USA > Arizona > The resources of Arizona; a description of its mineral, farming, grazing and timber lands; its rivers, mountains, valleys and plains; its cities, towns and mining camps; its climate and productions; with brief sketches of its early history etc > Part 14
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The Jack Rabbit is ten miles east of the Vekol, in one of the isolated ranges which cross this country in every direction. The vein is found in contact between lime and porphyry, is small but exceedingly rich. The average of the shipments to the Pinal smelter is over 300 ounces to the ton. The deepest shaft is ninety feet. The claim has paid its way since its discovery, and is emphatically a poor man's mine. The Silver Bell, Providence, Pacific, and scores of other very promising claims are in this re- gion, which is known as the Papago county. Water is some- what scarce, but an abundant supply can be had by sinking. They are casy of access, convenient to the railway, and a large and prosperous camp will yet spring up here.
Gila county, the smallest political division of the Territory has long been famous, both at home and abroad, for the rich- ness of its ores. It is one of the most thoroughly mineralized regions of Arizona, and every hill and mountain within its borders is crossed and seamed with ledges of gold, silver, copper, iron and various other minerals. With the Salt river flowing through it on the north, and the Gila washing its south- ern border, it is as well provided with a water supply as any county in Arizona. The masses of native silver, which have been found in Gila have been equaled only by those famous Planchas de
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Plata of the early days. For years it has been one of the lead- ing bullion producers of the Territory, the output for 1882 being over $500,000. Its isolated situation, and the cost of ma- terial and supplies of all kinds, have been a serious hindrance to its advancement. Wilcox, the nearest point on the Southern Pacific, is 120 miles from Globe, and over this long distance everything has to be hauled in wagons.
But the projected railroad from Winslow to Benson will pass through the heart of the county, and open up as rich a mineral region as can be found in North America. Gila was once the retreat of the Pinal Apaches, who guarded long and well the treasures of their mountain home. Many attempts were made to penetrate it, and as early as 1871, an expedition numbering 300 men, under the lead of the then Governor of the Territory, explored a portion of this region, but as the quest was for placer gold, they discovered none of the rich silver lcdes over which they passed. The first location made in the county was the Globe copper ledge, found by the men who were searching for the Silver King. The discovery of the famous Stonewall Jack- son, and the silver nuggets in Richmond basin in 1875, led to the organization of the Globe district, and the establishment of the town which bears that name. At that time the large por- tion of the district was within the lines of the San Carlos reser- vation, and even now, some of the richest mineral lands of the county are set apart for the use of those savages.
The geological structure of the county is made up principally of granites, porphyry, and slates. Limestone occurs in many places, and there are also masses of conglomerates and lava rock, which would indicate volcanic action at some remote period. Of wood there is an abundant supply in the Pinal mountains, and in the spurs and detached ranges along the Salt river. The ores of the county are noted for their high grade and variety of mineral combinations. In the Pinal mountains the silver ores are generally a sulphuret, requiring to be roasted. In the vicin- ity of Globe, Richmond Basin and McMillenville, they are a chloride, and easily worked by the wet process. The wonderful richness of the ores shipped from the Globe camp in the carly days of its discovery created a furor all over the coast. Tons and tens of tons, sent to San Francisco, went from $1,000 to $20,000 per ton, and the magnificent specimens of native silver from the Stonewall have scarcely ever been excelled.
Until two years ago, very little attention was paid to copper mining in Gila county. Now it leads gold and silver in the value of its product and the amount of capital invested. The copper ores of this portion of Arizona are found to be remark- ably rich, extensive, and easily reduced. Four smelters, with a combined capacity of nearly 300 tons daily, have been erected, and it is estimated the yield for 1882 was nearly 4,000,000 pounds. But the cost of coke and other supplies has greatly retarded this
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«development, and none but high grade ores can be worked to a ;profit. Coke, shipped from Cardiff, Wales, costs, delivered at the furnaces, $65 per ton. Owing to this state of affairs, three "of the furnaces have stopped, preferring to wait until freights are reduced to a more reasonable figure, before working their ores. When that time comes, and appearances indicate that it is not far off, the Globe country will be one of the great copper-pro- ducing sections of the Territory. As near as can be ascertained ·this copper belt is over eight miles in length, and over a mile in width. The ore bodies within this area, occur in veins and in immense deposits, and are generally found between lime and syenite. They are mostly carbonates, oxides and copper glance. Some of them are silicious, but there is abundance of fluxing material in the neighborhood.
Owing to a variety of causes, principally its remoteness from a railroad, the silver mines of the county have not made very rapid advancement. The rich surface ores having been exhausted, those of a lower grade cannot be worked under the present conditions with any profit to the owners. Where everything that has to be used or consumed costs so high, silver ores below $50 per ton are practically valueless. There are scores of mines with this grade of ore all over Gila county now lying idle, awaiting the time when cheap and rapid transportation shall solve the problem, and give their owners a chance to realize some profit from the woking of them.
The Construction and Development Company of the pro- posed Mineral Belt railroad have under contemplation the erection of immense reduction works on the Salt river, to be driven by the abundant water-power of that stream. If this is done, there are hundreds of mines in the county carrying large bodies of low grade ores which can be successfully worked, and the stream of silver bullion which will flow out of Gila county will be larger than at any time in its history.
But little deep mining has yet been done in Globe district, and with few exceptions the development is confined to mere surface-scratching. The Mack Morris mine, in Richmond basin, about fourteen miles north of Globe, has been sunk upon to a depth of 800 feet, and has produced over $700,000. The surface ores of this mine were wonderfully rich. A ten-stamp mill is kept running steadily on Pinal creek, five miles away. In this basin, situated on the western slope of the Apache mountains, were found the nuggets of silver which attracted thousands to the Globe country in early days. It is calculated that nearly $100,000 in pure silver was picked up on the surface, and a few feet below it. The Silver Nugget, so called from the planchas, which were found a short distance from it, has pro- duced some rich ore. The East and West Richmond are strong veins, carrying low grade ores, which, with the coming of a rail- road, can be made to pay handsomely. There are many other
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promising properties in this part of the district which are not being worked at present.
McMILLENVILLE .- This camp is twenty miles north of Globe, and eleven miles south of Salt river. The famous Stonewall, mine is located here. This was the richest discovery ever made in the district, and at one time shipped to San Francisco nine tons of ore which yielded nearly $200,000! This rich ore, two- thirds native silver, came from a small vein which entered the main ledge at nearly right angles. Portions of this vein, three and four inches wide, were actually pure silver. The Stone- wall ledge is an immense fissure which cuts across the country for several miles. It has been developed to a depth of 700 feet, and the work sinking is still going on. The Democrat and the Little Mack are on another spur which enters the main vein. They were extremely rich near the surface and produced over $100,000 in native silver. A little five-stamp mill has been erected on this vein which it is said has produced over $300,000.
The Hannibal, Washington and R. E. Lee are on the Stone- wall ledge, and have been developed to a considerable extent. The country north, east and west of the town of Globe is a per- fect net-work of veins. Many of them are small but extremely rich, and have produced a great deal of high grade ore. Several of them are also large and strong ore bodies of medium grade, which cannot now be worked owing to the cost of material. Careful estimates show that there is now on the dumps of mines in the district 6,000 tons of ore that will work from $40 to $50 per ton, and the quantity in sight in stopes, drifts, and tunnels is almost unlimited.
Many of the small, rich veins are being worked by poor miners, who ship their ores or have them reduced at some of the mills. These "chloriders" carn good wages by this method, but are careless about making any systematic development. The Silver Fame is one of the richest of these veins, its ores being pure chlorides and sulphides, It is opened by a shaft and sev- eral tunnels, and has already produced several thousand dollars. What is known as the Tidwell claim, near the Chrome mine, is also turning out a great deal of bullion. A five-stamp mill has been erected, and is running steadily.
The Irene is a strong vein, and is opened by a shaft 300 feet deep. The shaft shows four feet of ledge matter, which has yielded $100 per ton. The Stonewall No. I is a ledge that crops in places twenty feet above the surface. It carries some rich chloride ore, and is opened by a shaft 100 feet in depth. The California has two feet of $50 ore, and is opened by several shafts and tunnels. The Miami has produced over $30,000. The Golden Eagle has yielded over $80,000. It is thoroughly opened by shafts and tunnels. A ten-stamp mill has been erected on Pinal creek to work the ores from this mine, some of which have gone as high as $5,000 per ton. The Centralia
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Emeline, Champion, Chromo, Townsend, Independence, Anna, Cox and Copeland, Blue-bird, Buckeye, Empire, Imperial, Res- cue, McCormick, and scores of other claims are in the immedi -. ate vicinity of Globe. Many of them show considerable de- velopment, and nearly all of them have produced rich ores. The prospect of the speedy completion of a railroad has caused a re- newal of work on many of them, and a great deal of ore is being piled up awaiting the time when cheaper milling and mining will make it profitable to reduce it.
PIONEER DISTRICT .- South from Globe, on the southern slope of the Pinal mountains, a lively mining camp has sprung up, and a great many discoveries have been made. Wood and water is abundant in this region, and the ores are of a high grade. Two mills have been ere ted, one of five and the other of ten stamps, with roasters attached, the ores being mainly sul- phurets. The formation is a granite and porphyry, the ledges being strong and compact. The Pioncer, South Pioneer and Howard are the leading mines. Work is being prosecuted steadily, and the propertics are thoroughly opened by shafts, tunnels and levels. We have been unable to get any definite information in relation to the grade, and the amount of bullion produced. The claims are owned by incorporated companies. The Howard and the Pioncer are at present producing bullion, and the mines are said to be looking well. There are many claims in Pioneer district which show good-sized veins and some high grade ore, but few of them are being worked at present.
The Globe copper mine, the first location in the district, is about one mile north of the town. The ledge shows immense crop- pings on the surface, and is opened by two shafts-320 and 100 feet respectively. There is an incline 150 feet deep. At a depth of 200 feet a level has been run on the ore body, and connec- tions made with all the shafts. Two cross-cuts have been made, which show the mass of ore to be 186 feet in width. The foot- wall of this great deposit is syenite, the hanging-wall lime. The foot-wall is smooth and well-defined, and maintains its regularity all the way. The ore is a red and brown oxide, mixed with car- bonates, and carries sufficient lime and iron to make it self- fluxing.
The total output of ore up to June, 1883, has been 12,000 tons, and the average grade has been 1578 per cent. The daily output at the present time is 100 tons of ore, which could be readily doubled if necessary. It is estimated there is now opened up and in sight, 20,000 tons of ore not including the immense outcrop which carries from 3 to 10 per cent., copper. The strike of the vein is to the south, and its pitch about 35°.
A quarter of a mile from the mine, on Pinal creek, the Company have erected three water-jacket furnaces, with a com- bined capacity of 150 tons, daily. Two furnaces are in opera-
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tion constantly, one being kept in reserve. English coke is used, and the bullion produced is 98 per cent. fine.
The works have been in operation since June, 1882, and have produced up to June, 1883, 2,000 tons of copper. The company is known as the Old Dominion Copper Company, and is in- corporated under the laws of the State of New York. Like all the other copper companies operating in this camp, the great cost of fuel and supplies is a serious obstacle to the successful working of the property; and if it were not that the ores carry their own fluxes and were of a high grade, they could not be made to pay under the present condition of things. With a railroad to the camp, the Old Dominion will become one of the great copper producers of the United States.
The ore supply seems inexhaustible, and it appears to steadily improve as depth is reached. Besides the Globe ledge the com- pany own the Old Dominion, about two miles down Pinal creek, and also the Keystone. Those claims have produced over 1,000 tons of ore which has yielded from twenty to twenty-five per cent. The company have another group of mines about five miles west of Globe, from which over 500 tons of ore have been taken, which has averaged eighteen per cent.
The Tacoma Copper Company own the Tacoma, Big Johnny, and O'Doherty, situated about two and a half miles northwest of Globe. The first named is opened by two shafts and a tunnel. Shaft No. I is down 140 fect, and shaft No. 2 200 feet. The tunnel is in 220 feet. The shafts are 700 feet apart, and it is designed to connect them with levels which are now being run. The ledge will average four fect wide, and car- ries oxides, carbonates, and some very rich copper glance. Some of the latter has yielded as high as fifty per cent. The Big Johnny and the O'Doherty are also well-defined veins, showing very high grade ore. The company have leased a smelter of sixty tons daily capacity, situated on Pinal creek. The ore re- quires a considerable admixture of iron and lime to smelt it. Owing to the high rates on freight the company have suspended operations at the furnace for the present, but the work of de- velopment goes on in the minc.
The Buffalo and Mark Twain are situated north of the Globe ledge, and are supposed to be a continuation of the same vein. On the Buffalo a tunnel has been driven Soo feet, which taps the ore 150 feet below the croppings. The ledge is found be- tween lime and quartzite, has all the marks of a regular lode, and runs from four to fifteen feet in width. The ore is com- posed of carbonates, silicates, and oxides, and averages from twelve to fifteen per cent. To be smelted it requires a flux of iron and lime. A water-jacket, with a capacity of thirty tons, has been erected on Pinal creek to work the ores from this mine. It has produced 600,000 pounds of copper, ninety-eight per cent. fine. Owing to the cost of transportation it has been
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compelled to shut down. The Buffalo is one of the finest prop- erties in Globe district, and under favorable conditions will be- come one of its leading copper producers.
The Long Island Copper Company is another Eastern incor- poration, operating in Globe. It has put up a smelter some distance below the town, and turned out some bullion, but owing to the heavy tariff on freights, has been compelled to sus- pend. Its mines are situated near the town, but no data in re- gard to them was obtained. The copper interests of Globe district are yet in their infancy, but enough has been done to show they are among the richest in the Territory. With direct railroad connection, their output promises to be enormous. If there were no other resources to be developed, these mines alone would be a sufficient inducement for the construction of the road.
The county of Mohave is pre-eminently a mining region. Every mountain range within its borders contains mineral. Its agricultural lands are limited, and mining and grazing must always be the leading industries of its people. Gold, silver and copper abound in its hills and mountains. The geological for- mation of the county is composed, mainly, of primitive rocks; the ledges are clearly defined, and the ores of a high grade. There is abundance of wood for the reduction of ore, and where water is scarce at the surface, a supply can always be had by sinking. The ores of Mohave county carry many metallic com- binations, and generally require roasting before the precious metals can be extracted. In the southern part of the county free-milling, silver ores are sometimes encountered, but they change into sulphurets at a short distance below the surface.
'The history of mining in Mohave, by Americans, begins in 1858. In that year a party of prospectors explored a portion of this region, but it does not appear that they made any loca- tions or done any work, their search being for placer gold. In 1863, a portion of that swarm who were drawn to Arizona by the discovery of the gold deposits, at La Paz, drifted into Mo- have county. Many locations were made, and a great deal of work was done. The hostility of the Hualapai Indians, who were then on the war-path, prevented any real development. These savages attacked small prospecting parties, wherever the oppor- tunity presented itself, and several miners were killed, while at work in their shafts, and their bones left to moulder in the graves which they had dug for themselves. In 1871 began the work of steady development in Mohave, and since then mining has been prosecuted with varying success throughout the county. Several mills and furnaces have been put up, and a large amount of bullion has been shipped from the country. A great many mines have been opened, and the richness and extent of the mineral belt fully demonstrated.
But Mohave county, like all other portions of the Territory,
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has had to struggle against many disadvantages. First among these drawbacks was the cost of material and supplies. Isolated and cut off from the outside world, its only means of communi- cation was by the slow and uncertain route of the Colorado river. For years, nearly everything used or consumed in the county was shipped by water from San Francisco to the mouth of the Colorado then transferred to light-draft boats and brought up the river. By this tedious mode of communication, goods and material were sometimes months in transit, and the cost, when delivered at the different camps, was simply enormous. For years a pound of flour, bacon, sugar or coffee, was worth from seventy-five cents to $1 ; and powder, steel, and all other mining material in like proportion.
The want of reduction works necessitated the shipping of ores to San Francisco, and so heavy were the freight charges that scarcely any profit was left to the miner on ore that would not go over $500 per ton. Under these adverse conditions it is no surprise that mining in Mohave county has made slow progress, or that capital has not sought investment within her borders. Yet despite every obstacle and drawback which her remote situ- ation naturally entailed, the faith of those who thoroughly un- derstand her great mineral resources has never wavered, and with an energy and perseverance which no failures or disap- pointments could dampen, they have waited patiently for the dawn of that brighter day when Mohave should take her place as one of the leading bullion producers of the Territory.
Their years of weary waiting are over at last, and the com- pletion of the Atlantic and Pacific railroad heralds the dawn for the mining interests of this portion of the Territory. This road passes through the heart of the richest mineral regions of the county, gives them direct communication with the centers of capital, east and west, and men of means are no longer com- pelled to travel hundred of miles by buckboard to visit and inspect a mining property. This railroad will prove of incal- culable benefit to the mines of Mohave, and hundreds of claims, which for years have lain dormant, will awaken to new life and activity under the quickening impulse of cheap and rapid trans- portation. The thousands of tons of low-grade ores found in every district of the county, will have a value, and the work of development will be stimulated and encouraged by the cheapen- ing of supplies and material.
Capital will seek investment in a region long famous for the richness of its ores, blessed with so admirable a climate, and possessed of such perfect railroad facilities. The " boom" for this part of the Territory, so long delayed, is near at hand, and the county will, in a short time, become one of the foremost mining regions of the Territory. Already the signs of renewed activity are visible all along the line, and the sound of the pick and the drill is heard in many a camp where undisturbed solitude has reigned for years.
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HUALAPAI DISTRICT .- This district, which includes the town of Mineral Park, is situated in the Cerbat range, about thirty- five miles cast of the Colorado river. The Atlantic and Pacific railroad passes down the valley on the east of the range, and the different camps are from ten to fifteen miles distant. There is an abundance of wood for milling purposes, and in nearly all the principal veins water is found as depth is reached. The formation of the district is generally a granite and a porphyry. The ore is of high grade, and the veins compact and regular. The Lone Star, near Mineral Park, has been opened to a depth of 200 feet, and has produced $75,000. The ore is a sulphuret, and very rich. The vein is small but regular. The Keystone, in the same neighborhood, is a ledge of a similar character. It has been opened by several shafts, the deepest being 250 fcet. The ore has worked $100 per ton, and it is said the mine has yielded over $100,000. The Fairfield is on the same vein as the Keystone. It has been opened by a tunnel over 1,200 feet in length. The Ithaca, southeast from the Keystone, shows a ledge two feet wide, from which has been taken chloride ore that has gone $70 per ton. It is opened by several shafts, drifts and tunnels, and has produced more than $15,000. Thesc, and many other valuable claims, are in the vicinity of Mineral Park. About four miles north from the Park is the camp of Chloride, which has yielded a great deal of rich ore. The Connor shows a two-foot vein that has assayed $100 per ton. It is opened by a 100-foot shaft, and has produced $20,000. The Donohue and the Rodgers, very promising properties, are opened by several shafts, and have turned out more than $18,000 cach. The Empire carries rich sulphurets, and has pro- duced some $10,000. The Valley View is a large vein, from four to eight feet wide, with an ore body that averages $40 pcr ton. The Schenectady, San Antonio, and many other fine pros- pects are in this camp, which is well worthy of inspection by those seeking mining investments.
Todd's Basin is south of Mineral Park about four miles. There are a number of fine-looking properties which show only a limited amount of development. Among them may be men- tioned the Oro Plata, with a tunnel over 100 feet, and a four- foot vein of milling ore going about $50 per ton. The Todd is a foot-ledge, carrying sulphurets worth $50 per ton. The Pay- master is a fine-looking property ; the vein being three feet in width, and the assay value $60 per ton. The veins in this camp are large, and have every mark of permanency.
Cerbat camp is seven miles south of Mineral Park. The ores are of high grade, the ledges are regular, and well-defined, and there is sufficient wood and water for their reduction. The camp has produced a great deal of bullion, but its isolated posi- tion has brought mining almost to a standstill. Now that the railroad is completed the work of development is being renewed,
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