Show A NEW MONTANA PROJECT the most important mining an industrial project undertaken in montana in iii recent years has been started the organization and incorporation of the boston montana development c company 0 capital and the butte wisdom pacific railway company capital the purpose of which is to open the big mining district of elkhorn and french gulch and the famous cattle country of the big hole valley in southern montana says the boston commercial in the french gulch district the development company takes over about 20 quartz mining claims several of them developed to a producing stage and a number of placer mining claims in addition to extensive and valuable water rights camps e etc the french gulch mines are situated in n deer lodge county and will be reached by y a seven mile branch of the proposed railroad extended from ralston the entrance to the big hole valley in the elkhorn district beaverhead Beaver dead county the company has secured the transfer of 30 mining claims and two or three producing mines yielding big values in copper gold silver and lead in the elkhorn district copper was mined in the early and some remarkably high grade ore shipped to swansea wales however with the big increase in copper production elsewhere the elkhorn mines were closed because of the extreme difficulty of getting ore out of the district and supplies in the mines being from 50 to 80 miles from a railroad even at this date but they can be reached by a railroad branch extended from dewey mont on the line of the proposed new road up the wise river a distance of only 17 miles the ore in both the elkhorn and french gulch mines is remarkably like the ore from the butte district and the country and vein formation is identical ore running as hi high h as 1000 a ton has been shipped from the elkhorn district A lot of it has been mined in the aspen that runs 22 copper ounces in silver and 18 in gold to the ton the new mining and railroad project is backed chiefly by montana capital stock men ranchers and mine owners turning jarge holdings into the development company which will finance the railroad company and provide some of the capital for the development and operation of the mines the central mine in the french gulch district is extensively developed and a vein 32 feet wide has been opened by a foot tunnel the ore from which according to engineers reports carries 17 copper in the spain mine in the french gulch district there are tons of ore blocked out having an average gross value of 1764 a ton among the officers and directors of the two companies are W R allen alien capitalist and former lieutenant governor of montana hon sir frederick W borden of ottawa W C Si derfin of butte general manager of senator darks clarks interests william wallace jr former chief counsel for the northern pacific railway charles E F miller of wisdon on of the ranchers and big stockmen stoc kmen of the big hole three eastern directors have not yet been announced |