Show ml ining nl ng in 1 n the deep creek KT region ebion BY LOUIS G schwalenberg IBErG As the result of mining operations in the gold hill tooele thoele mining district in 1917 ore valued at more than was produced and shipped extensive development in various mines has indicated there will be more shippers within a short time and that the mining industry in the deep creek region has gotten its first real start while the district has been known known for about forty years and more or less mining has been carried on oil since then from time to time it was not until the deep creek railroad was finished last spring that facilities for obtaining t mining ta supplies and for shipping ore were made available even before the completion of the road new mining projects were started and it was found easier to get capital for new enterprises than previous to that time A little history in the late sixties and early se seventies ventie s clifton was the center of mining operations little or no work being done in the gold hill end of the district A that handled lead silver ore was erect erected edat at clifton in 1872 and about 1500 tons of ore were treated two years later the furnaces were removed to gold hill and operated for two seasons but litigation over mines from which the ore for the furnaces was produced caused it to be closed down in 1892 an amalgamating mill was constructed for v handling ores from the cane spring and alvarada mines and operated four or five years in 1903 a cyanide plant was erected at the midas mine south from clifton at present there are no milling or smelting smelling sm elting facilities in the district though there is a large amount of low grade ore in evidence as well as ore carrying values of shipping grade gold hill the center gold hill at the terminus of the deep creek railroad is a small but growing town with a population of several hundred people while an equal number of men are employed in the numerous mines in process of development the town is finely situated for future growth and the outlook for it is bright the deep creek railroad i is s controlled by the western wester n pacific and it esthe intention to extend the line through gold hill to deep creek valley and into nevada by way of tippett aurum muncy and probably to ely extension of the road would be under way at present but for the financial conditions resulting from the war between gold hill and ely a number of important mining districts would be served while transportation facilities will be afforded an all immense agricultural and stock raising area in eastern nevada and western utah E editor gold hill standard go gold 1 hill U utah tah I 1 for nine or ten tell years little or no work was done in the mines of the western utah copper company controlled by the mac vichie smoot interests of salt lake though great activity had prevailed at various periods when it seemed that railroad facilities were to be provided for the district it was finally through the efforts of captain duncan macvichie of the western utah company that capital was raised for the railroad project before the road was finished mining operations were resu resumed nied on a large scale and last april the rails were laid to the mines shipments were immediately started and have since been continuous though shortage of cars and embargoes by railroads and smelters shelters sm elters have resulted in holding down the production but at times the western utah has sent to tons of ore a day to the smelter and seldom less than tons a lay day making a total production to the end of the year amounting to tons most of the ore carried copper with some silver but a good proportion was lead silver ore of which a big tonnage has been developed in the property much exploration work has been done with good success in finding additional ore bodies and extensions of known ones the low grade lead silver being proven as one of the largest in the state carrying around 10 per cent lead with 10 to 13 ounces silver and 40 cena cents gold to the ton negotiations for disposing of a large regular output of this ore are under way the western utah company owns other properties in the gold hill clifton district on none of which extensive development work has been done the yellowhammer near the clifton end of the district has been the source of some copper and tungsten ore production and it is to be more extensively ten worked the coming year it is understood the united states smelt ing interests have made a definite offer to purchase the gold hill mines of the company which would result in them being worked on a larger scale western utah extension copper A large group of claims adjoining the principal mines of the western utah copper is now the property of the western utah extension copper company that was financed by salt lake pittsburgh and boston capital the company has done a great amount of work during the pa past s t year and is rapidly developing its property to a producing basis some production was in fact made last year but it is on the results of deep mining operations now under way that the expectations of making several big paying producers are based the company is sinking a shaft on the mogul claim not far from where the im mense deposits of ore were found in the adjoining property sinking a in a four foot vein opened through no I 1 tunnel on the helmet vein and sinking an incline shaft on the lilly vein where it traverses the silver tip claim captain Mae macvichie Vichie of the older company and maurice M johnson an eminent mining engineer formerly associated with samuel newhouse in his mining operations have placed their s stamp tam p of approval on the extension company holdings predicting that the carrying out of deep development plans should result in the making of several big mines the work being lone done is proving the correctness of their views and the extension company properties hold promise of being numbered among the most profitable in the district A large compressor and other machinery tor for facilitating development operations were installed last summer and machine drills are being operated in all underground workings in which development plans are being actively pushed pole star copper this company was the first shipper over the deep creek railroad a number of carloads of ore being hauled to erickson station before the road reached gold hill the holdings consist of fifteen claims situated near the center of the district and they are being developed by shaft and tunnel the victor shaft is about feet deep and is designed as the main shaft through which deep operations will be carried on some ore was produced from workings run at feet below the surface but all indications are that most of the former metal content of af the ore has been leached beached and carried to greater depth for this reason the company has decided to go feet deep with the shaft as it is believed a zone of or secondary enrichment exists where high grade ore will be discovered operations are also being carried on through no 1 tunnel in the west drift in which an immense deposit of low grade copper ore was found ore of shipping g grade was also discovered and it is expected that some important ore bearing veins will be opened by continuing the drift A number of the carload shipments made last year by the pole star company came from the no 2 tunnel and incline shaft workings where some of the ore found was very high in grade some showing a large percentage of bismuth the company has good surface equipment consisting of air compressor and mine machinery and is expected to be one of the most successful in ill the district woodman wining mining the principal feature of this companas comp anys operations at gold cold hill hillin in ill 1917 was the development of the frankie fi an kie mine I 1 iii ne fro 11 i wa which I 1 1 ch about twenty five carloads carload 4 ot of copper ore were shipped the ore averaged around 25 a ton toil at tho the smelter and in a number of workings theaodies the bodies found gave evidence of being persistent to depth the company owns tile the old alvarada and cane spring anines from which a net production of about was made in the early nineties but at which no work has been done for a number of years the company has employed an average of eight men at tile the frankie jonocco lease joseph kimball of salt lake and C M davis of gold hill operating the old mon occo mine near clifton under lease and bond made one of the best strikes of the year soon after starting work in october an immense in fissure filled with ore carrying 10 or 12 per cent copper was discovered and the first carload shipment was at the smelter before the end of the month it cairies 1067 per cent copper while the second shipment carried 12 per cent and some silver since then a number of carloads of similar grades have been shipped in driving a short tunnel toward tile the vein an unsuspected shoot of copper ore three feet wide was cut twenty feet before reaching the objective in other parts of the property which consists of one full claim lead silver ore is found and shipments that have brought satisfactory results have been made all signs point to the making of a great mine when more work can be accomplished levee levec napoleon lease frank levee a copper mountain mining operator is operating a part of the holdings of the napoleon mining company under lease and shipped two carloads of 50 copper ore in december the property is situated on calico hill about one mile northeast from gold hill and has some very promising indications the copperopolis shipments of high grade copper silver gold ore were made from the mines of the copperopolis company that adjoins the western utah copper on oil the east during the year discovery of ore carrying up to au 60 per cent copper with 60 ounces silver and 15 to 20 gold to the ton was made in a fissure cut by the main tunnel the fissure is seven feet wide and the high grade shoot as much as two feet wide in places showing strongest in the bottom of a seventy five feet below the tunnel level another discovery of ore of similar character was made ina in a small hill opposite tile the portal of the tunnel while three feet of 50 per cent copper ore was recently discovered in driving a tunnel into the hill the copperopolis company is controlled by the bamberger dunyon interests in salt lake city the management is planning to install an air compressor and other facilities for doing more work and on a larger scale the christmas some work was done in 1917 by the christmas mining company in the main shaft of the property and one small shipment was made the property consists of twelve patented claims situated three miles east from gold hill high grade silver lead ore as well as ores carrying high percentages of lead and copper are found in the various workings the property is regarded as one of the most promising in the district garrison monster one of the most prominent producers of the district in 1917 was the garrison monster company on dutch mountain the company owns twenty seven patented claims some of which are extensively developed the principal production has been from the uncle sam and porphyry incline workings in both of which large tonnages ton nages of ore are reported to be developed the uncle sam ore is galena that runs high in silver while the deposits reached through the porphyry incline are carbonates the company has employed an average of ten or twelve men in 1917 and will continue development and production without interruption seminole copper tungsten ore in the form of 0 scheelite clite was produced to some extent from this com banys property during the year operations being carried on intermittently one shipment of concentrates from jigging operations amounted to five tons worth about A large amount of low grade ore is on the dumps of the property which is near clifton in the southern end of the district babcock mining development work has been carried on by this company in the copper shaft of the gold bond group the shaft is feet and follows a four foot vein of ore that carries 2 to 4 per cent copper some high grade ore is also found the company erected buildings and made important surface improvements during the year |