Show SOME ASPECTS OF WESTERN MINING by D W BRUNTON the difficulties under which coal mining operations are carried on and the restrictions strict ions by which that industry is hampered have been so graphically described during discussions at our meetings elsewhere that it would be a waste of time for me to repeat them adverse as these conditions may seem they are no worse than those under which precious and semiprecious metal mining is carried on in the west in order that those of you who are not personally familiar with precious metal mining may understand the difficulties under which we operate allow me to sketch briefly the discovery and history of a western mine As soon as a prospector who has been tramping tram tramp ng over the hills perhaps fer many weary years discovers the outcrop of an ore body he makes a location as prescribed by law and by the time he receives the first assay returns on the ore he has exposed not only the ground adjacent to his location but his claim itself will be covered two or three layers deep by conflicting locations running in every possible direction archaic laws he then proceeds to perform the worth of work required by the government before united states patent can be obtained when the work is completed patent surveys made and the advertising period ended he finds himself face to face with a number of adverse claims the fierceness with which these conflicting claims are fought being dependent not so much upon the supposed rights of the people who are opposing him as on the value of the mineral in his claim the mine is not yet producing he haz has no money ito fight these adverse suits and he must either compromise by conveying a portion of his discovery to the men who are attempting to rob him or give up an interest in his claim to some one with ready money who will finance hs legal battles when the fight is over if the surface openings still continue to carry ore in depth he begins shipping and before he has time to reap the reward or his labors or accumulate rI late a respectable surplus he finds him self if confronted with one or more apex law w suits it is a most unusual thing for a rabie mine to find its way into the ithe producing tage stage without having to fight one or more apex law suits all because our legisla lasures latu resin in 1872 gave us the most archaic law that was ever placed on the statute presidents address american mining congress gress october 1913 books no other nation possesses such an antiquated absurd and irrational mining law which no matter what it was intended to do has only resulted in a continued expense and annoyance to mine owners and big tees fees to lawyers and experts if the possibilities of litigation ended with the first few years deais of exploration the case would not be so serious but some of the most bitterly fought and expensive pensie ex law suits have arsen arisen between claims which have been in operation for many years at the present time two of the greatest greate A mines in cripple creek which have worked together in peace and harmony for over fourteen years are fighting a two and one half million dollar battle all because of the discovery in one of the workings of a spur or branch of the main ore body one of the most disastrous effects of this continuous litigation is 0 o frighten capitalists away from mining investments because 0 observing b eastern investors have lear learned lied that the discovery of a new mine carryl carrying ing rich ore is almost certain to be ithe beginning of f the most expensive and interminable litigation some years ago the united states government appointed a committee to examine and report on the advisability of revising our present pre senit mining laws some of the ablest men in the industry were placed upon this board and while their report was pigeonholed pigeon holed and never made public I 1 understand it was unequivocally in favor of a complete revision the mining and metallurgical society the american institute of mining engineers eng and the american mining congress each have had committees composed of representative mining me men n from all portions of the united states investigating the desirability of a change in our mining laws and the reports of the committees appointed by all of these societies have been unanimously in favor of an entirely new code as piecemeal piece meal revision seems not only undesirable but under present conditions almost out of the question the american mining congress is join goinn ns g hands with the american institute of mining engineers and the mining and metallurgical lurg ical society and together we hope to lo arouse public opinion to the necessity necess ty of making a complete crevison revis on of our present mining law neither revision nor repeal task as the apex will however be an easy of our mining law have sideline side line features proved a veritable mint for lawyers and experts let us follow our typical mine a little further if the composition of its ores is such that they can be treated by themselves at or near the mine the owner may congratulate himself but bult unfortunately the great majority of our precious or semiprecious metal mines carry ores which contain several metals usually associated wilh wil i sulphur in such a form that they can be most successfully treated by smelting smelling sm elting this is an operation which experience has shown requires a wide mixture of ore to avoid ahe the necessity of using dead fluxes consequently quent ly the ores have to be shipped and sold to a smelting smelling sm elting company located usually at some convenient railroad center years ago there was ample competition among the numerous smelting smelling sm elting companies and the miner could be sure of obtaining all that his ore was worth under existing conditions today most of the plants have passed into the hands of a few great corporations po rations which practically amount to a i gigantic monopoly which not only tells ells t the miner flat footed what it will pay for his ores but in some instances just how much it will permit hini hilm to produce it would seem that all these things are about as great a burden as an industry could bear but our typical miner has still more troubles the forest service the forest service is doing splendid work in the preservation of our forests but the organization is still young and some somewhat what imperfect many of the superintendents ten dents and rangers are not only untrained but are overzealous over zealous and officious and as a consequence rules and restrictions made with the best intentions in tho the world are often misinterpreted and the mine owner some times finds it difficult to obtain timber for mine supports and fuel permission to build roads or to lay pipe lines without carrying on an interminable correspondence and waiting until reels of red tape have been unwound land withdrawals in addition to this the government has now stepped in and withdrawn coal lands and water tower power sites from entry the operations of ho hosting pumping air compressing and ventilating all require large amounts of power picture to yourself the feelings of a mine owner with an undeveloped coal field or an unused water power near his property and yet to all intents and purposes as far away as it if located in the mountains of the moon unjust taxation the drawbacks already enumerated which seem to be sufficient to discourage any industry are bad enough but the en end is not yet the soil in the valleys of our western mountains is extremely rich the mines furnish a near at hand and high priced market for all the products of the range field and garden consequently tillable land anywhere near the ithe mines is rapidly taken up by settlers and so generally successful are their operations in a few years the agricultural population is sure to outnumber the miners a condition which already obtains in nearly every mining tate state s in the west just as soon as a farming community gains numerical strength streng ith sufficient to make itself felt in legislative halls its first act is to place the principal barden of taxation on to the mines there is scarcely an exception to this anywhere in the west for instance in colorado the mines are now assessed at their full cash value plus one eighth of L the annual gross output plus the total net output while the agricultural and fruit lands of the state are in many cases only assessed at from one third to one fifth of their actual market value in arizona a law has recently been passed under which the mines are assessed at their full cash value plus one eighth of their annual gross output plus four times their net output nothing could be more ruinous or unfair ito the mining industry yet it is difficult to see how it is possible for the mining operators to prevent or repeal such legislation with a minority vote smoke farmers nor are they content with this in many places the farmers have not only attempted but succeeded in throttling the very industry which called them into existence and made them prosperous in montana utah and california the agriculturists have actually succeeded by means of legal injunctions in closing up or obtaining un heard of damages from these smelters shelters sm elters on account of alleged damages to crops which any impartial observer knows are often entirely mythical in fact smoke farming has become a recognized business and lands in many localities near asrael a tery are now worth much more than they could have been sold for b before smoke suits were instituted the amalgamated copper company has already paid out more money for damages alleged and real to ithe lands of farmers around anaconda than the entire valley could be sold sold for if the smelt eries were not in existence this in spite of the fad fact that the company maintains near the an experimental farm which raises the largest crops and ithe finest cattle in the state in california the farmers have made placer mining difficult and in many places impossible these things may seem incredible but they are absolute facts is as every one conversant with present conditions in the west is fully abere need of uniform electrical equipment the necessary risks and difficulties attendant upon mining operations are a sufficient load for any industry to carry but there are many things other than those al ready mentioned which the mining congress hopes to be able to change for instance an experienced miner for the love of change or from getting dissatisfied with his condition in one state moves to another where a different code of signals is employed ploy ed he is of course careful to study the new code but some day before the use of the new signals has become entirely mechanical he absentmindedly absent mindedly gives a wrong signal and the unlooked unlocked for result ts is often disastrous again a miner who has been working in a mine with an electrical equipment for power and lighting of volts changes to another property perhaps in the same district two hundred and twenty volts as we all know is comparatively harmless but in the new mine where our miner goes to work the potential on the underground line is or perhaps even 2200 and without realizing the difference he is as careless in handling or working about the high potential line as he formerly was with the low and the results are unexpected and perhaps fatal this illustrates emphatically the necessity for a uniform system of electrical equipment throughout the entire country and committees from the mining congress and engineering societies have already drafted rules and regulations for uniform and safe underground equipment which should become a law in every mining state employers liability laws in any mine no matter how stringent rules may be adopted for the protection of the miners and the prevention of accidents careless workmen will sometimes drill into missed shots postpone timbering weak ground ride on loaded cars walk into open dinzes or shafts etc accidents from these causes occur with altogether too much frequency and while they are something which the operator has taken every precaution to avoid they are and must remain a burden on the industry at the present time in most states when an acci accident deni jf if this kind occurs the contingent fee attorney is immediately on hand and a prolonged period of bitter litigation ensues and when a verdict is finally reached the crippled workman or his family get practically nothing court costs and lawyers fees having absorbed nearly if not all of the award to obviate this a number of states have recently passed what are known as employers pl liability or Work mens compensation laws and so far as I 1 am able to learn in every state in which such laws have been passed the results have been extremely gratifying the cost to the employer has been no greater than before while flifle the sufferers get from two ito ten times as much as they did under the anti equated laws in force in most states and what is even of more importance they obtain the compensation immediately instead of at the end of an exhaustive and ambit struggle for this reason the amer amarii can mining congress urges the passage of laws of this kind in every mining state because it is certain the results win will b he e a direct benefit to both employers and work woric works S men besides tending to bring about a ni much u k better feeling between these two represent re presen j dative classes drainage district laws when our typical mine m ne finally reaches a stage where deep explorations are nece sary water is generally encountered som times in sufficient quantities to to ma make pumping a most serious item of expense expenses so long as pumps only drain the property in which they athey are located all goes well bu but it often happens that owing to the presence cresenc of numerous cracks and fissures or the th permeability of the rock itself it is I 1 im possible to drain one mine without lowering the water level in the mines imme adjacent this throws a most un just burden on the pioneer company for which at present it has no recourse and it has either to stand the expense of draining all the surrounding territory or cut down its rate of development to the average of the mines about it we need a drainage district law which will compel every one opi op abing mines within a given district to bea hear his proper share of the expense of pumping wildcats As soon as the earliest developed mines in a new district begin shipping any considerable sid erable amount of valuable ore a parasitic population descends like a cloud un on the camp prominent among this class is the ithe mine promoter the better class among whom carry on a perfectly legitimate and useful work as they raise capital with which to develop new mines or pro promising prospects hut but obtaining a bond or purchasing a promising new mine or prospect costs real money consequently the impecunious e and irresponsible brokers usually pick up worthless claims which can be had for little or nothing and then proceed to I 1 boom ithem by means of flamboyant pros r es and magazine and newspaper ad ver all over the united states in the th district it is easy to distinguish the daffe difference between a valuable property and a worthless one but a thousand or two miles milea away it is exceedingly difficult to dilcer the difference between their prospectuses in fact as a general rule the wilde wildcat at pr promotion is groomed until it presents a more mor attractive than the th appearance on paper genuine article and as a th thal country is annually flooded with millions 0 dollars worth of absolutely useless minin stock the effect of which is to absolute absolutely discredit mining operations of all kinds alij the minds of the unfortunate purchaser |