Show ml mining nl ng condi conditions 4 ti ons i in n idaho BY ROBERT N BELL the mining industry of idaho during 1915 has enjoyed the most prosperous year of its history and made a larger production of mineral which sold for a higher price and yielded a greater margin of net profit on the operation than for any other annual pe since mining first commenced in the area now covered by the boundary lines of the state the gross metal contents of all mineral shipped from idaho during 1915 will aggregate as follows lead pounds zinc pounds silver ounces copper pounds gold ounces with a total gross shipping value of 38 and net profits of in addition to this output some small shipments of rich antimony ore and concentrates cen were made and also high grade tungsten concentrates in the form of scheelite and the latter aggregating fully thirty tons of over 50 per cent acid contents our famous coeur dalene mining district in north idaho while hampered as to two of its largest and most important shippers of lead silver ore which was put out of business during three months of the year due to smelter market troubles had a material increase in lead production but its greatest advance was in the production of rich zinc zine shipping ore and concentrates state mine inspector B olse boise idaho of which there was produced and shipped from the coeur dalene mines during the year fully over tons of crude zinc orb ore and concentrates containing from 40 to 50 per cent zinc showing an increased yield of fully per cent over the previous year this great production and the astonishing toni shing high prices received for it proved the greatest incentive to new development among the numerous zinc bearing prospects for which the coeur dalene district is noted especially in the prichard slate formation the interstate callahan the principal source of the remarkable output this year was from the consolidated interstate callahan mine which produces what is probably one of the cleanest zinc sulphide ores in america containing hardly any iron and only 2 to 3 per cent lead which is largely separated as a clean shipping product carrying 60 per cent lead and over half an ounce of silver to each unit of lead this property occurring as it does in the prichard slate formation which has been discredited as a source of mining profits in years passed has a main ore shoot over a thousand feet in length that has been developed 1800 feet deep and shows a magnificent resource of high grade mineral that should be readily marketable when spelter prices again resume a normal level the success mine the next largest zinc producer was that of the success mine in the same formation with a yield of tons of shipping prod act these two mines alone paid an aagre 0 gate dividend during the year of nearly 0 the formation in which the they theyon yoc oc i cur has the widest areal distribution of any division of the coeur dalene series carry ing hundreds of promising prospects the zinc ores for which it is noted are 0 bably associated with good lead and silver values and the stimulation of interest given in their development by the phenomenal profits made from zinc production this year is likely to result in giving this famous field as great a prominence as a zinc producer as it now enjoys as a lead producer some splendid developments were made in the older lead producing mines and not ably so in the deepest development enterprises which in several instances are showing astonishing strength an and d marked expansion of ore resources in their deepest levels ranging down to nearly feet below their deepest levels ranging down to nearly feet below their outcrops and it seems safe to predict that the coeur calenes dA lenes district will continue for years to come to be one of the leading lead and zinc producers of the united states the continental mine A new resource of high grade lead silver ore was developed and equipped with a fine concentrating mill of tons daily capacity at the continental mine miles north of the coeur calenes dA lenes near the international boundary line in boundary county idaho and after producing 2000 tons of 50 per cent concentrates carrying 30 ounces per ton the splendid new milling plant was destroyed by fire during the summer but has since been rebuilt and will shortly be put in operation again this deposit is of a very similar type to one of the leading producers of clean lead silver ore at burke in the coeur calenes dA lenes it now has tons of ore broken in the ready for the mill and proven ore channels aggregating a thousand feet in length from five to fifteen feet wide of 10 per cent lead ore carrying better than 5 ounces in silver per ton at a maximum depth of feet in central idaho in central idaho the stimulus of high metal prices was felt and taken advantage of by all the smelting smelling sm elting ore producers that had mineral in shape to ship and the wilbert mine in fremont county situated forty miles from the nearest railway shipping point at arco made monthly shipments of tons of 50 per cent lead concentrates and crude ore during the greater part of the year this property carries an inie interesting resting fissure in cambrian quartzite that has been developed feet deep and has been very ve r y profitably handled in spite of its isolated position and long wagon haul in the gilmore district the pittsburgh idaho and latest out mines were successful shippers throughout the year with a total output aggregating nearly ten million mil pounds of lead and several hundred thou sand sand ounces of silver leasing operations were inaugurated at these properties and successfully prosecuted on the upper levels of the mines while both properties are showing their richest lead silver values at the deepest points of development both of these properties have been good shippers of crude ore since they were discovered the deepest point reached is on the pittsburg idaho which is feet below the droppings crop pings of the vein to this horizon the ground had been dry and the ores entirely of oxidized and carbonate character which contain good shipping values without the intervention of milling process at this bottom level however a considerable flow of water was encountered and it was assumed that it would result in a change of the character of the ore to mixed sulphides sulp hides that would involve concentration treatment to prepare it for market A has been sunk however below the level on the main 50 feet which still continues very largely in the form of lead carbonate and shows five feet of the richest ore ever encountered in the mine indicating that the permanent water level has not been reached and that rich secondary ores may be anticipated for considerable further depth ten miles east of salmon city a zone of mineralized porphyry that presents the possibilities ties of a big steam shovel enterprise and is said to carry average values of something like 3 per ton principally in gold has been undergoing development tests with core drills during the summer and is reported to be getting some very satisfactory assay results the empire copper company in custer county the empire copper company at mackay as a result of liberally extending their leasing policy in the fall of 1914 was in splendid shape to take advantage of the advance in copper values last spring and since april has been shipping from to tons of copper ore a month to the salt lake valley smelters shelters sm elters with eminently profitable results to both the lessees lessels and the company and at the end of the year disclosing a better prospect for further ore production than ever before in the history of the property the new tunnel being run to tap this deposit at an additional depth of feet has attained the length of feet and has recently entered the ore zone the geological conditions are found to be normal and the prospects encouraging for the recovery of the main ore channels when the necessary crosscutting cross cutting has been done the successful intersection of the ore bodies at this deep level would add twenty years to the life of this mine and the success of the enterprise this year is a high tribute to the practical management that it has been blessed with as compared to the high priced technical talent which made so many repeated failures of effort to turn its ore resources to profitable account in former years further west in ouster custer county at estes mountain a very important development of high grade gold ore was reported during the year at the montana mine and some shipments of rich mineral sent to market the original discovery shaft of this mine fifty feet deep produced a thousand dollars worth of gold ore from the space of the shaft for each foot it was sunk by a windlass and the new ore channel encountered is said to be fully as rich as the bonanza values for which the mine was originally noted the property is being connected with an aerial tram to the golden sunbeam mill on the opposite side of jordan creek canyon where its ores are to be treated and an important new source of profitable gold ore from this part of the state seems to be assured the grimes pass district one of the most promising mineral developments of the year in idaho is the result of renewed activity in the grimes pass district on the northern edge of boise basin fifty miles northeast of boise city new interest in this old district has been stimulated by the c completion of the intermountain railway from boise to centerville Cent erville in the heart of boise basin and within ten miles of grimes pass the numerous quartz pyrite veins of this district which have been worked intermittently for their free gold values were noted for running into base ore at comparatively shallow depth for which there was no inducement du to mine by reason of the expensive wagon haul involved to market smelt ing minerals the diana mines company a corporation with headquarters at buffalo N Y has taken options on several of the most promising groups of claims and is working a large force of men in their development which has disclosed some very interesting results in lead copper and zinc ore carrying relatively high values in silver and gold the veins of this district are persistent for long distances one of the main fissures is from two to ten feet wide and and traceable with openings at short intervals for feet through a vertical range in outcrop of f ully fully 1000 feet the deepest point opened on this vein is less than feet below the surface where it shows a banded quartz gangue very richly impregnated with iron pyrite and massive soft ore with a grey black mineral very much resembling sem bling the of butte mont one vein in this series carries two feet of lead ore at one opening richly sprinkled with grey copper mineral and containing average values of ounces of silver per ton another phase of is a porphyry dike feet with a thin dissemination of lead sulphide throughout its mass and occasional narrow bands of clean galena mineral several inches thick containing high values in silver it seems more than likely from the present splendid showing at a dozen different openings that important bodies of rich smelting smelling sm elting ore will be developed in this district in the near future the general formation for maton of the country is granite but this particular part of the field is notably intruded with enormous zones of porphyry rhyolite and narrower dikes of basic igneous rocks the scene of the present development is at a point where the most notable placer gold values of the boise basin drainage terminated and it is more than probable that these veins were responsible for its source and may reveal with further development bonanza pockets of rich gold ore associated with the smelting smelling sm elting minerals which now seems likely to prove their primary ore south of boise at silver city some successful leasing enterprises were carried on in the upper levels of the old trade dollar consolidated vein and a new ore shoot was discovered on a parallel vein owned by the silver city mining company which has been equipped with a 25 ton cyanide mill this discovery promises profitable results when more fully developed and put in shape for mining as the ore encountered is of the same character for which the famous trade dollar bonanza was noted nitrate and potassium bordering the owyhee owahee range which is noted for a phenomenal development of soft rhyolite formations primarily rich in soda nitrate and potassium the interest in the discovery of these salts in solvable able form has continued throughout the year and hundreds of locations have been made under the placer law near the edge of the lake bed deposits deposits where they form a junction with the altered ryo lites and ash beds that form the base of the mountains specimen values of high grade soda nitrate and potassium nitrate have been found at a dozen points in this interesting territory it is believed by some well known boise chemists who have surveyed the situation that the richest values found are due to the solvent action of extensive but now extinct hot springs and geysers of which there is considerable evidence and which it is believed has transformed the primary silicate mixtures of these valuable salts into more solvable able form average assay values in both potassium and nitrogen salts have been found ranging up to 10 per cent and the quite extensive prospecting efforts now being carried on in this region is likely to result in the discovery of commercial deposits I 1 of these desirable salts A notable occurrence in this connection at castle creek in owyhee owahee county is a bed of pure epi six inches deep which has leached beached from the walls of a tunnel sixty feet long within a few months after it was driven in a bed of soft silica sand wood river district in the wood river district of blaine county some notable discoveries of rich lead lead silver ore were made during the year one of IV winch has EL a likely bearing on the further perm peri agency of the ore deposits of this dis tas as it was made in a tunnel 2000 feet long which undercut what is supposed to he be the old red elephant ore course at a depth of several hundred feet below the bottom level of that well known old producer and at one of the deepest vertical points ever reached in the district another strike of rich lead silver ore was made at kelly gulch that is being put in shape for production by mr guyer and associates socia tes and is giving manifest evidence of considerable capacity still another important discovery was made on the old silver fortune mine on the east fork of wood river which according to a recent information seems likely to become another important shipper of high grade lead silver mineral active development is also in progress at the north star triumph mines where a body of base ore estimated at tons is being developed that carries relatively rich values in zinc and silver and it is believed can be successfully treated by one of the modern processes of leaching and electrical precipitation of the zinc mineral A chicago company has taken over the solace mine in the vienna district which 1 was a noted producer of high g grade r ade silver mineral over twenty years ago with a recorded output of over a million ounces its lower levels are said to have encountered lead mixtures that could not be successfully treated by the old fashioned milling processes in vogue at that time but which under modern metallurgical process and good management promises profitable results and a considerable mining operation as the k known to be persistent locality were veins of that in length and depth production of gold gold bullion quite a large of the el ora the operations was made from the western border bear creek near mine on and several shipments of blaine county of rich gold bearing concentrates were made to the salt lake smelters shelters sm elters in southeastern idaho |