TITC ' STJXDAT OEEGOXIAX,' PORTLAND, rATJCIT 20, 191C.
1 Jiilions
HOW ALASKA IS MINING ORE THAT
YIELDS ONLY ONE DOLLAR AND A HALFA TON.
BY FRAN K G : CARPENTE R .
m Low
Grade
Gold
XCopyright, 1916, by Frank G. Carpen
ter.) JUNEAU. Alaska.
I HAVE Just returned from a trip
through what promises to be one
of the most famous gold mines of
the world. I have ridden through Its
miles of tunnels behind an electric en
gine, and have walked through the
mighty caverns, called stopes, where
they are blasting down the ore and
dropping it Into the cars for the mills.
I have gone through the new crushing
and reduction works, the latest of their
kind, and have seen, as it were, the
mechanical triumph of the twentieth
century in saving the riches hidden
In the bowels of the earth.
The greatest mines of today are those
which deal with low-grade ores. This
Is so of the gold mines of the Hand, in
South Africa. It is so of the largest
copper mines of the Rockies and of the
Treadwell mines, which lie within a
rifle shot of where I am writing. I
have told you how the Treadwell prop
erties have already produced $60,000,
000 of pure gold. They have repaid the
purchase price of Alaska many times
over. AJl of that gold came from ore
that ran from two to three dollars a
ton. The mine I visited today has a
mighty ore body whose gold contents
average about $1.50 per ton, and still
the machinery for mining and milling
Is such that fully half of that amount
is clear profit. The actual cost of
mining the gold Is now about 0 cents
a. ton, and it may be cut to 50 cents or
even lower than that.
Have you any idea of what gold ore
carrying only $1.50 ' a ton myeans?
Gold is worth about $20 an ounce, and
at that rate $1.50 worth of gold would
equal only about one-thirteenth of an
ounce. Divide a twenty-dollar gold
piece into thirteen parts and each part
"vi 1 1 not be as big as a pea. Neverthe
less, that pea of gold is all that is to
be found in one whole ton of this ore.
A ton of ore is a cartload for two
Jiorses. Now grind your pea into the
finest of powder and put one of the
grains of that powder in every pebble
or broken piece of a cartload of gravel
end you have some idea of how the
f?old is scattered through the rock and
how difficult it is to get it all out.
Or suppose the gold to be salt, and
the ore to be water. I went to a drug
store today and weighed out enough
salt to just equal the weight of the
cold in a ton of this ore. The salt did
not fill the smallest teaspoon. But a
ton of water would fill a 250-gallon
hogshead. Now if you should drop
your spoonful of salt into the hogs
head and churn up the water until the
ealt is thoroughly mixed through it all,
you would have just the proportion
of the gold and rock in "the mine of
which I am writing. Think of getting
the pea made of gold powder out of the
cartload of rock in such a way that
half of it will more than pay all the
costs, and you have the problem which
the operators of this mine have suc
cessfully solved.
It seems a petty business, does it
not?
Nevertheless it is one of the biggest
businesses of the world todayr It takes
millions to work the mine and it will
probably pay millions in profits. The
mine I refer to is the Alaska Gastlneau
Property. It is only one of several
mighty low-grade propositions along
the Gastlneau channel which will keep
thousands of miners and millions of
dollars of machinery at work here for
a century to come. Adjoining it is the
Alaska Juneau mine, a similar 'moun
tain of gold which is now at its very
beginning. Farther along Is the Ebner
mine, another great property, and there
are other deposits about of enormous
extent. Today I ' shall write of the
Alaska Gastineau only.
The TnnntalTi of low-grade ore over
THE SEALS AND THE ICEBERG
WAY up in the cold, cold North
the snow fell year after year
between two big mountains. It
did not melt but just settled until it
made a great river of solid ice, many
miles long and very, very wide. Now
this river of ice moved like other riv
ers, but only one inch each year. It
went so slowly that not even the ani
mals knew it was moving, and when
it came down to the sea. like other
rivers, it broke off in great pieces,
larger than the largest house. When
these great pieces of ice came splash
ing into the water they made such a
noise that the Polar bear, who had
been down to the shore to catch a fish
went scampering home thinking he
heard thunder.
One of the pieces of ice that broke
from the end of the frozen river was
smaller than the rest and floated away
fastest with its bright peak glistening
in the sunlight.
"Ho-ho," it laughed. "This is much
better than being a part of the great
rh ETTY SOON THE LITTLE
"'Y'' L"'"m""")'' """""""" " '" I I HI I ,'' '" ' iimiimiii ii ii ,,. ....i.ji, i i ii.
x'; IV. i'ilH
- ?.:
"t 1
.-
-J IT'S
the Alaska Gastineau mine rises al
most precipitously from the Gastineau
channel. Its ore body is said to cover
something like 2000 acres. It is more
than two miles in length and the min
ers have already made 20 miles of tun
nels and cross-cuts in their develop
ment works. According to the report
of the managing director, D. C. Jack
ling, to the stockholders, the block of
ore has something like 21,000,000 tons
above a certain level and at least 100,
000,000 tons above the level of the sea.
The Treadwell group on the opposite
side of the channel is now extending
mines under the sea. so that there Is
really no telling how large the Gas
tineau ore body is.
The outcroppings of the mines begin
at a half, mile or more above the sea
level and tunnels have been cut at In
tervals from there down to 2000 feet.
The mines have been further prospect
ed by diamond drills and by shafts and
cross-cuts, so that Its owners should
know pretty well what they have.
All this has cost millions. Fortunes
were put into the property before It
came into the hands of the present
owners, and they have spent millions
more in installing machinery that will
do the work at the least possible cost,
and in the institution of a hydro-electric
plant situated 10 miles away
which gives them 6000 horsepower.
Nearly all the work of the mines and
the mills is done by electricity, and it
is the dropping of the water on the tur
bines 10 miles away that gives the
force that is now dragging this gold
from the earth, and changing it into
the great yellow bricks which go to
the mint. I have visited many mining?
properties here and there over the
world, but nowhere have I seen ma
chinery that seems so near human in
its economical operation and in giving
the maximum results for the mini-
mum consumption of human muscle and
brain.
JSut come with me ana take a look at
this moun-tain of gold, whose treasures
frozen river. Now I shall sail to the
south and turn into water again."
So it floated and floated until it
heard someone call. "Please give us
a ride, Mr. Iceberg."
"All right; climb on," It said as it
turned to see two little seals that were
swimming nearby. It was the first
time it had ever been called "Mister,"
and it 'was proud to think that it was
a really truly iceberg, although but a
little one.
' "Where do you want to go?" it asked
the seals.
"We want to find our mamma," they
said. "We were playing and got lost.
She is in the south somewhere nbt
far. But you must not melt until we
see her."
The little iceberg promised to do its
best and away it sailed with the two
little seals cuddled up on its back with
their big brown eyes watching ever so
carefully for their mamma.
'Oh, I do hope Mr. Iceberg won't
melt very soon," said one of the little
SEALS SAW THEIR 'MAMA.
' " . ' . r
St.
1 " --ll 1 11
- .sMr XLf-- 11 II
wl - - ' - '-'K. JJ 1 1
" Our ter-i&an "jJrf3C:jro22n &oarcCi
electricity and its helpers, the sooty-
faced miners, are bringing forth to the
Usht of the sun. We take the motor
car stage at Juneau and fly over the
board streets to the outskirts of the
city. We wind around under the moun-
tains in full sight of the Treadwell
seals, but the Iceberg only laughed to
itself, for it knew that it was seven
times as large under the water as it
was above, and steered for the place
where it had heard there were many
seals.
Pretty soon the little seals saw their
mamma, and what a splashing they
made in the water when they thanked
the iceberg and went flopping off to
join her.
"It is nice, after all, to be an ice
berg," it said when it saw the seals
were' so happy. "And now maybe I
can do one more good turn before I
melt." Then it sailed on for many
miles, and the farther It went the
smaller it got.
One day. when just a little peak was
shining above the green waves, it saw
a great ship with bands playing and
many people sitting on the decks: And
there was a man, with gold laoe on his
cap and sleeves, watching the little
iceberg ever so carefully.
"I wonder if they are afraid of me?"
it said as it saw the big steamboat
turn about and steer south as fast as
it could. But it knew what it all
meant, and it was very proud, when it
heard the captain sav "There is dan
lii mil isiiiMiaiSlI
.....-.
mines across the channel over the way.
and at the end of three miles come to
Thane, where are the offices and homes
of those who manage -the great milling
plants and reduction works of the
property. 'We can see the mills 700
feet above us on the sides of the moun
ger ahead and I am glad the little ice
berg came to give us warning."
By this time it had pretty nearly all
'turned to water and with a happy lit
tle sigh the last of it melted away
and helped carry the great ship safe
to port.
Our Puzzle Corner
Diamond.
A vowel.
An animal.
Weary. .
Goods transported.
To dare to defy.
Carried along as on a current.
A girl's name.
A light bedstead.
A consonant.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
The central letters of this diamond
spell a day to which all children are
looking forward.
Hidden "Movie" Star.
1., Hal pinches Carl; 2. Well, yell
back, Carl; 3. Every baby, Len; 4,
Horns hurt Joan; 5. Come, I sell our
cat; 6, I bar new curl: 7. So they tried.
Answers.
Diamond: April Fool.
a
ape
tired
freight
Challenge
drifted
Viola
cot
1
Hidden "Movie" Stars: 1, Charles
Chaplin; 2, Carlyle Blackwell; 3, Bev
erly Bayne; 4, Arthur Johnson; 6,
Maurice Costello; 6, Crane Wilbur; 7,
Edith Storey.
SPRING .IS COMING BACK AGAIN.
Spring is coming back again,
Robins tell It clear and plain.
Bluebirds sing it from the trees.
Tou can feel it in the breeze.
Pussy willows putting' out.
Dandelions soon will sprout.
And the grass each day is seen.
In a brighter suit of green.
. Soon the boys and girls will go
To the woods they love and know.
There to pick the violet
By the noisy brooklet set.
Or will seek the steep hillsides.
Where the honeysuckle bides.
And the dogwood blossoms say,
-"Spring-is here come out and play!"
r I :m ttw ;t
. 1. -iih,
F jf ''III!
1 1
tain. They seem to grow out of the
rocks, extending for a long distance
down the slopes, so that gravity carries
the ore through one process after an
other. The offices are right on the sea. The
mines themselves are three miles back
in the mountains. They begin about
2500 feet above where we are now, and
we are hauled up by a cable to visit
them. Our car is an open platform on
wheels, with a wall at the lower end
to keep us from falling or sliding, as
the car climbs the track. The road
has a 33 per cent grade, and the way
Is almost straight up the side of a
cliff covered with forests.
At the end of the cable we meet
what might be called the private car of
the managers.' It is a steel box upon
wheels with open doors at the sides
and seats under cover. It Is equipped
with a storage battery and is so small
that it can go anywhere throughout
the mine. In it we ride around the
side of the mountain. We fly through
a canyon and enter a tunnel, which Is
two miles in length and 4000 feet below
the snow-clad peaks overhead. It is
through this tunnel that the ore goes
in trains to the mills.
The tunnel is cut right through the
ore. and there is an ore body 2000 feet
thick overhead. There are other tun
nels at various levels and the chutes
are so cut that ore from all of these
levels can be dropped into the cars far
below.
The tunnel is so large that a Pull
man train could go through it without
scratching the paint. It is lighted by
incandescent lamps which hang down
from above. It has a double track so
that continuous trains of cars can move
buck and forth at the some time. All
FOOL'S DAY
JUST why the first of April is called
"fools' day" Is not definitely known.
There are all sorts of wild conjectures
as to its origin, and one theorist goes
so far as to trace the custom to Noah,
who, it is supposed, sent out the dove
on April 1 to find out whether the
40 days' rain had ceased. It was a
fool's errand, as the flood had not yet
subsided; hence the conjecture. We
laugh at such a ridiculous notion. If
we had a theory, it might be to attrib
ute the origin to the foolish state of
the weather during'the month of April.
The showers between the sunshine cer
tainly place us very frequently In a
foolish position, especially when we
have neglected to carry our umbrel
las. In France It Is said that April fool
ing had been a practice at a much
earlier period than in England, and
in some Instances very important re
sults have grown out tof it. It is told
of Francis, Duke of Lorraine, and his
wife,' that, being imprisoned at Nantes,
they dressed themselves as peasants
and escaped on April fools' day, their
success being due entirely to the re
fusal of their guards to . believe that
the information which they had re
ceived as to their intentions was any
thing more than a Joke. The escaping
pair were recognized by a woman of
Nantes Inspite- of their disguise, and
she ran at once to the guard and be
trayed them.
The guard merely smiled and mur
mured "April fool," and let the Duke
and Duchess pass. When the matter
came to the Governor's ears an in
vestigation was ordered, and. of
course, the discovery was made that
the joke was on the Governor and
guards. But too late, as the royal
birds had flown.
A BOX OK TREASURES.
There are other treasures than
those which can 'be weighed up in
pounds Troy. There are the treasures
of good deeds, of service rendered to
our fellow men, of charitie performed,
of loving acts, the treasures of sym
pathy and affection.
The Boy Scouts are enjoined to do
at least one good act every day. If
we perform only this minimum of good
service . we - should have -many good
it
9 sr
-IS
i. t
s . f k.
of the hauling is done by electricity.
In this main tunnel the cars work
upon trolleys. The other tunnels are
smaller and there the ore cars are
hauled by storage battery engines. In
order to keep the miners from touching
the live wires.
We get off and stand at one side, as
at ore train comes thundering along.
It is drawn by a powerful electric en
gine. The train consists of 28 steel
cars, each of which holds ten tons
of ore. It carries 280 tons of gold
bearing rock, and there is at least $500
worth of gold in its cars.
All of the loading Is done by gravity.
The ore is blasted out in the great
stopes, or caverns which have been
made along the eight levels above us.
The stopes are connected with the tun
nels of the various levels, and the ore
is brought in steel cars from them
to the chutes, from where It falls into
the great ore bin above the main tunnel
where we are now.
The loading arrangements are such
that the mere pulling of a lever will
drop a river of ore into a car. Four
cars are loaded at once, and within
two minutes by my watch I saw 40 tons
put on the train, and within 15 or 20
minutes a whole train was loaded.
After this the cars carry the ore
straight to the mills. There it is auto
matically dumped and the machinery
is such that it is hardly touched by
man's hands until the gold has been
won.
' But suppose we take a trip through
the mine, visiting some of the tunnels
and going into the stopes. We are ac
companied by Mr. G. T. Jackson, the
assistant manager of the company, and
Mr. B. B. Nieding. the mine superin
tendent. We climb into the cars and
deeds to look back upon at the end of
the year. But if each day contains a
multitude of "good deeds" our lives
would be crowded with treasures of
every description and kind.
The word "wealth" means well-beinff,
but it can also mean well-doing.
Who will be wealthy in this sense?
FOOLING DADDY.
To fool their dad, on April first '
Was John's and Mary's wish
When they, upon the table placed
An empty, covered dish.
But daddy spied them at their trick.
And when their backs were turned
He slipped their bunny In the dlslr
And looked most unconcerned.
Then when he lifted up the lid.
Before their very eyes.
They fairly rolled off of their chairs.
So great was their surprise.
Before the Oration.
Judge.
At the Dinner. Dashaway (nervous
ly) Look here, old fellow, don't you
APRIL
Thin hni' f. smiling?" In thinlf hnw
ing down the street will be when he
J kS r .
see 11 y uuL van imu me biuuL gtioLieuiaa uy culling out me DiacK spots
fitting them - together.
and
ride through tunnel after tunnel, stopJ
ping now and then in a vain search,
for gold in the rock overhead. Its
color might be called a battleship gray.
It is a drab slate with little veins and
stringers of quartz running through it.
It is in the quartz that. the gold, lead
and iron, which form the minerals of
the ore body, are found. In some of
the rich places you can see specks of
yellow. The veins run in streaks
through the slate rock, and the diamond
drills show that such streaks are found
everywhere in the great body of ore
not yet outlined by the tunnels.
By and by we leave our elastic en
gine and ride on one of the shaft ele
vators to the level above. Our eleva
tor boy Is a giant over six feet In
height, and he wears a long oilskin
coat which makes him look taller. As
we pass from level to level we can sea
the cars moving by; and finally at 1000
feet above where we started we step
out and tramp through a tunnel to visit
a stope where the miners are working.
Here the darkness is almost Egyp
tian, and the path is as rough as that
of the Hill of Difficulty which so
wearied poor Christian to climb. We.
had acetylene lamps to pick our way
over the beds of ore underfoot and we
crawled up and down over thousands
of tons of gold-bearing rock before
we stood under the roof of a low cham
ber covering more than an acre.
We could now see the miners at work.
Each had his own light, which shone
dim In the distance. They were oper
ating drills moved by compressed air.
and were putting in the dynamite for
blasting the ore. At certain hours the
blasts are shot off, and the great
masses of rock are. thus taken out and.
broken for the cars and the mills
Each stope or cavern is 400 feet Ions.
120 feet wide and 400 feet deep. Its
contents are equal to a solid block of
rock with the base of an acre extend
ing to a height of 400 feet, or more)
than two-thirds that of the Washing
ton monument. Think of a block of
that size streaked with gold. As I
lifted my acetylene lamp to the roof
I could see the veins of white quartz
running this way and that and I was
fortunate to be able to pick out with
my knife blade a grain of gold the size
of the head of a pin.
As I did so the superintendent told
me they had 13 other stopes now being
worked.
After leaving the mines I went to the
mills. They are said to be the largest
and most modern of any gold-crushing
plant in the world. Within the past
year the company has spent $5,000,000
upon them and nothing has been spared
to make machinery do every possible
part of the work. Everything is moved
by electricity. Electric cranes, some
of which will lift 30 tons, carry great
loads from place to place. The same
force raises the ore and there are au
tomatic skips of five tons each that
load and empty themselves, moving on
day and night all the year through.
The ore comes from the mines on
trains drawn by electric engines. It is
dumped by electricity upon screens the
wires of which are as thick as your
thumb, and it passes thence into im
mense crushers, which take the largest
pieces and break them into lumps about
two inches thick.
From these screens the ore goes into
storage bins of 10,000 tons each, and
from them it is carried by skips and
wide belt conveyors through sets of
steel rollers that work on the princi
ple of a clothes wringer. The rollers
are so graduated that they crush the
ore finer and finer as it goes through,
one set after another, until the great
rocks are reduced to a powder as fine
as the flour of which cream crackers
are made.
The flour, which contains the rock
and gold, is then passed over shaking
(Concluded on Page 6.
think you'd better tell them not to
call on me? Cleverton Don't be wor
ried; they won't! I'm uite sure they,
have all heard you before.
Solution to April Fool rnixle.
FOOL.
f nulail Ilia cMnt crc rt 1 1 am a n n.k I. .n-i
s toops to pick up the pocket-book.
J7i
4 '"X
i-e ;
.1 '