Octagonal Ventilation Shaft Of Davis-Daly Copper Company

For a number of years, from an economic standpoint, the ventilation of the Colorado mine of the Davis-Daly Copper Co. has been a difficult problem. The development through the main hoisting shaft was pursued for a number of years and to a depth of about 2500 ft.( 762 m.)before large bodies of good commercial ore were opened up. This lack of early success in exploration restricted expenditures for ventilation, with the result that the present orebodies were opened up at a depth of 2500 ft., and in country rock f relatively high temperature, without adequate means f supplying the development faces and the stopes with cool or fresh air of low humidity and suitable velocity. During the progress of development, two or three connections were made at higher levels with the workings of adjoining operations, but these were of a makeshift and unsatisfactory character and afforded no means for carrying downcast air from the surface, in anything approaching a direct course, to the working faces. During the latter part of 1917, arrangements were made with. the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., whereby, during the year 1918 and the early part f the year 1919, a crosscut was driven eastwards on the 2500-ft. level of the Colorado shaft and connection was made by means f an up-raise of approximately 200 ft. to a crosscut driven westwards from the 2800-ft. level of the Belmont mine, this crosscut at the top of the raise being driven at Davis-Daly expense by the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. This connection, in conjunction with a No. 11 Sirocco fan installed near the Colorado shaft, provided the Colorado mine with a maximum of approximately 30,000 cu. ft. per min. of relatively fresh air, most of which came in a fairly direct route from the downcast Belmont shaft through the No. 11 fan to the 2500-ft. level stopes. After passing through these stopes and the stopes of overlying levels, it passed through the main crosscuts on higher levels back to the Colorado shaft, which provided the upcast for this current of air. The improvement