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About The Sumpter miner. (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1905)
fm "Jjf fV THE SUMPTER MINER Wednesday, February 8. 190 MANY OLD SMELTERS IN THESE GOLD FIELDS "The Htatomeut baB frequently beoti published," said au old pioneer, of (bo Sumpter district the other day, "that the Sumpter smelter In tbe first matting plaut of ItH abaraater to be suocessfuly operated lu this diHtnot. This Is luaorreot. Wltbiu my reoolleatlou there have been at least eix sue oeHHful smelters In eastern regon. They, were small ones, of oourae, and long ago lapsed into IdleneHH not because they were not successful from a metallurgical etandpult, but beoaiiHu at the time of their erec tion mining dovelpomout In thiH region had not reached such ii stage hh to furnish a steady ore supply. "The HrHt Htneltor ever known in this country was n little two-by-four alfalr, built by h couple of French men during (Jivll war times, on what ii fiow the famous Standard mine ut Ouurtzhiirg. TIiIh plant was neootftiirily very primitive, but it turned out quite a bit of copper matte, which the Frenchmen ihippod to The OiiIIoh by puck train, thence by water around the Horn to France for rolluing, "Sometime in the late hIxIIoh, W. II. CrHiie and a company of Columbia river ateambout men built a small fuiuuce on their copper mine uear whine MurkMtiiont 1h now located. One smelting was made and i toiiH of copper plus resulted. One of these plus for many years was a desk ornament at the First National bank of linker City, when Virtue, then owner of tbe famous mine of that name, was president. Those were (treat old times for cleanup dis plays a whole, lot different from the secrecy which surrouiids bullion transactions today. At that time the Virtue was poundluK out alone to ir(), 000 a mouth. Tbe gold bars were hroiiKht to the Maker City bank and displayed on a big counter, where everybody could see 'em, handle 'em, 'heft' 'em and Jong for pOSMOHHiotl, "Probably the next smelter erected in this camp was a furnace built on ttie Copper Queen mine, near Copper liutte, about 30 miles north east of Maker City. Something like 100 tons of 12 pr cent copper ore were said to have been tieiited very suc cessfully. "A long time ago 1 don't recall just when -a furnace was built at the ti.iV. E. mine for experimental purpose. The experiment, whatever its uature, was evidently failure, as the furnace was soon dismantled. "Everyone in Sumpter recalls the miserable tlnnco which followed the attempt of St. Louis men to operate small pyritic smelter In this city four years ago. The plant Mas nil right, even if it was of limited CNpscity; but the people hack of the enterprise hadn't a tutut of ready money with which to buy ore, or eveu pay its workmen. Tbe re.ult was that atter a successful blowitiK-iu ou ore purchaHfd on credit from (ireeuhorn mines, (am) uaver paid for) the company went bump with a sickening iluauoial thud, sin! in due time the little plant was sold by the sheriff tot satisfy a big lot of judgments. It was purchased by Zeeth Homer, then controlling owner of the Staudard mine, and removed to Quattzburg. Probably because no one at tbe Stan dard knew how to run the little siuelter. it froze up tbo first day, and was abandoned for all time. "A 00 ton smelter was built at Mineral City. Idaho, -just across Snake river from the Connor Creek mine. In 1900. by A. J. Crook, to tteat ore from the silver mines of that camp. The total output of this plant, up to tbe time It passed Into tbe bauds of tbe Ladd Metals com pany, of Portland, is roughly esti mated at 000,000 ouuees of silver. "A 200-ton smeltlug plant, very modern and up-to-date, was built in 1002 ou tbo Weiser river, above tbe town of Wolser, Idaho, ou tho line of tbe P. & 1. N. road to Council, to bundle ore from Soveu Dovlls copper mines. Jiiht about the time the plant was ready to blow in, the Woven Devils minus shut down, tho P. it 1. N. reconsidered its decision to build an oxteusiou from Coun cil ou in to tho mines, and the smelter company wont into bank ruptcy. The plant was later dis mantled and sold piecemeal to Salt Lake partios. "Thou followed tho building of tho Sumpter smolter. The enterprise was promoted by tbe Killen, Warner, Stewart company, tbo most success rul and enterprising firm of fiscal agents that ever hung out Its shingle lu eastern Oregon. Everybody here abouts knows of tbe remarkable suc cess which has atteuded tbe opera tions of the Sumpter plant, particu larly durlug the last year, under tbe management of that streuuous hustler and priuce of good follows, Fred D. Fuller. A big share of credit is also due Charles Kircheu, tho superin tendent, who Is one of the best metal lurgists aud practical smelting meu in the west. "The Ladd Metals company, after its purchase of the Mineral smeltor, began the erection of a 75-ton plant at Homestead, to treat the product of the Iron Dyke mine at that place. A portion of the machinery was de livered ou the ground at tremendous expeiiHe, owing to the almost im passable roadi down Snake river from lluiitiugton. Finally the Ladd people were forced to attempt water transportation. A com lo of barges were loaded with tiro brick aud ex'ra heavy machinery and started down the turgid stream. Tho barges bauged into a rock aud sank lu midstream, their cargoes being a total loss. Then the Ladd management shipped its machinery from Weiser ou the 'Pin' railway to Council, theuce by wagou over the dizzy Kleiuschmldt giadeto Mallard's laudiug a wide detour through a rough mountainous coun try. Just about the time the machinery was dually delivered, the Iron Dyke mine became tied up by litigation aud has beeu shut down over since. Of course, the Home etOHd smelter was abandoned. It now looks as though tho Iron Ovke litigation will be ttraighteued out, a railway built from Huutiiigtuu down tho Snake, and tho Ladd company's smolter built eventually. "When the Homestead smelting project got puuetured, tbo Ladd com pany headed its maohluery back to Landoro, Idaho, aua built a smelter at that point. Only a couple of runs have been made, the plant persisting in freezing up, for some reason, but 'mprovements have ben made, and success will undoubtedly attend future operations. "While, as I have shown, tbore have beoti other smelters In this regiou prior to tbe erection of tbe big Sumpter plant, all of tbe others are lost sight of in contemplating the maguifloent suocess of the looal In stitution, which is doing more to build up the raining industry of eastern Oreogu than any otber one Influence In the world." SAVES THE VALUES AT TOO HIGH COST The Elmore oil concentration pro cess, of which so uuob was expected when It was iutrodued by the Le Hoi No. 2 mine at Rossland, M. C, ill October, 1S03, has proven a metallurgical huccosb aud a financial failure, and the Le Rol mill is now runniug ou straight water conceni tratlou. Tho Le Rol No. 2 la mak ing a profit of 130 cents a ton with water concentration alone, whereas there was a lois of 61.. '10 u tou whou the oil process was used. flaaaltja i Lit mtMJt. !. t ft It ( I A CI fr Ml... iiiiiiiK tun B-Jvuu uimuiuo 1001 tuu, the oil process treated 4078 toiiH of Wllfley tailings, which averaged .107 ounces in gold, .227 ounces iu silver aud ..'104 por cent copper, or a gross assay value of $3.32 a ton. Tbe final tailing after treatment with oil contained .070 ouuees gold, .135 ounces silver and .070 per cent cop per, or 12.10 a tou. That meant an extraction of of $1.13 a ton through the Elmore section of tbe mill. The total milling operations abowed a loss of $1.03 a tou. In fairness to tbe Elmore process, however, it should be explained that oil at first coat 40 cents a gallon, aud tbe con sumption was three gallons to the tou; while later the cost was cut to 20 ceuts a gallon aud the consump tion to 1.3 gallons a tou. Eveu with these changes, however, tbe Le Hot No. 2 mauagmeut deolded that tbe system ia not a commercial sua oesv, sluoe extra flue crushing la de manned by tbe Elmore process. My careful water concentration tbe grade of the tailiuge ou the Wllfley tables has beeu cut to $2.20 u ton, aud tboro la no room for tbe profit able operatiou of tbe oil system. The Rossland Power company, of Trail, M. C, at first plauued to use the Elmore yntem, but flually out it out. Now tbe White Heur mine at Mosslaud Is trying tho Elmore pro cess. Ou tbe whole the showing for the Le Hoi No. 2 for the year euded Soptember 30, la excellent. The net smelter teturus, plus a small iuterest item, were 1:70.311. The total ex penses were JCB0, 402. The net pro tils for the year were 25,819. The average value of the shipping ore was $24.80 a tou, made up as follews: gold .000 ouuees; silver, 1.420 ounces, aud copper, 2.37 per ceut. Thoughtful meu iuterested in min ing, who do uot waut to be fooled by preposterously low estimates of mine costs put forth by iuexperleuced promotors, will appreciate the Of urea ou cost of producing shipping ore at tbe Le Rol No. 2. Those costs reaohed $4.22 a tou, Including sort ing, aud they covered a produotiou of 23,020 tous of shipping ore, 10, 331 tous of milling ore, and 17,151 tons of waste, fiy allowing for de preciation of plant, and adding tbe cost of development, which included 1550 feet of drifting, 135 feet ' of raise and winze, and 3017 feet of dia mond drilling (the last cost $2.22 a of)t), the cost of produotiou was brought up to $0 28 a ton. Aud this wm iu a well equipped and well de veloped mine. It ibows the absurd ity of claims that ore can be mined iu such camps as Rossland fcr $1 or so a ton. Such estimates are either foolish or criminal. Spokoiimau-Re-view. What John Hays Hammond Says. In an Interview in a New York paper, John Hays Hammond says: "The possibilities ot tbe mlulug in dustry are better appreciated every year, as tbe aotual returna secured from prio operations demonstrate the profitableness of tbe venture. To day greater care than was formerly the case la exerolstd in choosing properties for development, so that tbe risk involved may be reduced to a minimum; aud mining engineer have more regard for tbe oommmer olal aspects of mining than hereto fore. They are learniug to discrimi nate betweeu the so called 'gilt-edge' mluiug propositions aud one of n more speculative oharaoter. In tho former class of mluiug, the expert aims to be assured of tbo certainty of the capital iuveeted being roturued with a .reasonable rate of luterst. lu mines belonging to tbe speculative alass there Is, of course, greater riak of loBiug tho capital invested, but far greater returus iu the way of profit in case tbe investment turn out favorably. Either of these classes of mining la perfectly legitimate, but In tbe prospectuses of the oompauy, the category under which tbe invest ment ia made should be fully stated to the Investor." This emiuent authority very property points out the fact that tbe commercial side of mining la oomiug to be of more con sideration with tbe mining engineer, and that the public is looking for reasonable security iu mining invest ments, as iu otber investments. The result of these couditious will be to place the mining industry ou a more' legitimate and certain basis 'and beuce to luorease it operations aud profits. Executor's Notice. Notioe is hereby giveu that the uudersigned has beeu duly appoiuted by tbe County Judge of Maker County, Oregon, executor of tbe lat will aud testament of Michael Lyucb, de ceased. All persous having claims agaiuat said estate are hereby untitled to pre sent the same to me, properly veri fied, as by law required, witbiu six mouths from tbe dato hereof, at the office of Charles H. Chance, attorney-at-law, First Natioual Mauk build lug, Sumpter, Oregou. Dated at Sumpter, Maker County, Oregon, this 25th day of Jauuary, 1905. J. M. FRYER, Executor of tbe Estate of Michael' Lynch, Deceased. ESTRAY NOTICE. Takeu up, at the ranch of Heury, i'auuiug, uear Whitney, last spring, two 2-year-old colts, oue grey brauded "C" on left shoulder, and ou i bay brauded S . Owner may regain property by paying expense of their keeping aiuce the date of their taking up. HENRY PANNING, Whitney Ore. December 30. 1004.