No. 6.] DOUGLAS — LAKE SUPERIOR COPPER MINES. 327 



The annual reports of the Quincy Mining Company are mo- 

 dels, presenting the work done and the cost of doing it in clearest 

 detail. From the report for 1872 we summarise the following 

 particulars. During the year, there were stoped 5165 fathoms, 

 and sunk in shafts and winzes 898 feet — say 150 fathoms, and 

 driven 1974 feet — say 329 fathoms. Assuming the specific grav- 

 ity of the rock to be 2-7, and that therefore there are 18 tons to 

 the cubic fathom, there were broken 101,592 tons of rock. As 

 there were 60,828 tons stamped, about 4-lOths of the rock w,as 

 separated by hand-picking. The mining, raising, and picking 

 cost for the year amounted to 283,487-30 dols., or 2-79 dols. 

 per ton of rock raised, while the milling cost was 64,783*79 dols., 

 or 1.06 dols. per ton of rock stamped. This large amount of 

 rock yielded 2,804,954 lbs. of concentrated mineral, which pro- 

 duced 2,276,308 lbs. of ingot. There was recovered, therefore, 

 only 1-12 per cent of copper from the rock mined, and yet there 

 were divided, as the year's profits on working, 210,090 dols. 



In 1872, copper brought an exceptionally good price, selling 

 at 32J cents per lb. , but as a set-off, wages were high, the aver- 

 age wage of miners on contract being 60-62 dols., and the yield 

 of the ground per fathom lower than its wont. 



Distributing the cost over the mineral produced, we find that, 

 as 2,804,954 lbs. of mineral — which, without making an allow- 

 ance for the slight loss in smelting, must have contained 81-1 

 per cent of copper — were obtained at a cost for mining and con- 

 centrating of 461,147-83 dols., each pound cost 16-44 cents; but 

 when the cost of smelting, transport, insurance, and commission 

 was added, each pound of ingot cost 22-93 cents U. S. currency, 

 or, say, 20 cents in gold. Copper has fallen to 25 cents U. S. 

 currency, but as wages have declined proportionately, and the 

 cost of production therefore has been lessened, there is not likely 

 to be a very serious decrease in the profits. Besides distributing 

 this large sum among the shareholders, there were added to con- 

 struction account, — for permanent improvements likely to lessen 

 the cost of future production,— 67,227-65 dols., so that the real 

 profits of the year were 277,318-35 dols., which certainly could 

 have been realised only by good management and by the employ- 

 ment of every possible labour-saving appliance for the working 

 of an ore yielding but 1*1 per cent of copper. 



Another mine even more interesting to the mineralogist, and 

 more startling in its yield, is the Calumet and Hecla. It is 



