Show the rejuvenation re ju venation of the jib mining M i nin g company BY WILL C HIGGINS the steady and insistent demand for a greater production 0 of the precious and baser metals brought about by increased activities in industrial and commercial circles since this country became engaged in war with germany followed by a general revival in all branches of business and industries be V ca J sm 7 ait A it 47 ir P W showing the property of the jib mining company in the background the town of basin montana now low that victory and peace have crowned the efforts of the allies has resulted in the resurrection and rejuvenation of numerous old time wealth producers throughout the mining camps and districts of this inter region among tiie ane most prominent and promising of these being the property ot of the jib mining company in the famous old camp of basin in jefferson county montana mining operations at basin in the early sixties were confined almost exclusively to the recovery of placer gold from the gravel deposits of that section later on the ledger ledge A and veins supposed to be the source of the gold found in the diggings were uncovered and these with development and exploitation returned large revenues to property owners up to the time of the decline in silver quotations some twenty five years ago when extensive operations were discontinued after which mining was carried on in a desultory manner by leasers leaders 21 until about a year ago when the property was secured under bond and option by E W griffiths of salt lake who assisted by john F cowan the well known mining operator succeeded in interesting a number of salt lake and ogden and montana capitalists ita lists and mining men in the enterprise and the jib mining company was reorganized with a capitalization 0 of shares of a par value of 3 each the holdings of the company embracing fourteen patented lode claims and a operations on a large scale with the resumption of operations in the handling of the jib mines results have been so encouraging that it is now believed that this enterprise will develop into one of the largest mining propositions in montana equaling in its magnitude and production some of the wonderful copper producers which have made butte so justly famous the world over the deepest workings on the property of the company at the time of its taking over by its present owners did not exceed feet the upper workings down to the water level being in the oxidized zone below the water line however geological conditions justify the belief that great bodies of sulphide ores exist to develop which a three compartment shaft has been started which according to present plans will be sunk to the 1000 foot level before mine development proper is undertaken equipment in its report on the property the company states that the mine is equipped with two large station pumps and a double geared hoisting engine capable of operating to a depth of 1000 feet two electrically driven air compressors and receivers have been added to the equipment the power being furnished by the great falls power company the pumps have been in commission in for sometime now and the lower workings have been practically while the milling plant on the ground is being remodeled and equipped with the latest and most up to date machinery for the concentration of ores the mine and mill are both located on the eastern edge of the town of basin a thrifty and progressive mining camp the property of the company being crossed by the tracks of the great northern railroad which provides for the convenient and economical handling and shipment of ores the ledges developed on the jib company holdings are strong fissure veins having a strike south 85 degrees east and have a dip of eighty degrees to the north the hope vein has been developed on its dip to a depth of feet and on its strike by six levels a maximum distance of feet horizontally from the surface down to the foot level oxidized ores were extensively mined sulphide concentrating ores were encountered below the first level and a large amount of was done down to the third level the vein as worked shows an average width of fourteen feet varying from eight to twenty seven feet at the time of mine operation years ago the jib ores had a value of from 10 to 25 per ton in gold silver lead and copper at metal prices prevailing at that time at present quotations however the ores have a much greater value in dollars and cents geology and formation according to a report made on the property of the jib mining company by a prominent mining engineer the veins and lodes of the alie basin district are deep seated fissures ani and tault ault zones in the granite formation filled by depositions replacements and dis semi nations with their minerals and metallic contents the filling of these fissures is probably due to ascending mineralized solutions or gasses which came up at successive periods both during and subsequent to the porphyry and rhyolite intrusions there is evidence also in the upper levels of the basin lodes that the circulating mineral bearing solutions did not deposit their mineral contents under great pressure or with great bodies of super encumbered rocks above them but that these solutions circulated freely through the faults and shattered granite replacing the walls of the fissures and the ground up fault mass and depositing their saturated mineral and metallic contents to a varying degree depending upon the existing heat pressure and other physical conditions at that time the veins of the butte district as well as the basin district may thus have undergone repeated enrichments enrich ments under successive L IN 41 2 n 1 milling plant of the jib mining company at basin montana now being remodeled hoist house and power plant circulations from below as many of the butte lodes which we were re valueless at a depth of from to feet became rich in copper at from to 1500 feet the enrichment of the butte lode at great depth is probably due to these successive flows of solution which deposited their contents at varying distances in the lodes the vei veins ns haye have a persistent strike of from 30 degrees north to 30 degrees south of east and west in both districts they dip at high angles generally towards the north in thickness the veins vary considerably ranging from three to feet in width on the surface they are generally covered with granite wash and cannot be traced continuously except through numerous surface cuts where they have been exposed the walls of the lodes of the basin district are clearly defined the fault planes planed are filled with mineralized matter from successive flows of mineral solution which have replaced the and shattered fault zones and part of the enclosing granite walls near the surface the lodes have undergone a iteration alteration and oxidization to a I 1 great extent and the veins have been en riched with silver and lead together with a large proportion of filicite sili cite and the oxides of iron manganese and other vein fillings valuable metals are found both in a secondary and native state principally in the form of native gold with the chlorites chlorides chlo rites and chloro bromides of silver the carbonates sulphate and sulphides sulp hides of lead oxide of iron and manganese and other useful products of oxidization in most of the veins near the surface copper zinc arsenic and bismuth is found most of these metals have been removed by the process of oxidization leaving a clean ore containing gold silver lead and copper such ores being easy of access have been extensively mined and shipped to the smelters shelters sm elters As comparatively shallow depths are reached the ores rapidly pass into bodies containing a heavy increase of iron and copper sulphides sulp hides in the deepest development on the veins the copper which is only observed in traces show an near the surface commences to TI ja is it appreciable increase in percentage through the found generally disseminated vein material in the form of sulphides sulp hides and an intimately mixed with the iron sulphide and in the form of grey copper the oc 0 occasionally a little 1 of copper coppe r sulp currence and appearance considered confide in the lode at this point may be it is an important and significant feature jib the t common to all the lodes held by mining company and is the 6 characteristic noted and n change which has been observed the of in both the silver and copper ve veins ins ev bu butte tta district the most conclusive vieb dence of the appearance of copper coppe in comparatively shallow develon these lodes is furnished by an a exam returns of the dumps and of old smelter er from the mines of the district coll the main office of the jib minin T he M conw 0 n tana pany is located at butte i sprig gs officers and directors are A sol president M L hewett vice president gen genzberger treasurer C consulting consul secretary and F K derby I 1 gincer company now shipping in the october alth issue of the mon aitor of boulder montana there is an interesting te article descriptive of the operations of the jib mining company which is reproduced below jefferson county the banner silver producing county of montana for many years today is rapidly coming to the front again for years the basin boulder wickes and clancey mining districts poured forth a flow of white metal that startled the whole united states and this section of the state was the predominating part for years until the decline in silver to forty odd cents per ounce paralyzed the greatest industry of the country but now that silver has come into its own again great activity is again being resumed in these districts and the next year will bring interesting results to the mining world the cut on this page shows one of the largest concentrators ever built in montana this belongs to the jib mining company and is now being remodeled and will be equipped with the latest modern milling machinery including the flotation process the jib mining company has just in installed the best electrically operated mining plant ever put up in jefferson county the hoist is driven by a direct attached motor of horse power and is capable of operating to the 2000 foot level two new electrical air compressors have been installed which will furnish cubic feet of air per minute two new centrifugal pumps which will lift gallons of water per minute each from the foot level have been ordered and will be installed on the foot level as soon as the water has been pumped to that point the largest in both the hope and katie have practically been drained of their water and it is expected that the foot level of these mines will be reached within a week this will practically be all of the water worth mentioning that the company will have to pump as there are no levels or below the foot level the new ore chutes will be completed in a f few ew days and regular ore shipment will commence from the katie mine A shipment from the upper levels of the hope mine is already under way and it is expected that within sixty days these shipments should run up as high as to tons tongs of ore per day when these mines were operating at their full capacity and were closed on account of the low price of silver they were producing tons of ore per day and some of it was of a very high grade nature ore recently shipped from the jib mine has been running as high as ten to fourteen thousand dollars per carload lot the jib mining company will soon be classed among the producers of the state ot montana 1 |