experiences of the miners of the sister state. In
Colorado, the American Smelting and Refining Co. has been a domineering
factor in the mining industry for years, and the decrease of mining in
Colorado has been contemporaneous with the oppression of this great
corporation. The real cheating that has been practised by the ore-buying
and ore-treating companies is well understood by all mining men who have
been within their clutches.
It seems to be a fact that every tyrant eventually proves his own
undoing. In the case of the oppressive smelter trust, the greed resulted
in an immense income for the time being; but as mines were obliged to
close down because of the unjust charges imposed for handling the ores,
the quantities of ore handled continued to diminish. During the past few
years when mining has been so unusually dull in many of the western
mining camps, it has been very difficult for the smelting company to
secure enough ore to keep running, and the present outlook is not
encouraging. Statistics will show that the production of the metals is
not really so low as the decrease in tonnages would seem to indicate,
and the discrepancy is accounted for in the fact that very many mining
companies have installed their own plants for either actually recovering
their metals or for reducing their bulk of ores by concentration before
shipping to the custom treatment plants. Thus the smelting company may
still be turning out a large amount of metallic lead, for example, but
it is smelted from concentrates instead of from crude ore and the
tonnage, the principal basis for estimating smelting charges, is very
much less than was formerly handled in obtaining the same amount of the
same sort of product. The investigations started by the oppressed ones
in their efforts to evade the oppressor have led to wonderful results,
and it is no longer necessary for the miner to depend upon the smelter.
Some similar sharp practice against the mining fraternity was attempted
and for a short time successfully carried on by what was termed, in
Colorado, the milling trust. This concern handled the ores from Cripple
Creek, principally. The larger mining companies soon began the erection
of their individual plants and the practice has been extending until it
is now common for Cripple Creek mines to own and operate their own
reduction works, much on the order of the practice in the Transvaal
country.
As a final word in this discussion, the author wishes to reiterate his
belief in the legitimacy of investment in mines and mining stocks. When
mining is placed upon sound business principles and every detail of the
work is carried on with strict attention to sound economy, there can be
few failures. This means that business judgment and expert advice must
be used from the very start--in other words, that no false starts must
be permitted. Then, after getting under way in a worthy enterprise, the
successful mine operator will exercise just as close scrutiny of every
operation, method, and employee as do the men who conduct other
successful lines of business.
This little work has been prepared primarily for the perusal of men and
women who are not personally acquainted with details of mining, but who
entertain notions of becoming financially interested. It is hoped that
the simple descriptions of some of the elementary details will prove of
use to a great many persons.
CAPITALIZATION AND DIVIDENDS OF NORTH AMERICAN METAL MINES.
===============================================================================
Company | State or | Metals | Capitali- | Par/ |Dividends to
| Country | Produced | zation |Share|Jan. 1, 1912
-----------------------+----------+------------+-----------+------+------------
Alaska-Mexican |Alaska |gold | $1,000,000| $5 | $2,634,381
Alaska-Treadwell |Alaska |gold | 5,000,000| 25 | 11,385,000
Amalgamated |Montana |copper |155,000,000|100 | 63,579,315
Anaconda |Montana |copper | 30,000,000| 25 | 47,700,000
Arizona |Arizona |copper | 3,669,300| 1.20| 14,373,550
Baltic |Michigan |copper | 2,500,000| 25 | 6,050,000
Boston & Montana Cons. |Montana |copper | 3,750,000| 25 | 62,425,000
Bullion-Beck & Champion|Utah |silver, gold| 1,000,000| 10 | 2,738,400
Bunker Hill & Sullivan |Idaho |silver, lead| 3,000,000| 10 | 12,211,350
Butte Coalition |Montana |copper | 15,000,000| 15 | 2,450,000
Calumet & Arizona |Arizona |copper | 2,500,000| 10 | 11,500,000
Calumet & Hecla |Michigan |copper | 2,500,000| 25 |112,750,000
Camp Bird |Colorado |gold | 5,387,000| 5 | 6,541,960
Centennial-Eureka |Utah |gold, silver| 5,000,000| 25 | 2,700,000
Champion |Michigan |copper | 2,500,000| 25 | 5,700,000
Colorado |Utah |silver, lead| 200,000| 0.20| 2,270,000
Copper Range Con. |Michigan |copper | 40,000,000|100 | 10,751,180
Crown Reserve |Ontario |silver | 2,000,000| 1 | 2,387,898
Daly |Utah |gold, lead, | 3,000,000| 20 | 2,925,000
| | silver | | |
Daly-West |Utah |gold, lead, | 3,600,000| 20 | 6,201,000
| | silver | | |
DeLamar |Idaho |gold, silver| 400,000| 5 | 2,737,520
Doe Run |Missouri |lead | 10,000,000|100 | 2,448,478
Elkton Con. |Colorado |gold | 3,000,000| 1 | 2,666,959
El Oro |Mexico |gold, silver| 5,750,000| 5 | 12,426,590
Esperanza |Mexico |silver, gold| 2,250,000| 5 | 10,752,750
Federal |Idaho |silver, lead| 30,000,000|100 | 8,300,000
Gemini-Keystone |Utah |gold, silver| 500,000|100 | 2,000,000
Goldfield Con. |Nevada |gold, silver| 50,000,000| 10 | 11,027,812
Granby Con. |B. C. |copper,gold,| 15,000,000|100 | 3,778,630
| | silver | | |
Greene Con. |Mexico |copper | 10,000,000| 10 | 6,137,800
Guggenheim Exploration |Mexico |all metals | 22,000,000|100 | 10,151,995
Hecla |Idaho |silver, lead| 250,000| 0.25| 2,090,000
Hercules |Idaho |silver, lead| 1,000,000| 1 | 3,132,000
Homestake |S. Dakota |gold | 21,840,000|100 | 19,955,550
Hond. Rosario |C. A. |gold | 1,500,000| 10 | 2,955,000
Horn Silver |Utah |silver | 10,000,000| 25 | 5,642,000
Iron Silver |Colorado |all metals | 10,000,000| 20 | 4,250,000
Kerr Lake |Ontario |silver | 3,000,000| 5 | 2,430,000
La Rose Con |Ontario |silver | 7,500,000| $5 | 2,890,912
Mammoth |Utah |gold,silver,| 10,000,000| 25 | 2,220,000
| | copper | | |
Mohawk |Michigan |copper | 2,500,000| 25 | 2,150,000
Mountain |California|copper | 6,250,000| 25 | 4,216,250
Naica |Mexico |silver, lead| 30,000|300 | 3,190,000
Nevada Con |Nevada |copper | 10,000,000| 5 | 2,400,000
Nipissing |Ontario |silver | 6,000,000| 5 | 5,490,000
North Butte |Montana |copper,gold,| 9,000,000| 15 | 9,040,000
| | silver | | |
North Star |California|gold | 2,500,000| 10 | 2,786,988
Ontario |Utah |silver, lead| 5,000,000|100 | 14,962,500
Osceola |Michigan |copper | 2,500,000| 25 | 8,958,650
Panuco |Mexico |gold, silver| 2,000,000| | 7,465,000
Parrot |Montana |copper | 2,300,000| 10 | 6,991,138
Penoles |Mexico |silver, gold| 2,000,000| 50 | 4,741,687
Phelps, Dodge & Co |U. S. |copper | 50,000,000|100 | 8,766,747
Plumas, Eureka |California|gold | 1,406,250| 10 | 2,831,294
Portland |Colorado |gold | 3,000,000| 1 | 8,677,080
La Rose Con |Ontario |silver | $7,500,000| $5 | $2,890,912
Mammoth |Utah |gold,silver,| 10,000,000| 25 | 2,220,000
| | copper | | |
Mohawk |Michigan |copper | 2,500,000| 25 | 2,150,000
Mountain |California|copper | 6,250,000| 25 | 4,216,250
Naica |Mexico |silver, lead| 30,000|300 | 3,190,000
Nevada Con |Nevada |copper | 10,000,000| 5 | 2,400,000
Nipissing |Ontario |silver | 6,000,000| 5 | 5,490,000
North Butte |Montana |copper,gold,| 9,000,000| 15 | 9,040,000
| | silver | | |
North Star |California|gold | 2,500,000| 10 | 2,786,988
Ontario |Utah |silver, lead| 5,000,000|100 | 14,962,500
Osceola |Michigan |copper | 2,500,000| 25 | 8,958,650
Panuco |Mexico |gold, silver| 2,000,000| | 7,465,000
Parrot |Montana |copper | 2,300,000| 10 | 6,991,138
Penoles |Mexico |silver, gold| 2,000,000| 50 | 4,741,687
Phelps, Dodge & Co |U. S. |copper | 50,000,000|100 | 8,766,747
Plumas, Eureka |California|gold | 1,406,250| 10 | 2,831,294
Portland |Colorado |gold | 3,000,000| 1 | 8,677,080
Quincy |Michigan |copper | 3,750,000| 25 | 19,330,000
Richmond |Nevada |gold, silver| 1,350,000| 1 | 4,453,797
| | lead | | |
San Rafael |Mexico |gold, silver| 60,000| 25 | 3,218,338
Sta. Gertrudis |Mexico |gold, silver| 3,000,000| | 3,960,000
Sta. Maria del Paz |Mexico |gold, silver| 120,000| 12.50| 5,568,000
St. Joseph |Missouri |lead | 20,000,000| 10 | 7,208,357
Silver King Coalition |Utah |silver | 6,250,000| 5 | 12,522,385
Smuggler |Colorado |silver,lead,| 1,000,000| 1 | 2,235,000
| | zinc | | |
Standard Con |California|gold, silver| 2,000,000| 1 | 5,194,130
Stratton's Ind |Colorado |gold | 5,500,000| 5 | 5,028,568
Strong |Colorado |gold | 1,000,000| 1 | 2,275,000
Tamarack |Michigan |copper | 1,500,000| 25 | 9,420,000
Tennessee |Tennessee |copper | 5,000,000| 25 | 2,056,250
Tomboy |Colorado |gold, silver| 1,500,000| 5 | 2,561,000
Tonopah |Nevada |gold, silver| 1,000,000| 1 | 6,450,000
United |Montana |copper | 50,000,000|100 | 7,625,000
United Verde |Arizona |copper | 3,000,000| 10 | 26,722,000
Utah Copper |Utah |copper | 15,268,000| 10 | 5,629,785
Utah Con |Utah |copper | 1,500,000| 5 | 6,900,000
Vindicator Con |Colorado |gold | 1,500,000| 1 | 2,227,500
Wolverine |Michigan |copper | 1,500,000| 25 | 6,300,000
-----------------------+----------+------------+-----------+------+------------
INDEX
Accidents, 104
Adit, advantages of, 97, 100, 101, 104
Adit, defined, 95
Ajax mine, 200
Alaska, 8, 44, 67, 123
Amortization, 151
Anaconda mine, 44, 119
Arizona, 77
Australia, 26, 125
Bancroft, Geo., 160
Bankets, 116
Bassick mine, 112
Batea, 64
Bingham Cañon Dist., 73
Black Hills, 33, 74
Blanket vein, 111
Brazil placers, 8, 67
Buried placers, 61
Butte District, 44, 183
Cages, 102
California mining, 26, 31, 42, 61, 67
Camp Bird mine, 33, 121
Canadian mining claims, 54, 55
Capitalization, 140, 216
Charleton, A. G., 16
Chimneys, 112
Churn drilling, 65
Climatic influences, 83
Coal mining, 20, 23
Coal washing, 17
Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., 183
Colorado lode claims, 52
Comstock lode, 43, 91, 99
Concentration, 13, 156
Consulting engineer, 165
Copper mining, 24, 43, 73
Copper, price of, 175
Cornwall, 25, 122
Cost of patenting claims, 58
Cradle, 64
Cripple Creek District, 91, 109, 112, 125, 193, 196, 200, 214
Crosscuts, 96
Custom treatment, 210
Dead work, 79
Dikes, 108
Directors' functions, 163
Dividends of N. Amer. mines, 216
Dry placers, 71
Egypt, 22
Ely District, 74
Esperanza mine, 125
Examination of mines, 130, 191
Exploitation, 79, 166
Extralateral rights, 53
Failures in mining, 190
Gash veins, 111
Gangue, 118
Giants, 68
Gold, price of, 170
Gold production, 30 to 38
Golden Fleece, explained, 24
Grab samples, 167
Greece, mining in, 25, 122
High-grading, 126, 195
Homestake mine, 33, 123
Hoover, H. C., 162
Hydraulicking, 68, 70
Inclines, 95, 100
Incorporation, 140
Iron ore prices, 176
Joplin District, 13, 91
Kansas coal mining, 5
Kemp, Jas. F., 18
Kentucky lead mining, 8, 85
Keweenaw Peninsula, 116
Kimberly diamond mines, 43, 112, 127
Labor considerations, 84, 85
Lead, prices of, 178
Leadville, 44, 114, 150, 201, 205
Leasing, 195
Leonard, P. A., 186
Life of a mine, 92, 150
Lode defined, 51, 109, 110
Long tom, 65
Low-grade mining, 122, 200
Machinery, 89, 154
Management, 162
Mass, defined, 113
Metallurgy, 14
Mexico, 34, 43, 125
Mexican mining claims, 55
Milling, 14
Mine accounts, 179
Mine, definition of, 4, 8, 20
Mine promotion, 134, 139, 146, 186
Mine reports, 168
Miner's licenses and certificates, 55
Miner's pan, 64
Mine sampling, 130, 167
Mine timbers, 88
Mining, defined, 20, 80
Mining engineer's functions, 164, 191
Mining plants, 105, 154, 155, 157, 160
Minnesota iron ranges, 6, 42, 72, 127
Monitors, 68
Mount Morgan mine, 6, 73
Nevada Cons. Copper Co., 6, 74
New Zealand, 61
Nickel mining, 34, 43
Nickel, price of, 174
Ore defined, 18, 19
Ore deposition, 117
Ore dressing, 14, 16
Ore in sight, 131
Ore reserves, 131
Oroya-Brownhill mine, 125
Open pit mining, 72
Ophir, location, 24
_Pertinencia_, 56
Placer dredging, 66, 153
Placer defined, 60
Placering, 14
Platinum mining, 33
Platinum, price of, 172
Political considerations, 87
Porphyry mines, 76
Portland mine, 182, 200
Prospecting, 39
Prospects, 148
Prospect drilling, 65
Prospectuses, 186, 188
Quicksilver mining, 43
Quicksilver, price of, 178
Reddington mine, 43
Reddington, P. G., 198
Reefs, 116
Richard, R. H., 15
Rickard, T. A., 127
Riffles, 68
Robinson mine, 128
Rocker, 64
Roosevelt tunnel, 196
San Juan Region, 33, 99, 153
Secondary enrichment, 119
Secrecy in operations, 183
Shafts, 94, 98, 100
Silver, price of, 172
Silver production, 36
Skips, 102
Slope, defined, 95
Sluices, 68, 69
Sorting, 14
South Africa, 24, 33, 35, 128, 149
Spain, 122
Spurr, J. E., 120
Steam shovelling, 7, 72
Stock, defined, 112
Stratton's Independence mine, 194, 200
Stripping, 75
Sudbury district, 43
Supplies, mine, 87, 88
Surveyor-General offices, 58
Sutro tunnel, 99
Tin, price of, 173
Title to property, 81
Tonopah district, 13, 150
Topographical considerations, 82, 99
Transportation considerations, 82, 194
Transvaal, 13, 91
Treadwell mine, 44, 123
Treasury stock, 144
Treatment monopolies, 210, 214
Tungsten, price of, 174
Tunnel, defined, 94
Unionism, 85
United Verde mine, 182
U. S. Bureau of Mines, 28
U. S. coal claims, 47, 48
U. S. Forestry service, 197
U. S. lode claims, 46, 51
U. S. mineral output, 32 to 37
U. S. mineral surveyors, 56, 58
U. S. placer claims, 49
U. S. Postal Dept., 138, 189
Utah Copper Co., 6, 73
Van Hise, C. R., 115
Vein, defined, 107
Wallace, J. P., 150
Wallaroo mine, 43
Wasp No. 2 mine, 74
Wildcatting, 137, 193
Williams, Percy, 191
Zinc, price of, 177
End of Project Gutenberg's The Business of Mining, by Arthur J. Hoskin
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BUSINESS OF MINING ***
***** This file should be named 38903-8.txt or 38903-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/9/0/38903/
Produced by Eric Skeet and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
https://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit https://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
https://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
