Show MONTANA A complete canvass of the mining companies operating at butte shows that persons are employed in the industry in this district this includes miners surface workers and office help the liverpool mine in the lump gulch district near helena is a consistent shipper of silver ore according to advice from that section the free coinage mine has also shipped two carloads of ore to the east helena smelter william nichols and oscar miller have given an option to the irma mining company on four claims in the cooke city district it is said the purchase price is for the first time in the history of the camp the big companies are continuing work through the winter months the monarch niffie mine in the elliston district has been closed because of lack of funds to complete development work according to advice the property is one of the best equipped in that section of the state and it is not expected that it will be idle for any length of time development work is going forward with good progress at the champion mine in the deer lodge valley the new mill is nearing completion and will be in operation within a short time sufficient ore are has been blocked out on the foot level of the mine to keep the mill in continuous operation for several years it is said sampling operations are being carried on at the porphyry dike of the obelisk mine in the basin district the mineralized portion is said to extend for a distance of feet and is feet wide and feet deep the present depth of the workings samples already assayed are said to show 4 to 15 ounces of silver to the ton with a small percentage of zinc and lead experiments are now being conducted to determine the adaptability tabi lity of the ore to an oil notation flotation process |