Show mi mining ning in in idaho in in 1917 more than usual activity has prevailed in idao idaho during the year 1917 and the state now occupies a more conspicuous position than ever before in the eyes of the mining world during the year a large amount of development was performed and new equipment installed one of the most prominent of the new enterprises inaugurated in a large number of districts includes the demming mines managed by AT T rowland the property of the company is located out of murphy and is in the near neighborhood of the famous old camp of silver city during the year the company has installed a large oil flotation plant surface buil buildings dinks electrical equipment and has performed a large amount of work in the successful development of its property another property that is showing up most favorably with development is the mascot above II Fl ailey which is under the management ot of charles peter of salt lake city at the mascot during the year an oil engine compressor plant and machine machin e drills have been installed A number of new buildings have been installed a water system perfected and everything put in x A W k ak j h ar IV iv ay s 11 01 L L N 4 I 1 al A tk lz I 1 r V r 5 aw Z dk MOWA the old kentuck mine at shoup idaho readiness for regular production during the present year at the mine it is reported some very important ore disclosures have been made of late output for 1917 although it is too early yet for coin complete returns as to the metal output of idaho for the year 1917 robert N bell state mine inspector says that while final figures are not available the output will approximate bunds of lead ounces of silver pounds of zinc pounds copper and ounces ounces gold with a total gross shipping value of between and in commenting upon mining conditions in idaho during 1917 mr bell makes the fol lowing statements the empire copper company the most notable center of idaho mining activity outside of the coeur dalene district was that of the mackay district where the empire copper company enjoyed a record year in production of crude shipping ore and started a large plan of permanent development and equipment including an areial ameial tramway three miles long with a capacity of tons an hour to deliver the ore from t the he mine on white knob mountain to their mill and smelter site on the railway near mackay A 1500 cubic foot air compressor was another improvement recently completed and put in operation by this coni company they have also contracted for a three compartment raise to connect their 6 foot tunnel at the 1600 foot level with the alberta tunnel at the level and to connect conne ct the latter tunnel with their big oxidized zone of surface ore a vertical four compartment raise feet high is well under way these extensive improvements are designed to facilitate the handling of the shipping ore resources of the mine and to supply a 1000 ton daily capacity mill that is contemplated for next years equipment plan to utilize a vast resource of steam shovel capacity of lower grade ores that have been left in the extensive development and operation of the property for its crude shipping value adjoining the empire copper companas Comp anys ground to the west a series of new discoveries were made during the year of very desirable lead silver bearing iron oxide fluxing flexing ores that found a ready market at the salt lake smelters shelters sm elters these deposits are of the utah type in limestone and porphyry formations and occur as immense lense shaped shoots up to thirty feet thick the keenan property of this group produced and shipped tons of crude ore carrying high iron oxide and fair silver lead values between march and october the adjoining horseshoe group on the fitzgerald lease shipped between 2000 and tons of crude ore carrying 12 to 15 ounces silver and 18 per cent to 25 per cent lead with high iron excess A dozen other prospects and sub leases in the same vicinity marketed ore in carload quantities in copper basin at copper basin twenty three miles west of mackay the copper basin mining company another enterprise financed by salt lake capital installed a five drill compressor plant and sawmill and pushed a vigorous campaign of deep development on oil its extensive group of claims which embraces a wide zone of copper in sedimentary rocks closely associated with a big eruptive crest of anite H porphyry fifty carloads of crude ore was shipped from this property that varied in y copper contents from 3 per cent to 15 per S cent twenty miles further west the phi kappa mine was equipped with a 50 horse k power compressor plant arid ad it was under going intelligent development on a series of thick bands of complex smelting smelling sm elting ore carrying good silver values salmon river district in the salmon river district the golden sunbeam mill was built and put in operation on ores from montana mines A number of leases was successfully operated at the red bird mine and twenty carloads of high grade lead silver ore was shipped to market carrying values ranging from 30 to 50 per cent lead with an ounce of silver to each unit of lead the old at bay norse horse the advanced price of sil A small compressor plant was installed on the adjoining wilbert extension mine for the purpose of long crosscut tunnel development A number of other small prospects north and south of the wilbert were operated in a small way and some very interesting te resting lead ore results exposed in the gilmore district fifty miles north of wilbert the two principal mines latest out and pittsburg idaho were producers and a dozen other properties made shipments from this district in amounts varying from one to ten carloads of lead silver mineral carrying about 30 per cent lead and 15 ounces silver per ton and usually with a high excess of iron oxide important equipment installations the important equipment feature of this district was at the pittsburg mine whose splendid ore development in its deepest level at feet below the surface has warranted the installation of a substantial mining plant interesting shoot of excellent concentrating galena ore of considerable size that gives promise of the warrant of a concentrating mill of considerable capacity further north in lemhi leahi county at shoup a gold mill of fifty tons daily capacity is under construction on pine creek and is connecter connected with an aerial tramway for the treatment of ores from the kentuck mine whose extensive development carries a large reserve of fair grade milling ore the old kentuck mine in the blackbird district thirty miles south of shoup the hayes company installed a ton concentrating mill for the treatment of cobalt sulphide ore which has been quite extensively developed and shows a big tonnage resource of fair grade mineral of this class that will give the state a new variety of mineral product during the coming year in blaine county some handsome deposits we 0 f N 44 am l 4 1 14 UZ ke 0 T it t 41 4 d T ewt at PI 7 4 silver fortune workings of mascot mine at peter idaho showing surf ice workings photo by will C dirgins Hir gins ver induced a revival of operation at the old mine A sorting plant was built and a large portion of 1000 tons stor age reserve of ore shipped to market containing about 50 per cent and ounces silver this property is extensively developed and it if silver stays at a decent figure should become a go good od producer as its proven resources aggregate more than tons of better than ounce ore the wilbert mine the wilbert mine on little lost river was successfully operated throughout the year and in october exhibited an ore shoot at its foot level eight feet thick nearly half of which was clean 50 per cent lead ore and the balance high grade milling ore A new electric hoist and 50 horsepower compressor plant was installed at this mine A straightening of the shaft on a uniform incline from the surface to the foot level was well underway and the construction by raising and sinking of a new 50 degree incline shaft feet deep which has been equipped with a horsepower diesel engine power plant electric hoist and station pumps the bottom ore resources of this mine well warrants this extensive new improvement which has been put in at a cost of about the allie gilmore property operated through a joint development and transportation tunnel now feet long through the pittsburg idaho group was also operated under an intelligent plan of development from its deepest horizon nearly 1000 feet below the apex of the vein system with resulting ore disclosures of marked interest to the future of the property at leadore the old property formerly owned by the junction mines company was wa s transferred to utah interests and operated under an intelligent plan of development which included in its deepest level a very of zinc carbonate and oxide ores were purchased and put under development near Keto lium by the alusa spelter company of vancouver B C at the north star the federal mining and smelting smelling Sm elting company continued its development in this county of the north star mine and its efforts to solve the complex metallurgical problems that the com complex lead silver ore of this property involves this work was carried on with a new daily capacity concentrating cent rating mill in which many changes and adjustments were made during the year tor for the purpose of overcoming the rather serious mil milling ling problem involved by this ore this same company recently purchased the independence mine and is now operating and successfully shipping its rich clean high grade lead silver ore the holt mine in idaho county a season of marked ac in new prospecting development work was experienced at the marshall lake district where the holt mine was equipped with a 25 ton daily capacity mill and is said to have produced gold value aggregating the success of this enterprise has induced quite a boom in this district and a number of other handsome specimen ore disclosures have been made there the veins are small but apparently persistent and in the holt mine have carried their values down so far feet below the droppings crop pings of a vertical vein the oro grande in the same county at oro grande near ely city the oro grande gold mining company completed and put in operation late in the fall an all slime cyanide plant of tons daily capacity for the treatment of an immense zone of low grade gold bearing ore that is said to average 3 per ton this installation stal lation is in the nature of a pilot mill and its successful sampling and demonstration of a margin of profit on these values will likely result in the erection of a plant of tons daily capacity A new test mill of twenty five tons daily capacity was built and put in operation during the year on the dewey mine south fork of the clearwater near grangeville Grange ville with which which tests were made on the copper gold cju values a es 4 available with the result that plans are no now W being fo formulated for financing a rna larger plant in the near future i the Dern demming ming mines 4 silver city in owyhee owahee county the demming mines companas Comp anys properties put in a busy season in the construction of a ton concentrating mill for the treatment of a large fissure vein in granite five to ten feet wide and carrying average values of 25 per ton in gold and silver which has been under course of development for the past year and discloses a handsome shoot of ore more than feet in length of the above grade the old trade dollar consolidated bonanza mining company after an idleness of several years were transferred during the summer to a seattle company and are being developed at depth also several leasing operations erat ions in the upper levels have been inaugurated augu rated the scarcity of mine labor in the coeur dalene district and its urgent demand for production together with excessive high operating costs worked against the progress of new development during the year the most important event of the industry in that fa buos field was the completion in july and the successful operation since of the 1000 lead smelter plant and silver refinery of the bunker hill sullivan mining and concentrating company at kellogg this affords a local market for ore shipments that should greatly stimulate new ore development enterprises when operating conditions resume a more favorable aspect |