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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la methode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2i 1.0 I.I 1.25 IIM I 2.2 2.0 1.8 ^ 4PPUEDjyMGE_lnc ^^ '''^1 Lasl Main ■>t,ept — ^ »oi.h«ster, Nfw York U609 USA -^ . M6! 482 - 0300 - Phone SB ;, '16) i88 - ^989 ■■ fa- ^ 2 "2 C, THE COPPER MINES OF LAKE SUPERIOR BY T. A. RICKARD lUJlTOR OF Tin; KNOINKKKINC. ANU MINING JOLKNAI.; ASSIK'IATf OK Till-: KOYAL SCllOOl i)K MINKS, MEMBER OK THE AMER- ICAN INSTITUTE OK MININC. ENGINEERS; MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTION OK MIMNC. ANU METALLURGY; MEMBER OF THE NORTH OK ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MIN- ING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS; STATE GE- OLOGIST OF COLORADO FROM ismTOi„oi; AUTHOR OK 'THE STAMP-MILLING OF GOLD ores; 'ACROSS THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS' AND THE SAM- PLING AND ESTIMATION OF (JRE IN A MINE.' First Editio . First Thousand. NEW YORK & LONDON THii ENGINEtRlNG 5: MINING JOURNAL 1905. 7 Tii i'-'. . M6 K'O CoPVRIliHT. IDOS BY THIC liMllNKKRlNU AND MIMVC, JOfKNAU THIS I.ITTI.K IUK)K DEDICATED JOHN STANTON IN CORDIAL AI'I'RHCIA1!U>. OF I.:KE-1.0M; SERVICES, WHICH HAVE BENEFITED NOT ONLV THE COP- PER MINES OF THE I PI'EH I V- Sl LA, Bl'T THE BP-.T I.NTE ESTS OF A WORLr.-WI',K INDIST : . 127597 CONTENTS. PAGE PHEFACE 7 1. IXTHOmCTOHY 11 II. GEOUXiY 22 III. EaHI.Y HllSTOHY 35 IV. CAHMK.r iV- Ur.ri.\ 42 V. Later Histohy 50 VI. Coi'i'EU Kaxge Consolidated ,V"i VII. MixiN(; Methods. The QtiNCY 02 VIII. Atlantic and Woi.vehine Mines 72 IX. The Haltic. Mining Methods Heviewed ,S3 X. Mas.s CoppEn 08 XI. ExPLOIfATIOV 108 XII. Milling Methods 117 XIII. Smelting Pkactice 142 XIV. The Men Who D-d It 152 XV. A Last Glanc e 100 ..sv.jm .z*.. T'lSBft^ir i^-'-.-^-mw-j'- «ri.. ,«•— .'■j.'^HEai- PREFACE Any good American, desirous of impressing an intelligent visitor from anotiier country, say, for example, Macaulay's New Zealauuer, with tiie permanent and profitable char- acter of the mining industrj- of the United J^tates, would be wise in choosing tiie copper country by tn^. ureat Lakes in preference to any other of our splendid mineral regions. Sixty years of jiroductiveness represent history in our unresting industrial growth; an amiual yield of 200,000,000 pounds of refined copper is in itself impressive, for it means 15 per cent of the total output of the world; mines one mile in vertical deptii appeal to the imagination; a sin- gle stamp that crushes 700 tons of ore per diem has a thun- derous way of proclaiming its importance; well-ordered conwnunities aggregating about 80,000 self-respecting people indicate favorable conditions of living; and, when the visitor is weary of the inmiensity of the operations carried out by man on the Knveenaw Peninsula, he can turn with deep restfulness to the splendor of earth and sky, to the licauty of forest and wave, to the long promontories dividing the surface of Lake Superior, and the blue line of the Huron mountains. As the traveler journeys from Buffalo to Houghton, and tlience to Duluth, on a steamer itself of dimensions that challenge many Atlantic liners, he is stimulated by a swiftly moving panorama of shores on which every kind of industrial development is proceeding; he will encounter tiie ^•a.st freightage which bears the produce of the north- western wheat fields, the iron ores that are the material foundation of modern civilization, the lumber from the Michigan forests, and the copper on its way to the refineries of New Jersey ; this traffic being met by vessels heavily laden -^^Y-ii.\.,f j-*>«Ia s PREFACE. with coal, nicrchaiidise, iiiachiiiciy and the immense sup- plii's fonwiimed in tlie ex])loitation of natural resources of ji'roat divei'sity. He will he on an internal waterway which is 2, KM) miles lonjr from Duluth to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, a continental line of connnunication the traffic of which, as measured at the locks of the Sault Ste. .Marie, is more than double that of the Suez canal. And it is impressive, not as measured by tonnajte alone, but because instead of the sand marshes of Suez, the barren mountains of Sinai, and the blisterinp; deserts of the Libyan coast, this jrreat conmiercial artery of North America separates, and unites, two Enftlish-s|)eaking nations whose n.ultitudinous enerjiies are ex])ressed in an iminterrupted succession of mills and factories, docks and railroads, and a continuous line of throbl)iiijr steamers that bear the comme're of a continent down the long-linked series of lakes, canals and rivers to the marts of the world. It is this mining region which I have endeavored to describe, by the aid of olxservations and information secured during three weeks in the sunnner of 1904. For nuich of my material I am indebted to the courte.sy of mine managers and engineers, whose names are mentioned, with grateful acknowledgment, in the pages that follow. During the whole of my stay at Houghton I received the help, and fre(|uently tlie stimulating companionship, of .Mr. 1". W. McXair, president of the Michigan t'ollege of Mines, and of Mr. L. S. Austin, professor of metallurgy in that most efficient technical institution. To these two friends I am under particular obligations. (^ne matter, to which I regret to refer, requires mention in this account of the copper mines of Lake Superior; for, unpretentious as my story is, I desire it to be an honest portrayal of mining affairs in the Upper Peninsula during the year liM)4. Therefore, this explanatif)n. Those who read these pages will be surprisetl — and dis- appointed—to find only scant reference to the two mines PREFACE. wliich liavc doiio most to j^ivc the region a world-wide celebrity; I refer to the Calumet A: Hecla and Tamarack. As a matter of fact, oeyoml the impressiveness of .size and the romance of a great production, the engineer is likely to find the younger mines as rich in suggestion and interest, as the two great projA-rties referred to. Nevertheless, the fact hat they follow a conglomerate lode, while the other mines —all, save the Franklin Junior — are founded upon beds of amygdaloid, gives them a peculiar geologic interest, height- ened by tlu> analogy with the 'banket' of the Rand. Fur- thermore, their workings have reached the depth of 5,00() ft., an,■. V. THE COI'I'Eli MIXHS ^•\ is^* '^^%^> . r^J5«f^'^f«rxiHnK^ -'^i.ia^:*?*^ 14 THE LOl'l'KR MINKS :U,G74,4;>7 tuns, on whicli frfijuht cluirgos amounting to $20,727,7:55 were paid. .Mineral products were as follows: Iron ore, 21,<»54,SUS tons; eoal, G.'J.'57,G;« tons; copper, 1 12.S77 tons, and salt, 454,822 barrels. From New York, the traveler goes liy train. 440 miles in nine hours, to iiuffalo, and tiiere takes steamer. The Xorlli Wed, on which I traveled, is IWO ft. long, 44 ft. beam, iuis a rating of 5,(MM) tons, with S,(KX) h.p., and draws 17 ft. of water. It is not many years since such a vessel would have Ijeen considered a large craft, even on t4ie Atlantic. Comparison may Ije made with the White 8tar steamers on the Pacific, which are 420 to 441 ft. long, 42 to 44 ft. wide, with a rating of 4,205 to 4,G7G tons. Trom Buffalo to Houghton the distance is SU miles, which reciuircd a voyage of three nights and two days — days of unclouded beauty, sjient on (juiet waters and diversified by the swiftly moving panorama of a country undergoing a variety of industrial develoinnent. On a sunny morning in August the Xorth Went steamed up the arm of Portage lake, here oidy half a mile wide, and drew up at the wharf just below the drawbridge uniting the towns of Houghton and Hancock, which lie at the foot of two facing hilklopes of gentle demeanor. Beyond the drawbridge the shiuunering waters of Portage Arm disap- peared ar(>i.nd a wooded bend. The scene breathed a quiet and orderly spirit ; there was none of the uncouth ruggedness or the scpialid um-est which one a.ssociates with mining activ- ity; the air contrasted refreshingly with the sweltering tur- moil of New York City ; and, not till I recognized the shaft- houses on Quincy hill, the smoke of the smelters at Han- cock, the buzz of a hvely saw-mill, and the cluster of red buildings ir.arking the College of Mines, did I realize that T had indeed reached the port of entry to a mining region famous througiiout the four corners of the globe. The larger number of productive copper mines are in the northeri. nart of the peninsula, in a series extending from OF LAKH Sn'ElilOU. 15 > < 'A < 16 rill-: cori'KH ml\ks Hancock to laliimet, and a little l)oy<)tul, iiiakiiiji 1') iiiih-s altoj^fther; atiotlicr important Kroiip of ^rowinji iiiinos is found south of llonjjlitoii, to a distance of S miles. Hevond this continuous mininji l)clt, there is the outlyinjj district of Hajile Hiver alon>; tlu- nortlicrn cdfjo of the peninsula, and to the south there is the Ontonaj^on country. 'I'he accom- panying map will make this clear. The presiMit jjopulation of tins mininj; district is about 7S.(MK), of whom :{S,(MM) are distributed over the town of Calumet and its adjoining suburbs of Laiirium, Red Jacket, Blue Jacket. Ilubbell and Limerick. Hesides the towns mentioned, there are smaller .settlements, mainly of work- men's houses, near the Centennial. Wolverine, Mohawk and otiier individual mines, .\cross l'orta{r<' lake, on the South Range, there is a villajje of about ."MMK) people at Atlantic, with smaller conummities nt Huron. Trimnuntain and I'ainesdale. At Hancock there are 7.000 and at Houghton only t.tMMl inhaliitants. Hancock and Houghton are ilivided by the arm of Portage lake, but united l)y a tlraw- bridge. Both are pretty, clean-looking connnunities. the i)etter residences l)eing on College avemie. rl()oking the water and dominated by several fine buildings, among them the East Houghton school and the imposing cluster which marks the Colle<^ ■:>( .Mines. An excellent electric car service unites the twin towns with Calumet. 12 miles distant. This large settlement i.-^ more evidently a mining conniiunity. because the big shaft-houses of the Tamarack and Calumet A- Hecla mines soar above the streets and dominate the surrounding houses in a lordly way. Calumet is a conumniitv of many nationalities; among the workmen employe I by .e Calumet & Hecla mine. :?S nations are represented. ence the nuiltiplicity of religions and the cnrrespondii.^ s, the English taking one end of a changing room and Italians the other; in a second room the Austrians have one half, while the other is set aside for Finns. Of the numerous luitionalities the Cornish are eminently the l^est miners, and next to them come the Finns. In early days the Irish were more numerous than at present, and they used to have fre(iuent 'scraps' with the Cousin Jacks, as the men from Cornwall are called. When the Swedes and I'iims l)egan to come in. the Irish and Cornish tended to draw together. The Fimis are s<>parated by a distinct cleavage into "temperance Finns" and the "others"; the latter are apt to be rampagious when under the influence. The former make excellent citizens; they come from a rigorous climate and an ungrateful soil, and they are now cultivating the forest clearing with such marked success as to develop a profitable agriculture in this northern country. They do not stick to mining long; from trammers they graduate quickly to miners, and then, after about ten years of continuous work, according to the amount of their savings, they cither take up a tract and clear the forest from it. or b\iy a farm already made. The miners are mainiv Cornishmen and Finns; the tram- ^1 ^Mm^^7W^^^0^^ ■^U^i.^ ■r gang is ai)t to havfat'ornishnian a.s cluef.with Austrians for hehx-w Tl... lattor are really Croatia.m, for the most part; they are e appreciated when it is stated that the Tamarack mine alone engulfs half a miHion feet, board measure, of timber monthly. Beside wood antl water, the mines have been furnished a magnificent highway of transport. An excellent bituminous coal comes from -^M^:i y :>... OF LAKE tiUl'EIuoU. 21 rUt^bur,. 150 ,Hil..s l,y land to Clevclan.l, a„.l thence by to 40 ents is the stean.er freight, and S cents per ton' the cost of nnloadhijr. The loadinjr and unloading is done on a l,ig scale- at Un-ean, byt^ M tons of coal a,.,ec,. e.nptied bodily, as if they were sn.al! H^kets. n.to a ^.essel. at the rate of ,,000 tons per h u" and. wlnle I was at Honghton. the Martin Mullen a ake stcan,er. brought a load of 7,200 tons of coal, and u.doaded 4J hours lho..e facts in,prc«.sed n.e as I remembered the -ahng of a n,ail stean,er at Port Said : a long ^^^ ^ wal bug a gang plank, carrying coal in littl willow brk. .on then- heads entering one hatchway, dischargi ^ tSr l>"'- rocks, the more acid predom- iuiiting The Keweenaw series has a thickness of 2.'),0(H) to .30,000 ft.," and in adjacent regions the tliL^kness is even greater. ■ ' Diahnse' is the tcnii einplovcil ))y Irvitiir, 'in('ln|)liyr' that used j)y I'ninpclly, and 'im>la])liyri'' hy the Michiiiaii Gcoloiiica! Suivov. Tlic .'^tatc .Survey, of lato ye.irs. lias tried to reserve the term 'dia- l)ase' for iiilrusivc rocUs, ahhouaili some of the Keweenaw beds uri- doulitedly liave the structure of (haliasp. (See Vol. VI, Ft. I, pp. lfi!l and iL'O.) 'Melaphyre' as a roek name is now almost obsolete; "it should he restricted (o an altered type and preferentially to the oilier alterelaces superj)osed o\-er tlie ea.stern sandstone. The matter is fiulher com])licated l)y a vertical l)lane of demarkation along the contact of the trap series and the en^t.rn sandstone, it being an open (juestion whether tiiis l)reak in continuity is a gigantic fault or merely the cliff marking an ancient shore line, rumpelly and Jirooks iield that the eroded conformable downward e\t(>nsion of the Keweenaw series would be foiuid under the eastern sandstone; while Irving ami Chamberlain considered that the east face of the Keweenaw series rej)resente(l a fault-scarj). tlie (lownth^o^Ml ]iart of the series being under these eastern sandstones. Ilubliard holds to the existence of "an eroded line of steeply dip]>ing and somewhat corru- gated tra]>s, against whose nnu-al faces and over whose Kciitle slopes respectively, the eastern sandstone was laid down."' ■' Kouml onlv ill tin' Mcni)iiiiiicc ers of the series, fonnin, in.pr^ li ^^'j; ormabl.- to the stratification and identified whh sZ ., • , ""^' 'ajCTs ot which are aniv-dalni,!-.] stieanis. As the pores or amyfr.iules hecoine filled with laxa theie > produced an amyjrdaloidal diabase These |--v.n„s beds have becoiLe the place of ore deposition ami .inmcMte la3ers also have l,eo„ p,i,i,hed with conner in co..a.n localities so as to afford a basis for profitable ,,; rie mineral range' of this region consists of a belt f r m our o SIX nnles wide, constituting the eastern portk^ of ^ roni a tew feet to more than 100 ft the indiv,-,l„..i i be.n. distinguishable, where they ^i^! ^i^t^ ^ ^^^ b«. of conglon,erate. I>y the a.nygdaloidal cha^^er S nolX; ' ';:'"" " r "^"^■^^'"'•>' ^-'- ^^ vesicmar. .nine It on f ''"" ''^ ''' ^''"■"""- ^"'°'-- '^^'^ -^-e _-;^£>aI^t.on h.s been accoinpanicl by the oxidation of n.:,^ 'p:r:;;:t;;:;;jr ;;f ''^^^^ r' 'r ^ ?"""^' -'^-" havo l,ee„ i,„rm|,,d. LtuCo llni'lTu f f" ""''• *'''"'^'' '* '""v followed e.iol. otlu-r it r.niJ It 1 • *° ''*:." ''P'''^* o'' "ows tlijit Michigan.' Vo].-VII>t II p^-t"'^'^'''''""- G'^olo.cical Survey of f ho bottom and topV.oL"rnXbv '"-/''"/""; "^ '■■^^••> ^♦'•'- ' ' ;">!! of a l)ed of diabase; the richest part of the lode cliannel, toward the hanging, represents the upper crust of a lava flow which was vesicular when extruded and is now amygdaloidal through the deposition of minerals, one of them ijeing coppe . The overlying bed is a dark, compact, fairly coarse diabase, the dark-red color of which is due to the feldspar. The amyg- daloid of the coi)])er lode itself has a mimitely crystalline groun(]ma.ss containing acicular ])lagioclase and gramiles of magnetite, wliich has been oxidized to hematite." The copper is sometimes pseudomornliic after laumontite and is also fomid enclosed within transparent scalenohedra of ■"Tlio I',ira^:i'iicsis atid I WivMtion of f'oppor .'ind its Associates oil l.ako .■cTior,' liy 1{mpIimc1 I'limpollv. Aimrlraii Journal of Snoicr. \ol. II, No. !t, p. 7();{ " ' " H. Puiiiix'Ily .111(1 C. I'.omiiiircr. OF LAKE SVI'tlRlOR. ^ ealcito, the onlcT of fonnation l,oin« laun.ontito, ,,uart, copper, calcite and datolite. '|H'irt^, The conglomerates frefjuently enclose seams of fi„e- .ranu... anunate.I sandstone, and in such beds an ,,r g. at on of copper ,s not unconnnon. As a rule, the pe Lbles of the conglon,erate i.e.is consist n.ainly of chocolatl CO ored els.t.c porphyrite, the fragments of' dial^as I. ^ a.nyg,la loK being s-bordinate in an,o„„t. Fi„er silicio grams of the san,e n.aterial fill the interstices and e l>e pebbles together; but this original binding n.atoril and cpulote, together with chlorite an"""g property there are but few barren spots- an t e conglomerate is stoped continuously, save for piZs to cent. J he rock ks reddish brown and .so compact that it breaks across the pebbles, which are the detriti.s of cpartz porphyry and granite; the spaces l^etween pebble \ fi led w, h sn.aller gra.u.les boun.l together bv a e nem -h.ch IS both silieious and calcareous. \he metallic cpp occpies he spaces between pebbles and often en frely eplaces he cement; it also penetrates tlie capillary S ures in the pebbles and, indeed, the replacenient has?one so ar that even pebbles are turned into copper, the result being "a spongy skeleton of copper in a'' epi,Lt!c ro k carrying calcite.'- The hanging wall of this Ca, net t Hecla lode is a dark-colored, fine-grained diabase he position and appearance of the succession of diabase beds indicate that they are extrusive sheets of lava tte upper amyg.laloidal layers have a surface which is ^fn coriaceous and contains sand, indicating that thei: e.xtrl- p. l£ ''°""""^'-- '^•'°'°^'^^> S"^vey o^ Michigan/ Vol V, Pt. I, 'Js THE L(H'I>EH MIXES sion \v:is followe.l sliortly afterward by scdiniciitatioii. I.ikely eiK)iijrli tliev were i-xtriidcd uiidor watfr. It is this sintery appearance wliieii lias pnnoked siieli local tenuis as "ash bed." ■ ' >f()\eriieiit of the Keweenaw geries is manifested hv several small disjilacements in the mines which I visited"; hut the most in t crest iiij; evidcn<-e of this kind is the occur- rence in the Central mine, where the so-called East vein is faulted al.itijr the Kearsarjie conglomerate, the heave heing v-^- : *=;'>-.•«' I I — I A\ AMVCDALOII) LODE, QLLVCY MINE. 284 ft.; a dislocation which, a.s measured in terms of the displacement of the rocks lying above the Kearsarge con- glomerate, has been estimated as eciuivalent to a movement, horizontally northward, of more than 2* miles." The distribution of the copper, as observed in the mine workings, is seen to be dependent upon the struciure of the rock. In the Quincy the "main hanging wall" is m.irked by a slip or parting, of variable definition; back of this there is a band of shaly trap, which is apt to become troul)lesome by creating shaky ground. The lode itself is a brown amygda- loid with ea rthy fracture, spotted with amygdules consisdng pp" 88-91 ""''"'■'"'*'■ '^®°'°^''^''' Surveyor Miol.ipan,' Vol. VI, Pt. II, ipS^w4"iiifei^:>i#w ^i ^)^ OF LAKE Sil'ElilOH. 29 of Krec, chlorite, white caldte a„,l red lau.nontite. Ccmper occurs on .,„art. and pse»d..>norphie after laun.on ite. Chlorite 1.S found d.stnbute.l over Loth quartz and copper ponetratn.« the fonner. The calcite. .h/ch contains bri^t at.ye copper often tends to arran^e.nent in lines. «ivL c odo occasionally a streaky appearance. The rock is often vesicular, especially close to the 'hanKinjr,' owin. to vojd cavities Capt Thos. Whittle informe.l nie that' ^ lode ,s usually dry. but that n.oist places are richest " This simply means that in such portions of the lode tlie rock IS ess tight, possibly more vesicular, and perni s of the descent of water through the inte.-stices T e accoinpanyinjc sketch (page 28) illustrates the generd structure of the (^lincy bed. g"ieraJ At the Atlantic, the copper is fairly disseminated from tSt : T\'Y '■:';"-'^'"""^ '^^ amygdaloid whi: constit tes the lode. Occasionally the richer rock favors one or the other wall, an.l rarely the copper spreads bevond the hanging wall into the overlying rap Cross-Ss proc^ice 'floors' which make trouble in\iini':g. '/tT Cnd adMsphle occasionally to leave a width of copper rock ra^lf:;;'"^'^ '\''''T' '''^■" WhentrLle i narrow it still carries about the same amount of copper per ear foot, so that it is richer per ton than where it Ls wiSe- ^Tr^^^'^'T'''':^'''''''^^^'- Onthefoot-wSi hntTh K u TV ^ ^•°«^-«'-'^i"«l Ja-^perv amygdaloid lam, tite T, " '"'? T " ^^"-'^^--lo-d rock'nch in laumont^ite. The amygdules are little museums. In a single aniygdule one can li.etinguish the successive deposits of laumontite, copper, chlorite, calcite and epidoTe The cavities now filled with these minerals appear to be long vesicles due to the expansion of water vapor or ga« W notable quantity. \nd X "an 3but 'iVo'r ^^"""^ '^^r^^shed m tion may not be Roing on whe^ Z r„^l ■ •"». ^p-^- f'ow precipita- leveU of this mine? '^"'^^ '^ '"°'^* on'v '" the lower mm 30 '/■///•; t()i'i'i:u mim:s D sliiift on tltc Mst k-vi'l, I saw a cTu,>-c()iir.s(., a l)an(l of fracture cxtciuliiij; across tlicloile ami rciuleriiijf it harrcii for a Icnjith of 40 to .">() ft. This transverse vein carries more cjiicite tliuii the lode itself. The (listrii)ution of copper in the Baltic mine i.s partic- ularly irrejrular. The lode channel ai)pear.s to he a slieareil zone witli a system of fracturing which has reached beyond the limits of the particular atnyndaloidal layer, and into the encasin;; trap. .Movement is indicated by slip-i)lanes and cross-joints, especially a system dipping flatly southward. Occasionally slips dip])inf; toward each other tend to form wedges of rock which make (bnperous ground. Selvages are observable. At \o. 4 a vein 4 to ') in. wide exhibits this evidence of movement and crosses the lode chaimel for a distance of 2()0 ft.; it carries copper, with quartz and calcite. Most of tli<> cro.s.s-veins, which are frequent, do not extend beyond the lode limits, and they are short-lived in any direction. Their strike usually conforms to that of the main lode chaniiei, but in one of the upper stopcs I saw a seam of chalcocite, in the foot-wall, dipping away from the lode. This seam was J ro 1 in. *' 'ck, enclosed within quartz. Specimens showing dep. ,n of chalcocite on native copper also occur in this lode. In going through idle workings which have been extended in rich ore, one can sec the metallic copper sticking out, though it ;s tarnished black by the nitrous fume generated by the explosives used in the mine. The superinteixlent will pass his hand over the face of a working for the purpose of esti- mating the percentage of copper, the projecting rough eilge of metal furnishing an index sufficient for an ajtproxi- niation of the average content. In the Wolverine, wet i^rotuid is a good sign. ('apt. William Pollard f.tated that "where there is water there is copper somewhere around." This confirms the experi(>nce of the Quinc •, the best-producing ground being where the rock i'- .cMcidar. damp and inclined to be soft. The .1 Of L\Kh: SVl'EHlOIi. 3, -«.Ilecl Vall^ of ,l.e Uolv.-rine arc at l^t hut ill-defined •soft lode tro.n tho harder greeni.sh-grav tn p ov.St top,x.r . fou..d extending int.. ...th ualls. I'not 1 .heet occur n. the hanging also. The rock nearest the hanging i. H-t an,vgdalo.dal and i.s usually riclH^t. In n.anv ,,1 ux^ t'.e presence of hnnp eoppor ea,. he «eon at a distan e hv reason o patches of iigiu-colored decon.posed rock Lt' of inetalhc copper occur in this soft .natrix. The launHH.Ute "K. iu. amyg,lu!es and encloses .-alcite. while the ~ toiuid rephuing hoth of ;hen.. <-opperis Joints and long slip-pIa„os cross the lode at a stronir angle; these are apt to n.ark a change in the cop^^r contm If the rock ,s poor it heeon.es richer on the otL side or v^ce versa: this, however, is only a local effect. S v;ra cross-courses arc encountered. They consLst of hands- red :;;;:'" " r 'r' ''■'''-' '--" sf-attere^rtk streaked wi h .sean.s of winte calcite. They appear to disturh disadvantageou..ly. Copper is rare in these cro.ss-vein a d then only close to the crossing. At the 25ch level the e wa a boulder ,n the hanging, which looked as if the trap had Xeorii^ii;::^^"^""""^'"^'^^^' -'^-'-'- of 'tVe Inttf 1 \" ? T""™' ''''' '''"' '''' >»ineralization ot the an.jgdaloidal lodes is diffused an.l irregi.lar- the upper or hang,ng-wall hmit to the profitahle rock Ts .'.cca c.nally fa.ly clear, but the foot is not. In the ear ^ lays at ve '"""' "''"™ '' ^^P^- ^-^"i^" -' "ther authori tative mme managers to "keep to the hanging"; and the custom was to run little drifts, which followecl tl'coul , This if f "' " u '" '"^' '""^ '"'•« ""^ht turn and twist Th s IS no longer the practice, for it is recogni^ed that the chstnbufon of the n.etal disregards supposititious wj's m 32 THE ( oi'i'Hii .i//.v/;n and, ill onlcr to cMim-' it propfrly, a K>s iiarnnv .•.flicn.i' of HXplorHtidii is rciiuiri'd. Tlic (•(.iiy;lnmciat»' Id.lcs arc liHtcr c|<>fiiic(|, as will Im' illus- trated l«y till" Franklin .lunior ininc, wliii-li I visited iiiider the ((iiirteniis piidaiice of Capt. Joliii Donev. and Mr. V. W. Sperr. pnii'essdr of iiiiiiinn at tlie ("ollejie ..f Mines. This iiiiiie is on tiie Hostoii and Albany con^loinerate. which is the same as the .Mloiiez eonjrloinorato. At the .'{7.")-ft. level I saw the section n piodiiced on this pajje. I'nder the outer \ conai.iminAJt fsl. A (•(i\C.I,(iMi;RAT;; uiui-.. kkanki.i.v. jr., mink. body of hard trap constitutiiifr the lianjiin^t-wall country, th.-re are 4 to .") ft. of shattered trap; and between this and' the con<;loiiierate there is about one foot of flucaii. Tliis soft sfff varies in different parts of the mine from a mere selvajti ;■) a thickness of four feet. The cojjper-iioa.infi c(m Sll Ol' LAKH SUJ'KHIOn. !'«• ciistoiii t..lcav.-4<»r.-||t. Xi i|'|Hnt tlw ^n.iiiKl, tl of ciiiijfliiiiicrafi way \mi\g I^s than (he '<■ \".'icof ih,. .•„i,,K.,l„.st in th •'xtra tiinbcrinjr. .,\^ (j, «'X|M'n.!ituic other wise ifcjuircd hir iiiKl ahandi.n,.,!, this shdl l)rcccitt-si.|vag(>, a el c Miec(s.siv<. I.-vels nrv c-xhanMe.! Is rci!ii)\'(>i !i.v CMntaihiiin I'lokcn The H pie( iican i.- of wall^ ' '••'"'"" "''"'i«'fiiic(l as the ••rate is not t.u. n.arse it is .,„. t r . •■""Kl"in- aho there k a „l ' "'"'".'■l""" »"'y„.lal„i,l. Here t*ee,„:r.t:z:™;c::': :::;::;;ir'f-^.- '•'' -C^t e™ ;:::*:;. ™";r';r''- '"'"™'"' -^ -' M VOl'l'Eli MIXES. sistiii<; for a ciniplc (if liumlrod feet, witli a inaxiiimiii thickness of seven or eight ineiies. Fine partich's of copper are founil in this sandstone, wiiieli differs in eliaracter from tliat on tile foot-wall. There are also nodules of copper scattere"' '!> .'■' reiiiiod copper." this l)eiiig about 1.5 per cent of the worlds production; therefore no excuse is needed for a sketch of tlu; historic dovelopnient of the region. This account will be more readily understood in the light of the geologic description which has already been given. The geologic feature's of a mining country bear a relation to its development similar to that of geographic conditions in the history of the nations. The first account of the occurrence of native cojiper near Lake Superior is found in a work by Lagarde. published at Paris in 1636. Reports by the Jesuit missionaries and early voyai/curs make mention of it, and in 1666 Claude Alloutz gave details. These French Jesuits were the first white men in the region, and, according to their accounts, the Indians had been mining copijer before the Europeans eainc. A century later, in 1763, a practical Englishman, Alexander Henry, who had come to North America soon after the conquest of Canada by the British, passed through the region; and in 1771 he l)egan nuning operations, but with so little success that he desisted in 1774. In his 'Travels,' published in 1809, he mentions a mass of copper which ho found near the mouth of the Ontonagon river. This is the mass now to be seen at the Smithsonian Insti- tution." Another period of silence supervened; for seventy years there was no progress. The pioneer of the great mining activit}' in the Lake Superior region was Douglass Hough- ton, the first State geologist of Michigan, who was appointed in 1837. At that time the salt springs of Wyandotte '■' The prodiirtinn for H)OI wa.s 20C,S00,000 pounds "See pa<:e 0!) and fronti.spieoe. M) rill-: cni'i'KH mixes county (in \\\v \ii-iiiity of Dt-tmit) coiistitiiteil the principal nrnicral industry nf thv State. In tlic summer nf lN:i9, Ilougliton niiidc extensive explorations; and in iiis fourth aniuial report, submitted in Fel)ruary, 1841. he gave a scientific tlescription of tlie cop|)er deposits. It is evi(h'nt, however, tiuit at hrst lie repanled the metalhc condition of the eopfjcr as an inihcatioii unfavorable to permanence, and he held this view until he found "that feature was more or less universal with respect h) all the veins." He hroujiht i)ack four or (i\e tons of (•oi)]ier to Detroit, for analysis. .\o mining operations were beijiini at tiiis time, but lloujihton's reports had drawn attention to the region; and, upon the cession of the land to the I'nited ."states bj- the Ciiippewas, on March 12, l,St:;, tliere followed a si>ecu- lative craze which lasted for three years. The lodes dc- .scribed by Houghton, and timse actually opened up in 1S44 by Ciiarles T. .lackson, wlio was the first to test their value by mining, were the veins of the liagle Kiver dis- trict, near Keweenaw I'oiii. These carried both native silver anil nati\(' co|)per. not in tlie layers of conglomerate aTid amygdaliiid, which became the great producing lodes of later year>. i)\it in transverse veins cutting across the l)edded series of rocks, ( )f these the C'lifT was the principal: it was discovered in 1S4."), and was examined by Jackson and also by Whitney, botii of whom advis(>d e\|)loration at the foot of the c]ilT,on the crest of which evidence of a copper tleposit had been fv(>ral anivgdaloid beds, some m OF LAKE Sll'ERlOR. 37 (if >\liich proNcil til lie prodiiL'tivc t'(ir a distance , almost from tlic start was ivmarkably rich in 'mass.' Mctwrcn l.S4fi ami ]S.-):j. the sales of cojjper netted .'?1.."}2,S.4(M), the divi- MA!' KXHIHITING THK POSITIOX OF THE PRINCIPAL MIN'KS. (lends (luriiifi tliat period afifircfiatiiij:; IS4r>2.(KM). The depth attained was 4()2 ft., and the range of development ah-i.t 1.2(K1 ft. In 1S7(1 work was discontinued, owing; to im- ])overishment at the hoilom levels; \\\\ to this time the mine had paid its stockholders !S2,(>L'7, ()(•() or a little o\cr ;5s THE LUl'l'llH ML\h'S 2,000 per cent on the paid-iij) capital. In 1s7l> tlic mine wa.s reopened under a new organization, and the output rose again, to l,lG2.s7:i Ih. copper i,, isir,; after tliat tiiere \va.sji dwindling away, until production ceased entirely in 18S7. This mine is now idle. In l,s.")4 the Central \ein was discovered by John .Slaw- son, the agent of the Cliff, who stumbled upon an ancient excavation in which a large mass of native copper was un- covered. This was sent to Detroit to be smelted. In iSt).") the production exceeded a million pounds of copper; and the mines produced steadily until, in lS7(i the output reached J.Kil. 400 lb., and in 1SS6, 2,512..SSG. But in 1895, at the ;jlst level, the vein was found to ])e .at off by a bed' of conglumerate; its faulted prolongation downwanl is sup- posed to have been recognized, but it was barren of copper. In the meanwhile, at the south end of tliis copi)er country, the mines of Ontonagon were doing well. The principal mines were the Minesota,'' Xational, and .Mass. The .Minesota was discovere.l in 1S47 bv S. ( ). Knapj)' wl . noted the surface indentations due to ancient workings In '>ne of these, at a depth of IS ft., he uncovered a nmss (,f native c,,pper weighing six tons; this evidently ha.l been "loved at some bygone period, for it lay five feet from the h'de and had been supi.orted on tind)ers. rotted remnants "t which were fouii.i. The first .shipment from this mine was made m ],S4S. the year in which the first companv was "riramzed. Dividends, aggregating .«;i, 920.000, were paid up to the en.I of I.S.Sl. X.-arly 70 per cent of th<. product tip to isoi was in the form of -mass,' and onlv f. per c(>nt was 'stamp-rock.' The mill was a cru.le affair: and, w!ien the masses became .scarce, the companv had to shut down in 1S70. The Xational company opened up the location adjoining the Minesota: an.l the twc companies gave the Ontonagon iW^ \^ ^:.k.- J'-A-^'iS 01' LAKE sri'ERIOIi. 'J. 5 40 THE COPPER MINES district a vvi.le celebrity for twenty yeare, both by reason of their production and througii the fierce litigation in which they liecanie involved. The National began work in 1848, and for 23 years it maintained a steady output. Lp to' 1871 thi.s mine produced 5,000 tons „f copper, worth .«2.2'Jo,2.31. Operations were on a small scale, and the owners showed lack of enterprise. In 1871 the workings were turned over to tributers, who gophered for a while, before work ceased entirely. In 1881 the mine was un- vvatered and fresh explorations were started, under the able direction of Capt. E. W. Parnall, who afterwards became so well known at the Tamarack. The nature of the pro- duction in the early days is indicated by the fact that in 1864, .385 masses yielded 433,458 lb. copper; and in 1865 318 masses yielded 516,244 pounds. Prospectors early found their way «r.uthward from the Lagle River mines to Portage lake. The riches of the dis- trict, now known as Calumet, were unsuspected at that period, and it was nearly twenty years before they were discovered. The country around Portage lake was easily accessible, and a settlement was formed in 1847 " In that year also the fi^st of the bedded formations was uncovered, and this discovery formed the basis for the organization in October, 1848, of the Quincy Mining Company; but the early exploration of this part of the district was not promis- ing, because it was directed largely to the fissures. For a year the Quincy company fassed over one of these worth- less cross-veins, before the discovery of a rich bedded lode formahon was made by the Pewabic. a company organized byC. H. Palmer in 1848. The Portage district underwent no serious exploration for several years, greater activity being displayed m the Eagle River and Ontonagon districts. In 18o2, however, the Isle Royale lode was found just behind Hough^m^and large quantiti.- of native copper were ex- VoL Vn!*p^. }JlJ,-/^'^"-'''^» Lake Superior Mining Institute, OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 41 tracted with a success that made this mine famous— and with it, the locality. Adjoining tracts of land were quickly taken up; and in 1853 the Huron Mining Company wus or- ganized at Boston, although the extension of the Is^e Royale Icue was nt actually found until the year after. At this period Cornish miners began to arrive, attracted by reports which had reached England, and their names begin to ap- gear in the later records. In 1854 and 1855 mining matters pround Portage lake looked gloomy; some of the mines, like the Quincy, had not yet found the lodes which subse- quently made them so productive, and they were struggling along, exploiting the poorer layers of amygdaloid (which are parallel to the rich lodes) and the thin cross-veins, as already mentioned. In 1856 the Pewabic company found the great amygdaloid lode known by that name; and the neighboring mine, the Quincy, promptly foUowed suit, at a time when hope and money were both at a low ebb. During 1856 the Quincy produced 13,462 lb. copper; but not until 1860 did the mine become profitable. In 1873 the yield was 2,800,005 lb.; in 1883, 5,549,087 lb.; in 1903, it was 18,498,288 lb. refined copper. The Quincy has paid divi- dends aggregating $14,620,000, upon a capital of $2,500,000. The first copper mines ir'the Lake Superior region as we have seen, were on the veins of the Eagle River district, which cut across the bedding of the trap, amygdaloid, and conglomerate constituting the prevaihng formation. These discoveries were closely followed by development of the lodes of 'mass' copper in the Ontonagon district, at the south end of the region, where the veins cut the bedded series at an acute angle on the dip. Subsequently came the opening up of rich copper deposits in the amygdaloid layers, such as the great Quincy mine. Finally, the uncovering of a copper- bearing conglomerate marked the birth of another momen- tous development. Such was the discovery of the Calumet lode by E. J. Hulbert, John Hulbert and Amos H. Scott, in September, 1864. I\'.— Cammi-t iV: Hkci.a. Tlic recital of tlic events CDiiiiected with tlie iiiiec.veriiif; of the Calumet iV Heela lode ioniis a story by itself. It does credit to tiie persistence of the discoverer. Edwin J. Hull)ert, and to the shrewdness of his financial supporter, (iuincy A. .Shaw; but it i.s marred by one of tliose not nifre<|uent misunderstandings between men of unlike tem- perament, resulting in the familiar dispute as to whether tile man who finds, or tlie man w.,o founds, a great mine should be the cliief beneficiary. Hulliert was a surveyor; lie had laid out roads, and mappentonagon. and in the course of hi.s work he noted a violent ileflection of the magnet ic needle on Section 2.3; this put liiiii on the alert fora mineral discovery later. While making the northern portion .,f tliis survey, he found fragments of a brecciated conglomerate containing copper, similar to •float' encomitered byliim several years rarlieron the banks ot Eagle river. The conglomerate differed from any other in the district by being brecciate.l. and it was this fact that started him on a long and persistent .search. ^ In making a final survey f.,r the road from the ClifT to I'ortage lake, he picked iip .some fragments of this conglom- erate. an a successful mine by exploiting the Kearsai<;e amygdaloid, which, on its dip, traverses this proper^- between t!ir Wolverine and the .Mohawk mines. A shaft is being sunk lo cut the lode at an estimated depth of 1.100 feet." That the Kearsarge amygdaloid was not discovered then, is small wonder, for Ilulbert and Scott tried to fin.l the exten.«ion of the Quincy amyg.laloid. where it would cross this tract east of the Allouez conglomerate; thev failed, because of the thickness of the soil and the swampy nature of the ground. After the Allouez enterprise failed, and the civil war disorganized business, Hulbert himself remained away from '- Recently a drill-hole from the simft i,as proved the lode to be t^J'r:^^r^J^^^ "- ^''"^' -i" "ot eut it until a ■■■*c„.- 44 THE cni'l'KH MIXES llic district, partly (.win;; tu a >fv('rc illiio.s, iiiitii. in iSdl', lit' returned to do survey worii at the niine>* near Hoiijrliton. In May. 1,S()4. he liecanie superintendent of the Huron iniiio. In July, of that year, he re-visited the site of the (•(.tiploin- «'rate Ix.iilder in the forest, and found everything nndis- turhed. IIavin]ii determined to seareh anew, and with more .sy.stPin, for the lonjr-sou^dit eopper lode, ho wrote to liigelow, of the Ilulhert Mininjj Company, to purcha.'^e more luiul. This was done, the i)riee heinj; !$:{-, p^r acre, for 2(K) aeres. Inuuediately thereafter he eho.sc « point of attack (the site afterward of the Calumet No. 4 shaft), and on Sopteinher 17, 1S()4. his hrother Jolni and .\mos H. Seott, workinjr under liis ilireetion, mf thmufzU the amyplaloid forminjr the liaiiKinjr wall, into the eopi)er-l)earinjr eoiifrlomerate. Winter eomiiio;. work shortly cea.sed. A barrel of sim-inien roek was sent to Boston on November 15, 1S()4. In the advice of "is shipment it was .sugfrested that another compai \ ,rnird to take the land in Section i;{. held by the Ilulhert company; and this was done, in December, under the name of the Calumet Mining Company of Michi- gan. This company was organized on a basis of 2().(KK) shares: in the samp month the Ileda Mining Coini)any was also formed, witli :.n ecpial capitalization. In the siting of ISti.-) he went to Moston and there met Quincy A. Shaw, arranging with him a loan of .SK^SOO. wherewith to buy additional land: this was .leeded to the Calumet comi)any: and he received r),S.'« shares, making his holding lO.s:}:! shares in the 2().(MK) shares for «hich the companv was organized. Meanwhile, in ISfw, exploration of tlie ancient i)it (noted long before by Hulbert as occurring near the discovery of the conglomerate) had proved that it wa.s not a prospect hole nor a pit .sunk on a copper lode, but an Indian hiding place or 'cache' in whidi was found a nia.s.s of copper, unaccompanied by tools of any sort, such as would suggest former mining: but there were found l)irch-})ark baskets O/' LAKE SI I'KHlOli. 4') 4fl '////•; corriji mises uscil I'm- carrying cDpiH-r. iilxi piccts nf IiKlian-ianiittl deerskin, such a> is eiiiployeil tor repairing; iiiuccasiiis, and other articles, proving it to be no mine o|H'ninic. Over 5U l>arrels of c()p[)er carlxmate were taken o\it of . s excava- tion, this being the weathered remnant of copper which liad been secreted there iiy tlie former diggers. In February, istiti, the pit was cleaned out ; and, on sinking through tlie floor of it, the amygilaluid overlying the Calumet lode was penetrated, and conglomerate exceedingly rich in copper was enco\intered. The 'cache.' therefore, was close to the lode, but not on it, being on the hanging wall side. Jlull)ert at once sent word to .>[r. Shaw to .secmc the refusal of Section '2.\. covering the ground which it wa.s obvious the lode traversed in its strike soiithwestward. This section was part of file territory belonging to the St. .Mary's t'anal Mineral Land Company. The I'nited States Government had granted the State of Michigan oOO.IKK) acres of mineral land in the Upper Peninsula for liisposal to the company which should build the canal connecting the St. Marv's river with the basin (if Lake Superior. This grant became the basis for the organization, in ISoS. of the St. ^f;iry's Canal Mineral Land Comiiany. which forthwith began the sale of lands, and remains to this day a large ])roprietor of minii.g territory, being also u half owner in the Champ on line, as will be related later in this account. Section 2'.\ was bought from tlie Canal comi)any for .SdO.OCX): and Ilulbert was allotted one-third of the 20,(MK) shares of the Ilecla Company, which acquired it, the remaining two-thirds being held by Mr. Shaw and his brother. Thus I Fnlbert was able to lay claim to having select eil every acre of the mining land held liy the Calumet & Hecla. The Calumet Minin?r Company was organized wi h a capital of 20.000 shares, haviPL^ , par value of one dollar. Toward tiie close of ISO."), the repfirts of the richness of the lode became noised abroad : and the stock rose by successive jumps, until in .July. ISfiO. it was f|uote per .share. .J. 4. (H- L.\KE sri'KiaoU. 47 An a.'*>('j inailf t<> rai>c wnrkiiii.' capital; aiul lliis asscsMiK'iit \va.'< followed iiy otiicis, niakinir a total, tip tt» that tiiii««. of %\2.M jmt share. The uhsence of iiia.ss fopf)cr, and the supposed didieulty of treafinn the ore, caused the shares to fall heavily, and niaiiy of the local stnck- hulders sold out -to their lifelonjr reirret : indeed, before the .A MAi.v i.i:vi;i. IN Till-; callmkt & iikcla mtne profit-carnins stage was reached, there was much financial einharra.s.snient, by which Hulhert suffered seriously. What with assessiuents and loans, about .?1,200.(XX) was required before the mine became \ profitable undertaking; all the original owners in the Calumet k Hecla enterprise being severely put to it to provide money to develop the mine until it earned profits. Hulbert lost a large j^art of his i 4'^ THE COI'I'ER MIXES interest by liaviiiji to cxclian-ic it lor debt cortificato of tlic Huron mine, of wliicli lie was tl>e inana>;er. Tliis enibit*ered liini, naturally enough; there was a <|uarrel with l^niney Shaw and tiie lioston directors; Init about twenty years ajro a settleniriit was made with Jlulbert, he reeeivinji SolMl.tKM) in Calumet iV: Hecla stock, wliieh was ])laeed in trust. The ineonie from this supports him comfortably; Mr. Ilulbert is now livinji at Home. The Hecla paid its first dividend, of So, in Deceinl)er, LStii); and the Calumet, in Aujjust, 1S70. The two com- l)anies were consolidated in May, 1S71. the I'ortland and Scott companies beins included; the Calumet i\; Ileclawas then orjianized with a capital of SI .(M)(),()()(l, in 4(),()()() siiares. At that date the dividends of the miited mines had already a!iiounted to $2.S(K),()()(). In bS74. 2:5U.(M)() tons were treated, at a cost of )?7.4() i)er ton, yieldin>r 4.2S ])er cent cop))er: in 1,S7.'). L>:J9.rK)0 tons at a cost of $o.S2, yieldinji 4..'{U jM'r cent. In 1S7!) the capital stock was increased to S2,.")(K),(KM). or lOO.OOO shares of S25 eacii, this beinp: the limit allowed by the laws of the State of .Michifian. In 1881. eleven .shafts had Ijeen sunk and an estateof 1.720 acres liad been consol- idated. Tiie divi. lends that year amounted to S2,()0n,0()(). It may be interest ini: to quote the list of the mines which were jiayinf;- dividends at i hat time. 2:5 years aj;o: they were: I'ividciuls \ip to , , . Ill l.'^M. the end of ISSl. ■"I'mt"' Ss(l.(K)() .<«2(i(MM)0 Cahliiict .t llcchi L',(HH),()no L'l .').■)() 0(M) ''•■""■i'l (iO.OOfl l.tit)l!(MM) ; *'*'.■''"'•■' l'2r..«)0 :{,S.-,.()(M) Vl'iii'T 1 10.000 'J.SIO.OOO At the end of 1SS2 t'le Calumet iV; Hecla had taken copper valued at S71,21'.».(>1(). out of jiround equivalent to 120 acres. In ISS:? the averajre width of stope was reported'" as S ft., with a maximum of 20 ft., and an avorasc yield of 4.5 '''rii;i>:. KirchlidlT. Till l-:t,ij,,„,niifiiiii(l Mhiinq .hiuriuil .lulv 1"' IsS), ' ■ ■ I OF LAKE SiPERlOR. 49 per cent cojiper. Tlie mine made most of its water between the 14th and ISth levels, being so dry at the bottom, then at ;?,()(K) feet, on the lode, that water had to be taken to the drillers. The levels were 0."} ft. apart on the dip, or (M) ft. vertical. The company owned 1.3,335 ft. on the strike, embracing practically all the known rich part of that par- ticular conglomerate bed. It was recognized at that time, as it is now, that the Calumet i^- Hecla is nut representative of the region, because it jiossessesa lode so rich that there is no other mine to be compared with it, either in amount of l)roduction or in extent of profit. The expenditures and methods of this company would have killed any ordinary mine; apparently, the management, in the past especially, lias had no need to aim at economy, and evidently it did not, although it does now. The Cahnnet I'c Hecla has paid dividends to date aggregating SS0.3.")().()()() on a cai)ital of .*2..")(M),0n0. ])ar value. ^ .A 1 ^. ■• k"> ■ wm^^^mmmmm^Bmik V. — L.VTKK History. At the si.iitli ('11(1 of tli(> Caluiiict ,V- Hcda, tlic lode is \V(.rtlik"ss, except adjacent to the Hecla boundary; and to the north, on the Sd Iciaft addition, a company was ruined in an effort to work that e.\tensi(jn of the Cahiniet lo(lc. Here is the i)lace to tell the story of the Osceola mine. The ()s(;eola Consolidated .Mining Company was organ- ized in 1873; it was based ui)on a consolidation of ground owned by J. \\. Clark and Win. Stewart, resjjectively: the stock was placed among a few subscribers by Horatio Higelow and .loseph W. Clark, of iJoston. ]•:. J. Hulbert was |)Ut in charge of operations, and a mine was opened near the .southern boundary of tlie Calumet ^ Hecla ground. The.se facts cau.sed the coni|)aiiy to become well advertised, so that the stock was eagerlytaken on the understanding that the discoverer of the C..i„m(>tMIecla had found "another con- glomerate belt" of similar richness. The Osceola at first was supposed to be a lode different from the Cahmiet. its (lis(overy being bas(>d upon some erratic boulders of c(m- gloiiKM-ate rich in cojjper, found lying on the surface, lint tlie borings, and other e\i)loratory work undertaken bv the new company, were unsuccessful; and, wIkmi it became known that the Osceola was really working the (extension of the Calumet conglomerate, there was a great deal of disap- I)oiiitmeuf. The mine, opened on the Calumet A" Hecla lode. j)rove(l, however, to be fairly productive at first; but the progress of development assured ultimate failure, for the Oscc^ola owned only a short end of the rich ore-bearing ground of its great neighbor. In this enuTgencv. it fortu- nately happened that an amygdaloidal coi)i)er bed was found Sno ft. east of the conglomerate, and steps were taken forthwith to test it. This exploration was begun in 1S77. and four shafts were sunk in (he course of the next tnree .years. In ls77 the iiroduction was 2.774,777 lb. copper. COPPER MIXES. 51 and it rose steadih' to G,S94,256 lb. iu 1892. Up to date this company has disbursed $4,439,6(K) in dividend.s, on a capital of Si2,r)(K),0(X). Xextwe conietothe story of the Tamarack, one of the best in til' rocordsof mininj;. In 18.S0 the Calumet \' Heda had IIi:.\D-FR.\Mi:, T\MARACK, Nu. j. SH.AFT yiono down 2, 5(H) ft. on the lode; and it re((uired only l,tK}0 ft. more to reach tlie boundary between this property and the Tamarack, wliich adjoined to tlie west, tliat, is on the dip side. The Tamarack enterprise wa.s the 'deep level' of tlie Caliunet; and. wliile the idea of sinkinp a vertical shaft 2.250 ft. to intercept a lode dipping out of the ground owned by an outcrop comi)any. is now a conunon form of mining THE COFPEIi MIXES eutcrpriae at Johamicslnirji, it was a new and {•(iiiiaircotis plan to adopt, tweuty-fonr years ajro. wlion Horatio Bif,^(>lo\v, Josepli \V. Clark and John Danii'll started to carry it out. Capt. John Danioll gave tiie rcasou for the faltii that was in him in words which are worthy of (luotation: "The Calumet iS: llecla ('omi)any divides §2.5lXJ,tH)0 among it> stockholders annually, and the very important improv(>- ment of late years would absorb a further expenditure of ^."^(W ).()()(); for the machinery erected is of the most costly character, while it seems large enough to reach any re(|uired ilei)th. The receipts, then, beyond ruiming expenses, would be, say, .'?:{.(MM),0()(). The amount of rock treated in the stamp-mills does not exceed l.(KM) tons per day. say .•'>7(1.(M)() tons yearly. Therefore. Sft.HO is the \mA\t obtained per ton of rock. "When it is undcMstood that tiie .\tlantic and the lYanklin mines earn less than .SI per ton on rock treated, tiie ( >sceola less than .51. .")(). and t lie (^uincy mine, in her most iirospenius year, less than .S4 |)er ton. and then on uliout one-tiiird tiie (luantity of rock, it will be seen that tlie cfTurt to g(>t a share of tiiese iimisual (in coijpcr) profits, is jirompteil l)y verv sti'uiig inceiiti\-es." The Tam-'rack property was organized with an estate of l.L'Sd acres. The first sliaft was started in that corner of tiie company's property which afTorded the shortest vertical distance to the lode. The work of sinking was beirun in I'el)ruary, ISSl. and on June 20, ISS."). the lode was struck. During these 4V years, the lowest rate of sinking was 42 ft. per month, and tlie highest 7(i ft. The total depth was 2.27(» ft.; the cost, all exjienses included, aninunted to W\ per foot. At fiOO ft., the shaft cut the .Miouez conglomer- ate: at 2.100 ft., the Cahunet iVr Hecla conglomerate; and at 2.700 ft., the Osceola amygdaloid. In IS.S0 the production of copper was ISl.Od!) lb.; and in l.SSfi it was .3.r)4f>.."il7 11).. increasing to 7.4()."),(M)ti lb. in ISST. and 11.400.217 lb. in 1S.S,S. Ill that year. l.S.SS.the first dividend. amounting to UF LAKE S'Jl'ERIOR. o:i S(»4(),(K)0, was puK. on a noiiiiiml capital of $1.0(X),0(X). Tlie capital was increased t(j SI, 250,(X)() during the spring of ISDU, and to Sl,5U().(K)() in ISW. Up to date the dividends distributed aggregate $8,5S(),(X)(). The Wolverine, before its present era of success, had been opened up in a small way by local jM'ople, who operated one stamp, treating KM) to 1")() tons per day. But the enter- prise ran in debt. There was also a conflict of title, two patents having been issued to the same piece of land. Mr. John Stanton, becoming favorably impres.scd with the busi- ness, organized a company and pumped out the mine; but he found that it had been well gophered b}- tributers. lie opened up new groimd, and started crushing in i^cpteml)er, 1S91; !)ut soon realized that the average yield was insuffi- cient to give profits wl;en working on a small scale. Cnisli- ing ceased on .\pril 1. 1S02. Production having ceased, Mr. Stanton again proceeded to open up the groimd vigorously and after 1.3 months, a second start was made, in May, 1893, with one stamp treating 250 tons per day. In 1897 another stamp was leased at the AUouiiz mill. Since then progress lias been continuous, and the mine ha.s proved increasingly profitable. From 250 tons, the daily output has increased steadily to 1,000 tons per diem; the property has been built up gradually, the cost of moreterritory,newstamp-mill, and equipment having been met out of earnings. The Wol- verine haspaiil -SI. 770. 000 individends on anominal cai)ital of $1,000,000, of which ?550.000 was paid in property and $230,000 ill cash. The existing Atlantic Mining Company was formed in December, 1872, by a consolidation (of a former company of the same name, owning the South Pewabic mine) with the .\dams Mining Company, the joint capital being $1,000,000 in 40,000 shares of S2.t each. The old mine, known as the South Pewabic. hail been ruined by the lean- ness of the lode, .\fter exhausting its capital stock and sprn.()0() to S2,.i(M),000. Karly in its history this mine won a reputation for cheap working, and it has long been recognized as wiiming a profit from the poorest copper rock exjjloited successfully by man. In 1902 the average yield was only 11.10 lb. refined copper per ton of ore stamped, this being equivalent to O.H^rt per cent, on a total output of 4.949..'>66 lb. refined copper. In 1903 the yield was 12.76 lb. jier ton on a yield of ,5.50.>..59S Hi. copper, from 431.307 tons of rock. Total costs were .51.347 i>er ton. equivalent to 10. S6 cents per pound of copper, wliich during that year was worth 13.12 cents per pound. The lode is a bed 1.) ft. wide, of compara- tively soft amygdaloid, in which th(> native copper occurs with such uniformity as to facilitat(> exploitation. The conditions which ha\!' contriliuted to the s])leiidid work done at this mine, will lie discussed in their pro|)er jilace. \'l. — C'OPPKH Rwiii: COXSOI.IDATKD. The Mineral Range railroad, connecting Hougliton with Hancock, was coniplctccl in 1873; while the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic reached Houghton in 1883. In 1885 Hancock and Houghton were connected by rail, over the drawbridge. Of recent mining enterprises in the Lake Suj)erior copper region, the most important is the Copper Range Consoli- dated Copper Company. This organization came as the indirect result of efforts, begun by Mr. C. A. Wright as long as fifteen years ago, to bring about the construction of a railroad which should traverse the copper belt south of Houghton, and connect that town with the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul railroad at Mass City, a distance of 41 miles. Owing to untoward circim)stances,such as the panic of 1S93 and the Spanish-American war, the plan failed until, in the sunmier of lS98,when, the innninent end of the war stimulating the financial market, Mr. Wright conceived the idea of combining the mineral lands controlled by the South Shore Mining Company, others owned by Mr. S. I>. Smith and the Douglass estate, together with a large acreage belonging to the St. Mary's Canal Mineral I-and Company, making in all a solid block of 11,500 acres. This plan was subsefjuently modified; no lands of the Canal Company were included. The first offer of assistance from that com- pany was a subscription of 8100,000 to the stock of the railroad, but at the time of the Spanish war this offer was withdrawn; and, after the war was over, the arrangement was changed to a bonus of 2,240 acres of land for the com- pletion of the road, whu-h it was apparent would develop the oth?r large tracts of land owned by the Canal company on the South Range. Thus the organization of a mining-and-development com- pany was finally carried out as the principal motive for the II .')() 77/ A" ( OPI'KH MISES CDiistruction of a railroad, whidi .should not only connect with the main line of the Chicago, Milwaukee tV 8t. Paul railroad, but siiould also serve as tlie chief artery of the copper country from .Mass City to Calumet. Among the projectors of, and chief contributors to, the fulfilment of the plan initiated i)y .Mr. Wright, were Mr. W. A. Paine, of the brokerage firm of Paine, Webber & Company, Baston, and .Mr. R. K.C.oodell, the agent at Houghton of the Canal company. On January 20, 1,S<>9, the Copper Range Company was organized, witli a capital of $2,.j()0,()()0 in 825 shares,™ to build the railroad and to acciuire 7,50() acres of mineral land, with the offer from the Canal company of 2,240 acres, conditional upon the completion of the railroad. The last sf)ikc was driven on Dc-cmber 27, in the same year, 1S99, and the bonus mentioned was duly paid. In ]May, Dr. L. L. Hubbard, in charge of exploratory work, discovered a rich copper lode on the new company's territory; and this led to the coml)ination of 600 acres of the Copper Range land with an eriual acreage l)elonging to the Canal company, the 1,200 acres becoming the basis for the organization, in October, of tlie Champion Cnjiper Company. From the very beginning this mine made a tood showing. The Chamiiion and Baltic nanes cover the same lode. Wlien tlie lode was discovered by Dr. Hubbard on the Champion laiKJ. it had already been jmned valuable by the workings of tlii' Maltic. The original openings extended for nearly a mile, and tliey were of such promise that operations on a ]arg(> scale were planned with confidence. The lode proved to be ridier than any in tiie region, except the Calumet it Hecla. Ii\ January, 1902, the Champion company leased one of tlie .\tlantic's stamps; hter in the year its own mill, of three heads, was ready. These milling operations tested the 120.4.S.') tons of copjier ore broken in the course of ''' ■"' Tliis is tlio Usual capitaliz.ilioii of a Mi(liii;aii tuiiiiii\|)|(irati>ry work. Tho yield wa.-i 4,1(m,7SI 11). cninK'r, or ail avcrajie of ;54 lb. per ton. In llMKi thf output was :Hl.S,t>N-' toiis.wliicli yielded lt).4;{N.l.s4 lb. refined copi)er,an average of I'ij.ol lb. per ton, tlie net earnings beinj; 8J2. ont of whioli .SiiCKJ.IKK) was paid in dividends. When organizeil, tlie Copper Hanjte Company bad .S1.7; it had never previously been orfianized into a mininf: com- ])anv.l)ut desultory work had i)(>en carried out byCapt.John Ryan, the father of John K. Kyan, who is now president of the .\malgamated. A shaft, (iO to 70 ft. iier, worth .Sl.421.211. and yielding a jirofit of S4S1.447. Ill .Tamiary, 1002. the Baltic mine was acquired by con- solidation, the Copper Range Company being re-organized a< tlie Copper Range Consolidated Company, to acquire the stock of the two companies. The new company, org.xnized under the laws of \ew .Ters(>y. h.id a capital of $2S.5W.0nn W^^ OF LAKE sn'EliKHt 58 72 X ■J < H X. 3 00 / "h (Ofl'Eli MIXES 'M ill l'S,").(MI(i -iiiirt s. ill >.]iti'iiil)fr. P.Hi:!, ilif cjipital stock Wilsillcri'.iM'tl ti>:fH." IKHIsliitri'S nf till" I par Millie (if SitN.. ")()().- (KK(, ill tmU'v to ciiiTv init tlf iicqiiisitimi of t ' !• 'I'riiiniiiiitaiii iiiiiic. wliicli at t ' tiiiii lus in ilclit in the cxtcnl i>t !«.s|(l.(MHl; hut ill'- Mil 1 .111 hciii cxpciiicd in Icjritiinatc (lc\ fli'iHiiciil mil I >Mii I '. tilt' iiciicfit of wliicli was t ai>|M'ar latiT. T ■ i i m.oih aiii iiiiii|iaiiy liad fallen int.. ijillicnity. Iiy (I'li'ii.n . I,, lend- iirciiiatui'dx' ainl •-o liccoiiiiii!: Iiiipi' (•> 1^ i.-iii| !i'i! I'nr t'liftlicr ilcNclopnicin After sl\ iiioiitl - s -I 11 "• > ifk. e new compaiiy \\:i- alile to pr.>\e \''::' ii-' 1 1 i,.i' unitai m \\a> a^ rieli as tin Ualtic. I'iie Triin .iiiilain. (h r > >inii .-iiid liultic are all on the s;inn lode. Ill l!Mi;{ air:iii)ieiiii'lils were iiiadi' witli .Mr. .lolili Slaliton. represent in;i the Wnlveriiie. .Mnh;i^ and \tlaiitic iiiines. t" organize a cniipaiiv. lo l>e eall' llie Mii iiiyiaii >'ieltiii'_ Coiiipaiiv. si\t\ per cent -'i tln' -oeU to he lakii: hy the Cliaiiipioii. 'rriiuniMitain and lialtie coniiiaiue- The smelter was eoinpleted ill .liiiie. I'.KII. at a lol.-il ,-.i.-t of ah mi; SC,i);),(i|)ll. The Clipper Haiijie ( 'olisolidated (' Der ("oliip. ny ihi'l'e- fore owns .")ll.ill)ii shares or uue-hall li ('liaiii|iioii mine. the raili Kid. the lialtie and Triniouiitai - mine- -i\-teiitli of the Mii'hiuali sill. ■her, '.I, odd a<'re~ f iiiineral la \\est of the Chan oi nil local inii. and a froiiiaiie nf four mile- ni' iiiill- siieonl,;, .-.'Superior. I )iirinu I'.Mk; he enmhiihd output of • 'e \aii:)us properties anioimled I i d( ■ IN.'. I 1(1 11). co|i| I'r. wliich hroiiirht S|,().-)».(i:{|. 'I'lii' stor\' of this ini|i:irtaiit ori:am/,ation h:i- iieen told ai siiiie leimtli. Ix'canse it is cliai':iiieri^tic of I he enterprise which ha- developed the w i ile rejrioii. Moreover, the milling actixitie- 'f she c;iiiipan\' are ceriaiii to irain in iiiiporl all'-'- as I he pie-ci i sysleitiai u- plans c;i»ue |o M'tiil ion. With a territory co\f iiii:' t e laiii mppc! helt f.,i- \.7'^ miles on its (' suiil i > have Ih .n only tc- : hx -iktu- tioii.- i.p idat"' With ts nt-lnm'i mills aiid icltrr, if is a -ich-c- ;taiii. ; i crpiiscot gn-at majjiiituilc Fro i i. v own -lis to ihc )5alt)c aii'l Chami'inii iniiu -, a-s woU ,.s U> x\\v iihU- ;iii(l til' siiit'ltiT, I uaiiHMl ■loiMipn'S'ionof skilful, suhstantiul work i;ii ''101111111111 ciHrcf' •!! r tiipii of the hiptit-* rq)i iti. I niwf .■.inf«>s> thai int. went 11 ! 1; WiXL-K.NUW: A. Painp. John Stantt.n COl'l'KK MK\ K. McM. Stanton. to 1, ii^hton, my ideas of the Copper Kaiiije wefe asso- eiated eliioHy with the pyr(ite<'hiiies of Mi. Thiniias W. F.awso' ; suid it wjis only l.y ])oi~ i,;I contact with men and inj;- m the j;fnund. tliat the nnpression of Haiiihoyant •aii= ' v^iLs trradually displaced by a keen appreciation of a u '>usine^.s. the niafinitiide and siihstantial character 01 wiiich it reipiired many days of observation to rightly understand. VII. — MiMNi; .Mktiiiids. Tin; (^ri\( v. Iv.cry iiiiiiiiig rcfiioii lias local terms roiiuirinjj ilcfinitioii, if tlioy arc to he uiulcrstooil bj' those Hviiifi elsewhere. riRlerjrrouiul in the Lake Su])eri()r copper iiiiiieis, two products are recoftiiized ; the valuable output known as 'copper-rock,' annly eight years since the miners went to work uiuiifirround on a 'man engine'; but that ancient abomination is now a dis]u)nored inemorv, and the old inclines, "crooked as a ram's horn," have been replaced by straight shafts and winding engines of modern design, ("apt, Samuel H. Harris, the former manager, and his son, Mr. John T,. Harris, the present superintendent. COPPER MIXES. 63 have iiiaile a great many changes. In- way of .straightening the working shaft.s, putting in double skip-roads, and systematizing operations generally. It certainly was high time to do something of the kind, for the shafts, as could be seen on the maps, wercgetting into a tangle. The two new .shafts, known as No. (5 and 7, are at right angles to the strike of the lode, but the older openings were (\into uncer- tain in their bearings; .so that while the distance between shafts Xo. 2 and 6 is 1,!)2S ft. at the surface, they are only 1,581 ft. apart at the 53d level; in the same way No. 4 and 7 are only S6U ft. apart at the surface, but are separated l)y 1,254 ft. at the 53d level, which corresponds to a vertical deptii of 3.4S0 feet. The scale of operatif)n tends constantly to increase; thus, while the skips in the old shafts held only two tons of ore and wen hoisted at the rate of 5()0 ft. per minute, now, in the new shafts, skips carr^ iiig eight tons arc brought to daylight at a speed of 3.00() it. per minute, with a maximum of 3,500 ft. The reader will appreciate bo'tpr what this means when told that the most rapid passenger elevators in the tallest buildings in New York— such as the Park Row 1)11 i Id ing— travel at a speed of only 400 ft. per minute; and even at this rate of descent or ascent our country friend finds his heart in his mouth. The sliafts are 6 by 19 ft. in the clear, and the two skips work in balance— that is.oneof them goestothelxittom.as the other comes to the surface. There is no ]nmip. the mine making so little water that it can all be hoisted in tanks. The No. 2, 6 and 7 .shafts are equi])ped to handle 1.400 tons each in 16 hours of actual hoistinir. the remaining time (exclusive of intervals between shifts) being devoted to the lowering of men. tools and supplies. The Quincy mine has 61 levels, reaching to a depth of exactly one mile, that is. 5.2S0 ft. on the dip. or 4.00S ft. vertical. The lode dijis 55° at surface, and flattens to 37° in the bottom workings. No. 7 .shaft starts at 54° 30'. holds 04 TIIH COm'ER MIXES tills lck struck a car wheel and hent the axle. Init the (,ir (or skij)) was held between the rails and slid down the shaft, without injury to the track or to anyone near it. Kails weighing oO lb. jier yard are laid in the shaft, while .';.")-lb. rails are used in tlie levels. The traincars used luiderground carry ^i tons each, and are liauled in trains of threeor roui by an electric loco- motive of 1.") h. p., weighing o.")(X) lb. All construciion is heavy and substantial. In the well-e(|uipiied machine an recently : larted in the (Juincy mine is to use a cross bit (sometim(>s known as a 'rose bit'), for starting a hole, drilling to, say, :> ft. deep, and then to employ the plain chisel bit in finishing the hol(\ to the 10 or 12 ft, of total dei)th. When ready for use. the drills ire bunched in lots of a dozen, and are held tightly together by a wrought- iron ring which is kept in place by wooden wedges, on the faces of which the number of the level and the imniber of OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 05 the contract are marked. This arrangement is preferable to the usual rope sling. Most of the actual mining in done by contract, there being four men (two on each shift) to each contract. The two shifts of 10 hours each are separated by intervals of THE OUINXV SKIP. two hours, which are utilized for getting rid of smoke due to blasting and for ventilating the workings generally. To prevent over- winding, there is a safety catch, which applies the brakes automatically, unless they are released by the engineer, as soon as the skip arrives within 150 ft. of the surface. When the skip is dumped, the contents fall upon i grizzly, made of fixed cast-iron bars capp;xl by a remov- able angle-iron, the spaces being 2 5 in. wide. The biggest of the oversize is pushed ham Illy into a low two-wheeled ! tio TIIl-J COPPER MINES tru k, and is then trundled to the rock-breaker; this is an expeditious way of niovhig the big pieces of rock, and is ar. "'Ivance on tiic usual manner of pulling tlieni across the tloor. The smaller pieces are throvn direct into the crushers. As the grizzlies are laid at a low angle, some of the small stuff rests on the bars; this is hooked to the front and then shoveled into the small crushers. Tliere are three of these in each 'roek-house,' as the shaft-houses are termed. The Blake tyi)e of rock-breaker prevails, the biggest with 18 by 24 in. jaws, and the two smaller each 13 by 2U inchci--. The unwieldy pieces of !uass copper go to a droi)-hanmier weighing 1.5 tons an', having a drop of 20 ft., so that the crushin t impact is equivalent to GO ioot-tons. Here the rock attached to copper is broken off, the larger fragments going to the crushers, while the remaining metal is lowered into cars for sliiiiment direct to the smelter. Smaller chunks of copper. >ay. up to the size of a man's hat, are placed under a steam hammer; in each rock-house there is one. the function of which is to loosen the encasing rock so that the copper is rendered clean enough to go forthwith to the smelter. Methods underground are v --thy of detailed description, because they represent a pra.iice which has been evolved from experience. The average stoping width is 8 ft.— ranging from 3 to 20 ft. Shafts ere sunk in the foot-wall, and cross-cuts at each station connect them to the main levels. The nature of the hanging wall varie,^ in different parts of the mine. The copper-bearing rock in places is separated from the overlying main plane of lode-fracture, by a narrow band of shaly formation, which is ant to cause trouble; in such places the main drifts are driven well under the hanging, so as to leave a portion of copper rock to support the ground and thereby avoid exposing the shale band, which 'blisters off' or scales, not so much by reason of weathering, as on account of strains brought about by the pressure of the overlying rock-mass, following upon the OF LAKE SUPERIOR 67 excavation of the extensive upper workings. There are plenty of joints or cross-fractures in the lode; these make the ground heavy in places, but they also facilitate stoping. No cross-veins or feeders of decided character arc observ- able, except a 'spar vein'; this is a vein of calcite, from 3 to 15 ft. wide, which cuts across the lode without dislocating it materially. Mr. John L. Harris, the superintendent, to whom I am indebted for many courtesies, states that dis- placements in the lode are less frequent the deeper the level, and that several dislocations encountered in the shallow workings— that is, down to 3,000 ft. on the incline— have gradually dwindled to the point of disappearance. The main difficulty underground arises from the flat dip of the lode. At an angle of 37°, broken rock will not descend freely. Waste rock is Ijuilt up into walls, which reach from the foot-wall to the hanging, and, in these 'pack walls,' openings a re left for the chutes or passes, at intervals of 40 to 50 ft. When the lode is broken by a blast, only the big pieces roll down; the remainder is pulled and hooked down until it lands on a platform or 'sollar' on the foot-wall side of the level, whence it is shoveled into the cars. At each chute or 'mill-hole' the trolley line of the electric tram is protected by a piece of timber, which prevents flying pieces of rock from cutting the wire. At each station there is an arrangement for the loading of the skip, which merits attention. It is an intelligent device for overcoming the low inclination of the shaft. A winze or 'pocket' is cut in the hanging wall, either in the lode, or in the overlying trap, according to local conditions at the successive levels. This pocket has an inclination which is never less than 40°, and is frequently nearly verti- cal, so as to allow of a free descent of the broken lode- stuff. Any one of such pockets will hold 500 tons; it will reach down to the next station and terminate close to the shaft, where there is a chute and apron, the latter having a sheet-iron spout, which is lowered when the skip is being 6S 77//-; COl'l'KR MISKS AKKANOKMKNT FOKUlADlMi SKIP. Front View. OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 69 ARR.WC.HMENT FOR LOADING SKIP Side View. 70 THE COPPER MINES loaded. In one instance, at the No. 2 shaft, the same pocket or winze connects tliree levels, it being so arranged that dumping is practicable at both of the upper two levels — that is, tramcars can be discharged at the 55th level or the 56th, so as to reach the skip at the 57th level. The loading of the skip to its full capacity is facilitated by the lilting device, shown on the opposite page. About 10 ft. l)elow the floor of the station, a portion of the runner, on which rails are secured, is notched out, so as to receive a device made of semi-steel, as shown in the drawing. This device is equipped with a tongue — about 2.5 ft. long — faced with steel, which takes the place of the rail, and is hinged so that it can be raised by a lever placed at the station. When these tongues are raised, the skip is lowered until its hind wheels drop into the tilting device. Here the skip is firmly held, tilted at an angle of 50°, until loaded from the chute, which is charged from the level above. It is then hoisted, and the tongues (which have rested on the hind wheels) drop back in place automatically, leaving the rails continuous, as before. OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 71 cr=4--3 o > c c r. o 5 mpHMMMMI!! VIII. — Atlantic and Woiakuink .Mink>. The Atlantic iiiine has acliievcd an envialjlf reputation by rcaisoii of holding the record in the profitable exploitation of low-grade cop[)er ore. Tiie average output during the last tiirce years has been successively 11.4, ll.()U5 and 12.7(j lb. of refined copper per ton, this being equivalent to 0.57, 0.555 and 0.638 per cent, res|)ectively. It will be in ten-st- ing to note the conditions and methods which have enal)led Mr. Frank McM. Stanton, the manager, and Capt. John Stratton, the mine captain, to attain these remarkable results. All mining is done by contract. Each contract is usually let to four miners for a block of ground, 90 to 95 ft. long, and reaching nearly up to the next level. The actual height of the stopes will depend upon the nature of the ground — that is, whether or not, for instance, the hanging is heavy, it being customary to leave a floor or arcii 12 to 15 ft. thick to support the level overhead, so that the stopes are 70 to 73 ft. in height, as measured from the track of the lower level, each 'lift ' being 85 ft. o.i the lode. The full size of the lode is broken, 'from trap to trap,' or from foot to hanging wall; the width ranging from 13 to 17 ft., with a stcadj' average of 15 ft. The miners are paid for 15 ft. and must take the full width, whether less or more, as directed by the shift-bosses. It used to be the practice to pay by the cubic fathom; but, owing to the temptation to get an extra width by blasting into poor rock wherever the lode was narrow, it was found more satisfactory to as- sume 15 as the imit of width, and to multiply this into the height and length w hen measuring up. before settling with the contractors; but this rule is interpreted fairly by the mine captain, so that no injustice is done to the men in those instances where a width greater than 15 ft. of copper ore is actually broken. ( i COH'KIi .U/iVfi". 73 Main drifts are run S ft. iiigli aid usually the width of the lode. .;\s the driviiij;; forin.x, ainiont invariably, a part of the v.hole contract, the width of the drift is left to the judgment of the inen, who either break the full s*ize of the ore as tliey p^ogre^.<, or inuke a drift S ft. wide and (i ft. high. When the t^pecifietl distance— IK) to 95 ft.— has l>een advanced, the men come back and extend the ' cutting-out stoi)o' (or, as they express it, "jmt in the timber ground") to a height of from IG to Its ft. above the track. JStulls are ])ut in place, and lagging is laid over them. Then regular sloping commences, and is continued until the contract has been carried out and the ground ^^quared, measured and paid for. Thereupon another stretch of drift is started, and the succession of operations is repeatetl, as before. It takes about two months to advance a drift 90 feet — remember that it is carried the full width of the lode — and it requires about three months more to finish the cutting-out stope. Timbering is done by company men as the stopes advance. Stulls over the le\el are four feet apart, and the lagging is so placed that it can be pulled out between any two timbers whenever it becomes necessary to make a pass for the rock broken overhead. This runs down to aplatform or 'sollar,' made of three or four boards laid level with the track, and from this ] latform the ore is shoveled into the cars. There are no chutes or timbered mill-holes. It is appreciated that the use of them means great wear and tear of timber, so the broken rock is allowed to run down along the foot-wall of tlie stope, which dips at about 54°, the stulls being arranjfd in line so as to break the descent as little as possible. The ore broken in the drift is trammed out, but that which comes from the cutting-out stope is left for the miners to stand upon while making th<> next cut ; then this material also is removed pending tim- bering. When this work is done, and stoping is resumed, the broken lodestuff is allowed to accumulate so as to rest upon the stulls, until the top of the stope — say, 70 ft. above 74 Till-: COt'l'KR MINES the track — has beon aitamed; then the lodestuff is drawn away through holf^, niade by removing the lagging between the stull.> at the level. The lode dips at 54°, and therefore allows a free descent of the rock by gravity; t>ut it is too wide to |)ennit rigging up of tlie drill on the l..ot-wall. Scarcely any sorting is done, but as the ore is loadetl into the cars underground, an occasional piece of clean trap is picked out; this only amounts to one car in 40 or 50, that is, 2 to 2.5 per cent. At surface some sorting is done in the rock-house, but this also is insignificant, only one car per shift — that is, one in 200 or 220, equivalent to loss than 0.5 per cent. This, of course, is an important factor in keeping costs low. In the rock-house one man handles from 90 to 95 tons per shift; there is but little time lost, in picking out pieces of lump copper, a,s compared to richf " mines, for only about 5 bar- rels, containing ."} tons in all, ci metallic copper, are picked out of the total output in the course of an entire month, during which period ■'»' 900 tons of copjier ore are hoi.'-ted. Contractors pay for raiuiics, fuse, caps, powder and steel, as consumed. The usual price for stoping is $7.50 to $8.50 per fathom cube, with a. fixed width of 15 ft. Drifts — 6 ft. high and S ft. wide — are worth $(5.50 to $8.50 per running foot; but this method of measurement is only adopted when no stoping is includi'd in the contract. In drifts the drill-hoK~ average from 5 to G ft. deep, and in stopes 7 to 8 ft. \V'Tien stoping. 5 holes per shift of 10 hours is considered fair 'vork, this representing the breaking of about 75 to 80 cubic fathoms per month. In drifts, 6 to 7 holes per shift is pretty good ; this, at the rate of 40 to 45 ft. per month, the full width of the hole, is equivalent to 16 to 20 cubic fathoms. Twelve cubic feet of rock in place represent one ton. Timbers vary from 16 to .'iO in. diam., avera"nng about two feet. Two men make the round of the workings to drill 'block holes,' so as to break up masses of rock too big for fwtim^' OF LAKE SUPKIilOK. 75 < O CD CA < 76 77/A' COPPER MINES handling. The removal of waste Ls also facilitated by the design of the cars, an important factor in tlie attainment of low costs. As tlie accompanying drawing will illustrate, the cars are 8 ft. long, 2 ft. high, and 28 in. wide, inside. Each requires two men, and carries 1.7 tons. The bottom of the car stands only 8 in. above the track, so that shoveling is easy; both ends arc open, and tl»e wheel-base is so pro- portioned to the overhang that the car can be tijjped easily at either end, and the sloping surface of the bottom can readily be utilized as a skid for sliding heavy rocks into the body of the car. The trannners pile up the big pieces at each end so as to make a rough sort of retaining wall, and then shovel the small stuff inside. It used to be the prac- tice to fill a closed car from a platform or soUar 28 in. above the track, as is done in the majority of metal mines; but since most of tlie ore "breaks big,'" the trammers caimot control the large pieces without great loss of time and the smashing of the cars by tlieill-rogulated descent of awkward chunks. Two car-loads fill a skip; the latter rests on the track while being chargi-tl, but it is kept in place by a gate, a heavy wooden framework liinged to a cross-timl)er along the hanging wallcf the shaft, and lowered into place tUKler the skip by means of a f-in. wire rope, running over a block operated by a lever at the station. The output of the mine ranges from 1,.3(X) to 1,4()0 tons of stamp-rock per 24 ho)irs, while sinking of one shaft is goinf fin. This prfiduotion is due to the labors of .SHS men underground, aided by 'A7 machine drills. The (listribution includes: 148 men on the drills; 2 men per drill per shift. 156 trammers, timbermen and heli)ers. 5 siiift-bosses and 2 tranuner-l)osses, 2 men drilling block holes and 2 rei)airinp skipw.ay, etc. fi timbermen and fi helpers. The care of tlie shaft, skipway, pumps and actual sinking of one shaft is included. Two Ixivs sprinkle the shaft- OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 77 78 rilE COPPER MINES timbers and the drift-liuibei-s with water for a distance of 50 ft. each way from the sliafts, in order to prevent 'dry rot,' a fungoid growth which destroys the timber wherever there is either not enough water to keep it wet or where tlie air is too dry. l-ormerly the timbers between the 9th and 12th 'evels used to decay in a year or 18 months; now, by reason uf the sprinivUng, they last for five or six years. The low working cost at the Atlantic is due to the com- parative Mniformity of the lode, bringing sorting down to a minimum; it is also due to the continuity and length of the orebody. This is indicated, better than in words, by the accompanying longitudinal section of the mine. Mine managers in other regions will appreciate the eloquent testimony afforded ly the stope-map of the Atlantic. Furthermore, the copper rock is a comparatively soft amyg- daloid easy to drill in the mine, and easy to stamp in the mill. The width— 15 ft.— is conducive to expeditious H!topin;i, and the dip— 54° — facilitates transfer from the stope to the car. Beyond tiiese favorable factors, and equal in importance to arj of them, is one which is to be credited not to nature hut '.o man. and that is sound busi- ness iiianacemont, counting the cents no less than the dollars, and dirccti;;? operatioas with an excellence of judjtment worthy of the best tr.iditions of the mining in- dustry. The Wolverine mine Ls one of the most successful enter- prL«es in tlie Lake copper district, and for this reason the methods employed underground invite investigation. In general, the system in vogr.o resembles that which we have seen at the .Atlantic, with modifications due to jrreater richnt>ssof lode,a greater width of sloping, and a flatter dip. When opening a new level, a stope-drift is let on contract, a lireast 25 ft. high iH-ing carrie months. 'Stope and r:f' is worth S7 to SS per fathom; once m a while the mi-n are allowed iis much as $!) per fm. in uiuisually hard ground, but no contract ha-; ever been let at that Jigun-.tiie extra amount Iwing a special concession made simply as a matter of fair dealing. Plain stoping averages ^7 per fm. Con- tracts are given to four men with one drill, two men per shift. If only tw<) men are in the contract, the price is $0.50, l)ecause they work on vlay shift only. The men are paid indivichially, the subdivision of the ♦otal amount earned being done by the company. This prevents sub- c(jntracting. Part payment is made every month, but the final settlement is not efTect(>d until ttie contract is finished and the ground sfjuared: th(! menthcn get the bahmce due tlu'in. The -iinking of shafts is also (lone on couti.ict. at an average of .S16 per ft., for a shaft S ft. by 17 ft. in the clear. I'he contractors pay for all supplies and steel. A deduction of $-i per month is made for steel consumed: the drills are weisrhed at intervals of three months. If two men only nre joinoii m a contract, they ]iay)?2 per month for their steel. This is for wastage. If any drills are lost, the men pay at the rate (if 2.") cents jier pouiKl. or LAKE SUPKHHUf. 81 There i.s no timlieriiig whatever u> h<> seen either in stopes or drifts. Tlie Jode dips at an uuglo of 40°, and the jrround stand>^ splendidly, l:^ven the shafts are not lined, tiie only timbers being the dividing posts Ijetween the skipvvay and the ladders. The rock does not 'blister' or scale off. A staging of plank on light spreaflers i- the only wood to be seen in the stopes. When the width r'-nioved is unusually great, a stuU or two is oinployed to hold up the broken rock so that the men can rig up their irill in order to reach the hanging; but this is uncommon. L^ually the dip and the width of the lode jointly j*)?rf>rd condition.« permit- ting the drill to be set up on the foof.'-.vall. rhLs matter of dip is important in several ways; whilp by being ««ther flat it facilitates the preparation for drilling, it is, on tk^ other hand not tof) fiat to prevent the ilescent of the broken rock, riie latter ruiLS fairly weil.dc<()itc the unev<»n surface of tiie foot-wall. Big pieces of rock loll autoniatieally, and it is only the fine stuff that has to i)e scrape*! down, whifh is done whenever a stope is cleaner! up on its "-xhaustion. T' '^re are no timbered chutes or 'mill-holes'; as ("apt. William T'oUard said to me: "Tlie men just put down a t>oa!%i or two, and make a soUar at the love!." From this extemporized platform the tram.ners shovel the ore into the c«rs. The laner resemble those a* t!ie Atlantic; they are 7 ft. Img. 2 ft. f) in wide, and 2 ft. 2 ir.. higli. with 12-in. wheels and a 22-in. wheel-bxse, so that tliev swing around easily. The track is of 3-ft gauge and tiie bottom of the car is only 8 in. above it. The back of the car is closed, but the front is ojjen the latter lias an overhang of ^ ft. 4 in., and when big rocks are hamllcd the front of the car is depresscfl. so that the bott**.-! of it can l>e used as a skid. The larger pieces are ^4*«*i *f the front end. making a rough wall, while the sma?«^^ -stuff is thrown behind. The overhang is less in front than i*+iind, init this is adjusted 1)\' t!ic lesser weight at the back 'if the .•ar. There are three men io each car; one man pi^'k- out 82 COri'ER MINKS. occasional pieces i)f wiuste wiiile tlie t)tlui' iwo are luadiiiji. As soon as two carloads of waste have lieeii accuniulated^ — making one skip-load- — tliey are sent to the surface. The waste from cross-cuts and other barren exploratory work- ings is dumped into olil stojx's and is not hoisted. The lo.ie is a comparatively soft amygdaloid, and does not contain nnieh lump copper; what there is of it is ])icked out at the rock-house, iii amounts varying from 10 to 20 tonsjx-r month. At the mill another 10 or 1.") tons is soited out before the ore goes inider the stani|). Last year a total of 328,000 tons of ore was hoisted and only 14,(KM) tons c." waste was picked out. this being iniuivalent to about 4 jkt cent only of the full wiiltii of lode sto])cd in the niiiie. The output for the year ending .lune :>0. HK)4. a\''rag(>d 20.r>l lb. refined copper ])er ton of ore, e(|uivaU'iit to 1.4S per cent. The costs, including construction, amounted to ^(Kl'i.lSo.lS, equal to fi.Stiitc. ju'r lb. refined copper: tlie jirofit was $5.57.240.34; conse(|uently the profit was in the proportion of S7.72 per cent. Tliose who are familiar with copper min- ing will appreciate the umisually favorable character of '.he conditions prevailing in the Wolverine mine; if the lode had a dip of 1° more it would l)e as perfect a ))ro])osition as a miner could desire; if the dip were ri° more, stulls would lie required for the minors to stand upon; and if .">° less, it would be too flat for the free descent of the broken ore. So it is evident that the conditions are nearlv ideal. i-'^— The JJaltic. .Mining Methods Reviewed. The iiiaiu feature of tmderground work in the Baltic mine is the substitution of rock-walls in place of timbering. Formerly the Atlantic method was employed; long stulls were laid across the top of the drifts, and the drillers rigged their machines on the broken rock until the block of ground had been stoped away to the next level or near it; the lode- stuff was sent straiglit to the niill, the porportion of waste picked out in the rock-house being about 20 per cent. There was no sorting whatever underground Such methods might answer with a lode of regular width and fairly uniform mineralization, but the copper-bearing channel of the Baltic is distinctly irregular. In mining, it was the custom to extend the stope upward on the dip, and of the same width as the showing at tlie level; in conse- quence, bulges of copper ore were often missed; the rock broken within *he narrow limits of this method had all to bo sei:t *<; the (" ii:<, just as it came, and it was therefore low grade. .\]1 tliis liiis been changed during the last four years, in accordance witli the ])rogressive spirit of Mr. John Stanton, the president, a man to wliom the mining industry of tlie Keweenaw peninsula owes an obligation which the people of tlie district are always glad to acknowledge. He lias lieen well sufiDorted liy liis son, Mr. Frank McM. Stanton, who is agent of the Baltic mine. The management of this enter- prise has hroiiglit tlie experirnre of the iron regions to boar upon the prol^lem outlined alwno. introdueing nuHiifica- tions sviited t't the local conditions. I am indebted to Mr. F. W. l»ento!i. the superiiiteniient.fnr assistanet- in obtain- ing a chnr nnderstaiiiling of the underground work and for manr other courtesies. Levels are lu.f extend*^!' n« narmAv drifts; on the ci^n- trary, each drift isreallya drift-stope S ft.high and tlie full 84 Tin-: COl'l'HR MIXES s-izc of tlu' liKlc-fhaiiiiel, mi iiiatUr lum.' iriilv it nuiy Ik*; the mininmiu Ix-iiin 10 ft. ami fntiii tliat to a iiiaxiiiuim of (H) ft. Till' average width of l(Mk'-niattt'r sent to the iiiill is, hy approximate coniputatioii, 25 ft.; the st()|»es themselves arc slightly wider. When the ilrift-stope is two or three hundred feet long, work is stoppeil; all the copjxjr roek is trammed out of the drift alonu a temjxirary track, only the lurger pieces of waste remaining. Next, a cutting-out stope is started near the shaft, leaving a pillar 25 ft. long. A slice of 7 or 8 ft. is taken out for a lengtli of 100 ft., the ])o.sition of the iH'rmanent car-track is chostii, and large pieces of waste are j^laced alongsiile, .so as to form the beginning of a wall. As further material is broken down, the larger fragments of waste are put to one side for wall- l)uilding. and the small stuff is thrown lM*hind them. Then dry walls, r to two or thrw feet at the to]>, that is, S ft. above the floor of the level. Eight feet of clear space is left between the walls for the main working level. At i' r vak of (K) ft., openings are left for chutes. The next !)( ..ion is to bring in the 'wall-pieces,' timl»ers 14 ft long, not less than 14 in. and not more than 20 in. at the small end. Then lengths of hemlock plank. 2 in. thick, are laid along the outer edge of the walls (that is, on the side nearest tlie level), and the 'wall-pieces' are lifteil ujion the toj) of tliese so as to stretch across the level at intervals of 5 ft., center to center. Thes« timl)ers are lagged over, and the chutes are built with apron and lip, a.s shown in theacc(vn- panying photograph. A piece of steel plate is spiked to viie chute and Kuides the ore to the lip. the latter \ye'\\\ti him;e. lollow close bel ind .iiul tlirow tlie copper ore into the chutes, and the waste into the fill. Small steel cars, lioUling about one ton, are provided for the use ol llu pi. kers in the stopes when, for any reason, the chutes are not directly accessible. Such cars are used not inly for conveying the copper ore to the chutes, but also for spreadini; ilie waste; they are made to run on a l)road-ji;auge track, ami have a swinging box to permit side-duiii[)ing. This work of handling the broken rock in the stopes is being constantly modified. The tendency now is to put tiie chutes further apart, and to use the small stope-cars more. When the stope gets near the next level overiiead, which has been already worked out, it is caved. If the waste picked out is not sufficient for filling the stope, filling material is blasted from tlie walls, or raises are put in, and old filling is run down from above. Of course, it would be advisable to begin stoping at the boundary and work backward, caving the ground in retreat; but it is claimed that it takes too long to open up the mine in this way, and that there woi.ld be no place for the bi;: [)ieces of waste broken in thedrift-stopo. Formerly it was the custom in this mine to use a large amount of timber in the form of cribbing to line the mill- holes, with a \iew to kcepiiiLr them (.pen as they are carried upward through the tilling; althoi>;h this practice ciid not involve anything like the ainoiuit of timber re- (|uiic(l by ordinary methods, nevertheless a great deal of material was thus useeini< built entirely of rock, and circular in shajie. As far as I could see the rock is hard enough for ihe imrpose, tl- v.'ear npp^ared to !>'■ -light, and the idea ous;ht to prr»ve practicpblo. OF LAKE SUPERIOR SI a H i X M O ■PR i^PliW MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART lANSI and ISO TEST CHART No 2| 1.0 *-" |36 >^ 140 1.25 iU 1 2.5 2.2 1 2.0 1.8 1.6 _J APPLIED IIVMGE In c ?Is Rochestc. New ''o'h '*609 uSA .^S 1,^161 *82 - 0300 - Pfione ^5 (716) 288 - 5989 - fax 88 THE COI'PrJIt MINES Tlie obvious ailvaiitage of this .system of 'pack walls' and rock-ribbed inill-holes is the small amount of material re- quired to be brought into the mine; in this respect the fill- ing system as used in the Baltic resembles the caving method of the iron regions; and both of them are in strong contrast to the elaborate timbering-methods of most pre- cious-metal mines. Not only is there a minhnum of timber, boards, spikes and such sujiplies as are brought into the mine, but there is also scarcely any waste sent out, so that the shaft is kept free for hoisting copper ore, which, nfter a- is the main purpose for which the shaft is sunk. Little vasto is picked out in the rock-house; only 6 to 7 per cent of the material hoisted was refuse at the time of my visit, and this came from shafts then in course of sinking. From the stopes, no waste whatever is taken; from the drifts, 1 to 2 per cent only. Apart, however, from the manifest ad- vantages just empha-sized, there is another feature-— even more important— in that the ore can be extracted more completely, the full width of the lode behig explored as stoping proceeds, and the floor-pillars, where rich, extracted by caving. Certainly there is some copper left in the refuse; that is granted, but as against this loss is the copper left untouched in those mines in which the stopes hug the ' walls ' and where extraction is confined to a uniform width of a EUi)posedly regular lode. In going through the workings of the Baltic, one can see that the lode bulges and narrows at frequent intervals; it is apparent that the copper ex- tends outward from the axial line of the lode with an irregularity that disregards all attempts to make boundaries by fixing attention upon any persistent planes of fracture. The lode has a dip of 70° and ]iermits of the full aid of gravity. Cars carry from 2.35 to 2.5 tons each, the lower figure being treated as a minimum. Two men load a car and push it to the shaft. Electric traction is not con- sidered practicable, by reason of the variable tonnage from any one part of the mine. The ore is trammed direct into riQ.4^' •'r.n;i.r-?'Jf->*»'- ij£^M~:m^jL':si ^sp^6^i-y' OF LAKE SUPERIOR. S9 the skips, from cross-cuts in the foot-wall that unite the shaft with the levels, the car being dumped while held in a cradle of simple instruction. Work is done mainly by day's pay, the irregularity of the lode interfering with the adoption of the contract sys- tem, except for shaft-sinking and some drifting. Miners average ^ck stamped. Description. 1002. 190.3 Centfi. Cents. Timbermen 6. 4.1 Stope fillinj:, extra w.aste blasted especially for this purpose Xot secreirated. 0. 3.5 Wall building 1.4 1 . 62 Timber, inclusive of shafts and levels 1.27 l.fiO Tot.ll 8.67 7.97 It is difficult to separate trammers from pickers, becavi.se the former arc exjiected to pick out waste whenever possi- ble. The labor of tramming cost 21.5c. and 17.4c. re- spectively during 1902 and 1903, while picking labor amounted to 11.5 and 13.8, respectively. Further figures of interest follow; they are arranged with reference to com- ,^!iEXi-^-f-%^yy^"rjB.--T ^-^-^1EWE«:«. ., «._ ':.x;-^^«?.'3e 90 THE COPPER MIXES paring tlieiu with similar costs under different systems of mining elsewhere : ll>02. 1903. Ci'iits. Cents. Minins, inclulB^^A:j«ff^i;s:*^»- ;jr OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 03 i ■^■m^^mk^w^i^' 94 THE rOPl'LK MINKS that the Atlantic method left a large amount of ground under the successive levels; but, having regard to the poorness of the rock and the consequent small quantity of copper buried in such floor-pillars, it appears that the cost of the extra timbering, required to extract this additional 10 or 15 ft. of dangerous ground, would exceed the value of e copper secured, n the Baltic method no such pillars are left, and the ex- . loration of the lode is carried beyond the apparent walls into the outer country, wherever the copper is found to ex- tend. The bulges, and other irrpjrularities of copper dis- tribution which characterize the Baltic lode, render the adoption of the Atlantic method inadvisable. In fact, the adaptation of method to conditions fulfils the essence of practical mining. In the adjoining property, the Champion, a different system has obtained. An arch 8 ft. thick is left above each main level, mill-holes being cut at interv-als of 25 to 30 ft.; the stopes are started al.ove this arch, the miners standing upon the rock, as they break it, until the next level o^ crhead is reached ; no floor-pillar is left, because this is rendered tmnecessary by tiie roof-arch. This method is being abandoned, for several rea*"" ■ '^''hen the broken stuff is withdrawn from the stop • ' ; ring is apt to break and mix with the mill-ro ' ver, the arches left behind are likely to prove ii>a(u 'at., lor the support of the weight of superincumbent gjouii ^ when the mine becomes deep, and their collap.'ie might induce a creep fatal to the pillars protecting the shaft itself. In one respect the system of stoping in vogue is open to criticism. That part of tl . lode which it is profitable to extract, occurs usually in a body of imusual length and persistence, requiring long levels and deep shafts. Fre- quently the bods of amygdaloid are stoped the full length of the company's property, from boundary to boundary. Nevertheless, the extraction proceeds from the shaft outward, instead of the reverse. By driving the main OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 95 < z z o 96 THE COl'l'ER MINKS levels to tlio boundary or to the known limit of the body of copper rock, and then stoping backward toward the shaft, the ground could be allowed to cave; the track could be taken up; the interruptions to trafhc due to intervening Slopes would be avoided; and, at the same tii .", communi- cation, when established betvveea two levels, at those ends- farthest from the shaft, would stimulate ventilation. At the Atlantic it was stated that such a plan would render a level II n-productive until its full length had Ijeen driven; but, surely, in a mine with thirty working faces, one can be spared for a time by increasing the extraction at some other place. Once the drift is complete Coi'I'KH. It is Ix-'liuvcd liy many ix'uplc UMially woU iiit'oniicd.tluvt in the iiiinesof tlio Lake .Siipcrior logioM there aie Ijodies of iiietullic coppiTso larjre that it has been found impracticable to extract tiiem. I remenila-r beinn t"l'' wrioii-ly seven years a^o tliat in the Michipicoten ilistrict, on the mtrtli shore, tliere were rich copper lodes tha* 'vere not profitable because the metal occnrretl in mass«>s so luijfe that they e(Jiild not be mined successfully. Similar statements appear freciuently in popular acco\uits of the copi)er coun- try. But recent investigation of this interestinjj matter eiial)les nie now to dissipate a fallacy which has retain"d a curiously sustained vitality since the days of Alexander Henrj' and Douglass Houghton. The white men who first crossed the lake and penetrated the forests of the peninsula, found evidence of earlier attempts to extract the copper. We know that the Indians worked the metal that outcropped luassivcly at many localities; and there are those who maintain that this was also done by an earlier race of higher capacities long since vanished. Testimony to their effort Is shown by the battered fragments of < ipper dug out of old abandoned workings. Such is the one illustrated on the preceding page; this weighed three tons, and was taken from a pit 1G.5 ft. deep at McCargo Cove, on Isle Royale; it exhibits the marks of stone hammers or hatchets. There is good reason to suppose that the Indians built fires around the masses of copper which were too large to be removed; and that after removing the adhering rock, loosened tlu-ough the effect of the heat, they separated portions with their hatchets by ])()unding the co))per into waves, as shown in the illustration, until it was finally forced apart in small fragments. Furthermore, the reports of the early roi/agcurs made mention of the celebrated 'copper rock,' an immense fOl'l'KH MISES. 09 boulder of .uetal fuuiulou tl.e ri«hil,a„k of M,eUt.to,,aK.,n nv.'r; it vas visitcl l,y ,h,. first explorrrH an.l travelers wl.otest.he.l that thereuas ....thing like it anvulu-re i„ tlie ^v"rl.l IhH .na.s woiKhe.l a!:o..t f,.ur to...s; it a,,,K.«re,l to H- out of place, an.l n.ay have bee,, nu.ve.l. I.v the I,.,|ian« l..:.s far from ti.eoutcrop of the Mu.e^ota lo.le.a,list«„ce of Uso "Hies only It v,. •,...ecl dou„ the river ou a raft hy Juhus I.J.lre.l u. If .,. village of Ontonagon, to b^ smed subsequent!.. , L'nited .States C.overnn.ent and JipM to Washing .., wliere it can now !«, ..oen at the N.utL.sonmn In>titation. (Jn inquiry at the Sn.ith.soniau ln.st.tution, I was informed that this Ontonagon iK.ulder as It now stands in the National Museum, weighs fi .50,i P-uub. From a pamphlet by Mr. Charles Moore, enti'tknl .Me Ontonagon (.'opper Bowlder in the U. S National Museum.' and issued by the Govenmunt printing oftio,. at Wi«h.ngton in 1897, I extracted the foil, ving data Acconimg to Henry R. Schoolcraft, a n, ember of the expedition that endeavored to bring it away, the gn-at^-t lenrth of the .na.s was 3 feet 8 inches, and its greatest width 3 feet 4 inches. He gave a sketch of tlie locality, which is on m the frontispiece. The final effort to remove this lelily lump of metal is described thus : " It took a week .._ the party of 21 ,>ersons to get the rock up the 50-foot hill near the river; then they cut Mmbers and made a stout vvooden railway track, place,l the rock on the car and moved It with capstan and chains a.s hoiis,^ are moved I'or four miles and a half, over hills 6()0 ft. high, through va leys and deep ravines; througli thick forests where the path had to be cut; through tangled underbrush, the home of pestiferous mosquitoes, this railway wa.s l.^id and the copper bomder was traasported; and when at last the rock was lowered to the main stream, nature smiL.,; on the l.ibo,-s of the workmen by sending a freshet to carry their heavily- lacjen boat oyer the lower rapids and down to the lake " The Government paid $.5,664.98 to Julius Eldred and .sons '^"/^ il 100 ^''f^^ COPPER MINES ,.vcs the following intere^g ijl^'^Xtmuel O. Knapp, "Durinc the w ntor of 18-i(-4S, Mr. ndiiiin.i ^ 1 1 the ag of the .Minesota nunc, observed on the present he ^^^'^fl .^^^ ^ .^jrious depression ni the soil, location of tliat nine a .lisintecrration of a vein, caused, as he -"J-^"-^' ^^,^t "e n^^ a cavern, the Following up these -^^^^'.^'^'"'''^^llJ ,,, the rubbish, home of several porcupines. On c e ""- » he found many stone hanuners; and, ^;^l^P;;^°^3;^ '"^^^^ came ui- a a mass of native copper 10 ft. long 3 tt ^ c , a^d ne u-ly 2 ft. thick. Its weight was more than 6 tons T^ mi was found resting upon billets of oak suppor^d l^ .leLrs of the same wood; there were three couse o iStsandtwocours.<..ec^J^.-W^^^^^ :ti;^:r:;s;:en;Ui^tearthUed^ lloA that the early nun... were -«>"- ;; ^^^ ,^ orocess used with effect by their -uccessors. 1 h s fragment had been pounded until every projection was l,roken off^ and then ha.l been loft, when and for what reas.m is still unklrn From sinnlar pits on the same location came en do of ancient hanuners, one of which weighed .M noiUK^ and was fitted with two grooves for a double haiuUe. C ^re also found a copper gad. a copper ch.-l w,h a nnket in which were the remains of a copper handle, and •;:attrof Iden bailing bowls. At the Mesnard mme, n rnsr'lfVJO. H'vrl of V. S. .\-i.tional Museum, 1895. ^:^j y^A-.y^^V' OF LAKE SUPEmOR. 101 .in 1862, was found an 18-ton boulder that the 'ancient miners' had moved 48 ft. from its original bed." The large bodies of metallic copper found in the lodes of Lake Superior are known as 'mass.' The nnnes which fjrst established the fame of this region, such as he Clifi, Phoenix, Central, Minesota, and National, were a 1 charac- terized by the occurrence of 'n.ass.' These chunks oi copper were found near the surface, and for years they con- tinued to be encountered underground in great quantity. Such mines required but little capital; they neoded chiefly the labor of cutting the metal and of hoisting it to daylight. 'M;,ss mining,' therefore, characterized the early days. Had the Calumet & Hecla, which has always yielded a strictly stamp-mill product, been discovered in the hrst decade of development, it probably would have been a failure The .liscovery of the Calumet conglomerate came when the rudiments of mining had been learned and when the 'mass' mines were approaching exhaustion. Two-thirds of the output of the Cliff mine was in the form of masses; some of them yielded from 100 to 150 tons and as late as 1875 one of 40 tons was taken out." These irre-rular bodies of metal require special mmmg methods, for it is impossible to drill into them or to use picks m the ordinarv wav. Professor Blake has described the usual practice in words that I cannot improve: "The miner picks out or excavates a passage or chamber upon one side of the mass laving it bare as far as possible over its whole surface. It is usuallv firmly held by its close union with the vein- stuff or bvVs irregular projections above, below and at the end If it cannot be dislodged by levers, the excavation of a chamber is commenced behind the mass, and this excava- tion is made large enough to receive from 5 to 20 or more ke-s of pow.ler. Bags of san.l are used for tamping and the drift is closed up by a barricade of refuse and loose dirt. ■^nV^pTBlnke, Transactions American Institute Mining Engineers Vol. IV. p. 110. w 1()2 Tin-: COri'KH ML\KS Reft'i«MK"(' is iiiado to this iiiotiuKl in the description of tiie effort wiiicii was made to extricate tiie fjreat mass foimd ill tlie old .Miiiesota mine. Tiie .Miiiesota mine, in the Ontonagon ilistrict, was eele- hrated for large masses. The largest wa.s found in 1857; its greatest lengtli was 40 ft., its greatest hreai; h IS. 5 ft., and its greatest tiiickncss S.5 ft. Tlie mean width was 12.5 ft., and the mean tliickness 4 ft. Twenty men lal)ored 15 (iiontlis to remove it from tlie rock; .some of the cuts had a face of 1() .SI], ft., and the ciittiiig-up yielded 27 tons of copper cliips. The weigiit was estimated at 500 tons,"' hut I shall have more to say ahoiit this directly. The circumstances of this work are told grajihically hy Ceo. 1). lOmerson, whose statement is (pioted in "Tlie Mineral Statistics of .Michigan' for tiie year IS.SO. "They uncov(M-<>d a series of masses with an I'astward iiiciinatioii for the length of 70 to SO ft., and going out of sight Ixitli above and below. It was at once apparent that they iiad something very valuable, but tliey had no conception of the immense thing which a few days' work disclosed. .\t one convenient point they broke auay behind the copper so as to get in a sand blast of five or six kegs of powder. They stripped the mass further, and again fired without result. .\gaiii tliey fired nine kegs of i-owder. and the mass remained uiimo\ed. lireaking the rock around for a considerable distance. IS keus of powder w(>re shot off without (>ff(>ct. and again 22 kei;s, and the cop|>er entirely undisturbed at any ])oint. .\ further clearing. 25 kegs were shot off under the co])pi i , and it was thought with sfinie effect. But a final blast of .SO kegs, or 750 lb., was securely tamped beneath tiie mass and lired. .\s soon as the smoke cleared awa\" a mass of co])))er 45 ft, long and '-i to 5 ft. in tliicknes.«. apparently very ])ure. ami which will probably weigh .'500 tons, had been shot out and was ready for cutting tip. The blast had torn the immense body from its bed without -■' 'Mineral Statistics of Miclti;:aM,' ISSO, p. 70. •il OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 103 exhibiting a sign of breaking or bending in any place, so great was its tliici t ::; he celebrated mass weighed 420 tons.'" These bodies of co))per are extremely irregular in thickness; they are ragged in form and straggle through the lode until they nearly connect with other monstrous miggets. Such was the character of the series of masses encountered in the Bay State mine, now the Phoenix, forty years ago. These aggre- gated some 1)00 tons; but they were botiies, none of which singly 'xceeded 200 tons, comuTted by strings of metal. Therefore, tiie fact remains that 420 tons is the largest single mass of native co]iper recordeil in the history of mining. The practice then was, and still is, to cut the mass with cape chisels having a \-m. bit, the successive chips ^'Tliis iiiform.itioii is pont.iined in .1 letter d.ited October I?, 1S65, .iddressed by Capt. William Harris, nianairer of the mine, to tlie secretary of the cr • . ly, S. M. Pond. 104 Till-: COPPER MIXES being about J in. tliick. The narrow strips obtained from this operation, when made l)y sl\ilifiil operators, and in the absence of any Haw or inchidod roclc aionji tiie course of the chisel, are taken in one cut through the entire 'mass.' The earlier method was tr carry the ehiji about J in. thick, IS stated, and of ecjual thickness on both sides: but later this was changed to a more rajiiil way, the chijjs thinning to an edge and alternating, as is usual with a cutting made by a chisel of this kind, the process being similar to the driving of a key-way. The narrow strips obtained from this oj)er.i- tion are only about half the length of the groove which yieldetl tliein, because the metal V)ecomes pressed together and thickened by the blows of the cutters. Certain men made a s])ecia)ty of this work and became expert, so as to cut a sijiuire foot of surface per shift; this meant that one man held the chisel and guided it along the line of cut, while two others struck the chisel alternately with sledge- liannners. The cost averagetl 812 to .?14 per sq. ft. Nowadays, when the cutters are not often needed and special skill is not available, the cost (when done by hand) is greater. At tlie Michigan mine the pneumatic hannner has been used recently for citting mass, and with success. Mr. Urady informs me that tlie actual cost of cutting two masses in this mine, (hiring the current year, was .?.3.1.") per sq, ft., exclusive of power. The cost of cutting the 420-ton mass. |>reviously di'scribed, apji'MU's, acconling to a letter of Ca])t. William Harris, bearing date of October 3, ISfw, to have Ix-en .S12 ])er square foot. At the (^uiiicy some masses have been found in recent years, but no big ones. Five or six tons is the limit for convenient handling, but, of course, this will de|iend largely u|)on ilic shajie of tlie mass. Larger bodies are cut so as to yield ]iieces suitable for tranuning and lioisting. The time taken in the cutting dei)ends noon the shape; sometimes a narrow neck cfinnects two outlying portions, in which case the division is facilitated. The jjhotogi'aph on OF LAKE SUPERIOh 105 O !/> 73 < u c o X tn a; w a. a. c i ^PMH^ lOO THE COl'l'ER MIXES the upposii page illu.stratc:-- the cutting of a mass weigh- ing six tons. It will be obvious that masses of portable size are less expensive to extract than the very big ones; or, to put it in another way six lumps of 5 tons each and needing no cutting, will yield more profit than one of 30 tons, which may require to be c , into five or six portions. It is said that the great mass of the Minesota mine did not leave nuich nf a margin for profit, for this reason; and it is obvious, from the description already given, that a good deal of vain effort was expended in extricating that elephantine chunk; init the wages of even the 20 n.en mentioned, who worked lo months to remove it, would aggregate only $18,000 at the most, and against this there would be the 420 tons of copper; this would yield about 79 per ce. , refined copper, or 324.17 tons, which, at 8400 per ton, net ca.sh on de- livery, after deducting cost of transport, conversion and sale, would yield a total of .?129,66S,"' so that the mining cost re?)rescnts only 14 per cent of ;hc value realized. As a matter of fact, the chips obtained in cutting arc usually enough to jiay for the cost of the operation The 27 tens of chips taken from the .Minesota ma.ss were worth, under the conditions and prices of 1857, not less than 88,500; and it is certain that the cost of extracting this particular mass was extraordinary, on acromit of its size and the difliculiy of getting it out of the lode. It can be asserted confidently that no one in the Lake .Superior comitry is afraid to encounter mass cojiper for fear it should prove improfitable ! Incidentally, it will be interesting to refer to the occur- rence of native silver. The largest piece of pure silver found within the last few years was in the Mass mine, and it weighed 12 lb. This piece formed part of the Michigan ;» In ni.qkins this ostim.-ite I .^m siiifipci bv tlic report of the X.itional -Miniiii: Conip.Tiiy, the neighbor of tiie Minesota, published in The Mtnuiq Magazine, Deornibor, \Rn7. 'M-^*^^-^- HtMWS^^S^ OF LAKE SI'I'EHIOH. 107 Miim.nil exhibit at St. Lo-is. In In?.} a small 1„ v while •cobbinjt- or s^lwtinjr bits „f cnpi,,.,- n.ck in the " 25 to ;{0 lb. taken fn.m the Cliff mine, as much as SoOO \v(,rth beiufi- e.xtracte.l in a single night bv the iro„ who presumably di.l not report the fact to "the office .Many thousand dollars have been taken from the mines of Lake Sui)erior in the form of silver secreted bv workmen not to mention the specimens which now enric'h museums all over the world. / X I .— EXPLOHATIUX. The majw showing the holdings of the different com- panies in the Lake Superior region, exhibit none of that confusing interpenetration of claims which characterizes tlie mining districts of the Rocky Mountains. That iniqui- tous principle represented by "the law of the apex" is not known; acreage replaces apex rigiits; and simi)licity of tenure obviates the interminable litigation which seems to be the necessary baptism of a rich mine in Montana or Colorado. Any map of tiie region (as, for instance, that of tiie companies on the South Range, on the next page) ex- hibits tiie checkered squares of the sections into which each township is subdivitlod. There are 36 sections to a to\\n- ship; the latter is six miles square, so that each section represents 040 acres, further subdivision being made intt. quarter-sections of 100 acres, and these again into 40-acre tracts. The boundary lines carry mineral rights vertically downward, witiiout restriction of any kind. The ownership of the land near the copper mines has pa.ssed out of the liands of the original owner, the Federal Government; it is now held by uidividuals. where not consolidated into'com- pany holdings, there being one exception in the case of the St. Jfary's Canal Mineral Land Company, which, bv reason of building the great waterway of the Lakes through the Sault Ste. :\raric, was given a grant of land, a large portion of which was selected so as to cover that part of the copper belt not already pre-empted. It is on this territory that those discoveries were made which led to the making of the mines on the South Range. Another exceptional land- owner is the public school; by State law, every Section 16 was set aside as the property of the public schools and It IS a matter of regret thai no Section 16 has as yet proved to be the site of a rich mineial (kvc i.ipment. COPPER MINES. 100 110 Tin-: ( (ii'i'iiii Mi\/:s Till- laft that tlu- cxtciLHiuii in lU-ptli of tlio lodis was iii.t pn.piTly scciiii'd l)y claiiiis in the dirt'ction of .lip did not enter into the ealciiiatinns ..f the eaily ..peratois. but now that persistenee in depth iia.-^ I)een estal.iishea there is more foresight shown. The Cahiniet \- lleela Company, for example, undonhtediy made a l)hn:der in faihnjt |"„ secnre the 'deep U-wV of their big discovery, an omission whieli became the l.asis for the organization of the Tama- rack, wiiose first sliaft went down vertically 2,1(M) ft. hcfore it cut the CaJMniet conglomerate. At the present time the Allouez is another example of a 'deep level" enterprise, it having been planned on an estimated dip of .'JS" to cut the Kearsarge-Woherine amygdaloid at l.KK) f(>ct. Hold outcrops of rich ore do not characterize the Lake district, so that tho l)cgiimings -f a succes.sful mine recjuire more than the ordinary prospector's activi.y. The .Mo- hawk was foiuid by the uprooting of a tree, caused by the falling of another tree which had l)een felled by a wood- chopper. :\[r. John Stanton had obtained an option on the property with a \iew to prospecting. The chopper brought him a lump of rock showing copper, which adhered to Uie roots of the tree, and he then arranged for a s.vstematic exjiloration. Tiiirteen pits were put down to a depth of M) to 40 ft., and for lengths of 2,') to 45 ft. acro.ss the strike of the lode. All save two of these trenches exjiosed copper ore of good grade, and th<" evidence thus olKained wa.s held to warrant the sinking of shafts. In this ca.sc the tirift overlying the true rock was only 12 to 20 ft. thick; but elsewhere in the district sucii prosjjecting is rendered expensive by reason of a heavy overl)ur(lcn of drift. On tlie Cllobe ground, just south of the Champion, there is as much as 2(K) ft. of 'wash'; and, in order to determine the • p< ition and \alue of the lode, it was necessary to put down two diamond-drill holes from a point some distance dip- ward, so as to strike the lode at right anghvs, and these holes pas.sed through 22.j ft. of drift and 600 ft. of rock or lAKK sri'innoH. Ill Iwforo they cut tlie ore, with results that warraPted the «" iiditurc. A good example of the application of geological knowledge to niinii','^ exi)Ioration is ufforded by tlie story of the Champion mine, lint belurc this is related, a few intro- ductory remarks are necessarv. Tlio trap beds— that is, the layers of (iial)ase forming so larg.j a part of the Kewee- naw Meries— are so nearly aUke that identification is ordi- narily impracticable, but occasionally some mineralngical characteristic will serve as a guide; thus the foot-wall of tlie Kearsarge amygdaloid is a l)ed marked by large feld- spars. Dr. L. L. llubbartl, formerly State Cleologist, used this fact to determine the position of the Kearsarge amygda- loid, and he proved that it was a safe indicator. It is also proper to state that the officers of the Michigan Geological Survey recognized the foot-wall at the Mohawk as being this same Iwd. before they knew tliat any openings had disclosed copper; and they made known this identification at once, although it was a long time Ijefore the people oi the district would admit the correctness of the correlation I'sually the amygdaloid layers are more susceptible tc weathering than the compact trap enca.sing them, cot -- oyoii(l there wa« a (lo|)rex.«ti( i in the surface marking the course of a stream, in the Ivtl '" which he fountl an amygda- loid. Hy following the c.ursv of this amyKdaloi.i, "along another depression between two outcrops of traj), iie soon unearthed some copper ore. Then, guided by the strike of the conglomerate, he fr)llo\ved the parallel amygdaloid; he made V.i o|K'nings, and found the copjKT lode" in all of them. This was the beginning of the Champion mine, of wliich the successful geologist just mentioned i.s now the elficient manager. Whih; I was at liought(jn there wa.s talk of discoveries on Section l'), a tract on which this same Haltic-Champion loile had Iwcm found. As I wanted to see what appearance was presented by an infant copper mincof the LakeSup<>rior ty|)e. I went to see the discovery, by tlie courtesy of Messrs. H. E. Pryor. James Blandy and J. P. Edwards. ' Work was proceeding in an oiH>n-cut. recently enlarge.! from a pros- IHcting tnnich, at the bottom of which a copper lode was exi)o.sed. One foot to IS in. of soil and gravel formed a surface layer, in which nests of carbonated copper were buried; these were essentially pieces of 'float' copper, so oxidized that the carbonated mass usually contained only a nucleus, as big as a pea, of copper coaK'd with cuprite and buried in malachite and azurite. Under this layer came three or four feet of 'hard pan.' a ma.ss of brecciated rock and gravel well comeiit<>.!, in wiiich were seen further fra.^- ments of cojjper coated i)y cuprite and surrounded by car- bonates; below this, within the seams in the amygdaloid rock, there wore copper stains for a further depth of S or 9 ft., although tlie country itself exhibited no weathering. The open-cut showed a wic'.e lode carrying metallic copper distributed irreguhuly and to an extent which the eye could not gauge. A succession of trenches indicated the ni.Tfuur in which the lode had been traced. ;^>T* w^,4^\'h'^\mar ^^.^^!^!»?^J5WH^ OF LAKE SVPKlilOH. 113 '-;ir^C^ 114 THE COPI'IJH MlXhS .Mr. Edwanls tol.l iiie the >\^,vy ui thi.s youiij; enterprise. At the soutlieni eiul of the gn.uii.l, lie lia.l found a solitary outcn.p of eoii-lonierate; as 1 saw it.it was a roun.led huni- inock amid the Ijush. lisin- three or four feet above the fli'iieral surface and exten(hn to lI.-> ft. east of the Baltic a-uyjidaloid, he obtained a line of departure for his pros- pecting trenches. At VH) ft. lie found the lode he was lookuig for. the greater distance being accountable t.. tiie difference in dip. .j.j^ here, as against 7.3" at the Baltic Thereupon .Messrs. J. P. Kdwanis. R. C. Pryor and others went to work to secure terms from the owners of the land uluch was held in 40. (iO arul !»o-acre tracts bv various individuals. These gave them an option, on condition of SlO.OOii being raised for exploratory work; and. this beinne and enough copper ore accumulated, arrangements u-.Il be made to lease a stamp and to ship the output over the nearest railroad to the mill. 'Ihi.s story ha.s hoon related to e.xemplifv the manner in whicli mining enterprises are started in this region Every district has its own metho.l. dependent entirely up.,n the nature of the mineral discovery an.l the amount of canital OF LAKK SUI'EHIOR. 11; rcMiuired to make a profitable luino. Of courjse, in tlu- i-arso of these low-grade copper niiiies, there is an enormous amount of money required for development, for a mill, usually fi)r a railroad, and sometimes for a smelter, Ix-fore the (>i-.terprise is finally placed u])on the safe ])lane of an investment. In comparing these lodes of native c:)pper with other metalliferous deposits, tliey are found to present one striking feature— the imjxis.sibility of sampling them. To anyone accustomed to precious-metal mining, in which every stage of intellig. iit enterjjrise is checked by accurate ."^amijhng, the inability to employ this method in the Lake .Superior mines presents a subject of i)eculiar interest. It is obvious that the occurrence of the metal in a native condi- tion, and in sizes ranging between the microscojHC and masses weighing many tons, offers an insurmoimtable obstacle to any .sampling inetiiod which is based essentially on the doctrine of averages. To sample a vein containing free gold in pockety form has long been given up as a hope- less task, more likely to mislead than to guide; this is prac- tically the probltMu in the Lake Superior region. No cross- sectional determination of contents by channeling a breast of copper ore will help the appraiser of values, because not only is the distribution of the metal sporadic, but it occurs in a form rendorMig it im])racticable to break a true sample. A moil and a hanniier are of no more use than a pocket-knife when it comes to cutting across a lump of tenacious metal, or a concrete of shot cop|)er, and sucli is the usual composition eitlier of an ordinary amygdal.jidal, or of a conglomerate, copper lode. The sampler and the assay-plan are unknown at Hough- ton and at Calumet: but other methods are employed. In the first place, experience enal>les a man to judge the per- centage of copper in the rock; such judgment is subject to error, as being at best only a gues*. but it serves a useful purpose, especially when applied to difTerent face.s of the same lode, each having its own copper hal)it. that is, a If 116 COPPER MIXES ccrtani ratio betweon the lumps and the finer particles \Vhen examining a new discovery or a young „,iae under- gon.g early development, an experi.-ncod man will separate the barrel work' or lumps of n.etal coining up in a -men number oi buckets or cars, ami in ti.at way he can deter- •mne tl.e nun.ber of j,ounds of copper pvv ton of rock Of course he has no way of getting at the fine cojjper scattered n-,n,gh the rock, an,l he must decide fron, the character of the lode how great a part this plays in the actual percentage o me al present If it appears fron. a test sucii as thi;, that the lode is rich enough to becom > the basis for a profit- able mine, then development is pu..ed until the enterprise roaches the next stage. This is theaccmnulation ,.f sufficient copper ore to permit of the leasing of a stamp and tin making o a mill-run. There is usually son.e mill i„ the district winch is i.lle or has a stamp-out <,f two or three- which can be lease a copper mine: but it is fair to ndd that when the copper mine is once s,.t going in the I ake roginn, ,t outlasts several gold mines of the average kind Y^f' =.^-T'';^-;V ■ V-' -^li— Milling Mkthods. 1 he tlunuler of the ordinary stanip-niiU may be likened to the rliythniic crash of tlie surf; at a distance, especially among niountauis encouraging an echo, the inufHc.1 roar o> many stamps is as the voice of the sea when heard from far mhuid. lint the steam-stamp has no poetry; it is all busmess. It seemed to me, while in the Lake Superior copper region, tiiat whether a mill contained one stamp or twenty, it was only a single elephantine tliump that I heard. Inside also there was not the confusing uproar which accompanies the work of gravity stamps when under co^■er, but the decisive thuds of one or more heads sending their tons of weight into the bed of ore on the dies I„ Gilpin county, Colorado, a mill that crushes 500 tons per dicm woul.l contain three or four hundred stamps, while a tahfonna mill with equal capacity would require about .wo hundred, anarly days, when the Eagle River and Ontonagon mines were the principal producers, that part of the outimt which went under the stamps was unimportant, the profit ix'ing made from Mnass' cojiper. 'i'he early stamp-mills were crude affairs; it was the practice to calcine the rock before stami)ing in order to facilitate the crushing. The practice obtaining in lS7(]was exemplified by the Allouez, where tlie millstutf went from the stamp to a hydraulic separator, the slime passing to .settling boxes and then to convex tables of the Kvans type; while the oversize from the separator went to seven double jigs. The Allouez com- pany, in that year, erected a separate mill of L'S Cornish stamps to re-crusli the coarse sand, their attention having been called to the loss incurred from insufTicient grinding. The stamp screens had J in, liolc.. and the water eiuployed amounteil to 47 ton.s per 24 hours per ton of rock crushed, or 1..").")^ gal, per min. for two stamps. In IS.-).-) the cost of stamping at the North American and Copper Falls tnills was from .?1 M to .S2 per ton ; in 1S74 the Quincy brought the cost down to Sl.OS; and, in lSSl,wiih OF LAKE sri'ElilOH. Hi) < Z s 2 120 THE COPPER MINES. the introduction of tlie Ball stamp, to 71 cents. In 18S2 the Atlantic attained a record witli \M cents per ton. While at tlie Tamarack mine I saw a train of eleven cars, carrying 440 tons of mine ore, about to start for the mill. This entire traiiiload of copper ore was insufiicient to keep one sta [) going for one day. Tuenty-five years ago the maximum capacity of a steam stamp was 150 tons of amygdaloid; seven years ago it was 350 tons per stamp; now the new compoun 1 stamp has a one-day record of 779 tons, and a two weeks' record of 725 tons per 24 hours of actual running, or a duty of 700 tons per day, including stops. This has been done recently at the Osceola mill on Kearsarge amygdaloid. To convey the product of this powerful crushing machine, an enormous \olume of water is required. The average consumption is .3.V million gallons per head per 24 hours. At the Quincy mill an .\llis triple-expr nsion pumping engine throws 16,(K)0,000 gal., and a Worthington pump 12,000,000; this supply of 28,000,000 gal. is consumed by the eight stamps, of which seven are usually at work. There is an overflow of 3,.500,000 gal.,orsufl^icient for another .stamp— which includes, of course, the array of jigs and tables that represent the scheme of treatment. In an ordinarj- stamp- mill the water used averages 3 to 5 gal. per stamp per .ninute, or about 10 tons of water per ton of ore. In these steam-stamp works, the ratio is .30 tons of water to one ton of ore crushed. The process consists of coarse crushing— through screen openings of f inch— followed by .successive elimination of the copper by jigs and concentrating tables, aided by the usual classifiers. A small part of the material undergoes re-grinding. It is a process of elimination of a single product— native copper— by gradual concentration, the crude material being to the final product in the ratio of about fiO to 1. A Montana mill treating mixed sulphides would be nearly four times as big. OF LAKE SlPElilOR. 121 122 77//; (Ol'I'ER MIXES The steuin-stainp was invented hy Bull, who had huilt steain-haniniers, and saw their availability for crushing ore; the steani-stanij) may also he re^rardcd as a gravity stamp of great weight, actuated directly hy a steam-engine, the stem becoming tlic extension of the piston. In tiic I.eavitt design, in wliich tlie steam is admitted only at the top of the cylinder, the stamp-shaft, with its attached shoe, on striking the bed of ore, rebounds against the condensing cusliion of steam, so that the uneven surface of ore on the die suffices to turn the stamp. But this turning is quite irregular; it is scarcely appreciable for two or three successive drops, and the!i coines a grand whirl equal to half a revolution. In tiie Allis and Nordberg stamps, tiie steam is admitted to the cylinder both at the top and bottom; the steam admitted through the upper ports drives the stamp-shaft down into the bed of ore upon the die, the stamp being immediately raised at the end of the stroke by the admission (.f steaiii through the lower ports of the cylinder. By reason of the force with whch the shoe is driven into the ore, a meci-.pn- ical device is required to turn the stamp. On the whole, while the steam-stamp is an impressive rock-breaker, it is a had ])ulverizer and an expensive kind of engine, for it uses 4.5 to 60 lb. steam per hor.scpower-hour. Greater economy ha.s been secured by the introduction of the compound system. In the Osceola and Champion mills, the us.t of compound engines on the stamps lias met with excellent results and has enabled the at- tainment of a maximum crushing capacity — 710 tons per head. The ore contains lump copper, which the stamp of course fails to crush, and only serves to deform; this is extracted by two devices, both of which are described in the notes which follow. These lumps of metal, like potatoes in size, used to be a serious obstacle. Before the automatic discharges were invented, it was necessary to stop three or four times in a sh'ft, and raise the stamp on blocks, while -^3S?i>tvi:a •4-^-'-»*- or LAKE SVl'EHIOR. lo.j pryii^r out the chunks of metallic ,■„,,,„.,• with pu-k,. .„i.i crow lulls. A look at th(; n\)i^vd, iriTKuIar pieces of copper, with their attached rock-matrix, as tiiey appear lx>fore jtoiug under the stamp, and tlie examination of the roundel mijrgets as discharged from the mortar, after l.einj; pouiuied under the stamp, will onal.lo one to realize tli(> waste of power and the almts.on of metal which must take place l)efore the millins operations are properly started. The mortar screen is made in sections; at the (^uincy mill, out of five such sections, one of the central two has 1-inch openings while the others have | inch; it having been found that this arrangement relieves the mortar (.f nugget copper, which is miahle to make it.s exit through the hydraulic (Krause) discharge. The mortar is also pro- vided with a hinged screen which enables it to be oi)ened for examination and closeii[)|)ly the sihult' >taiiip now in (ipciatioii. Tlic fupucity of oiU'li staiiip is .V)(l tun- /«/• ilii iii. I'ruiii tlic bin tho ore is I'fil, liy j:ni\ ity. aliiiij; an iron cliiile, i\e|)t wet hy a stream of water, so as to aid the ileseeiit of the iiialcrial and wash down tlie hne stnff. A man with an iron md. hnokcd at till' end, watches tlie feed and rejinhites it. l>y liohhnj: liaei\ tlie ore on the ehiite or e.\iie,litint{ it. as required hy the sfamii. the needs of whicii are imUeated hy tlie striki a of a 'lionnet' or foupUng upon an iron rod wiienever the feed is too low. The stamp is driven, in its descent, hy the piston of a steam-(>iifiine having a "JO-in. cylinder and rated at l!Mt horsepower. Steam follows tho stamp for aliout half the stroke, the hesid developing a maxinnnn velocity of '2'y ft. per seci>nd. The total fallinji weifjht is three to four tons, luach siioe \\ci]uhs ,s(H) Ih. nhen new, and lasts ahouj two weeks, hy which time it has lo-* half its weight. Both shoes and dies are of chillecl iron, made at the local foundry. The stamp dro|)s lOS times per miinile. a stroke or drop of '2[ in, ;i'.id T' actual averajre stroke of '20 to 24 in., the dif- lerence lieinjr due to I he inickuiss of the !hi1 of ore on the oversize from wiiich is re- turned (at the late of about 7 tons per liour) to the mortar hvmeans of a rul)t)er lielt-elevator. Removal of lump cop- l)erfroin the tnortar is effected by a hydraulic arrangement known as the Parnall-Krause discharj;e. This device cf)n- sists essentially of a stream of water fed l)v a ft-in. pipe, and entering throusli a 4-in. o]ienii>jr just below the lip of tho mortar. Tlie rising: stream is under presstire sufficient to k(>ep tlie rock from t;ettiii}i out of the mortar, while jier- mittiiii: the exit of the copper. The )iieces of metal thus OF LAKE SiPKlilOli. 127 oxtracted arc terinctl 'licail- iiiKf*.' Al)t)iit (mi'-(|uait»'r of the total proiluct of tlic mill t'oines out in this way; an equal proportion of the rc- niaiiiiiiji eopper is «-xtracteil lietweeii the mortar and the trommels, by u similar hy- draulic separation aeting through an inch pipe. The scheme of treatment is indicated on the accompany- inji diagram, which illustrates onishalf of a symmetric ar- rangement. The undersize from the tronunels goes to a Tanuuack hydraulic classifier, or s|)itzlutte, having four par- titions. Four sizes are made; these go to a respective series of roughing jigs, of whidi there are six rows of four each. They are double compartment Col- lom jigs. Each yields its pro- duct of metallic copper; the overflow goes to waste, while the hutchwork j)a.sses on to the di.stributors which feed the finishing jigs; of tiiese there arc twelve, with double compartments. Here the pro- duct is again copper metal; the hutchwork goes to settling boxes: a portion is clean enough to go to ihe smelter; the remainder is re-treated; NOTE.. A 12,S 77/ A' COI'I'KK MISES ■*■■ , .i^* ''^^'l INTIvKIOR OK TRIMorXTAIX MILL, -;■■ -.-^ .M,i fii '*^¥^^ 1^:?*'- - .*-'V/ ! OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 129 the overflow goes to the lake. Concerning the roughing jigs, it may be added that the first of these has an 8-niesh sieve followed by a 10-niesh in the atljoining com- partment; the next has 12 and 14-mesh, respectively the third 10 and 12; the fourth 14 and 16. In each case the screen is cut to a sieve 24 in. wide Ijy 36 in. long. Re- turning to the classifier below the trommels; the slime proceeds to V-shaped settling boxes antl is there separated; the overflow discharging into the lake, wliile the heavy goes to three revolving two-deck buddies known as Evans tables, the product of which is re-dressed on a Wilfley table, the tailing from this machine being returned to the Evans slime- tables. The Evans buddies have a cement surface, and their capacity is 12^ tons per deck, or 25 tons for the machine The 'ragging' from the second compartment of the roughmg jigs is withdrawn through an air discharge and goes back to the stamj,. This ' ragging ' is the heavy copper- beanng sand lymg immediately over tlie copper which con- centrates on the sieve; it is es.sentiallv a coarse middling The treatment of this material was the only attempt at re- grmdmg in the Isle Royale mill at the time of mv visit; but I am informed by the superintendent, Jlr. J. G. Glan- ville, that rolls are now being installed to treat oversize from the revolving screens. Another typical stamp-mill, crushing amygdaloid 'copper rock,' IS that of the Quincy, on Torch lake. Mr Jas W Shields is superintendent. There are two mills, one con- tamnig five heads, and the other three. In the old mill each stamp has a crushing capacity of 475 tons, under a steam-pressure of 98 lb. per sq. in.; while in the adjoining new mdl, a capacity of 550 tons is obtain-d with a pressure of 1 18 lb. of steam. New shoes weigh 708 lb. and last eight days, by which time they weigh 435 lb. The die weighs 800 lb., and lasts six to eight months: when taken out it weighs 225 to 275 lb. if it has worn evenly, the avera-^e being 250 pounds. i:iO TIIK COPI'ER MIXES Tlie .stamps have an ii-'proved discharge for reiuoving himp copper from the mortar, and there is a similar ' hau- lic separator below each of the trommels, to wimu the crushed ore passes from the stamp. The screen on the mortar is made in Hve upright sections or strips, one of them having openings of 1 inch, and the others holes of f inch. Tlie larger screen-opening is found to be successful in relieving the mortar of lump copper which does not make an exit by the mortar discharge. From the stamp the ore goes to the two trommels, i)rovideil with screens having \- ip. holes. In each mill the tronnuels are followed by classiriers and 24 roughing jigs, followed by more classifiers, the oversize going to six finishing jigs, and the remainder to two Wilflcy tables. In the old mill, the slime, forming the overflow from the first classifier, goes to four settling boxes, or 'slime tanks,' and thence to six Wilfley tables. In the new mill, there are six Wilflcy tables and one Stand- ard table for treating the slime to each stamp, the head and middling from the set of six Wilfleys being pumped into a settling box, the overflow going to the •.aste launder, and the remainder to the Standard table, whence the tailing goes back to the 'slime tank' feeding the six Wilfleys, «hile the heading makes a copi)er product. The only rc-grinding is done by a Chilean mill, of the Monadnock type, which crushes 60 tons per 24 hours, the material treated being the coarse middling from the last two scries of roughing jigs, wliich, after parsing through a lO-mesh sieve, is treated on jigs and Wilfley tables. The Isle Royale mill rcjiresents the prevailing practice in the treatment of amygilaloid ores; that of the Calumet & Ilecla. now to be described briefly, is rei^resentative of the accepted method of milling the copper-bearing con- glomerate. The l)ig plant of the Calumet & Hecla is situated on Torch lake, aljout five miles from the mines; it consists of two adjoining mill-buildings, both of them im- pressive on account of their sias. As you walk through I. OF LAKE SUPERIO'i. Stiimt) Cu.. ^— ^' , Cu 131 Cu.- ■VV'llfl(|y c. .,. J'gs / -\ / 1 _N^iini- -Cu. ^~~T — - Cu. <'i^ ,. 1 Cu. ] ^T.*- f 1 \ \ y' ♦if- -'-■■:i'vv iff ; -Cu. f>ettlina,ak'a. ■a" 132 TllK 'PER MIXES them the aiuouiit of ii.acliiiiery seems uiieiuling; for one mill, containuig 17 stamps, is 7UU ft., and the other, with 11 iieads, is 400 ft. witle, the length along the line of treat- ment being 175 feet. The total capacity of the 2S heails, with an average of 300 tons per .-^tamp, is over 8,000 tons per day. Uwing to repairs and alterations, the actual scale of treatment is represented by 0,000 tons. The stamps are of the Leavitt type, and have a falling weight of 2^ tons, when the shoes are new. Troni the bin, the millstuff passes over a gently inclined iron chute, wide enough to serve as a sorting table, the ore sliding forward with the aid of a jerking movement, imparted by a crank at sucli a speed as to permit a man, who watches the feed, to pick out any lump copper. The stamp is not turned mechanically, by the friction of the tapjwt and cam, as in the ordinary gravity stamp, but by impact on the ore lying upon the die; this turning is er- ratic being slight for one or two drops, followed by a sudden grand whirl, according to the state of the feed. Removal of lump copper from the mortar is effected by a jig recently invented ; this has its operating end inside the mortar. There is a slot, 1..") in. wide, and 12 in. long, at the base of tlu; screen and on each side of the mortar; under this there is a chamber, 4 in. by 12 in., bottoming U])on a sieve with 1-in. openings; and this, in turn, lies over a larger compartment, divided )>" a double system of valves, so that the copper can be discharged through a gate without interfering with the work going on in the mortar itself. The plunger of this jig (th(>re being one on each side of the mortar) gives an imjndse which is transmitted through the water in the successive chambers; the smaller copper product (or 'hutchwork') passing through the lower sieve, with the 1-in. openings; while the heavier ])ieces gradually displace the gravel within the upper chamber (the top of which is level with tlie bottom of the mortar screen), until it is filled with lumps f)f metal. This is then removed, ■ :;-*^;- OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 133 without disturbing the wash of the stamp or jig, by opening tlie back of the reeej)tacle, the contents of which are me- chanically discharged into an intermediate coi.inartnient; and then, after closing the upper valve, through an opening whicii empties outside. It is recognised that an excessive use of water is a bad feature of the local practice; and efforts have been made to obviate this defect. To this end, a jig-classifier has been devised to take the jjlace of the \'-separators in general use; and this has already diminished the quantity of water con- sumed by the milling operations. As the device is now- passing through the Patent Office, no drawings are avail- able, but the following description will indicate its nature: Two brass shields are placed within the bod}' of the jig; these shields are elliptical in plan, and are placed one within the other at different heights above the jig-sieve; the outer shield extends into, and is sealed by, the jigging material (sand and gravel), so that the slime is prevented from rising within the shield, and flows along the sides until it e pes over the tail of the jig. The inner shield readies down into the copper bed lying on the sieve; the sand and gravel entering under the outer shield, travel around the inner one. and finally make their exit also through a slot at the lower end of the jig. the slot being controlled by a gate which regulates the fluctuations of the load. This inven- tion )iroduces an economy of water because the cla.ssifica- tion is effected without the addition of any water except sufficient to run the jig: and, in fact, the slime is slightly de-watered by the settling action involved in the device. Less attendance, and no plugs to choke, are other note- worthy features of this arrangement, as compared with the usual hydraulic classifiers and V-shaped .separators. By the use of the mortar-jig as against the Kraiise discharge, by the aid of the jig-cla.ssifier just described, and by a marked decrea-se in the number, and increase in the effi- ciency, of ordinary jigs at work in the mill, the consumption 134 THE COl'PEIi MIXES of water has been lowered from Hoiiietliing like 2,500,0UU gal., to 1,125,000 gal. per stamp per 24 hours. The scheme of treatment is given in the diagram on page 131. This shows (wherever C'u api)ears) tue stages at wliich the metallic copper is extracted, and the gradual elimination of tlie encasing rock. (Wherever X appears there is a product that goes to waste.) At the stamp theic are two extractions of copper on each side of the mortar, as already described. On making its exit through the screen, the jiulp is divided so as to pass through two series of double compartment jigs, five on each side. The first two jigs have sievc> 24 in. wide and .30 in. long; the next three have sieves 50 in. wide and oO in. long; the jigs are arranged so that the comiiartments are in .-series along the cour.-^e of treat- ment, the pulsation being along the line of flow. The slime separated in the first jigs, by the classifier already described, goes to a settling tank and thence to two Evans revolving tables of four decks each, the partial con- centrate from these eiglit 'Inuldlcs'— as they may be termed— jtassing to four Wilfley tai)les, the middling from which goes to a fifth 'Wilfley. .Metallic copper is obtained at each of tlie Wilfleys, R(>turning to tiie jigs: metallic copper is secu.ed at the first two of each .«eries, the otiier three yielding 'gravel,' or middling, which goes to a Chilean mill for re-grinding. The hutchwork from all the jigs, goes to nvo Wilfley tables; and the crushed middling from the Chilean mill goes to two other Wilfleys, the middle heading from all four being returned to a fifth, the middling of which in turn goes to the Chilean mill. Metallic co])per is ol)taine(l from each of these Wilfleys also. The tailing from tlie mill is elevated by rafT-wheels of .")0 ft. and fiO ft. diameter: it is tested by taking automatically, and at regu- lar intervals, a samjile which is assayed for its copper con- tents, and passed through succes.^ive sieves to determine the character of the cru.- "ling. Losses in milling of these copper ores are attributable OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 135 to two caufics: tlic first i.s the abrasion of the metal due to its bci'ig retaiiieil witiiin the mortar after it is released from tlio encasing rock, the rate of discharge being dispro- portionate to the enormous rate of crushing; the second cause is the existence of cop[)cr within particles of rock which have been iiiade(iuately crushed; this is especially true of conglomerate, in wliich the metal penetrates the very body of the hard ])ebbles. Tlie copper exists in parti- cles ranging frt)m the microscopic to massive; therefore, the crusliing can be likened to the breaking of nuts, the kernel l)eing lil)erated by the cracking of the shell; but the nuts range from filberts to cocoanuts in size, and from pea- nuts to brazils in lianlness. Re-grinding, therefore, is an im[)ortant problem. At present it is the practice, in many mills, to return the oversize from the trommel back to the stamp, which is a clumsy solution of the difhculty, because nuich of the pulp simply travels the circuit. However, only a small propor- tion of the pulp can be re-ground profitably, under existing coiuhtions, by reason of the high consumption of power and the excessive wear and tear involved in all re-grinding maciiines. It can be said that only material carrying O.oO to 0.7.") per cent copper, or more, will pay to treat in the Cliilean mill — wliich. at present, holds the field. .\t the Baltic mill, where this practice was first used in the copiier country, 120 tons of o\ ersize from the trommels of one unit is ])assed through rolls; and this expedient has raised the crushing capacity of the stamp just that amount — 120 tons per day. At the Calumet iV- Hecla plant, the Hf ".)erle mill, consisting of two steel di.sks, eccentric to each other, and revolving in o]iposite directions, is tised ; but the superintendent is in no way enthusiastic over this machine. High-speed rolls and Huntington mills have been employed ; at present the Chilean mill, both the Monadnock and the .\llis type, form part of the equipment, nnd they are said to do good work. But their capacity is small, namely .33 136 THE COPPm MIXES to 40 t()iisDer24 hours (,f tlio material kuowr as 'ragging'; this ranges from 'S-lii in. downward, and is re-ground through a 16-mcsh screen. Tiiey consvnne an excess of power— 2S h.p. per mill, e(iuivalent to from 15 to 20 cents per ton. In the Quincy mills the Monadnock type of Chilean mill, G ft. in diameter, is in successful use. Each macliine consumes 2.5.61 h.p., and crushes from 55 to 60 tons of amygdoloid per 24 hours through a lO-mesh screen. The product is granular and in good condition for the Wil- fieys. At the Baltic, the 6-ft. Huntington mill, also working on amygdaloid, puts 51 tons of \-h\. material through a 16-mesh screen in 24 hoin-s. Therefore, allowing for the difference in screens, the Huntington appears to grind faster than the Cliilean mill working on similar material. The Jialtic mill Ikls one Huntington to four stamps; this machine treats tiie 'ragging' from the finishing jigs. In this mill, rolls are also used early in the operation, the oversize from tronuuels docs not go back to the stamp; from the tronunel with ^-in. openings, the oversize passes to Sturtevant rolls; and from them it is returned to the tronuuel, to take its regular course through the plant. From indicator cards it has heen shown that the Chilean mill takes 25 to .30 h.p., and the ordinary Himtington 14 h.,*. even where the latter is doing more grinding. The former makes 26 to 30 revolutions per minute, the latter 60 to 65. The consumption of steel amounts to about 15 cents per ton in the one case, and 2.25 cents in the other. That is on amygdaloid. The total cost of re-grinding coarse 'ragging' mav be put at 10 to 12 cents per ton for the Huntington, and .30 to 35 cents for the Chilean. The roller of a Chilean mill has a cnishing weight of about 6,000 lb., this being the actual weight of the roller, plus one-third the weight of the spider and the tire. The roller in the Huntington weighs 1,400 lb., but by reason of the centrifugal force developetl by the greater speed of revolu- OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 137 tion, the virtual crushing weight of this is approxuimtely 5,400 iwunds. The new Huntington mill, now being introduced, has the same diameter as the one previously in use; but it is a more powerful machine, with overhead drive, and is heavier, weighing 45,000 lb., as against 26,000 lb., the weight of the usual 6-ft. machine. This increa.se in weight was made in consequence of experience obtained by Mr. Frank Klepctko in the concentrator of the Boston & Montana Copper Com- pany at Great Falls. In leaving this part of the subject, it may be pointed out that re-grinding machinery in a null serves as a valuable cover to any erratic behavior on the part of roughing jigs or other devices doing similar work. It is difficult to secure accurate data concerning the tailing losses. On amygdaloid, the Osceola tailing averages 0.018 per cent from an initial one per cent ore, making the extraction 82 per cent. At the Adventure, with 0.95 per cent ore, the tailing average is 0.26, giving an extraction of 73 per cent. At the Champion, with ore carrying 30 lb. of copper, of which 4 lb. is 'mass,' sorted out before milling, the tailing ranges from 0.30 to 0.35 per cent, equal to an extraction of 80 per cent. At the Quincy, the mill-rock contains 19.3 lb. copper per ton, and the tailing averages 0.26 per cent, indicating an extraction of S3 per cent. Speaking generally, it can be said that in treating an amyg- daloid containing 1 to 1.5 per cent copper, the tailing averages 0.25 to 0.35 per cent, this being equal to an ex- traction of 75 to 80 per cent. On conglomerate such as that of the Calumet & Hecla, the included copper carried away in the tailing prechides a high extraction, a loss of 0.7 per cent indicating an extraction of 72 per cent on a 2.5 per cent ore. The mill treatment, therefore, is not satisfactorj'; it has not, for example, kept pace in improvement with the mining metho<'.= of the region. The present practice is really to drcwr^ the ore with an enormous volume of water. W^^yftj£^?Zr^^?FWA \:;s THE COI'tEJi MLSLS not ill tlie mortar alone, but also in the hydrauiic classitiers. This is riHjuirccl to aid tho discliarjie from utidi-r the stamp, and to coiivcy tlic cnishrd material llirough an interminablu numlicr ol' jigs. The stamp does not pMlverizc, it i\tn< the work of a roek-hreaker, for it rediiecs only to I inch, lop this work, as also for the other cxtreiiic — very tine grinding — tlie stamp is not adapted, liut effort toward betterment is under way, and a radical ileparturc from e'itablished practice proves that prejudice is not to cripple advance- ment. At the Champion mill, tmder the experienced direction of .Mr. F. G. Coggin, gyrat(jry crushers are to be tried, supplemented by rolls. A unit of eciuipnient, capable of treating .3.^0 tons pvr day, is now in course of erection. This scheme of treatment will be based on the gradual re- duction of 'copper rock' through Gates g}Tatory crushers, to a size suitable for further reduction by rolls instead of steam- stamps, the idea being that if the ore can be sent to the mill already reduced to a size of 2.5 in. or less, the expensive steam-stamp is not needed. The sa\ing to be made in this way, will consist of a decrease in the power re(Hiired— at least 7.') per cent— a smaller consumption of water in the l)rocess of separation, and a diniitnition in slime, which does not exist in the broken >ock as delivered to the mill, but is made chiefly by abrasion with the lump copjier in the mortar. It is aLso intended to jig the material coarser than the present size, which is \ inch, in order to allow some of the coarser stuff to escape as tailing w ithout further reduc- tion: that portion requiring further connninution will be- come ■middlina:' from the ji*;s, and will be reduced by re- grinr ilrnpiicil one incli, ■^reby oviTfoniiii); tlie (It'luyjs iliic lu the clogging of tlie cruslu-r hy lumps nf f<)|i|HT. Tlie jaws of this cnislKT will be set 2."» in. apart. It is Tiot practicahU; to (luin|) the skip or ear direct into the crusher, as at the Home-take, on account of the proeiiec- of lump copper, which renuires that the ore shall pass over jrrizzlies and undergo sorting by hand. Under the jiyratorv will come a conveyor, with boys to j)ick out pieces of copper which have been released by the passap- of the rock throujrh the crusher. Then the material passes to bins which load into cars that no to the mill. At the mill, the bins will deliver to a shaking j{i . i-, the oversize j;oines to roufihinj: ji^s; the ovcr-ize and uniler- size, respecti\cly, from the trommel froin^ to .sejiarate ji^is, and from tliem to separate roils. Thence the product is raised to three trommels, with %, I. and J-in. opeiimj;s, all the iiroduet, as sized, ])a.ssin« to different ji<;s, except the screening from the last trommels, whir!, jjoes to cone- classifiers. .\t the last set of jigs, a middlinji w ill be made; and this will <;o through rolls before bein^ fe(l to the new HuiUiiifiton mills, the ])roduct froii^ wliicli will join the fine screenintr from the hist tronnnel, to jnoceed to cone- elassifiers a' I tiience lo (h(m tallies, lixperiment-: with this concentrator have nt total cost f)f millinjr. 25 cents per ton. This will emjihasize the observation that durini: late years the endeavor to lessen costs lias licen pushed at the expense of any improvement in extraction; that is, it has not been realized that while the expenditure entailed by the treatment of ci>i)per ore has decrea.sed, there has been no commensurate diminution in the amount OF LAKE SUrKIUOli. 141 of uopjHT lust, rive cnits wortli of co|)|)er, j)er ton, lost in the tailing is wortli just as much as a five-cent decrease in niilliii^; cost. It should be added that the installation proposed is purely experimental, hut the intention is to put a definite tonnage through a definite process" in other words, the experiment is on a conunercial scale. The de- sign of the exiH'riniental plant is purposely made .-iudiciently flexible to permit of any modification, the necessity of which may be indicated by tiie results. There is nothing revolu- tionary in the scheme of treatment. It is simply an ap- plication, to the special conditions in the Lake .'^uperior district, of methods which have been adopt e( the mills make a< many as five classes, removed at ililTerent stages of the dressing; these vary as regards fineness of particles (from slime to walnut size), and as regards purity (from 30 to 75 per cent copper). There is also a large proportion of pieces of fragment al copper extracted from the mortar, called 'headings.' Thiis is almost clean metal, containing alunit 95 per cent copper. ]iy iiand-sorting at the mine, anil at the mill (as the 'rock' is fed into the stamps) there is secured a product called 'Ijarrel work'; this ranges in size from fragments as big as an orange to pieces as large as a man's head. Exactly similar material sorted out at the mine, l)ut ranging in size fron\ a few pounds to several tons in weight, is known as 'mass.' Tlic 'barrel work' and 'mass 'contain about 70 ner cent copi)er. Thus, the material which reaches the smelter incUules copper in a great diversity of sh ipe, purity and degree of siibdivision. On the whole, the average is GD to 70 per cent copper, with an admixture of heavier constituents of the lode-rock, forming a chemical complex which is mainly aluminum silicate together with varying proportions of iron and lime. Ordinary custom charges for smelting are SS tf> 89 per ton of 'mineral,' with 5 cents penalty on each unit below 70 jicr cent cojiper; the average cost of smelting is there- fore about $7.75 per ton of refined copper; the lowest cost, at tlie Quincy works, is .'?5.25, and at IJuffalo, 85.35 per ton. riie smelting is essentially a melting and refining of a co]ipcr product in which the copper is in metallic form mixed with a relatively small percentage of rock iinpuritj'. This main operation takes place in a reverberatory; it is sup- W" qffHm COPPER MIXES. 143 plemented by the reduction of the resulting slag in a blast furnace, yielding copper blocks wiiich are returned to the reverberatory furnace to be refined. The Quiucy smelting works are representative of the practice which has prevailed during the last twenty years. This plant is situated on the foreshore of Lake Portage, at Hancock. To Mr. W. P. Smith, the superintendent. I am indebted for every facility for obser\-ation, supplemented by courteous explanation. The product from the mill is discharged from the railroad cars into a storehouse, the 'mineral' arriving in barrels which are emptied into trucks; these pass into the furnace building, where they are raised by an electric crane, so that their contents drop into a hopper situated over an opening in the roof of the furnace. The smaller 'mass' is thrown by hand through the side door of the furnace; and when the lumps are too big for entrance this way. they are lowered by an electric crane through the roof-opening. In starting a charge, a small amount of 'mineral' is spread over the bottom; then the heavy pieces of 'ma.ss' are lowered carefully ui)on this lied. Sometimes an unusually large mass will not jiermit of even this mode of entry; then it is laid aside until, repairs to the brickwork becoming necessary, the furnace is dismantled; this permits of the mass being placed on the hearth while the top of the furnace is rebuilt over it. Each of the four reverberatory furnaces has an average capacity of 400 tons of 'mineral' per month of 24 actual working days. A charge of .36,000 lb. mineral is treated every 24 hours by each furnace, the product being 26,000 lb. copper. The hearth is 12 by IS ft. As soon as the charge is introduceil. the melt begins; after a couple of hours the skinuning of slag commences. About 15 to 16 hours are required to complete the treatment, the remaining S or 9 hours being con.sumed in poling, ladling, cleaning up and re-charging the furnace for the ne.xt melt. mmmmsmmwam qppmnniniai wm wm 144 THE COPPER MIXES :i .Miliii;il, .Mii»;mil I'.liu'k ,V L'l'iPlii r( V) iiMiiii:lni; T0;< t.i'«i?l,'U. ■ iltictiSliiKfrolii (1>) "^ \ \ ll.viTlHTiil.iry FiMiiaoi'. « hire tiM' icipiwr K tiih'il alKl I'i'MlH'd; tin- olHTUIioiis tx'ilit; I. rilsion / I' 111 Iiuiira 2. Itvliioval .i|-|a« \ c 3. l-'iiiinu or rahltljnir - 4. I!i'filiil>b'<>l'|><>liliu '- 't. Casliiij^ 'J Cllan-'c rniislM- .■!• IS tens ..f A with ii varia- bli-( 4 to 8^)aclilili,.iion!, l.i-itciiis.if linn'^lolifaild Ti ti'lls <»f xit'troal. y \ .jL. I'nim npfi;4(Hin'* "- iind 3. Hftiiifii (•(i|)iMT. shitr. Fioiii iiprriiiion 1 J \ ('n|Mila or l>l;t-«t fiiriiari'. K iltai^rcIsof-Jtl(iiistirD,plii.s Htn 'J tons Hmesttinenml 4 tonsof Imrrt c 1 I'.Iack ruppi T ill l»i( ? I'r. nnl si.-ti!iim far. DIACli.VM OF OI'i:i{ATI<>\S AT (H iN<'v sMi:i,ri:ii. I)11inli:?lttt; o.:".!S0 Hi.: these arc for manufactf.r- ing wire, suitable for electric and other purposes. 4. .An- odes in ))lates al)out 2 ft. by .3 ft., 1^ in. tliick. weighing 250 lb., which are smelted from picked 'mineral' containing 60 to 70 oz. silver ])er ton : the two metals are subsequently separated by electrolytic refining. The first three of the cojiper products have a conductivity of at least '*(). Tiio reverlieratory furnaces have to be re- paired every eight or ten weeks. Tiie furnace roof lasts about eight months and the fire-box roof half that time. Several additions and improvements are being designed, especially for tlie discharge and storing of 'mineral ' as it comes from the several mines which are contributory to this smelter. In default of any systematic sampling, it is difficult for the smelter manager to arrive accurately at the metal contents of the material he treats. The 'nia.ss' copper is extremely irregular in shape, and carries a varying proportion of adhering rock. Even the 'mineral,' which comes in barrels, is diflictilt to average, because any single %-» ,i'S£»0*»'.- .1 !,•■■ rtl". 'I ^TTt OF LAKH SUPERIOR. 147 barrel may contain several grades of product in laj-ers by no means parallel to each other, so that the 'tester' used at the mills will give an inaccurate result. I watched several barrels while they were being emptied, and noted that they contained a mixed product thus carelessly ar- ranged. This part of the operation merits keener atten- tion, and will require it if the smelter is to check the work of the mill. On the otiier side of Portage lake and about three miles west of Houghton, there is the new plant of the Michigan .Smelting Company, an enterprise organized to treat the product of the mines on the South Range. This smelter had just been built within the preceding twelve months, despite the severity of the winter cold, and represented the outcome of unusual energy and skill. Although a tempera- ture of I'inus 20° F. was not uncommon during the period of construction, and minus 10° F. was considered relatively mild weather, the walls and foundations do not appear to have suffered. Thn accompanying plan explains the arrangement of the plant. To llr. F. I. Cairns, the man- ager, I am indebted for many of the details which follow. The works are built upon a terraced slope, the copper product from the mills being delivered by tiie railroad in bottom-dump cars sufficiently tight to render the finer stuff safe from leakage. The 'mineral' is dumped into a driver, a rotating cylinder sliglitly inclined, 72 in. diameter "and 30 ft. long. This dryer is the A 9 machine of the Ruggles Cole Engi!iecring Company, anrl has a capacity of 15 tons per hour. Drying is required in order to prevent the freezing of the 'mineral' in the bins during winter, and also to facilitate sampling. 'Mass' and 'barrel work' copper are neither dried nor sampled, but are sent direct to the melting furnace. After sampling, the mineral goes to the bins; they are vertical cylinders of sheet steel, 12 ft. diam. and 30 ft. high. Tiie design of them is borrowed from srain-elevator prac- .'=li-: il'-i.=«>o . 1{VU_.arY.'±:'l »s rilK COl'l'EU MIXES tier, sucli as is to ho swii im tlio mitskirts of Cliieago. Tliis form of coiistnictioii is brst i-apahio of taking the strain dovoloiii'tl hy tlic oiitwanl prossiirc, uliicli is carried hy tlie tensile streiijrtli of the steel jihites, tlie iiij^h density of the mineral rendering wooden hins of ordinary construction ni- adei|uate to tlie purpose. These hins are 10 in ninnher and hold 2')0 tons apiece. From them the mineral is taken in liottom-dunip cars along a track above the smelting furnaces, to ho discharged into the latter through hoppers. There are three -melting furnaces, each having a hearth IS ft. wide and ,50 ft. long, with a daily cai)acity of 100 tons of mineral averaging, say, .")() per cent co])pcr. It remains to he s(>en what the furnaces ar<> capahle of doing, hut 1.50 tons is i-egarded as a reasonable maxinnnn capacity. Some iron was added at hrst, say, U]) to (> ])er cent, in order to take off the excess of alumina in the rock impurities ac- companying the mineral. Tiiis iron was a hematite from Crystal lails, and was considered to insure a more liquid slag tlian if entire dependence were ])ut on the lime })re^'>nt in tlie 'mineral.' Hut tliis addition of iron has been found unnecessary. Slaus contain ].'» ])er cent alumina, and there is eiioujih lime in the charge to keep them lifiuid. Tiiirty tons of mineral are fed into the furnace at a time, tlie resulting metal being sup|plied to the 'casting' or refin- inu- furnace intermittently in ciiarges of .*>() tons. Since writing the aho\c it has l)eeii found ad\isahle to reduce the si/e of the melting furnaces, from IS ft. wide by .")0 ft. long to 1() ft. wide and :>.'> ft. long. In the fur- naces as first built, the sand bottcuns gave a good deal of trouble, due jirincipally to the great exjiansion of such a larg(> furnace. The expansion of this large copjicr-soaked sand-bottom was found to be very much more than that of a similar sized furnace suK-ltiny; for copper matte. The coiisefjuent exjiansion (and contraction of the furnace on cooling) resulted in cracking and weakening the bottom; so that, with a hath of metal of such high specific gravity B&*»..--v«bir^'M'a''^?^i..-'- OF LAKE Sil'EJilOH. 149 J " >f^ '^■i. J 150 nil-: cui'i'Eii MisEs as copper upon it, tlicrc was a great teiuleney tor the boitoni to Hoat. Several bottoms suffered in this way; as a consequence, tlie furnaces were reilucetl in size, as noted above, and tlie bottoms were laid of two courses of 12-in silica fire-brick in an inverted arch. Absolutely no difli- cultics have liecn encountered in the operation oi tiiese furnaces since then, and they have resulted in a marked economy in the treatment of the 'mineral.' The c(Ji)i)er runs fnnn the melting furnace to the refining furnace, which is 5 ft. lower, along a launder 21 ft. long, there being no trouble in keepuig the metal litjuid for this distance. There arc two refining furnaces, each with a hearth 14 ft. wiile and 23 ft. long, and so arranged as to take the product of the three melting furnaces, the central melting furnace of these tapping to either of the refining furnaces. At present the two casting furnaces together treat two charges per day; but this rate of operation will be expedited when the plant gets into full working order. The slag from all the rcverberatories goes to a blast fmnace of standard design, 38 in. by 120 in. Slag is skinuncd into large cast-iron rectangular pots, 10 in. by 24 in. by GO in., holding 1,000 lb., wliich are carried on trucks and drawn by an electric locomotive to the rock- breaker, a 15 by 30-in. Blake crusher. The pots are em]itied into the jaws of the breaker, by an overhead pneu- matic crawl; the broken product is sampled before being elevated to the bins above the blast furnace. The copper from this furnace is cast into moulds, chilled, and then transfcrreil to the refining furnaces by electric traction and crane. The slag from the blast furnace is granulated in flowing water, and then run out ])y launder to the lake. In the large furnace-house there is a traveling electric crane, so that, what with the fullest use of gravity and mechanical devices generally, there is the least possible amount of manual labor eniploj-ed in the handling of ma- terial. The chipping of the ingots, to take off excrescences. OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 151 18 done by hand, though it might well be done with a pneumatic chisel, the compressed air for which is already available. PLAN OF MICHIGAN SMELTKR. It will be seen from the descriptions of the two establish- ments, one old and the other just built, that the essentials of the smelting operations have not been changed in the new works; these, however, exemplify the constant effort of the modern engineer to eliminate manual labor from all mining and metallurgical enterprise. 1 XIV.— IiiK -Ml N WiK, Did It. Xutnre j^avc tlie Upper I'ouinsula a great .series i)f copper lodes. Man turned tlieiii to the use of his kind. As I would choose the region \>y tiie Lake as a type of American mining at its l)est, so 1 would instance the chanicter of the men responsilile for its development as representative of that composite energy which ha.< conquered tlic wilderness of plain and forest, changing the desert to a granary and the waste to a habitation. Wiioever desires to ai)preciate the causes which have l)nnight about the great growth of these United States can, l)y going to Houghton and Calumet, observe two of tlieir diief factors, namely, the natural re- sources of a continent and the best blood of many races, united in elTort and com])etiiig in skill. It needs but to sound the roll-call of inventors, engineers and business men, who hav(! won distinction in the cojjper country, to bring out the fact tliat many ar,' t ic peoples ivho have partaken in this industrial conriuest. The steam-stamp was the in- vention of Hall, a Massadmssetts mechanic; the van- ner is to be credited to William R. Frue and his master mechanic. William Foster, of Fredonia, New York; Frue, who was an Irisl nan, found the I'ewabic lode and the South Pewal)ic, two discoveries which became identified with the Quincy and Atlantic mines, respectively. August lle''il)ack, a flerman. did mucli to develop the .■ipplication of the vanner; tiic jig was developed by John Collom. a Cornishman,whose name still dings to that cU^vice. .T. W. V. Rawlins, an engineer with mechanical genius, was an Englishman, while S. E. Cleaves, a notable character and the first to make an iron-bodied jig, came from Maine; Philip Scheurmann, a pioneer millnian, was a German; Jlr. Bruno V. Xordberg, the designer of many of the most -m- portant installations of machinery', is a native of Finland; Mr. John St.antnn, identif •.■ i with, all that is sound in mining, CfU'I'KU Mi.\i:s 153 3i ■ ^Kf . ^*i* i^ f -fcr ■mi ymm i:>4 TUK LOl'l'EK MISHS i 51 (! ■A- I wa.s bom in SiiiiiTsot. Liiglaiul.whi'u Mi. D. Lca>- -f r., another on^iincor who liius taken a not;tblc imi'i n the e(Hiii)ment of t' , bij; iniiu'?., is of .\Iu.ssaehu.-.etts; an Hu roll begins as ii i :i'l> \«.ith the name of a Ncu V'Ai^hv lei . it serves as suggestion .;iuical ingenuity there has ''een fxv .i Jiver -v of origin nt '.mlergrouuil t»ne ; re ui n ii li. held — ami continues to he that exi'lorc tlu dark izes World. "P re, P..1- ind I Yiiii may know thit T||. Ill; indii of the p' one of the old ^ boy of 18. pro escapade. V ingtoii. and After two >e:ii he came to T.aki superior, in 1 - 'ilt. From \\ National mine, 1 caj)iain. He bei Wll. ,irat< n- P'plieu, inais-'h- . ilie ioii." Til. w a* Capt William arnall, ird, w^ -nsise*! the At i 'icwl i btit a ,ied ■ ii rca rvcii i. ■ ati-i orks -. ■: 111 kno a >n 'vjjert in tne coal ami •oii regi' of a poaching tinel at Wash- mmi man. th' --nth, t the ■on became - uift-boss, and I -sistant le celebf'ted locally as a wresii.-r, par- ticularly thrniiffh I fight in ich he vanquished a notor- io'i-buUv. Thi-; ■ veir '•'■■i- im to the attention of Capt. OF i..\KK sri'EHnnt l.w Kv« 156 THE COm'KR MIXES John Chynowcth and utlier older men, who advised him to improve his natural abilities. He used to read at night, lying in his bunk with his miner's candle stuck in his hard hat,°and that after an exacting day's labni-! From being captain at the Franklin, in 1SG9, he advanceil to posts of greater inii)ovtance; and in 1890 he was appointed assistant supcruitendent at the Tamarack; he died, in 1903, the chief at that mine. lie was recognized as a progressive man, willing always to take a sympathetic attitude toward technical science, as is proved by the fact that two of his sons were graduated with the first class of the Michigan College of Mines, iu ISSS. Richard Uren and John I'ren were also men whom change tlid not stagger; they were willing to move with the procession, sometimes to lead it. Capt. llieliard Uren, who died in 1897, possessed a i^.-od deal of mechanical ingenuity, and busied himself with im- proving the devices used around a mine. He, like most of his countrymen, traveled to different districts; as superin- tendent of the Old Abe mine in tlie Black Hills, he became familiar with gold mining in South Dakota; later, he was one of the first to open up the Wolverine; and there is no reason to doubt that, if his ideas had been followed, the Wolverine would have become a big mine many years be- fore Mr. Stanton actually accomplished that feat. Capt. John Daniell. who also died in 1S97, was the originator of the Tamarack ' deep-level '; simple tliough it seems todayto sink a shaft 2,300 ft., to cut the Calumet & Hccla lode, it was a bold venture in 1SS4. .\nother good service he did was in advisingMr. Albert S. liigelow to interest him- self in the Boston tt Montana group, at Butte. He was a good man underground, and had that sound judgment which is priceless; he was the man who made the Osceola a paying mine, when others had failed ; although not a technical man himself, he gladly availed himself of technical science. Among the living are such worthies as Capt. Samuel B. Harris and Capt. Johnson Vivian, who have re- i-w mmm' ^rWs^^; i^^^TMiw^m^. 158 THE COl'l'KR MIXES w 1 tirc'l, but live in ctdiifurt amid tl>o scenes of their past activity. Capt. James Ciiynoweth is one of the survivors of this notal)le group, and lias charge of the Centennial, Alloucz and otlier mines. Captains John Dennis of the Adventure, Joshua Hooper of the N'ictoria, Richard Ed- wards of the Isle lloyale, and Thos. Hosking of the I'rank- lin, have also done credit to 'the old county.' It is a notable fact that, in the first class sent out from the Michigan College of .Mines, there were five sons of Cornish mine captains, out of the seven who were graduated. The day of the Cornish mine captain is ^•anishlng; his place is being taken by sons who are native Americans; but these, despite their better education, lack the distinctive character of their forefathers, losing some qualities and gaining (Jthers better suitetl to their environment. Nevertheless, even today, when technically educated men^.\merican. what- ever their fathers were — tlirect the operations of the mines. I foimd the imderground work in charge o!" a Cornishman. in inrii instance. Shoved aside at surface in the march of sciciildic progress, he holds his own underground, simply because he knows better than anyone how to break rock, liow to timbi ">ad gromid. and how to make the other fellow shovel i.. tram it and ho'.st it. At the Atlantic I hea- ' a story on Capt. Vivian, which that worthy gentle- man will forgive me for quoting. A friend of his told it thus: "Cap'n Vivian took hold of the Franklin when she was dead to the world, and she just scraped along for a while. He was talking to the agents up at Calumet one day — they hail a kiml of party and were gassing a bit, ho told them tiie Cahunet could run herself, she was rich enough not to need nnich bossing. 'A good bal makes a good cap'n,' said Iv . They didn't get ' ->f a joke on the old man: he left them chewing." i .■ 'ue enough; there is the chairman, there is the gene ' .nanager, the accoimtant, the engineer, the assayer, the manager— and it is the boss unffcrijrmind that m.akes the mine. But it OF LAKE SUI'KRIOIi 159 . takos the otlicr people to luni the ore v:hcn mined into money; ami here is where the Cousin Jack has too often failed to equip himself. There L the miner's strength and skill in the Cornishman's arm ; he is the hammersman of the world — I mean underground, not among the artificial con- ditions of a farcical drilling contest — but lie lacks the ability to keep his eye on the main thing, the dividend. Hence, many of them are gooil shift-bosses, but poor general managers. At Houghton they tell the story of the easy- going captain who used to visit a certain mine at regular intervals. Driving up to the ofTice he would call for the man in charge of the work, and say,"(iooil mornin', Cap'n; how is that drift going north from Xo. .3 shaft (or any old shaft)?" To which would come the answer, "She's lookin' keenly, Cap'n. There's a lot of copper ii' 'er." "What tiie blooming 'ell is the use of copper down i icre? Send 'er up, .send 'er up." A crack of the whip and he was on the way back to town. Of course, I do not mean l)y this tliat the Cornishmen, as luanagers, had no sense of duty; Init tliey did lack that nose-to-the-grindstone strenuous ajiplication which makes the modern American ruminate mining and machinery, while Englishmen arc playing cricket or golf, and Germans are drinking beer or singing college somrs. Ti;ey are all part of life — tlie song, tlie play and the work; but, assuredly, to win tha*- share of money and position which constitutes success, it is necessary to play the man. and strong in will "to stri\e, to .'^eek, to find, and not to vield." i '-.'^'rT?^'wr>jf='rr'?/.".''^s-r'-i XV. A Last (Jlanc k. ) My story is almost at an eiul. it has necessarily been too short to do justice to so wide a subject; but it will, I hope, convey to those who have never been to these splen- did mines, sonic idea of their method of exploitation, their jieological conditions and the treatment of their output. Before leaving Houghton, 1 will ask you to go with me to the top of one of the Quincy shaft-houses and take a general view of the country as it appears from that point of vantage. There will be Lake Superior men in Mexico, Africa or Aus- tralia, to whom the description will convey some of the warmth oi auld lang sync. It was a fine, clear morning; the west wind had blown away the mists, and while I regarded the widespread scene, as from a mountain to]), it seemed good to be there. Look- ing due south over the multiplicity of trestles and tracks leading from the shaft-house, Quincy hill slopes steeply- to the narrow arm of Portage lake; on the near side, just showing, arc the roofs of Hancock; and across the water the straight streets of Houghton radiate in perspective from the quiet woodlands. f)ver the bridge that unites the twin towns of Houghton and Hancock, the trolley cars are passing; while imtler- neath, over a lower track, a Duluth, South Shore «fc Atlantic train is backing. Houghton stretches out thin along tlie water front; behind the two or three blocks of houses the streets beconie cotmtry roads, win.ling through clearings tliat are diversified by dark patches of forest. Beyond these again the rolling plateau hoUls the village that sm-- rounds the Isle Royale mine with its two pror.iincnt shaft- houses, between which three rows of workmen's houses appear like onlerly l)eehives; and in the distant background successive depths of forest fade into the faint blue of the Huron mountains. Nearer to har.d. anri to the right, is the sheen of water --afr .'.J^.uifU*' COP I' EH MINES 161 i ( 11 COPPER HARBOR. • iTr^"!a' .- .' 1"^* . ■^.»'. iV I'llHPi II mi—taiua t.' -,'\HC»' IG'2 Tilt: COI'PEH MINES --«?-- marking a dam belonging to the Isle Iloyale mine, and swinging thence southwestward, along the line of the (•iuincy shaft-houses, the eye follows the general strike of the mineral belt as it is indicated by a succession of busy M.lnes. About two miles south of the lake the red roofs of the Atlantic appear amid the green woods, and the smoke of that celebrated mine is thrown to the wind; behind it the country rises to Wheal Kate, a hill the name of which instantly brings Cornish associations. On the nearer side of this hill, but eastward, the smoke-stack and some of the buildings of the Baltic mine can be discerned, and on the wooded slopes below, two shaft-houses stand out against the trees. The nieghboring mines, the Champion and Tri- mountain, are only suggested by wreaths of smoke, for they are buried amid the bush that bounds the horizon. Coming back to the foreground, but moving westward again, a grove of maples hides the valley of the Lake Arm, and almost eclipses the new Michigan smelter, whose thin smoke rises wind-blown on the further side. The country south and west, in this part of the picture, is cl.crkcred with cultivated squares, marking the industry of the Finns, whose farmhouses are many of them still unpainted and bespeak the newness of the agricultural development of this part of Michifian. Behind these fields of grain comes a fringe of woodland, indicating the descent to the main waters of Lake Superior, the southern edge of which is blurred by separate wreaths of smoke rising from the stamp-mills at Freda, where the Champion, Trimountain, Baltic, Adven- ture and Atlantic companies treat their ore. The Portage Arm can be followed by the dip in the con- tour of the land, although the water itself cannot be seen; and, as the indent in the land is followed, it takes the eye westward to the alpine azure of the great lake— Lake Superior— whose far horizon is faintly broken by the mass of Isle Royale, sixty miles away, crowned by splendid cumuli which dissolve themselves in Funlit ftkies, OF LAKH SUt'FhiOH. 1G3 following the I-ake from west to north until tlie land rises against the watery horizon, tliere come into the fore- ground th" '.ts of the village of Qnincy, with the chim- neys, dm id rock-hiiuses of the old I'cwabic, Franklin antl iMes. ^. lines. Northeastward there intervenes a ten-mile stiuch of bush kimwii to contain several mines none of whidi are visible oxcept the Franklin, Jr. On the sky-line a cluster of chinnicys indicates the great Calumet & Hecla; to the right is tiie Osceola, and to the left the tall stacks of the Red Jacket and the Tamarack, the deepest metal mines in the world, starting 600 ^'t. above the lake, itself 600 ft. above the sea, and penetrating nearly 4,(K)() ft. below the sea. Behind the bristling points of this group of black chinsneys, the far end of the Keweenaw peninsula can almost be seen. Dark hills, far to the north, indicate the Cliff, where mining began in this region, and to the east of them the conical shai)e of Mt. IJoheniia rises like a lone volcano. Swinging ea.stward, the near view — and there is no other — is composed of a bare plateau broken by long rows of dwelling-houses, with the ill-fated A "adian shaft-house silhouetted against the sky. Turning Surther to the right, and eastward, the entering wedge of Lake Superior again comes into the picture, and can be followed until it lends to Keweenaw bay. At our feet Quincy hill slopes lo Tortage Ann, and on the further shore the environs of Ilougliton end in a group of red-roofed buildings which mark the College of Mines. Here the Portage Arm wi'Mis into Portage lake, whose sinuous lines, leading to Kewei !ift w 1 sy, are dotted with several steamers. On the shore of ths bay is L'Anse, where dwell in tame subjection theChippewas, the Indian tribe whose forefathers held sway over this goodly heritage of forest and stream. That smudge yonder by Keweenaw bay, is not a red hunter's camp fire, but rises from the tall stack of the Mass stanip-mill. Behind it is the level ridge of the Huron mountains, stretching north- 164 VOl'l'EU MINKS. ward until tlu-y cU-avc fiuke SiiiKM-ior willi rocky prom- ontory. Xeart-r to us tlio smoke of tlic smelter at Dollar Bay, and tluvt risiiif? from the mills at Torch Lake, are thrown ajiainst a hackfiround of the flat woodland, rimmed by the blue waters of the great lake. These stretch eastward to a skyline broken by a wreat'; of smoke that follows in the wake of an unseen vessel, which carries with it all the wide suggestions of maritime commerce and swift comnumica- tion with that great world of activity which is beyond our view. And so we piiN-^ from the copper mines of Lake Superior to other scenes. .IMI'SiC l)F I-\KK SUl'liRIOR. "Tar--5T— ?r3sr^ ORE DRESSING By ROBERT H. RICHARDS Thin mnftniliccnt coiitrilxition to metallur({icul literature i» now rcHily. after nmny jeiirs of careful preparation by the author, v'lo is one of the aliU'st cxpertM on the (juestion. In this ex- cellent treatise the ore ound the principles of the art as at present understood as to make advance easy in the future. The plan of the book is essentially practical, and 18 divided into four main parts, viz.: Crushing, Separating. Con- eentratinj; anT"aratus: Chapter XIX, -Accessorv Apparatus, Part IV, --Mill Proeesks and Man- agement ; Chapter XX. — Summarv of Princi- ples and Outlines of Mills, Chapter XXI, — General Idea,i on Milling Appendix. Tables and Other Useful Inlonnatitin. Inde.x. ? igtt, profuacly illustrated. POSTPAID $t0.00 o. -il SHILLINGS The Engineering and Mining Journal 505 Pearl Street, New York 20 Bucklenbury, Loactoo, £. C u: The Elements of Mining and Quarrying BY SIR CLEMENT LE NEVE FOSTER The Ifttwt ftnd most reliable tredtiiw on the art o( eitrM-tinx useful raineralM from the eartU'n cruHt. This udiiiiraldc book haa Ih*ii written by Sir Clenieut U Neve Foster, who wuf the ir-'-tttest authority on the subject, and tlie data eiulmdied in it \.ill strong'., appeal to tlie elementary student and beKinner, as the worlc elucidates tlie principles of niininK and quarrying in an exceedinnly simple and «traiglitforward style, besides contain- ing numerous hints and sugKcstions which will help the seeker after knowleilge to create a system of his own for arranging his ideiis methodically. In conclusion, the publishers would stat* that an intelligent and absolutely trustworthy text book treating broadly on general mining, whi'h could be sold at a moderate figure, has been a keenly felt want for many years, and the pres- ent excellent volume thoroughly fills that particular need. GENERAL CONTEXTS. Chapter I.— Occurrence- Chapter 11. — i)isioviiy. Chapter III. — ^Uoring. Chapter IV. — Excavations— Ex- plosives. Chapter V.— Support— Timber- ing- Chapter VI.— Exploitation. Chapter VII.— Hnulagp. Chapter Vlll.— Hoisting or Winding. Cliapter IX. — Drainage. Chapter X. — Ventilation. Chapter XI. — Lighting. Ch.ipter XII. — Access. Chapter XU I.— Dressing. Chapter XIV.— l^slation. Chapter XV. — Condition of workmen. Chapter XVI.— Accidents. the Crown Octavo. Cloth, with nearly 300 Illustrations. Price, $2.50 or 7s. 6d. (PostpaicO The Engineering and Mining Journal 505 Pearl Street, New York 20 Bocklersbury, London, E* C, England rj;;>v IfiWF- THE SAMPLING and ESTIMATION OF ORE IN A MINE By T A. RIC3CARD Edhof of The Engineering and Mining: Journal This most pxccllcnt book is a reprint with revision and amplificaticfl of the mnnerous articles which have recently appeared in tlie columns of "The Engineering and Mining Joumnl." Sampling and mine valuation are eminently practical subjects, and in tliis work tlicy are handled in detail by engineers and experts of the first rank who have had world-wide experience in tliesc matters. Mr. Bickard's original papers have attracted considerable attention be- cause tbey gave in a dear and intelligent form valuable information hitlierto unpublished. Their importance has been much increased by the subsequent discussion, also ap- pearing in tiie present volume. To students, mine direc- t A treasury of miniii),' ami iiulalUirnical infi>riiuiliOii. MODERN COPPER SMELTING Peters S-oo MANUFACTURE AND PROPERTIES OF IRON AND STEEL -Campbell 5«>o CYANIDE PRACTICE -James S-oo ORE DEPOSITS OF 1 HE UNITED STATES AND CANADA— Kemp. 5.00 MINE ACCOUNTS AND MINING BOOKKEEPING Lawn 425 GOLD MINES OF THE WORLD- Curie 3-50 METALLURGY OF LEAD Hofman 6 00 LEAD AND COPPER SMELTING AND COPPER ONVERTING Hixon 3.00 PRACTICAL NOTES ON THE CYANJDE PROCEba — Bosqui 2.50 STAMP MILLING OF GOLD ORES -Rickard 2.50 CHEMISTRY OF CYANIDE SOLUTIONS RESULTING FROM THE TREATMENT OF ORES Clennell 2-50 PROSPECTING, LOCATING AND VALUING MINES— Stretch. Library, Cloth. 2.00 2.00 Pocket Edition for Field Use ^-So MATTE SMELTING— Lang REPORT BOOK FOR MINING ENGINEERS— Charleton TRAVERSE TABLES— Louis and Caunt 2.00 OUTLINES OF QUALITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS Miller 1.50 SAMPLING AND ESTIMATION OF ORE IN A MINE Rickard. 2.00 GEOLOGY APPLIED TO MINING— Spurr. Library, Cloth '-SO Flexible Morocco 2.00 ORE DEPOSITS (A Discussioni 'oo ACROSS THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Rickarl 100 Any Ixxik on this list will I1 advirtisi-d ]irii'i , ■ si'iit ])()sl]iaiil ti) any aililnr il't of The Engineering and Mining Journal 605 Peiri Street. New York. 20 BkcklersbMry, Londoo, E. C. ■3335T1B^ /ll. h: ia-":T-j ;li>m ■■ ' < ■' I ■ » i.»ji»r - -^ v«si» .iBPM..i^^yn«iBBSiu:!tei?s^.'~; ji: .t'i.^fj^i^r^: