Show it fy aa r 11 the phi phillipsburg Phillips linsburg lips burg di district ct contributed editor salt lake mining review many of your readers are familiar with the past silver mining conditions of montana and few of them are ignorant of the important deposits of that mineral in the philipsburg district wherein the first wet crushing plant for the treatment of silver ores was constructed ted in the spring of 1867 by the hope company of st louis this corporation operated the mines of hope hill and for a period of nearly forty years was actively engaged in reducing their ores in the past decade leaders leasers have been kept busily at work in extracting such as was left near the surface that could not be economically mined during the period when the white metal had varying values below 1 but the present demand has resulted in active exploration and the exploitation of large tonnages ton nages of pay rock to the very considerable profit of both the corporation and the worker no reasonably approximate estimate can be given of the bullion value of the ore treated from hope hill since the year noted but it is fair to assume that it runs into the millions to which millions will be added as time progresses trout hill productive near the contact between the granite and limestone formations and within an area of one mile square lie the fissures of trout hill out of which ores of astounding value have been taken and for the treatment of which elaborate modern dry crushing plants were constructed ted and successfully operated up to 1890 As with depth the freer surface ores were replaced with those containing antimony zinc and arsenic the owners found it more profitable to ship to the smelters shelters sm elters than operate their cos costly aly reduction works consequently the latter were permitted to go to ruins and the mine products shipped outside for treatment the present unprecedented demand for silver is fast restoring this old camp to its former important place as a producer the philipsburg mining company successor of the hope and hope mining company of st louis is presently sinking two 1000 foot shafts on the true fissure and algonquin veins respectively each situated to explore through connecting crosscuts cross cuts the various ledges of trout hill the intervening distance being approximately 1500 feet between the two workings the importance of this development lies in the fact that it will bottom the deepest shaft on the hill more than feet and determine the value and extent of the deposits below water level levei of the algonquin trout black mail and ledges all well weli defined fissure veins dipping around the to the south with a northeasterly north easterly and south westerly strike the ledges named are wide well defined with the ore bodies occurring in lenses and shoots of indeterminate depth length and width but so fabulously rich as to make their mining immensely profitable to all interested therein big manganese producer the trout mine crowning the apex of the hill has not been in operation for many years because of the low values of its product the shaft is f feet deep the showing in its east drift a five foot face of ore assaying better than 50 ounces of silver 20 per cent zinc with small gold and lead values this property is owned by eastern steel interests and was a large producer of manganese ores during the recent european war up to the armistice As a matter of fact many thousands tons of this mineral was shipped to the various steel companies during the period noted the ore occurring not only in the fissures but in bedded deposits in the altered secondary country lying along them I 1 look for the renewed re operation of this valuable property within the present year active the company are mining in the enriched zone of trout hill and are extracting some wonderfully rich ore from bedding planes having a northerly and southerly strike the ore bodies occurring as replacements in the limestone country this is the only corporation engaged in active development on the hill and has an excellent plant fitted with all modern facilities for mine working to the depths of or feet the indications shown in the developments from the foot level to the surface are so flattering that machinery to sink the contemplated vertical shaft to the foot level is being arranged for and the promise of another great silver producing mine in the district made almost a certainty in every respect there is a marked similarity in the ores of the algonquin trout and the two former have been large producers and contributed millions of dollars to the metallic output of the district since their discovery out of one shoot in the trout above the foot level more than one and three quarter millions of dollars was extracted by the northwest mining company a philadelphia corporation po ration james K pardee who mined in ill utah in the first days of its silver development organized the algonquin company and was its montana representative for many years its property passed to the philipsburg mining company many years ago and the principal mine algonquin is now being developed through one of the two 1000 foot shafts referred to themen the men in charge of mining operation in the 1 district I are capably energetic ner getic and all work of development is characterized ly by efficiency and a thorough understanding of 0 the problems attending it mr blitz has charge of the plant of the philipsburg company whose principal office is in st louls louis mo mr shields that of the company a montana incorporation composed of butte capitalists mr J R moyle of that city being the president district a wealth producer professor william H emmons of the united states geological survey in his report upon the philipsburg quadrangle states that six of its mines have produced in in excess of and many moraln more in excess of 11 with the deeper devet devel of the mines of trout hill now under way no reasonable doubt exists in the minds of men familiar with the surface deposits of trout hill and contiguous territory trot but what the production of the camp will be increased fourfold four fold within the present year about 1000 men are employed in the district at this time there are no labor troubles and its prosperity is noticeable because of such fact its ores are treated at the A C td plant at anaconda and in ia sufficient quantities to give an impe impetus tustO to the development of ledges that have not been worked for thirty or more years jk A large number of men are employed in in tie the silver mines at black pine the former seat of operations of the combination minin company the operators are leaders leasers win who are reported to be doing extremely wel ved these properties lie northwest north west of and about sixteen miles from philipsburg 0 |