GOLD AND SILVER MINING 213 



gave to the world the wealth of South African gold. At 

 first the new process was met with distrust by practical min- 

 ing men, but its demonstrated success overcame the doubts 

 of the skeptics. Immense dumps of low grade ore and tail- 

 ings which had been accumulating since the beginning of 

 mining operations were taken up and reduced by the new 

 process. 



Improvement in the processes of extracting the metals 

 from the ore is a potent factor in the development of mining. 

 By the old amalgamation process not more than 70 per cent, 

 and usually not more than GO per cent, of the gold contents 

 of the ore was saved. With the aid of modern processes 

 more than 90 per cent of the assay contents can be recovered. 



The development of the railway system with consequent 

 reduction in freight rates has greatly stimulated the growth 

 of gold and silver mining. When mining operations first 

 commenced in Arizona, some mines were 300 miles away 

 from the nearest railroad, and machinery and supplies were 

 brought in by mule teams. Tw^enty-fi\ e years ago no mine could 

 be worked there which produced ore worth less than SI 50 

 per ton. In some mining districts of Colorado, as late as 

 twenty years ago, before they were reached by railways, all 

 ores were subject to freight charges, varying from $50 to $100 

 per ton. These conditions are now largely a thing of the 

 past. To-day, all important mining camps are crossed by 

 spurs and switches connecting the principal mines with the 

 main railway line. This means a saving of many dollars per 

 ton on all ores shipped, besides a saving on coal and other 

 mine supplies. 



The introduction of improved machinery and reduction 

 methods calls for a large investment of capital. The effect 

 of the technical progress has therefore been the gradual dis- 

 placement of the small operator working his mine without 

 hired labor on the grub stake plan, and the concentration 

 of gold and silver mining under the management of large 

 companies. The movement toward combination, however, 

 has as yet not reached the gold and silver mines. Small 

 properties have here and there been combined into larger 

 ones; still these small aggregations in no way differ from 



