Show THE ROCHER DE BOULE COPPER COMPANY BY WILL C HIGGINS many years ago horace greeley the sage had an inspiration one day and he said go west young man go west and the young men took up the cry with the result that hardly a nook or corner of this western country has since been unexplored in the mountains the canyons and the towering peaks have been subjected to most careful inquiry the rivers and streams have been thoroughly pros pecked and rocks and boulders have been overturned in the search for the precious metals in the quest of lead copper and other commodities of commercial value from the mississippi to the coast no spot is now classed as being unknown and the hot blood of the young man is urging him on to new fields to new worlds to conquer he knows the west its possibilities and its redemption from the primitive state and he no longer voices the slogan to go west instead he is now looking to s Z 44 ao no I 1 ledge showing 11 foot vein and tunnel running in on hanging wall the north to inviting fields in british columbia to the mountains covered with forests to rivers and streams whose beds and banks are flecked with gold and to a virgin region where opportunities are great but as yet appropriated but by very few in utah at the present time quite a number of business and experienced mining man have heeded the call of the north some of these have been attracted by agricultural possibilities by fortunes to be made in timber lands the prizes to be won in commercial pursuits while others after careful investigation have been amazed and impressed with the wonderful mineral wealth offered in this little known country where nature seems to have been most prodigal in her bounties her natural resources and at tr actions sometime ago in fact during the past year a coterie of utah mining men associated with friends on the outside became interested in a promising mining pro tion in domineca district near hazelton british columbia and john F cowan the veteran mining man was sent into the district on a scouting expedition much to his surprise and gratification mr cowan found conditions better than expected or represented and he was successful in securing a bond and option on what he considered as being the most promising property in the district the property consisting of a group of six claims on the rocher de boule mountains near the skeena river and but three miles from the grand trunk pacific railroad the property being cocat ed a year ago last august it was in november 1910 that mr cowan visited domineca district and secured the rocher group grou which upon his return home formed the basis for the incorporation corpora tion of the rocher de boule copper company having a capitalization of 1 shares of a par value of 1 each since then work has been pushed in the development of the com banys property and beginning early in the spring it is the expectation pec tation that the company will be in position to begin reg ular shipments of high grade ore geology and formation the country rock as a general thing Is a diorite uplift through quartzite the veins being true fissures with an easterly and westerly strike and a dip to the north or into the mountain at an angle of about seven degrees the vein outcrop is massive although covered with slide rock in places the principal ledges can be traced on the surface for a distance of at least feet every feature of the formation gives evidence of permanency and continuity character of ore the copper bearing ore as a general A roomy log house has been constructed for the use of the employees of the company and an addition to it is now being made trails and wagon roads have beben constructed ted and everything is in readiness for an active campaign of winter development vein no 1 has been developed by a ile 4 vp M q wr T camp of the rocher de boule company in the heart of heavy forest thing is a while the galena ore carries lead silver and a product byproduct by of antimony and copper the silver values being in the neighborhood of ounces to the ton in character the ore is a sulphide throughout carrying but small silica content the metallic values are well distributed throughout the ore bodies from wall to wall and but little or no sorting is required veins and fissures there are three known veins or fissures on the property of the rocher company and these practically parallel each other number 1 vein is eleven feet in width seven feet of which discloses a solid mass of ore that averages from 8 to 9 per cent copper and from 4 to 5 ounces in silver to the ton then comes two feet of granite followed by two feet of galena ore that assays essays 30 per cent lead and ounces in silver to the ton the difference existing between the two zones of mineral in this vein leads to the belief that in reality a gray copper going from 7 to 8 per cent in the red metal and 40 ounces in silver number 3 vein is distant 1400 feet north of vein no 1 and has an average width of seven feet at the grassroots grass roots the values running about 22 per cent copper gold and 24 ounces silver to the ton development during the brief period in which this property has been under the control of the rocher company considerable development work has been accomplished while substantial surface improvements have been made crosscut cross cut tunnel that is twenty five feet in length from the face of the tunnel a drift has been run in on the vein on the hang liang ingwall side for a distance of sixty feet following the silver lead zone previously mentioned another tunnel has been started further down the hill which will tap cuts each about twenty feet deep have opened up the vein at other points the company is now working a force of ten men under superintendent frank brown advantages and facilities the rocher de boule group is admirably located as regards successful and economical operation the entire group can be opened and 0 operated p aerated by tunnel and through such an avenue 2000 feet in length the rich ore zones of the three veins can be opened at a vertical depth of 1400 feet water power for the generation of electric current is abundant and within 2000 feet from the mouth of the lower tunnel on vein no 1 a power dapower plant could be installed which would furnish all the power necessary in mine development while five miles away horsepower could easily be developed there is an abundance of timber for all mining and building purposes while rivulets and small streams abound on every hand the transportation question I 1 Is s one that can be easily solved as a three mile aerial tramway will deliver ore shipments to the new line of the grand trunk pacific railroad at a point where the metropolis of new hazelton is now being built it is expected that the marketing of ore will begin early next summer the rocher mine ha has an elevation of feet at hazelton the altitude is 1000 feet above sea level well pleased with the outlook wr mr cowan is well pleased with the future outlook for the companas comp anys property and with the country in which it is located he visited rocher mountain the first time ile ig I 1 1 it IF U rocher de boule Moun tian with portion of hazelton showing in foreground gasoline launch on skeena river the vein within feet and at a vertical depth of feet the no 2 vein has been opened by a 25 foot shaft which was sunk on the vein besides which several open cuts have disclosed the width and value of the vein at a number of points on the surface on no 3 vein a 60 foot crosscut cross cut tunnel has exposed the ledge edge while two open a year ago this month af after ter making a careful and exhaustive examination of the rocher group for a period covering three weeks he secured the same on bond and option and started development and exploratory work his second visit was made early in august of the present year at which time lie he bought the property outright for himself and associates he returned home a few weeks ago in speaking of the Orni domineca neca district mr cowan states that the climate is mild and salubrious and that at hazelton just before he left asters sweet peas and chrysanthon ams were luxurious and in full bloom the winters are comparatively mild and short he is enthusiastic regarding the companas comp anys holdings and is firm in the belief that the rocher is the making of a great producing and paying mine the officers and directors of the company are M S browning ogden president A fred wey vey salt lake vice dent john F cowan salt lake secretary treasurer and manager john M wright al 41 A N 7 A ar lower tunnel manager john F cowan in the foreground san francisco and W P D pemberton victoria B C beauty of the trip mr cowan states that the trip to biml neca district is one in which the scenic beauty along the route is almost unsurpassed at seattle a steamer for prince rupert is taken the distance between the two places being miles the steamer route is along what is called the inside passage and the traveler is never out of sight of land mainland or islands the voyage being picturesque in the extreme from prince rupert the distance is miles this portion of the journey being made over the grand trunk pacific railroad the grade between the two points being 4 of 1 per cent the country surrounding hazelton abounds in heavy forests lakes rivers and streams in this sec tion big game is found including deer cari boo and bear while trout and salmon are easily caught in all 0 of the rivers and streams rocher de boule rocher de boule is an indian appellation and means the slide of rocks according to the old legends the title was bestowed up rocher de boule mountain for the following reason at one time the canyon at the foot of the mountain was occupied by two indian villages of two different tribes the feeling between the two was not of the warmest and this sentiment of hostility was further augmented by an occurrence that completely demolished the village the highest up the canyon this was a tremendous landslide that lodged in the canyon between the two villages which dammed the river so that the impounded water entirely engulfed the homes of the upper tribe this terrible visitation the victims believed believe dp was caused by the wickedness of the tribe below to punish which the inhabitants of the upper village billage made an attack upon their enemies and utterly destroyed them since then the mountain has been known as rocher de boule |