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The following table gives a few instances of the manner in which been put into mines on the Comstock lode:

Yellow Jacket..

Sierra Nevada.

Alpha...

Savage..

Crown Point..

Best & Belcher..
Hale & Norcross
White & Murphy

Imperial...

North Potosi..

Total..

Mines.

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This list does not include one-half of the amount of assessments levied by wellknown companies, and several millions have been advanced in cash by capitalists in San Francisco for prospecting and opening mines which never were heard of, except by a few who spent their money and their friends'. A Mexican proverb says, "It takes a mine to work a mine.”

35.—THE GOULD AND CURRY MINE.

The following figures of the operations of the Gould & Curry Company are taken from official reports :

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The mine was not opened until 1862, and before it began to pay its way the sum of $175,000, or $148 per foot, had been levied as assessments. The dividends

commenced in 1863, and for that year alone amounted to more than $1,000 a foot; and also for the next year, although very large sums were expended in building a mill and in making other improvements. The average yield of the ore, however, and the percentage of the dividends, decreased with each year. The ore was nearly twice as rich in 1863 as in 1865, and the expenses in the former year were greater than the gross receipts of the latter.

The total number of tons extracted in four years was 173,000, or a mass of 165 cubic feet, and the bullion produced amounted to about 300 tons of 2,000 pounds of 12 troy ounces each. The expenses of the mine and mill in 1865 were the following:

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The following are further figures from the president's report for 1864:

160, 260 22 32, 489 83 206, 749 32

33,188 30 12,631 28

12,747 56

9,903 98 15,885 54 10, 416 84

8, 440 78

Cost of extracting ores from mine, per ton.

Cost of reducing third-class ore at Gould & Curry mill

Cost of reducing third-class ore at Custom mills.

Cost of reducing second-class ore at Custom mills

Average yield of all ores reduced, per ton..

Average yield of second-class ore...

Average yield of third-class ore at Gould & Curry mill.

Average yield of all ores reduced at Custom mills

$10 84

14 46

21 82

50 00

50 76

255 66

44 26

45 12

The following is a statement of the operations and expenses of the Gould & Curry mill, (which, however, did not reduce all the ore produced by the mine) for the six months ending May 31, 1866 :

The pay of officers, general laborers, watchmen, teamsters, &c., was $14,354 88. The cost of the driving power was, $10,565 87 for labor; $85,996 for wood ; $2,618 for sundries; $99,179 87 in all.

The cost of preparing ore for the batteries was, $8,913 23 for labor; $828 for sundries; $9,741 23 total.

The cost of the batteries was, $14,266 38 for labor; $4,546 for shoes, dies, &c.; $2,002 for sundries; total, $20,814 38.

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The cost of amalgamating was, $15,421 13 for labor; $1,363 for retort wood ; $12,037 for shoes and dies; $5,794 for salt; $12,256 for sulphate of copper; $17,822 for quicksilver; $2,232 for sundries; total, $66,925 13.

The cost of repairs was, $16,424 48 for labor; $15,402 for sundriest; total, $31,826 48.

The total expense of the mill was $79,945 97 for labor; $162,896 for material; total, $242,841 97.

The amount of ore delivered at the mill was 20,744 tons; the amount amalgamated was 17,890 tons.. The difference of 2,854 tons "shows the loss of ores carried off in slimes."

The value of the ore and of the bullion produced was the following:

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[The excess of gold in the "bullion produced over that in the "value of ore," must be accounted for by supposing that the samples assayed did not fully represent the average value of the ore.]

The average assay per ton was $46 13; the average yield was $36 90; the amount lost was 20 per cent. The total cost of reduction per ton amalgamated was $13 57.

The cost of reduction per ton was $0 80.23 for officers, watchmen, and laborers; $5 54.37 for driving power; $0 55.04 for preparing ore for batteries ; $1 16.33 for batteries; $3 73.50 for amalgamation; $1 77.88 for repairs, and $13 57 in all.

The expenses of the mine during the six months were the following :
The salaries of officers were $6,766, or 20 cents per ton.

The cost of extracting ore was $103,042 99, or $3 06 per ton.

The cost of prospecting and dead-work was $68,631 04, or $2 04 per ton. The cost of accessory work, $56,308 38, or $1 67 per ton.

The cost of improvements was $19,876 52. or 59 cents per ton.

The total cost of salaries of officers, extraction of ore, prospecting and dead work, accessory work, and improvements was $254,624 93, or $7 56 per ton. The amount of ore produced was 33,705 tons.

The amount of bullion produced from the Gould & Curry ore by outside mills was $227,085 81, and the total receipts of the company for six months, $908,119 25.

The expenses were $254,624 93 for the mine; $243,131 97 for the Gould & Curry mill; $7,777 61 for assays; $128,404 83 for reducing ores at outside mills; $27,285 53 for general expenses, and $6,375 76 for the boarding-house. Total, $667,600 63.

36. THE OPHIR MINE.

The Ophir company has tried and compared the yard, the barrel, and the pan processes of amalgamation, and the general result of their experience is that the yard process costs $30 per ton, and loses 20 per cent. of the metal; the barrel process costs $28, and loses 15 or 20 per cent. of the metal; and the pan process costs $15 per ton, and loses from 35 to 40 per cent. of the metal. They have abandoned the yard process, as unsuited to the climate and having no advantages; the barrel is retained for ore yielding $90 per ton or upwards and the pan is preferred for poor ore. Ore containing $150 per ton will yield, at 80 per cent., $120 to the barrel, leaving $92 after subtracting $28 in the cost of working; whereas the same ore would give, at 65 per cent., a gross yield of $97 50, and a net yield of $82 50 to the pan, showing an advantage of $9 50 per ton in favor of the barrel. By the same mode of calculation ore containing $50 to the ton will yield $12 net to the barrel, and $17 50 net to the pan. Ore containing $80 to the ton gives about an equal net yield to the barrel and the

pan. The following are the figures of some of the operations of the Ophir company for the year ending November 30, 1864:

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Since 1864 the cost of barrel amalgamation has been reduced to $28 per ton. In 1865 the barrel and pan were used, and the following figures show the amount of bullion produced, and the sums and proportions of gold and silver in it:

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The qualities of ore used in the two processes were different, but the propor tions of gold and silver were about the same; and hence it appears that the barrel loses the gold and the pan loses the silver. The value of the ore submitted to the barrel process in 1865 was. $332,273 61, and the total bullion obtained, including some not represented in the above table, was $269,327 94, showing a loss of $62,945 67, or 18 per cent. The bullion obtained from the barrels was worth $1 05 per ounce, and, therefore, must have contained a considerable proportion of base metal, since one-fourth in value was gold, and pure silver alone is worth $1 33 per ounce. The pan bullion was worth $2 31 per

ounce, or more than twice as much as the barrel bullion.

37. THE SAVAGE MINE

At the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Savage Mining Company, on the 10th of July, 1866, Alpheus Bull, president, submitted a report, in which he said:

By reference to the annual reports heretofore made I find the first ore taken from the mine was in April, 1863. The total number of tons extracted up to July, 1865, (26 months,) was 81,183, or 3,122 tons a month. The entire yield of bullion from the above number of tons amounted to $3,600,709 26, being an average of $44 35 per ton.

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During these twenty-six months there was disbursed $2,939,808 76, besides paying over $800,000 in dividends. For reduction alone there was paid $1,682,701 44, almost fifty per cent. of the gross yield of the mine.

"The total production of ores for the past year was 30,653 tons, of which there were reduced 20,535 tons, yielding bullion of the value of $1,303,852 91, or an average of $44 14 per ton, at a cost for reduction of $16 74 per ton. Notwithstanding there was less ore extracted during the year just ended, and the average value per ton a little less than the preceding years, yet the net earnings of the company are in favor of last year's operations. The cost for extraction of ores the past year is certainly high, but this is justly chargeable to the extensive improvements in building machinery and explorations in the mine, the practical benefits of which will be derived by the stockholders at some future period."

H. Ex. Doc. 29- -6

The superintendent's report for the year ending on the 1st of July, 1866, gives the following figures relative to the ore extracted:

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Average yield of all ore reduced, per ton, $42 38.

During the last four months preceding the date of the report the cost of reduction had varied from $11 69 to $12 95 per ton.

38.-THE YELLOW JACKET MINE.

The following statistics of the yield of the Yellow Jacket Silver Mining Company for the year ending July 1, 1866, are taken from the annual reports made by the officers of the company :

218 tons first-class ore worked, yielded, per ton.

53,307 tons second-class worked, yielded, per ton.

1,479 tons sold, yielded, per ton.

Average of all ore worked per ton

Gross product of bullion from ores worked..
Gross product of ore sold..

Total product..

$172 05

31 00

3 26 32 51

$1,690, 394 82

4,833 88

1,695, 228 70

Assessments to the amount of $300,000 were collected, and no dividends were declared during the year, but a debt of $379,771 was paid off and a surplus of $142,915 remained on hand at the end of the year. Among the expenditures

are the following items:

Crushing ore at outside mills...

Crushing ore at company's mills.

Total cost of crushing.

$507,438 23

352,178 81

859,617 04

The term "orushing" here must include all the process of reduction, and the cost is about half the total yield of the ore worked.

39.—THE CROWN POINT MINE.

It appears from the annual report of the Crown Point Mining Company for the year ending May 1, 1866, that the recepts from the mine in that period were $689,191 37; the number of tons reduced, 18,2591; and the average yield per ton $37 33. Excluding about $8,000 of assay chips and bullion sold, there was $243,967 86 in gold and $437,207 27 in silver. The average cost of extracting the ore was $8 97. The cost of reduction is not given precisely.

40.-THE HALE AND NORCROSS MINE.

The Hale and Norcross Silver Mining Company own 400 feet on the Comstock lode. They commenced operations in 1862, and worked on for four years, at great expense, before they found any considerable body of ore to reward them.

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