Medford mail tribune., August 16, 1959, Image 14

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PANNU7G If David "W. Chase (right) had is. The actual refining at the mine goes a
to pan all his ore this way he'd never make little faster, since the retort can handle
any money. But it's a good way to chert two-thirds of a ton an hour. At left is Dar-
out a shovelful of ore to see how rich it rel Lowe, mine foreman.
C
TUNNEL-This tunnel goes 335 feet into the darker earth. The ore is blasted out from
hillside- It cuts right into the ore-bearing, inside the tunnel, and rails for the hand
vein, -which can be seen directly above the car, which Daniel Lowe is pushing out,
tunnel opening as a thin, tall triangle of run the entire length of the tunnel.
QUICKSILVER MINE The mine tunnel is.
located above - the refining area of the
Chase mine and can't be seen in this pic
ture, but most of the mine is visible. The
retort is housed in the building at the low
er right. The condensor pipes are at the
Woman, 23, Booked
', Portland CPD - Mrs. Ruby
Eee Howard, 23, of Portland,
was booked on a first degree
Faster Deterioration
Of Paper Reported
'- ' Washington (Science Serv
ice) Paper in books pub
lished in the last 25 years
will deteriorate much faster
than that in publications, that
ate now several centuries
old. A study at the Virginia
State library, reported by the
National Science Foundation
here, found that acid intrfr
guced during sizing and
Reaching of the paper may be
Jne principal cause of deterio
ration. Experiments are in
progress to develop ways of
neutralizing the acid.
On Murder Charge
murder charge Friday by
Portland police.
She was held in connection
with the fatal shooting here
Friday afternoon of Winston
R. Lee Roberts.
Police said Roberts was shot
through the heart with a .32
caliber Savage automatic. Wit
nesses told police the pair had
scuffled for the gun, which
was in the woman's purse,
shortly before the shooting.
Police said the gun apparent
ly belonged to Roberts.
About 10,000 oil wells drill
ed in the 1J. S. annually do
not reach oil. Some oil wells
cost as much as $1 million
for the drilling operations.
left and at the extreme left is the shed that
houses - the . suction pump. At the upper,
right is the 50-ton bin and crusher' through
which the ore passes on the way down to
the retort. Chase did most of the construc
tion work himself.
New Judge .
To Take Oath
Pendleton (UPD - John F. Kil
kenny, Pendleton, was to be
sworn in as an Oregon feder
al judge in the Umatilla coun
ty courthouse here at 4 p.m.
yesterday.
It was believed to be the
first time an Oregon federal
judge took oath of office in a
city, outside Portland. Federal
Judge James Alger Fee of San
Francisco, also a former Pen
dleton attorney, was schedul
ed to administer the oath.
Kilkenny is a native of
Heppner and formerly headed
the law firm of Kjlkenny, Fa
bre and John H. Kott,kamp.
David Chase Has
Yielding Mercury
Mine in County
.:' !- By RON ABELLi. -'-'
Mail Tribun Staff Writer .
It looks as if three years
of hard work and a . lot of
know-how are about to pay off
for David W. Chase of Med
ford. . '
Chase, known locally as the
proprietor of Chase's .Groce
teria Flower Shop, in the last
three years has left the flower
business largely to his wife
while he put money, muscle
and machinery to- work and
developed the only currently
producing mercury mine in
Jackson county.
"I'm over the hump how,"
Chase said. "I'm ready to go
into steady production and I
expect to start getting some of
my investment back."
Frow flowers to mining:
how did it happen?
Diverse Areas
. Chase, a genial entrepeneur
whose background encompass
es such diverse areas as elec
tronics, hydro ponic plant-
growing and home appliances,
explained that his mercury
mine is the result of cautious
investigation and develop
ment. '
He said that about two-
thirds of the U. S. consump
tion of mercury is imported
and that for years the foreign
mercury producers, principal
ly Spain and Italy, have been
in an advantageous position
because of their high-grade
ores and low labor costs.
But, he said, the position
has shifted recently due to an
increased demand for the
tricky liquid and a gradual de
pletion of foreign high - grade
ore.
Business Venture
So, since deposits of mer
cury have been known to exist
in Jackson county for years,
he said, it seemed to him to be
a good business venture..
The property Chase has de
veloped is in the same area as
the old War Eagle mercury
mine, which he says was in
production during the years of
the first World War. ,
His claims are up in the
mountains on the west side of
Round Top lookout, about 38
miles northwest of Medford
near the Douglas county line.
It's a rugged, one-and-a-half-
hour jeep ride from here.
Chase's mine currently rep
resents an investment of close
to $40,000, plus three years of
hard work in which he was in
turn miner, carpenter, me
chanic, blaster, electrician, cat
skinner and plumber.
Unique Element
His mining operation is in
teresting partly because mer
cury itseii is a unique ele
ment. The only metal which
stays liquid at ordinary tem
peratures, mercury flows so
freely that it was named after
the speedy messenger of the
gods.
The same quality gave the
liquid metal its nickname -"quicksilver,"
or more com
monly, just plain "quick."
Chase has blasted out a 335-
foot tunnel through a vein of
mercury - bearing- ore" and in
that respect ' his operation
looks like a conventional
mine.
Curious Project
But two qualities of mer
cury combine to make mining
it a curious prbject: its low
boiling point and its weight.
Because of its relatively low
boiling point, the metal can be
literally roasted out of its ore,
and once it is vaporized the
only thing left to do is to cool
it and watch it condense in its
pure form.
When recovered, the quick
silver is mixed with mud but
since mercury is 13 Vi times as
heavy as water, gravity does
the work of separating it.
Chase can spend A day at
his mine and return with a
large jar or two of rich mercury-bearing
mud. As soon as
the metal is' separated, from
the mud - which Chase accom
plishes in his laboratory at
2266 Houston rd. - it's just
like money in the bank.
Quoted Price "'"
The latest quoted price from
San Francisco is $241.25 per
flask (76 pounds) and because
of . its weight it doesn' take a
lot of quicksilver to make up
a flask.
Itmay sound like an easy
way to make money but a
visit to Chase's mine would
convince you that, even with
the equipment established and
operating, it's hard work.
The principal piece of equip
ment at the mine is a retort,
which is in effect a cylindrical
oven 24 feet long and two feet
in diameter. The ore, after
being blasted from the earth
and run through a crusher, is
dropped from a 50-ton bin into
one end of the retort.
Ore Through Retort
A screw mechanism, turning
slowly, moves the ore through
the retort towards the other
end. The farther into the in-
jj JMw- wow-.-!.;. j t.-..v .Wh;: f
AND THAT ONE'S B FLAT-It's not a cal
liope; it's not 19 stovepipes looking for a
stove; but, as Dan Chase points . out, it's 350
feet of, interlocked, vacuum-sealed conden
sor tubing that contains the mercury vapors
terior of the retort the ore
gets, , the hotter it becomes,
until, finally it reaches a tem
perature of 1400 degrees (F.)
and it glows red-hot.
At that temperature the mer
cury has been completely
vaporized and is in a gaseous
form. It is actually cooked
out of the rock.- ' .
A suction system draws the
mercury vapors out of the re
tort and carries it through.
a 350-foot system of condensor
pipes. The pipes resemble a
large calliope or reed organ
in appearance but in principle
they resemble a distillery.
The pipes are constantly
cooled by cold water spray on
the outside and as the gases
are thus cooled, the mercury
condenses and adheres to the
insides of the pipes in small
globules. , .
Pipes Flushed
Every eight hours during
the operation the insides of
the pipes are flushed down
with water and this washes
the liquid mercury down into
a trough at the bottom of each
pipe.
Since the suction system
draws off particles of very
fine dust along with the mer
cury vapors, the troughs ac
tually collect a mixture of
dust and water (the mud) and
quicksilver. The heavy mer
cury settles to the bottom of
the trough, however, and
Chase draws it off for further
refinement at his laboratory.
Chase can process about
two t thirds of a ton of ore
through the retort in an hour.
This would amount to about
16 tons of ore for a 24-hour
shift.
Mercury Per Ton
He averages about 8 pounds
of pure mercury from a ton of
ore (this is slightly above the
national average of 6V2
pounds) and in a 24-h'our shift
he estimates that he will pro
duce from $230 to $300 worth
ot mercury.
All of his operating ex
penses, of course, must be de
ducted from that amount be
fore any profit is shown.
Chase has been working the
mine only intermittently dur
ing the period of exploration
and development. But he says
he now expects to achieve
steady production from the
mine on a Z-nour scneauie,
five days a week.
His mine foreman is Darrell
Lowe, 24, of 1327 Saling st.,
Medford. Lowe has been with
Chase since last October. They
expect to get at least two more
men to work the mine when
they begin steady production.
- To date the mine has pro
duced 10 flasks of mercury.
Thermal Activity
Chase explained that mer
cury deposits are laid down
unlike most metals only in
areas that have seen thermal
activity; that is, in areas
where hot water and geyser
type activity has occurred,
a two-foot wide vein of Cinna
Volcanic activity, he said,
would be too hot and would
vaporize the metal.
In the area of Chase's mine
there is a fault line where
thermal activity has left de
posits of mercury. The mer
cury is found in a compound
in which sulfur is also pres
ent. This cinnabar ore, as it is
called, is also known as "ver
milion" because of its striking
redish color. ;
Chase can point out ; the
fault line of the cinnabar de
posit, though to the untutored
eye it is not readily apparent.
One place where it can easily
seen, however is at .the
mouth of the tunnel
Vein of Cinnabar
The tunnel bores right into
a two-foot wide vein of cinna
bar. The vein, Chase said, has
a known depth of 600 feet,
though it is condsiderably
deeper in spots. It runs 3,000
feet in a straight line right
through his claim.
Chase so far has blasted the
tunnel 335 feet into the vein
and in the future he expects
to dig in t at different eleva
tions. The tunnel, with tracks
for a hand car on the ground,
is narrow enough so that one
can easily touch both sides of
it with arms extended.
But it one particularly rich
area, Chase and Lowe have
blasted out a "stope" hole
above the level of the tunnel.
The stope hole forms a cham
ber almost 400 feet high, an
underground ' cavern. "Stop
ing" is done in rich spots, to
dig out larger quantities of
high-grade ore.
Common Knoweldge
Chase says that it is com
mon knowledge that there are
mercury and other mineral de
posits in Jackson county. He
says that his mine, for ex
ample, was a known deposit
of mercury. All it took was
someone willing to exploit it,
He has 10 claims all told,
though he is working only the
one tunnel at the present time
He has done some clearing
and exploratory work at
another location in the same
area, however.
At the latter spot, the fault
line runs right across the ac
cess road. Chase has had some
assays done of the ore taken
right from the road and it
shows about two pounds of
mercury to the ton.
That's not to say that Jack
son county residents can kick
up money by scuffing their
feet along the ground - but it
does point up somewhat the
diversity of potential industry
in the local wea,
260 Homes Planned
East of Beaverfon
Beaverton (UPD - Plans for a
$5,i-million residential devel
opment to be called Royal
Woodlands east of Beaverton
have been announced by the
Allen C, Edwards Realty Co.
Some 260 new homes will
be added on the 75-acre Henry
J. Kaiser tract on S. W. Jami
son road just east 6f here.
The area has been annexed
by the city of Beaverton and
will have Beaverton city sew
age and water service.
Three homes are already
under construction with im
mediate starts planned on 15
more. The homes will be in the
$15,000 to $30,000 price range,
according to Ron Sorensen,
sales manager for the Edwards
firm.
CORN REMOVER
Give instant raliaf from pain mn
mmty wnwvu hard com, soft coem
btw, in. tow. callousu. warts,
papillomas, dub nails. It contains sot
ral different oit that tofton, loom
and den nor caws tn iriikjlion u
do strong ood mixlvrM. Wfcan al
rhrs hav faiUd try this an. Try
owr tvmon lif. which rfivs
pain, soreness, swelling first or second
application Both remedies sold
money bock guarantee.
Exclusively at
WESTERN THRIFT
be
tfffeir sodemi'S
' as they cool to a liquid state. The" conden
sor pipes are flushed out every eight hours
during the operation, and the quicksilver
is washed to the troughs at the bottom of
the- pipes.
Klamath Prisoner
To Get New Trial
Klamath Falls-OJPD-Klamath
County District Attorney
Arthur A. Beddoe said Friday
that a 25-year-old county jail
prisoner accused of running
away after being sent to help
fight a forest fire July 14
would; be brought to trial
again as soon as a new jury
is called.
A hung jury resulted Thurs
day in the case of prisoner
Charles Richard Lewis, 25.
State police have charged
Lewis with escaping. He was
picked up by state officers
two days later, pleaded guilty
to escape but changed his plea
when Sheriff Mirray Britton
interceded. The sheriff said
Lewis was lost and had not
escaped.
Beddoe and the sheriff clash
ed in Thursday's trial. The dis
trict attorney accused Britton
of "prejudice against the state
police," and the sheriff retort
ed: "I know you have me on
trial, not the defendant."
NAZI-ADMIRER JAILED
Columbus, Ga. .(UPD -Avowed
Nazi admirer Rich
ard V. Smith Jr., 18, was sen
tenced to from six to 10 years
in prison Friday for painting
swastikas on synagogues and
starting a $30,000 museum
fire. The frail, bespectacled
youth,' an admitted Jew and
Negro hater, was convicted
on two counts of arson and
malicious mischief.
Its EASY... -
to find Hillcrest 'Memorial Park. Drive past the Rogue Valley Hospital , I
: to the North Phoenix Road and turn right toward Phoenix. The park
is located IVi miles from the junction. I
5 Hillcrest
I -5 Memorial Park
II North Phoenix Road - .Phoenix- . I
I ' X Rogue jt T
Volley E J iN
Hospital ro 1
illimst-pare
LLaLiji Bi Dr;sc0f manager " North Phoenix Road II
' Phone SP 3-6162 or SP 2-7111
I"l4
MAIL TRIBUNE, Madford, Or..
ROGUE RIVER
Officers Named. to Club
By MRS. MYRTLE WHIPPLE
Rogue River - Jim Clithero,
owner of the Rogue Riviera
Supper club east of Rogue
River was elected president of
the Rogue River Boosters club
at a recent meeting. Clithero
was vice president last year
and chairman of the Rooster
Crow parade.
Other officers elected were
Gail Grooms, secretary; How
ard Norwood, vice president;
and Peter Parre, treasurer.
Three directors elected were
Floyd Jones, Shade Combs
and Bob Green.
The meeting was held in
the patio of the Howard Nor
wood home.
William (Bill) Hunter, vice
principal of the Rogue River
High school, has resigned to
become superintendent-princi
pal of the Butte Falls High
school.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Hunter
have taught here in the school
for four years.
Ordination and installation
services were held Aug. 7 for
Robert Maxson at Hope
Presbyterian church in Rogue
River.
Participating in the service
was William Kurtz of Malin,
moderator of the Southern
Oregon Presbytery, and the
Rev. John Reynolds, pastor of
Westminster Presby t e r i a n
church, Medford.
The ordaining minister was
the Rev. B. J. Holland, pastor
of First Presbyterian church,
Ashland. He gave the charge
to the. minis ier.
The Rev. D. F. Barnett of
Grants Pass, former pastor of
the Rogue River church, gave
the charge to the congrega
tion. The sermon was by the
Rev. Robert T. Bridge of
Medford.
Mr. Maxson is a graduate of
Southern Oregon college and a
recent graduate of San Fran
cisco Theological Seminary, in
San Anselmo, Calif. He has
done field work at Fairfax,
Calif., and was interne chap-
lam at San Quentin Prison.
A reception honoring Mr.
and Mrs. Maxson was held in
Fellowship hall after the serv
ice. Mr. and Mrs. William Stra-
han and children of Gold
Beach were Rogue River visit
ors last week end.
Elmer Halstead was a visit
or at the home of his uncle,
Jim Whipple, Sunday. He was
en route home to Salem from
a business trip to Medford.
Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Seaman
returned to their home at
Utica, Jf. after a visit of a
few weeks at the home of his
brother, Roy Seaman, in Med
ford and at the home of his
sister, Mrs. Carl Magerle.
The Charles Brown family
accompanied by Mr. and Mrs.
W. S. Thexton went to the
home of Mr. Brown's parents
near Shady Cove and spent
the day Sunday.
Ann Christenson has return
ed to her home in Denver,
Colo., after spending a month
Sunday, Aug. 16, 1959
with, her grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. Carl Christenson,
Highway 99, south.
Other visitors of the Chris
tensons were Mr. and Mrs. Jo
Jarvie of Bellingham, Wash.,
Mrs. Chas. King and daugh
ter of Massena, N. Y and
Mrs. E. Gienger of Everett,
Wash.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Milton
of East Evans Creek have an
nounced the engagement of
their daughter, Patricia Lee,
to Robert M. Jones of East
Evans Creek. Robert is the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Morris M.
Jones. No date has hn .
for the wedding.
The Rev. and Mrs. John
Canoles of Novato, Calif., re
cently visited Mr. and Mrs
Frank Hall. Mrs. Cannes an
Mrs. Hall are sisters
Charles Beck, son of Mr.
Mrs. Jim Beckof Rogue River
was married Aug. 1 in Reno
to Jean Estremado, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. D. Estremado
of Gold Hill. Beck is em
ployed by his father-in-law,
who has a large ranch in the
area. The young couple will
make their home in Gold Hill.
A family dinner was held
Sunday at" the home of Mr.
and Mrs. George Magerle.
Guests were Mr. and Mrs. Roy
Seaman, Medford; Mr. and
Mrs. Grand Clyde and two
children, Horse Creek, Calif.,
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Parren
and sons, Medford; Mr. and
Mrs. Dick Magerle and two
daughters, Mr. and Mrs. Vir
gil Oatney and daughers, and
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Magerle
all of Rogue River.
.
Mrs. Melvin Whipple and
Mrs. Alice Harwood of Eugene
were visitors Tuesday at the
home of Mrs. Harwoods par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. James
Whipple. Mrs. Whipple is the
Whipples" niece.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Har
gitt are parents of a girl born
Aug. 1. She weighed six
pounds, 15 ounces and has
been named Patricia Ann.
Thailand Governor
Visits in Medford
Governor Charoen Bhamor
butra of Korat province, Thai
land, visiting here last week,
left Thursday for Salem and
Portland - to continue the
western portion of his tour.
Governor, Charoen, whose
province has a population of
more than one million, is a
participant in the foreign
leader program of the inter
national exchange service of
the U. S. Department of State.
' He has emphasized an in
terest in agriculture, educa
tion, legal procedure and
community organization. He
had an opportunity while here
to inspect the fundamentals
of the school system.
Thirty-nine of the states
grant divorces upon proof of
drunkeness.