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By Thomas J. Almy

The Ontario croppings were struck July 19th, 1872, by Herman Budden, who, together with his partners, at once began to prospect their claim. Within five weeks their development work enabled them to sell it for $30,000 to R. C. Chambers, who represented the

Jan 1, 1888

Jan 1, 1888

By Richard Pearce

WHILST most of the silver- and copper-bearing veins of Butte have characters somewhat similar, the Gagnon vein has certain rather remarkable features which are not noticed in any of the other mines. The silver-veins proper, as illustrated in the Alice, Lexington, Moulton, and many others, have certain well-known typical characters. Manganese is always present in variable quantities as rhodocrosite or rhodonite, associated with quartz, pyrite, and sphalerite, and with little or no copper. The copper-veins also have certain mineralogical characteristics, which are very similar, or different only in minor points. Chalcocite, chalcopyrite, bornite, enargite, with variable quantities of pyrite, may be said to represent the general mineralogical features of these lodes. It is worth noticing that while the silver-bearing lodes have more or less sphalerite, this mineral is almost entirely

Jan 1, 1888

By James T. B. Ives

The map exhibited* as an example of my method of construct ing geological strata-maps is essentially an educational appliance. The method, however, is available for the production of maps of comparatively small areas, which, I am confident, will be found of great practical value to mining engineers. Before stating how the method may be so applied I will briefly describe the map exhibited, as the easiest way of making my meaning clear. Almost any region might be taken. This map represents the eastern half of the United States; and the geology is that of the map issued by the Geological Survey, and revised and extended subsequently by Professor Hitchcock for your Institute. I use ten cards, of the colors used in the geological map, each having the geog raphy of the area printed upon it; and I superimpose these in the order in which the colors occur in the index to the map. I next cut away a portion of each card, excepting the lowest, leaving only so much of each as represents the exposure of the formation of that color plus all those which overlie it. When that is done, the whole, looked at from a distance, appears to be an ordinary geological map. Looked at more closely, however, the formations are seen to overlie one another, as in nature. The cards are covered with glass in a frame, which, hinged at the bottom edge, can be let down. The cards are then found to be all hinged in the same manner, and they, too, may be lowered, one after the-other. I am told by teachers of geology of great experience and the highest reputation that by this appliance they will be assisted in im parting to students the first facts and principles of geological sci ence. Having let down the whole series of cards, until that repre senting the Archaean is seen underlying all the rest, the teacher will gradually rebuild it. The Cambrian will thus be laid down upon the Archaean before the eyes of the class, the Silurian upon that,

Jan 1, 1888

By Richard Rothwell

At the last meeting of the Institute, Mr. Per Larsson read a very interesting paper on the Chapin mine of Michigan, in which he described the systems of mining that had, at different times, been tried in that great ore-body, and especially the system now in use, which consists in working the ore out from the bottom upward in lifts. Shortly after that paper was written, but before it had been published, or that I had had an opportunity of reading it, I bad the pleasure of visiting the mine. At that time I was making a profes sional examination of a nnmber of the mines on theGogebic Range, and others in the Menominee region, Michigan and Wisconsin, and had occasion then, as during several previous visits, to study closely the methods and cost of mining in these districts. As the outcome of these investigations, it appeared evident to me that the system of working on the chamber-and-pillar plan, which up to that time had been the only method of underground work adopted in the Gogebic

Jan 1, 1888

Jan 1, 1888

By Thomas Egleston

The uncertainty of finding the exact equivalents fortechnical expressions in different languages has led me to think that a glossary of furnace-terms would be useful to members of the profession. I was led, some years ago, to prepare a small one, which has been found so very useful, that I have arranged one for presentation to the Institute, for four different 'types of furnaces, in the hope that it may prove of use to those who are in the habit of consulting foreign technical journals, I was further induced to make the attempt in the hope that it might tend to make the terminology less complicated than it now is, and also to make it more uniform over larger districts. The idea of referring to a drawing which expresses exactly what is meant, resulted from the necessity of presenting such subjects to students, and will, it is hoped, prove much more useful than the mere dictionary arrangement in alphabetical order. The drawing of the blast-furnace was prepared for me by Mr. J. P. Witherow, of Pitsburgh ; the drawing of the open-hearth furnace by Mr. S. T. Wellman, of Cleveland, and the reverberatory furnace by Mr. John Fritz, of Bethlehem. The bloomary-furnace is taken from my own paper* on Bloomaries, but, in order to have a complete furnace, I have introduced into the drawing of those used at Saranac the guard-plate used at Ironville. The interest which has been taken in the preparation of this paper by those gentlemen who have contributed the drawings, has been supplemented by gentlemen in Europe who have taken the trouble to read the proof. In France it has been read by Mr. Lodin, of the School of Mines, and by Mr. Chaper, of Paris, and in Germany by Dr. Wedding, of Berlin, and Mr. Luhrman, of Osnabruck. The preparation of the paper has been much more difficult than was anticipated, and its value has been very much enhanced by Dr. Raymond's kind assistance and cooperation; and to him, as well as to all the other gentlemen, Iam very much indebted. It was at first proposed to add to the paper the names of all the tools used in these various furnaces. It was found, however, that this would make such

Jan 1, 1888

Jan 1, 1888

By R. W. Raymond

The Mining Law of New Pork, contained in Title XI., Chapter IX., Part One of the Revised Statutes, is as follows: Section 1. The following mines are, and shall be, the property of the people of this State in their right of sovereignty : (1.) All mines of gold and silver discovered, or hereafter to be discovered, within this State. (2.) All mines of other metals discovered, or hereafter to be discovered, upon any lands owned by persons not being citizens of any of the United States. (3.) All mines of other metals discovered, or hereafter to be discovered, upon lands owned by a citizen of any of the United States, the ore of which, upon an average, shall contain less than two equal third parts in value of copper, tin, iron, and lead, or any of those metals. Sec. 2. All mines and all minerals and fossils discovered, or hereafter to be discovered, upon any lands belonging to the people of this State, are, and shall be, the property of the people, subject to the provisions hereinafter made to encourage the discovery thereof. Sec. 3. All mines of whatever description, other than mines of gold and silver, discovered, or hereafter to be discovered, upon any lands owned by a citizen of any of the United States, the ore of which, upon an average, shall contain two equal third parts or more, in value, of copper, tin, iron, and lead, or any of those metals, shall belong to the owner of such land. Sec. 4. Every person who shall make a discovery of any mine of gold or silver within this State, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of such persons, shall be exempted from paying to the people of this State any part of the ore, produce or profit of such mine for the term of twenty-one years, to be computed from the time of giving notice of such discovery, in the manner hereinafter directed. Sec. 5. No person discovering a mine of gold or silver within this State shall work the same until he gives notice thereof, by information in writing to the Secre-

Jan 1, 1888

Jan 1, 1888

By John Fulton

The following table shows the shipments from the four Lake Superior iron-ore districts during the year 1887, and their total outputs from their beginning until the close of 1887.* It will be noted that the Menominee district is second in importance in its total output tonnage to the close of the year 1887. These ore deposits are found in jasper-slates and in the horizon between these and their associated clay-slates; in the latter they are true contact-deposits. They are found in this jasper- and clay-slate formation under varied conditions, yet, in all, certain characteristic laws are preserved. The angle of dip varies from 15° to 20°, and up to 85° and even 90°, with the horizon. The ore is rather soft, bluish-black in color, and is a hematite. It varies in thickness from a few inches to one hundred feet, or more. It is mainly "Bessemer" ore, containing 57 to 63 per cent, of metallic iron, and .03 to .07 per cent, of phosphorus. In the mining nomenclature of this range two conditions of the ore-lens are described by the terms "dip" and "pitch." The former is in common use in defining the relation of the ore-plane to the horizon ; the latter indicates the posture of the ore-body as it inclines east or west from its position at the opening of the mine. In the

Jan 1, 1888

By Frank C. Roberts

Progress in the facilities for handling mining products has been largely superinduced by the necessities of commercial economy ren dered requisite in order to meet the demand of competition. So rapid has been the depreciation in the value of mineral products, primarily due to the disproportionate increase of output over con sumption, that it may be justly claimed that mining, when considered as a commercial success, depends largely upon the ease and cheap ness by which the products are brought to the surface of the ground. In all methods of performing this operation, wire rope enters as an important factor; and the object of the present sketch will be to explain, as fully as is consistent with the space allotted, the various • adaptations of wire rope employed in placing coal and ores within the reach of our overground systems of transportation. These adaptations will be considered in the following order: I. Hoists. II. Inclined planes. a. Engine planes. b. Gravity planes. c. Aerial planes. III. Haulage. a. Tail-rope system. b. Counter-rope system. c. Endless-rope system. IV. Hoists. The term " hoist" is applied to the system whereby the mine product is elevated from the mine-level to the surface through ver-

Jan 1, 1888

By E. B. Harden, J. H. Harden

The practical use to which topographical models or relief-maps have been put, has within the last few years taken a wider range. They are rapidly coming into favor for other than purely scientific purposes, and their value for illustration and instruction is being more fully appreciated. Topographical maps; representing by contour-curve lines the elevations and depressions of the earth's surface, are now demanded in engineering work of nearly every description, and afford a ready means of bringing out the configuration of the country in a simple manner. A beautiful example of recent topographical mapping is seen in the seventeen sheets just issued by the Geological Survey of New Jersey. By reason of the inability of unskilled persons to understand the nature of a topographical map, it is sometimes necessary to con struct the same in relief, with the rivers, canals, railroads, etc., delin eated upon it. With the aid of such a map, problems in engineer ing science which would otherwise require expert assistance to explain them, are reduced to a simple and understandable form. Relief-maps are also of value to the geologist in working out the geological structure. To the instructor they present the most ready and efficient means of imparting clear and accurate knowledge of topography and kindred subjects. To the lawyer they are invalua ble in enabling him to bring into the court-room a representation of a part of the country with all its features accurately shown, to ex plain to the court and jury the special points about which litigation is pending and which would otherwise require long and laborious description. The application of the topographical map to business purposes is shown in a relief constructed by the writers for the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company and used by that company in the various ways of calling attention to the desirability of its route. This model is based partly on actual survey and partly on sketch topography. The horizontal scale is ,%, the vertical 1/19,200 of

Jan 1, 1888

By Theo B. Comstock

In the summer of 1877, the writer led a party of four young men from Cleveland, Ohio, by way of the Great Lakes, to Prince Arthur's Landing (now Port Arthur), at the northwest corner of Lake Superior, thence, via the Dawson route and side journeys, as far as Cross Lake. It was the original intention to pass down the Pigeon river to its mouth, but the loss of one member of the party for six days in the forest, added to other obstacles, made it necessary to turn back. A well-filled note-book, together with illustrative collections, were sunk beyond recovery at the head of the Maligne rapids by the breaking of a tow-line, and two of our number (including myself) narrowly escaped drowning. I had, probably, obtained information of considerable economic value, but the necessity of travelling nearly 125 miles for provisions (excepting a meagre supply kindly furnished us by a Canadian government gang whom we fortunately met), rendered further note-taking impossible. Until now, such results of this expedition as could be recorded . from memory have gone unpublished, because of my inability to make them serve any useful purpose. The trip of the Institute to Vermilion Lake, only a few miles south and east of our turning point, gives some little excuse for presenting the following lines at this time. The ridge back of Port Arthur, Ontario, which follows approximately the course of the Lake Superior shore line, brings up the slates and accompanying strata through which the silver and gold veins of that region have penetrated. The interior district, hack from the lake, may be briefly described as a glaciated area, having its general drainage less modified by erosion than by the original structure. This statement, however, must be somewhat qualified with reference to minor details, which all bear the unmistakable impress of the ice-flow and its recession. In many respects there is much in this tract to remind one of the Sault Ste. Marie topography, excepting that the granitic character of the rocks is here largely replaced by fissile strata. The Kaministiquia river cuts through several of the parallel folds,

Jan 1, 1888

By John Fulton

The Menominee range is one of the four great mining belts that flank the western prongs of Lake Superior. It has received its name from its location along the north side of the Menominee river, which at this place flows between the States of Michigan and Wisconsin. The term "range" is derived from the elevated ridge, extending in a westward direction, and along the southern flank of which the iron-ore mines are located. This range is some 200 to 300 feet high above the general level of the adjacent country, and is made prominent by its surroundings of low, swampy lands. Its whole length is about 27 miles, and it is intersected, at intervals along its course, by gaps which are threaded by streams. The geology of the Menominee range is peculiarly interesting. It is composed of three distinct groups of Hurouian rocks. The supporting group consists of light-colored limestone beds of a crystalline, siliceous character, called the "Norway limestone belt." The map, Fig. 1, and the section, Fig. 2, will give a general notion of the position and structure of the range. The properties shaded in the map are those of the Penn Iron Mining Company, which is the Michigan representative of the Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. This belt is at least 1200 feet thick. It outcrops boldly at many localities along the range, especially north of the Norway, Quinnesec and Chapin mines. At Quinnesec it can be studied readily. The next, or Banking group, which is estimated at a thickness of 1000 feet, is called the Quinnesec ore-formation. It consists, in the portion next to the limestone, of siliceons or jasper slates, largely impregnated with iron oxide. These are succeeded by argillaceous hydro-mica black and flesh-colored slates. This formation embraces the deposits of the iron-ores. The third group consists of a series of dark gray, slaty or schistose beds, with occasional quartzose bands, having a thickness of 2000 feet. It is called the Lake Hanbury slate group.

Jan 1, 1888

By George W. Mansfield

My plan in this paper is, first, to prove three general points, and then to take up the specific applications of the electric motor to nining work. The three poinb are: 1. The electric system is the simplest method known for transmitting and distributing any amount of energy from one locality to another, irrespective of the intervening distance. 2. The electric system with its applications is not in its infancy.

Jan 1, 1888

By W. H. Adams

Among the engineering plants with new features and deserving details which are constantly being brought to the working stage in the Southern States by the generous expenditure of capital, none can exceed in interest, whether to the public or the profession, the incline-railway built from base to summit of Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Much geological and historical interest centers in this section of the middle mountain-country. Of its geology, the Transactions of the Institute contain many particulars. Of its history, the most

Jan 1, 1888

By A. Faber du Faur

At the request of some of the members to whom I have shown a collection of specimens of sulphur from southern Utah, I herewith present some notes relating to the mines and the method of extracting the sulphur from the ore. In preparing these notes I have borrowed from a paper by Prof. G. vom Rath, published in the Neue Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, vol. i., 1884, dated Salt Lake City, December, 1883. The Cove Creek sulphur-bed, now worked by the Dickert & Myers Sulphur Co., is in Beaver county, near the line of Millard county. It was first discovered by Mr. Ferdinand Dickert in 1869 ; other beds in the same neighborhood mere found by him from 1872 to 1875, making altogether 22 mining claims. The want of railroad communication prevented the early development of these claims; but in 1883 Mr. F. Dickert put up a plant for extracting sulphur from the ore, which proved a perfect success; and in 1885 the property was transferred to a stock company organized under the laws of Utah. The railroad station nearest to the Cove Creek mines is Black Rock, on the Utah Central Railroad, 204 miles south from Salt Lake City, and about 26 miles west of the mines. The road from Black Rock to the mines passes through desert and lava-bed, to the road leading from Kanosh to Beaver, which latter road it joins near Cove Creek fort, a square stone enclosure, erected by the Mormons for protection against the Indians. Cove Creek fort is situated near the eastern limit of a plain bounded on the west at a distance of about 12 miles by the Mineral range, and on the east by the Sulphur mountains, forming part of the Tushar mountains. To the northwest the plain runs into the Sandy desert. About 3 miles from the fort rises a solitary hill about 1000 feet above the

Jan 1, 1888

By T. Sterry Hunt

In a paper presented to the Institute in 1881* I have discussed at some length the question of the " Hydrometallurgy of Copper," and among others, have noticed two methods, devised and patented by Mr. James Douglas and myself, for the extraction of copper

Jan 1, 1888

By Joseph M. Locke

The discovery of this asphaltum was made by S. H. Gilson, of Salt Lake, and since then the material has borne the local name of Gilsonite. So far as I have been able to ascertain, however, the first published notice of this discovery was made by Prof. W. P. Blake in the Engineering arid Mining Journal, of December 26, 1885, where he names the new mineral Uintahite, from the place of its discovery, the Uintah Mountains in eastern Utah. The priority of publication and the geographical fitness of the name will probably secure its acceptance by mineralogists.* The following is Prof. Blake's article. In the month of September last, a sample of peculiar asphalt was received for examination, and recently when in Provo, Utah, I had the opportunity of seeing a considerable quantity brought in from the Uintah Mountains. It is obtained in masses several inches in diameter, and apparently free from mechanically disseminated impurities. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, is very brittle, and is readily reduced to powder in a mortar. Hardness, 2 to 25. Gravity, 1.065 to 1.070. Color, black, brilliant, and lustrous; streak and powder, a rich brown. It is a non-conductor of electricity, and is electrically excited by friction.

Jan 1, 1888