Show MINING operations IN THE ALTA DISTRICT BY WILL C HIGGINS I 1 the stranger sojourning sojo in salt lake for a brief period would hardly imagine that high up in the mountains less than thirty miles from zion in a southeasterly direction there existed a mining section which in the richness and vast extent of its mineral deposits could hardly be equaled or excelled the world over that in the section referred to there were forests of oe to the weary and worn the lover of outdoor out door sports and the lovelorn love lorn swain and his pea cherino such however is the outdoor paradise that surrounds the famous and historic camp of alta one of the oldest mining districts of utah a region that has produced over in the precious and baser metals and which comparatively speaking 1 upon thousands and even millions when the road up little cottonwood canyon was hardly more than a deer trail when the pack horse and burro were required to transport high grade ore from under towering peaks to the nearest point where wheeled vehicles could coul d take up the burden and convey it to the valley and to the crude reduction plants in vogue in those days when 4 ax 7 m R kz 7 1 kv X M MN lake solitude portal of solitude tunnel of the michigan utah mining co photo by will C higgins gigantic pines canyons down which sparkling sparking streams flowed over rocks and preci apices churning their waters into foam and that numerous beautiful lakes were hidden 1 I sylvan glades and hollows in the mountain fastnesses fast nesses A region which in the summer time lime is covered by flowers of varied hues and where shady nooks offer every attraction to the lover of nature and where inviting midsummer mid summer resorts beckon is still in a virgin condition as far as mineral production is concerned and which with better mining and transportation facilities cili ties could easily quadruple its past production record for the ore is there for the courageous man who will combine capital and talent in applying modern and eclen scientific methods in its extraction and recovery alta was a flourishing mining camp early jn in the sixties and produced thousands before the crime of seventy three silver brought its full value of per ounce and when no account was taken or payment expected for the gold content of the ore when it fell below an ounce to the ton and when lead had but little commercial value because of its scant industrial use in that day and age I 1 when alta flourished and when then the fame of the camp was at its zenith such mines as the emma the flagstaff the valejo balej 0 and north star grizzley city rocks and prince of wales were in tile the very flower of their existence and it seemed to the pioneer to the man man with and muscles les of iron that an eternity would be required to exhaust their vast and practically unlimited resources but like a thunderbolt from the sky came the of silver and to add to tills this calamity extended operation developed enormous flows of water and ana torrents from underground channels flooded shafts tunnels dinzes and to handle this flood at that time when power w was snot not as available and effective as was the case in later years was found to be impracticable and prohibitive and so activity in alta began slowly to decline and finally dwindled until some twenty years ago there was hardly a mine in the district that was wag in successful and profitable operation from time to time however eff efforts orts were made to resurrect the old camp individual mine owners and occasional lessees lessels made frequent bent shipments from time to time but it was not until tony jacobson his brother al AI and their associates acquired a number of valuable properties on this wonderful mineral zone and merged them into the Colum columbus lius consolidated that even a semblance of former greatness fluttered its wings over a region where a few brief years before almost desolate solitude had held full sway the columbus consolidated started in to do things and the mining world began to sit up and take notice for alta was evidently beginning to come into its own again the mine was extensively developed and soon became productive product i A mill for the treatment of low grade ores wis was installed and an electric power plant was constructed some few miles down the canyon for f or the use us e and convenience of the coffi company pany as well as for any neighbor in the district desiring m more or e economic power in mining ope operations rations A telephone line was brought in from salt lake city and direct communication was e established shed with ole outside world while the canyon road was crowded croy crowded ded daily with teams hauling profitable ab leore ore to the valley smelt eries the operations erat ions of the columbus consolidated gave new life to the camp and while under the management of the jacobson crowd produced produce d in the neighborhood of of commercial ore and more they inspired others to undertake the task of rejuvenate in ing other old and famous producers of the camp the city rocks joined in this laudable work and to improve transportation facilities built the five mile tramway from the mine to tanners flat other companies were organized inspired by hope and confident that the time was ripe for the rehabilitation of the district included in the number being the utah mines coal tion now included in the holdings of the michigan mines company which also took over the famed city rocks and the grizzley the columbus extension the alta consolidated soli dated and the south hecla while quite recently the wasatch mines company succeeded the columbus consolidated in addition to which numerous other properties of known and intrinsic merit mer iare are now being worked by their owners or are under lease and bond so that taking it all in all it now begins to look as if alta would soon regain its 0 prestige there have always been one or more serious impediments in the way of complete success in mining operations at alta chief among these being the lack of drainage so that the mines of the camp could co uld be worked to great depth and the need of more economical transportation facilities this lack has long been recognized and it now looks as if the needs of the district in this diorec these quarries which are located above wasatch resort a f few ew miles up the canyon a railroad is now being built from sandy to the quarries and will probably establish its terminus a mile and a half above leaving a gap of only a few miles between this terminus and the lower nalof the aerial tramway above alluded to and tle tie writer is credibly informed it is more than probable that the michigan utah mining company will extend its tramway so as to cover this gap and make direct connection with the railroad the use of this tramway and the spur railroad therefore would practically do away with ore hauling by teams and afford a means of economical transportation every month in the year the mines of alta are but seventeen miles from sandy a station on two trunk line railroads which is in close touch with some of the largest smelt eries in the united 7 r U ITT 13 7 k N b alta consolidated tunnel entrance michigan utah in background photo by will C higgins tion afon would woul d eventually be parti partially dlly if not fully supplied in the matter of drainage an enterprise is now fairly under way that will be of great benefit to the upper portion of alta at least this thi s embodies the proposition cisi tion being carried on under the management m lit of the alta tunnel transportation company to drive a long lo 10 ng tunnel of at least a mile in length crosscutting cross cutting all of the prominent veins and fissures of the section named in its course and not only draining them at great depth but also providing provid ift excellent transportation for ores and waste to the big cottonwood side of the divide then too great improvement is promised in the matter of mechanical transportation from the mines of alta to the reduction plants and ore markets jn salt lako lake valley As is commonly known the capitol building for the state now in course of brecto erection n in salt lake bakeis i s to be constructed of little cottonwood granite to reach diate states by street car and stage theof they lean can be reached in five hours the drive up the canyon is a most delightful one following a typical mountain stream and the wonder is that more people interested interested m 1 ing and in the beauties of nature do not make this delightful trip we have briefly sketched the p basl of q alta and outlined the history which has made this old camp so justly noted and famous and this without going into detail concerning individual mines and comparative production for the reader is apt to skip statistics for something more entertaining ta but there are those thos e who desire facts and figures who want to know if in reality alta has really made good in ill the past in the matter of heavy ore production and they are entitled to know for the benefit of such we will state that no record is obtainable of the a actual output outputs 0 0 j of dal do the camp camp as hundreds of thousands lars jars in ore have been mined and marketed I 1 of which no account at this late day can be secured from different sources how 1 ever it is possible to obtain a partial re r port of the past production of the camp one valuable source of information being in the person of john G stilwell postmaster and storekeeper at alta who was one of the early pioneers of the camp mr stilwell several years ago kindly furnished the mining review much of the following detail concerning the various mines of the district altas known production emma lode flagstaff valejo and north star south star nabob grizzley city rocks their best when the dangers of snow slides are eliminated and when a normal tonnage can be maintained from one end of the year to the other without interruption alta consolidated mining co one of the most interesting mining propositions ions in the upper portion of alta is that controlled and managed by the arta aa consolidated soli dated minin mining company whose property ada adjoins that of the michigan utah on the west interesting because of the fact that the company holdings cover several leads of historic fame and which in the past and under former ownership have produced most generously from short sh ort tunnels and surface workings just how much the total value of this output figured is not known as much of the early mining was done by individual owners lessees lessels les sees and at least one mining company but it is believed that the property of the alta cons company is c wa owl A imp kaz 7 xa M 61 zia birdseye view of the south hecla photo by will C higgins prince of wales savage montezuma mckay revolution albion toledo frederick crown prince oxford geneva peruvian columbus consolidated total one is surprised in looking over these figures at the grand total disclosed and especially ally so if at all acquainted with the com part ively shallow methods employed in mining Prad practice tice in alta for so many years and knowing that the veins and ledges are strong and permanent and undoubtedly go to the deep he is lost in conjecture of what the future output of the camp may be when the veins are worked at great depth when transportation and drainage systems are at still practically undeveloped with a large area of ground supposed to be very rith rich still in a virgin state the alta consolidated based its organization upon a group of seventeen claims which are located squarely upon the great ore bearing zone of upper alta of these seventeen claims eleven were originally owned by the silver king of alta while the balance were held by individuals this choice bit of ground being acquired by that experienced mining man tony jacobson and his brother al after an acquaintance of twenty years with the camp of alta and who considered that within this domain there existed a mine of wonderful possibilities which conjecture would seem to lo be well taken when it is considered that this group of seventeen claims covers rhe die west ext extension enslow 1 of the great grizzley fissure the eastern extension of the noted flagstaff the eastern extension of the old emma the th west ewest extension of the fabulously rich prince Princ dof of wales while a big contact between black and white lime cuts through the prope property tty in a northwesterly and southeasterly direction making big ore bodies at its intersect inter sec eions with the east cast and west fissures in mine operation a crosscut cross cut tunnel was started which encountered tile the big contact near its portal and disclosed large bodies of low grade ore continuing the tunnel was driven into the mountain for a distance of over feet where connection was made with the brooklyn grizzley fissure from which the company has already extracted in the neighborhood of 2000 tons of marketable ore at the present time while considerable exploratory work is being done from the main tunnel level the principal mining is being done in the brooklyn tunnel feet above in this tunnel a thorough exploitation is being made 0 of the dain bain fissure in the brooklyn vein from the brooklyn tunnel to the main tunnel level connection has been made by or raise from which ever point of view it is taken in this raise the workings have exposed a body of fine carbonate ore that is eighteen feet in width and ohp h nets about 20 to the ton from this point the company is shipping from twenty to twenty five feet of ore daily on this same fissure in the brooklyn tunnel level about feet in from its mouth a raise of forty feet into the bedding planes of the vein has disclosed a body of ore some ten feet in width that looks most promising this ore carries values of about 20 per cent lead 30 ounces silver 20 cents in gold old and from 1 to 2 per cent copper this ore body is being followed along its pitch and when it is discovered just where it goes down a will be sunk to the main tunnel level to be used as a chute for the handling of the ore on the main buniel tunnel level in no 1 east drift the company is breaking down ore from a two foot shoot that if of excellent shipping grade the property of the company is well equipped for economical and profitable operation era tion th ftfe la bunk and boarding house is built so as to be well shielded from snow slides and the tunnel opening comes out through a passage passageway way avay connected with the building so that a side door from the kitchen opens out into th the tunnel thus giving an entrance to the mine if necessary without first going out into the open near the mouth of the tunnel excavations have been made into the solid rock which are used for store rooms and vegetable cellars while from a crevice in the rock a short distance back in the tunnel a stream of water flows that is as cold and spark lnig as if effs ifs source were an iceberg this water is piped to the boarding house and is a luxury as well as a necessity besides its cozy boarding house the company has constructed a blacksmith shop and a trestle that leads to the jl ore bins and tramway loading station in the handling of its ores the company is taking advantage of the aerial tramway operated by the michigan utah mining company which connects with its ore bins and the five mile haul to tanners flat is made at a slight expenditure in the ore bins at tanners flat the company has about tons of ore ready to be hauled to the valley smelt eries while about tons more are broken down in the mine ready for transportation por tation to the market at the present time the alta consolidated is giving employment to a force of about eighteen men at the time of the writers visit to the mine superintendent al jacobson was down in the city but the honors of the company were ably upheld by the assistant foreman A P who exten extended ded every courtesy and |