Show mining ining operations in star district beaver county by CORYDON W HIGGINS years ago a great mining industry flourished down in beaver county utah and after the crude fashion of the day considerable wealth was taken from that section which has but lately shown unwonted activity with the exception of tintic gintic the beaver district is at present commanding g more attention than any of many fields and at present star district is the boom center of beaver county most anywhere in that section when the first mining was done in beaver county the nearest railroad point was wab a little place called york just below the present town of sandy all freight and supplies had to be hauled almost miles and general conditions were all against successful mining the building of the railroad to milford and the advance of the times have removed these difficulties and the dis the commonwealth and south of the old ohl hub and moscow mines has produced in the past thirty years this group is controlled by james forgie of milford one of the oldest and few remaining plo pio of the camp in speaking of beaver countes coun tys history and arguing well for its future the horn silver and cactus mines should not be overlooked the former has been one of the I 1 17 ak Z N F 3 4 I 1 M commonwealth plant and buildings photos by bi coradon ff if higgins IIi eini men at entrance of commonwealth tunnel early history As early as 1865 the old prospectors began taking the wealth from the beaver hills surface work was necessarily the only method followed randsome and some wonderfully rich and productive pockets were encountered old pioneers there place as a conservative I serva tive estimate of the production of the star and north star districts nor does this estimate seem beem high when one has seen the 1 wonderful Ond erful surface showings to ie be found brict is beginning to improve very rapidly prominent among the early producers producer 3 some of which are now better than ever ar are the mammoth hoosier boy elephant harrington and hickory old hickory and 0 K these properties and a few others made enviable records and stand today as some of best mines the old moscow mine and part of the claims now in the commonwealth group also produced heavily the nellie group to the south and east of heaviest producers in utah and the latter one of samuel New houses most successful exploitations has made 1 a I most wonderful record in the past year location of star district the star district in beaver county utah is almost due west of milford on the line of the san pedro railroad and about miles from salt lake situated in a low range of hills with excellent roads it is very accessible and easily reached the most distant part of the district is not more than twenty miles from the railroad geology and formation the formations here are quartzite lime granite and porphyry the greater part of the proven properties however are on the contacts or along the lime belt which extends northerly and southerly for miles through the country this lime belt dips under the quartzite on the east and is flanked by the granite and porphyry on the west A strong series of fissuring and cross fissuring exists in a most complicated system strong north and south fissures through the lime are intersected at almost right angles by east and west veins and also by many irregular veins and shoots the ore has mainly been a silver lead product of high grade galena and carbonates but is now making more into copper the presence of lead in the ore has always been an indication of high grade and this has been sought most eagerly A 11 A 7 hl 4 hoisting works at the cedar mine photos by bj corydon if if Hig gino silver bug shaft of cedar extension the following are some of the more promising mines and pr prospects aspects in the district the commonwealth the commonwealth mining company owns a group of seven claims in the very center of the district and in a most promising locality in earlier days some of the claims comprising this group were productive of some high grade surface ores and are known to contain valuable and extensive veins the property is located about ten miles southwest of milford and an d is reached by an easy grade and excellent roads most of the claims are on the north ind and south lime belt with the granite contact on the west and dipping under the quartzite capping on the east the lime here is cut by several large porphyry dikes and numerous fissures both with the beds and across them the granite on the west dips under the lime at an angle of about forty degrees and at a small depth will be well within the commonwealth territory the significant showing of this contact on the surface gives every assurance of something good at depth the main work of the company has been the running of a long tunnel with this lime granite contact as an objective point although several excellent showings have been made in the lime these will be thoroughly developed with all possible dispatch when the present company took charge of the property a small tunnel had been run for about feet this has since been enlarged and advanced for a distance of over feet at a distance of feet in the tunnel a north and south fissure two and one half feet wide was encountered and which produced some very good ore drifts on this were run for seventy five feet both ways with very gratifying results in the north drift some very fine lead has come in and this together with the highly mineralized condition of the face is very encouraging A small streak of copper has lately made its appearance on the foot wall in this drift and promises to make into something good within a short distance at the foot mark a six foot porphyry dyke was crossed but this has never been explored along its strike at the place crossed the formation was very tight which probably accounts for the lack of any along the contact one hundred feet beyond this dyke the tunnel runs through a highly mineralized zone for more than eighteen feet with marked signs of copper and heavily impregnated with iron it is the opinion of the management that a good body of ore would be found by drifting either way and this work will soon be started As the tunnel face approaches the contact a great change is shown and the work here is being rushed with all possible speed the conditions here are growing more fa every day and a good ore body is 13 1 3 confidently expected should the contact be struck in a barren place drifts will be run along it both ways and dinzes sunk to explore it to greater depth one of the most promising showings on the companas comp anys property is found on the beacon claim where a fifteen inch streak of very high grade ore has been exposed A shaft here some forty feet deep has been sunk but owing to the twists and turns of the vein the contractors doing the work or have been forced to discontinue the ore at the bottom of the shaft is of such an CX C exceptionally X cep tio nally high grade that the company will adopt some more convenient way of development equipment the equipment of the property is fully modern and of good capacity A sixty horse power fairbanks morse gasoline engine and an ingersoll sergeant complex compressor furnish ample power for machine drilling A modern blacksmith shop commodious commo diou s bunk and boarding houses and stables make a prosperous looking outfit at the tunnel mouth the following compose the official directorate of the company N A dunyon president and general manager W T atkin secretary and treasurer robert J deighton assistant secretary and these wit with lithe the following compose the board of directors william M bradley C N strevell james H peterson james forgie and geo atkin the progressive mine immediately to the south of the commonwealth is the property of the progressive mining company embracing five claims and a fraction the ground all lies in the lime belt and has practically the same vein system hs as the commonwealth the surface showings here are remarkable and coll considerable sid ore of exceedingly high grade is in ill place in many of the veins on the surface the property is now being worked through a foot shaft unk sunk in the lime on oil the lowest level a crosscut has been run seventy five feet to the west and in its continued course will intersect five well defined vins veins showing on the surface following almost the dip of the lime beds is a ten inch vein of copper ore averaging 40 per cent while picked samples will run much higher fron from this vein a few cars of ore have been extracted and a small shipment made but as the ore shoot takes many turns and dips it has not been thoroughly developed in the short time the present company has been at work on the foot level a two inch streak of silver ore was struck that assayed up to per ton and from this streak several sacks were taken the present dip of this streak is taking it toward the lower workings and a drift will be run to catch it below where it is hoped it will have widened out into a good sized body in the old workings gs of the mine an inclined shaft was sunk on a strong lead vein thorough prospecting of the ground the company is officered by L B bohn president I 1 lessing vice president IF J nichols secretary and treasurer who with james barrett jr C C crismon and isadore mayer compose the board of directors the company is organized for with a capital stock of shares the cedar mine the property of the cedar mining company lies about ten miles southwest of milford the claims are located on the north end of the lime belt in what is considered the proven territory this property has made one of the best records in the district and is proving itself more worthy of consideration every month geologic conditions the formation here is similar to the country farther south with the exception that the granite to the west is replaced by porphyry the lime beds here take a great have been run for fifty feet all in ore from fifty feet above the upper level to the foot mark the ore has been scoped and this will be continued to the foot level this is fully fifty feet long and has varied from one to seven feet in width under this are three parallel fissure veins the inter filling of which is highly mineralized and which is expected to make into one large ore body at depth back of the shaft on the foot level a drift is being run which will intersect a strong fissure which is well defined on the surface the shipping ore is a silver lead product which is made into one class averaging from 45 to 55 although by sorting the values run way up into the sensational the net proceeds of the ore thus far sent to the smelters shelters sm elters has ranged from 1200 to 2000 to the car the remarkable feature about this property is the fact that it has paid for its development and all machinery and equipment asa A av 3 aptt 01 IN lower shaft at the moscow mine photos hi by corydon if it higgins progressive hoist and shaft the later workings have cut under this where the vein has been intersected by several drifts and is better than ever at the depth encountered the old workings followed the vein for a long distance and the ore gouged out and taken to the surface through winding passages and manholes opened up by the present system the ore will be very easily extracted and give good ground above the hoisting is now accomplished with a horse whim but it is i s the intention of the company to install modern machinery at an early date six tons of ore were recently shipped from the mine that netted 92 per ton and there is now considerable copper ore on the dump the ore is undoubtedly there and the management is earnestly endeavoring to find it in sufficient quantity president bohn who is in charge of the development work is confident that there is a mine and a big one in the property and is giving his personal attention to the er dip probably forty five or fifty degrees and the whole formation is a little more regular the stronger veins run north and south and follow about the dip of the lime this series of veins is crossed by numbers of east and west fissures chiefly cli lefly as feeders to the larger veins the ore is mostly a high grade carbonate running well in silver lead and iron and carrying a small percentage of gold and very little copper the sulphide level has not yet been reached but good things are expected as soon as this zone has been penetrated development the property is opened up by an inclined shaft and the station at the foot level has just been cut ore was encountered at feet and the lower levels show bigger and better every day at each station cut a drift from twelve to fifteen feet has always found the ore showing the regularity of the vein on both the and foot levels drifts equipment the mine is equipped with a forty horse power fairbank fairbanks s morse steam hoist using wood as fuel nordberg complex compressors and other modern machinery the buildings are all substantial and commodious and everything about the property is kept up in first class shape at present two shifts of eighteen men are being employed but this force will soon be greatly increased it is the intention of the management to enlarge the working shaft to double compartment in the near future all in all the cedar is one of the best properties in the district as well as tn in the state although in its infancy it has already assumed large proportions and has all the earmarks ear marks of a great mine when opened up to a greater extent it is looked upon as being the making of a large producer the officers of the cedar company are joseph geoghegan president theodore meyer vice president and H barnett secretary and treasurer all of salt lake city the cedar extension just south of the cedar mining com coin banys property are the holdings of the cedar extension company the property includes thirteen claims in a territory very similar in character to its successful neighbors and although developed but little is showing up remarkably well the well defined veins and fissures of the cedar are found on the extension and the same character of high class ore is found on the surface only two shallow shafts have been put down on the property one to a depth of feet the ground is now being prospected through the silver bug shaft by means of a horse whim but this will soon be replaced by more permanent works the extension is under practically the same management as the cedar and seems to only need more cevelo development ament to produce equally well the officers are joseph geoghegan president S S pond vice president and H barnett secretary and treasurer the moscow mine famous in the annals of the star district is the old moscow mine in years gone by it has been one of the must most regular producers of the camp and isnow considered as one of the best mines in beaver county the moscow is located in the center of the highly mineralized district and presents surface showings that are seldom encountered from these surface veins and pockets thousands of dollars have been extracted and this made quite a name for the burning moscow as it was then called the property adjoins the hub and the commonwealth on the north and is about two miles south of the cedar and talisman development is now proceeding through two vertical shafts the lower shaft is down about feet and it is through this that the main bulk of the ore is being hoisted A small gasoline hoist is now being used as a temporary plant in the up per or new shaft the station has just been cut and the sinking continued it is here that the management expects to concentrate cen the development and operation work A new plant of machinery consisting of modern compressors and hoist has been ordered and is long overdue at the mine where the buildings have been completed awaiting the installation with this plant in operation greater depths will be explored and a larger production assured the ore mined is of several different grades most |