Show great year in in alta cottonwood BY JERo JEROME TaE B IRELAND the great mining district em embraced braced in the environs of big and little cottonwood canyons in salt lake county utah only twenty miles on an airline air line southeasterly from salt lake city has just closed the most prosperous year since its early days the coming season is to bring even greater prosperity and a greater record of production than tile the last but to date 1915 is so far ahead of its predecessors that a comparison 0 I 1 is a waste of time however a little ancient and modern history is not amiss and a recent brief report by tile the united states geological survey on tile the district is about tile the most comprehensive for its length that has appeared government reports make dry reading but they bear tile the great virtue of being fairly accurate and dependable the following is an extract arf lr ewas was first discovered in the little cottonwood cotton wood district by general connors soldiers in 1864 and the wasatch district was then organized but was soon aban i doriea owing to the great expense of working in 1867 most of the claims were jumped and a new district organized c lied the mountain lake which included a lar large lare e area in the wasatch range it was divided in 1869 70 into the little and big cottonwood american fork and districts the mining claims included in the first named covered an area about two and a half miles square and contained the principal mines of little cottonwood canyon alta the principal camp is sixteen miles it t of sandy a station on the denver rio grande and the salt lake route A railroad was completed to the district in may alay 1873 but was discontinued a few years later in 1913 the grade was repaired and rails laid as far as wasatch for the transportation of building stone to salt lake city the mine operators in the district took advantage of this renewed method of transportation thus saving a wagon haul of nine miles to the railroads the most productive period was between 1871 and 1877 then for a period the district was very dull the vallejo and city rocks being the only mines worked regularly this idleness was due to several causes including legal troubles exhaustion of working capital by several large prospecting companies the lower levels and the low price of lead metallurgic history very little metallurgic work was ever done in the district as most of the ore was sold in the salt lake market in 1866 the owner of the north star mine built a scotch hearth furnace and ran out about three tons of lead in the following year he erected a furnace and cupel furnace the former was a success but the latter failed the jones smelter about four and a half miles from the mouth of the canyon was operated in 1871 and ran on custom ore for two years in 1872 or 1873 the davenport smelter was started at the same place in addition to the ore from the mines it worked some custom ore but was closed in 1875 the flagstaff company also erected three stacks in this vicinity several unsuccessful attempts at leaching on a small scale were made concentration works were built for the emma and were financially successful though the percentage obtained was low production the production of big and little cottonwood from 1901 to 1913 inclusive is placed at and that for the period from 1867 to 1913 is given as here the government report swings to another section of the wasatch range so the balance will be consigned to oblivion by not appearing here figures of production of the early days though not entirely authentic show a total production from 1864 to the end of 1914 of about an idea tons of a value of of the richness of the early day ore can fact that the be gathered from the tons shipped during three years preceding 1870 averaged per ton values being in at that time was silver and lead silver and lead around 6 the ore was shipped to liverpool england for treatment the cottonwoods Cotton woods have always been considered district this is borne a high grade out by the fact that for the full period of their mining history the ore from there has averaged 68 to the ton period of depression however the camp had experienced a period of depression for a good many years up to the fall of 1914 in fact most mining men freely classed alta among the ghost towns which dot the mountains of the west and its history during all the time has been replete with romance even more so than that of the average mining camp for to the regular order of early day lawlessness fire and flood has been added the terror of the that rushing death against which the ingenuity of man is absolutely powerless alta has become known wherever miners congregate as the home of the Snow slides because of the number of deaths thus caused in the narrow canyon the camp has had its ups and downs its miniature booms and periods of depression but its present prosperity is not in the nature of a boom for the geology of the district is now better understood than ever before and different properties are opening to systematic mining in a way that speaks well for the future of the entire section se action the cardiff strike the year 1914 had been a prosperous one fa for r I 1 the district probably better in point of 0 bonnage n n and values than any for thirty years before but the real upswing commenced when the cardiff mining company operating in the south fork of big cottonwood canyon after spending in driving a long crosscut tunnel drifted directly into an body of carbonate ore this was in october r efy by ta the ie end or of the year the drift had been extended feet in ore the vein being nearly fifty feet wide in places and at this writing a year later the cardiff is still shipping a great tonnage and has distributed in dividends among its stockholders the great importance of tile the cardiff strike was not so much in the extent and value of the deposit as in the fact that it upset the ideas held by a majority of min ing men up to that time that the cottonwood ore bodies always occur in east west fissures it shows as some geologists and writers had contended before that the primary enrichment occurs in the north south fault fissures invariably marked on the surface by gulches branching southward from the main canyons before the winter was over owners of properties in both canyons were preparing to open their ground along the lines s laid la down by this new understanding of 0 conditions and with the coming of spring the district witnessed a rush of development that is seldom equaled anywhere A year ago there was only one big mine in the dis dig brict now there are four with at least two more that will be in that class within a few more months south hecla the south hecla mining company under the management of george H watson has developed immense ore reserves on the level on the wedge fissure it has been drifted on along its strike about feet showing an average width of feet ten raises have been put up ranging from thirty five to feet and one sunk fifteen feet all these are in silver lead ore the ground of this company was brought together originally at a cost of about this has all been paid off the company has a good treasury and an estimated ore reserve of in sight it is expected to enter the dividend class in 1916 the old maxfield probably the most remarkable development of the year is the reopening of the old maxfield mine in big cottonwood by the boston development company under the able management of fred H vahrenkamp the history of this property dates back to 1872 since which time several fortunes have been taken from its workings above the water levels years eca a go 6 77 shaft was sunk to a depth of feet below the main tunnel level and drifting to get anler under the kno know pvn n orfino dies commenced the cutting of a water wate r channel aliann ea ilo flooded ded the entire workings and forced the suspension of work evera latte bere were made during the following years to handle the water with pumps but without success until mr Vahren vahrenkamp kam p 0 optioned option ed the prop property eity a year ago since that time about has been expended in modern machinery including electric pumps compressor hoist machine drills surface buildings etc the water has been brought under control and the entire property drained all equipment installed and at least three great ore deposits opened up from all of which ore is now being shipped the product averages about 55 per ton as broken the old maxfield is another property that is more than paying its way and which will be on a dividend basis before many months sells mining company adjoining the south hecla on the west is the property of the sells mining alining CO company in now under development by the jacobson interests and under the active management of A 0 jacobson in passing it can be truthfully said that the present E r manager of this company and his associates ates have done more for the camp of alta than any other body of men for years they have spent money freely in development through both lean and prosperous times and can be credited with bringing out a half dozen paying properties in the past the sells is being opened through the dwyer tunnel of the south hecla property less than two months ago ore was cut in a drift from the no 1 raise in the northeast crosscut at a point perhaps feet above the dwyer level since then this has developed into one of the great ore bodies of the camp at last reports the ore had been drifted upon for a distance of feet showing an average width of eleven feet for the entire distance the strike gives about feet of backs to the surface the values have increased from 15 where the ore was cut to about 45 at the present time mining men conversant with ore deposition in the camp agree that the body will be both larger and richer when the drift reaches the limestone quartzite contact which is still about feet ahead the company is now shipping the ore taken out during development and which has stacked up to considerable proportions owing to bad rocks and poor transportation facilities the company opens the new year with in the treasury and it is expected that as soon as the bond under which the ground is held has been taken care of this property too will take rank among the dividend payers the albion the property of the albion mining company under the of sol snyder has had an eventful year the long tunnel run to get under the companas comp anys known ore bodies cut a great water channel early in september flooding the mine and forcing a temporary suspension of operations erat ions gases formed in the tunnel following the subsidence of the water and james T hendrickson a well known mining engineer lost his life from this cause while endeavoring to open a clogged air pipe the line was finally opened by A 0 jacobson and several volunteer miners it was found that the water had opened up tip a consi considerable derWe showing of ore and developments upon this have been prosecuted the company is also crosscutting from the conner tunnel to the greely fissure where important ore deposits are expected leas ers in the albion have shipped regularly the lease of R S witcher and associates on the wellington claim being particularly noteworthy the albion will undoubtedly duplicate its record of the early years alta consolidated the alta consolidated mining company closes the year with all debts paid and several thousand dollars in the treasury this property has been under development by the jacobson interests for several years and has a production record of over during the past year the company has done about 2000 feet of development work and has installed power drills and a foot air line from the compressor plant of the wasatch mines company the principal development work now being performed is at the bottom of a foot under the main tunnel level where drifting both east and west along the famous braine fissure is now under way work has also been resumed along this fissure on the tunnel level with the expectation of cutting the downward extension of the old matilda ore body once a prolific producer wasatch mines the wasatch mines company owning the old flagstaff and columbus consolidated properties both of which have produced their millions and the superior alta opens the new year in better shape shade financially than for some time past the company is reported to be now entirely out ot debt having paid an enormous indebtedness during the past three years the companas comp anys hydroelectric hydro electric power plant is proving an important source of income owing to the increased demand for power all over the district A new foot pipeline pipe line and other equipment is now being installed to increase the capacity of the plant an important development of the year is the completion of plans for a great drain tunnel to cut the property at depth and thus eliminate the water which has always prevented systematic development below the main tunnel of the columbus consolidated rights of way have been secured and work upon this project will commence as soon as the snow is off the ground in the spring the principal work at present is the development of copper and zinc ores in the garfield shaft and driving from the tom moore tunnel on the flagstaff fissure toward the lime quartzite contact the work is under the of james E beveridge west toledo the west toledo mines company now controlled by A S ross and under the perin tendency of david lemon has shown interesting developments recently a drift extended from the east drift of the superior tunnel cut what is believed to be the toledo fissure this has been followed sixty feet showing ore varying up to fourteen inches in thickness however work was discontinued at that point with the arrival of deep snow owing to the danger from snow slides at the site of the tunnel development work is now being prosecuted through the old frederick tunnel on adjoining ground owned by dr huge of new york city this gives the company an additional depth of feet on the fissure the ground of the west toledo includes the old toledo shaft from which a vast amount of ore was taken in the early days of the camp until water forced the suspension of operations it is the downward extension of these ore hodies bodies for which the present owners are drifting and mining men familiar with the district predict that the west toledo company will again make a great mine of the old producer days fork mining company among prospects of more than ordinary promise is the property of the days fork mining company less than a mile north of alta in days fork of big cottonwood canyon this company is driving two tunnels toward the extension of the toledo fissure and is passing through a highly mineralized formation recent assay returns from small leads cut by the upper tunnel now in a distance of feet show 4 per cent lead 13 ounces silver and 22 gold to the ton picked samples have shown as high as ounces silver and an average sample of one small vein gave 15 per cent copper 17 per cent lead ounces silver and 32 kold gold the lower tunnel now in a distance of about feet is expected to uncover larger deposits in these leads henry harker E 0 lee M T ellison and H E booth are the directors of the company the kennebec the kennebec mines company of which W J craig of salt lake is president and general manager is driving the intermediate tunnel ahead and also raising from this level tle the kennebec is an old producer situated as it is in the south fork of big cottonwood and surrounded by such properties as the cardiff old toledo flagstaff etc there is good reason to expect favor able results from the present systematic development alta tunnel transportation the alta tunnel transportation company under the management of fred V bodfish is driving a long tunnel in the silver fork section of big cottonwood it is now in over 1700 feet the rock for some distance has been heavily mineralized the seams |