610 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.45. 



Good values in gold were found here and although the underlying 

 pyritic mass was soon detected, its significance was not recognized, 

 and attention was confined to the oxidized ore, the valuable portion 

 of which was depleted within a few years. In 1891 lagging interest 

 in the deposit was revived by the recognition of the copper poten- 

 tiahties of the pyritic mass, and a syndicate was organized for working 

 the ore on a systematic scale. In 1893 the company was incorporated 

 as the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co. (Ltd.), wloich to the 

 present has retained control of practically the entire field. At its 

 inception this company was fortunate in securing the services of an 

 eminent metallurgist, E. D. Peters, whose favorable report and 

 recommendations, coupled with a very timely find of rich silver- 

 copper ore, insured the financial backing necessary for the success of 

 the enterprise. Development work was at once actively prosecuted 

 and a coast-to-mine railway projected and started. Robert Sticht, 

 an American engineer, was engaged to direct the undertaking, and to 

 his administrative ability and scientific skill the subsequent success 

 of the company is largely due. In 1895 the open-cut system was 

 adopted for working the ore body and a system of pyritic smelting 

 was planned and inaugurated whereby the sulphur and iron of the 

 ore served as fuel for its smelting, admitting of an economical recovery 

 of copper and the precious metals. Success amply rewarded the 

 introduction of this treatment, which at the time was little under- 

 stood and had not been tested on a large scale upon regular copper 

 ores. 



In the meantime an independent company was developing a prop- 

 erty (the North Mount LyeU) to the north of the pyritic mass, but 

 encountered little ore until, in 1897, a rich body of siliceous bornite 

 was accidentally located. The treatment adopted, however, proved 

 unsuccessful, and in 1903 the company was merged with the Mount 

 Lyell Mining & Railway Co. (Ltd.) — a happy combination, for the 

 ores of the two deposits were metallurgically complementary and 

 were amenable to more economical treatment than could be applied 

 to either alone. Many other mining companies have operated in the 

 field, but all the important ones have been added by the principal 

 company to the original holdings. 



The history of the Mount Lyell district is unique and affords an 

 example of notable success in the face of great natural obstacles. 

 The profitable exploitation of a low grade deposit in a remote and 

 isolated region, where labor costs and difficulties are at a maximum, 

 is an important acliievement. The secret of tliis success is to be 

 sought in the application from the outset of the highest type of 

 technical, scientific, and administrative abiUty to the problem. 



