Show r sl s B oh TIMELY METHODS ROUT MERCUR GHOSTS S ah edcur canyon in boom days jr w ott V Z by GEORGE W SNYDER FLOYD an early military C CAMP post in the oquirrh mountains six wiles miles south ot of great salt lake gave its name to a district which has never ceased to astonish metallurgists by the diversity and K complexity ot of its ores mercur mercer one 1 I 1 0 1 11 its subsidiary u ba wary camps has been a veritable e test tube ot of mineralogy pa there nature outdid herself in devising obdurate combinations ot of metallic elements and the miner miller countered by working out no less I 1 ingenious n g e n io us solutions ot of her metallurgical ill lurg r g i ical aud aad mechanical problems 1 it w was a s the lure ot of mercurs gold eold v which h i c ll 11 led to tile the general use of cyanide in leaching to the building ot of the first long distance stanca di electrical transmission line and to tile the development of 0 vacuum filtration discoveries began in 1896 finding ot of a vein ot of silver in the sparrow hawk brought ex soldiers farmers and prospectors to lewiston canyon exposures ot of cinnabar sulphide of 0 mercury and gold adle addel 1 to the tha excitement one capt shaw built a mill in the canyon in 1872 some silver was saved the gold however was elusive assays essays were good but the cli like ore containing it would not yield to any known method of treatment mill changes provins proving ineffectual capt shaw gave up the struz strai st rii la rud ni t lisa a little towa became a I 1 i c north of 0 camp floyd lead mines and smelters shelters sm elters sprang up but mercur slumbered then in some nebraska failers were induced to invest in the gold bed the mercur gold cold mining milling co was organized less leas than 20 of the gold was saved by the small pan amalgamation mill installed at manning cyanide saved the day this chemical was being tried experimentally peri mentally at denver tests of 0 small samples from rom mercur proving encouraging a carload cailo acl of 0 the ore was forwarded more than sao sa of 0 tile the gold was vaa recovered A 50 ton cyanide plant started at manning in 1892 was able to show a and in 1893 its capacity was doubled two years later capt J L delamar bought the golden gate group next to the mercur claims pyrite sulphur and carbon in his ore made trouble two years more and experimentation proved that with finer grinding and roasting the base ores could be aya Dela delamar built the golden gate mill in S and in 1899 effected a consal dation with the mercur company under the name consolidated mercur gold mines co the two had produced tons of 0 ore at a profit of during the 11 31 years following lol lowing cen mercur milled I 1 tons with a gross value ot of und and paid in ia ast as s dividends extraction was at the rite rate ot of alter after the closing of 0 the golden gate gale mill in 1913 tile the camp languished gui shed in 1917 the mill inachin ey was sold houses were moved away and the railroad boin up 1 mercur was a ghost town again adjacent properties had been operated tor for years with varying success the sacramento just south had paid in dividends vid ends chiefly from profits on its quicksilver ore the geyser and marlon marion mines had united in 1897 to form the geyser marion company until 1900 their respective mills ran rail to capacity and about was paid to stockholders thereafter little was done until 1933 1 when a cyanide plant was completed and a steam shovel turned loose to scoop up low grade gold ore in ill quantities pour four miles south ot of mercur the sunshine gold mining co with a 60 50 ton mill was operated with indifferent results the con mercur took control in and incorporated the boston sunshine company the mill was remodeled and in the 14 months ensuing was paid in dividends the neaily overland property treated to 2 10 40 gold ore in a ton mill but was unable to finance its operations and closed down in 1902 beginning in 1933 new life was infused into the marcur area by I 1 tile tho W F snyder sons C ci tile the snyders and associates built a plant at manning to leach the old manning and mercur dumps the issue hung in the balance when the increase in the mint price ot of gold from 2 20 0 ga to 35 an ounce turned the scale snyder sona son immediately closed a deal for or the purchase of 0 the con mercur properties under a lease and option contract incorporating the lewiston peak mining co they arranged tor for the removal of 0 their manning plant to mercur leasing operations in some ot of the mercur claims were very profitable and with the prospective recoveries from the old tailing dumps another period of 0 prosperity for or the twice ghost haunted camp could be foreseen ore seen the recent era ot of activity has seen the payrolls ot of tile the district rise from a few ew hundred dollars in 1930 to approximately per month which is steadily increasing this means about men employed on company account t with 75 to lessees lessels also producing food and mining supplies to the value of 0 around a month are procured locally and from rom salt lake city while electric power at a cost of ft a mouth month Is consumed insurance and taxes ot of various kinds together with miscellaneous cel expenditures account for another monthly it is c estimated that lint to a month Is being put into circulation instead of nothing at all ill |