22 T H E C U B A R E V I E W 



CUBAN MINING MATTERS 



A RICH COPPER MINE IN PINAR DEL RIO 



The property is situated in the Province of Pintir del Rio, about five miles from the north 

 coast, and is owned by Senor Manuel L. Diaz, a wealthy Cuban and a resident of Havana, 

 says the Engineering and Mining Journal of New York. 



The remarkable history of this mine is that it was brought to a producing basis and paid 

 a profit within one year from the time of beginning the development. In other words this 

 property not only paid for itself in that time but returned a profit to the owner. 



The copper stained outcrops were called to the attention of the present owner, who, upon 

 the advice of the engineers, decided to investigate this deposit by driving a few exploratory 

 adits into the hillside. The strike of the orebody is a little north of east, and the dip about 

 65 . The ore lies between a slate foot wall and a sand-stone hanging wall. The various 

 adits have opened first an oxidized zone, then an enriched zone of various copper sulphides 

 and, below, a zone of chalcopyrite and pyTite containing from 14 to 16% copper over a width 

 of 40 feet and a length of 300 feet, so far as developed. 



Development work was begun in January, 1913, and in December a shipment was made 

 that returned the owner over $43,000 after paying freight and smelting charges. At present, 

 the ore is shipped from the Bay of Santa Lucia, being lightered out to steamers. The net 

 retm-ns from ore shipped up to April, 1914, have been over $340,000. Every cargo shipped 

 has averaged over 20%, except the last shipment, which contained some run-of-mine material 

 from the lower zone averaging between 15 and 16% copper, bringing the average of the cargo 

 down to about 19%. The ore contains an ounce or two of silver, but very little gold. 



A steam plant, compressor and machine drills are now on the ground, and a vertical shaft 

 wiU soon be started, the extraordinary developments of last year having warranted equipping 

 the mine for a large production. The success of the mine in Pinar del Rio has resulted in 

 many denouncements in that part of the country. The owner of the above-mentioned mine, 

 however, has secured several thousand acres so that he is amply protected in the development 

 of that property, and there is little chance of trouble from adjacent owners. 



A RIDE TO THE MINES 



Antilln, Cuba, Ja.nuary 15th. — I have been the guest for the day of the Spanish-American 

 Iron Company at Felton. A railroad auto-car was ready for me at 7.30 and we started on 

 our 13-mile ride to the foot of the incline at Piedra Gorda (Big Rock). Those who have en- 

 joyed a morning ride in the tropics will understand what this meant. The car was open and 

 the view unrestricted. Panoramas flashed before us, showing fields of palm and tangled 

 jungles with orchid-covered trees. We crossed the Mayari River on a modern steel bridge, 

 and from it had an entrancing view of the town and valley of the same name. At Piedra 

 Gorda we were transferred to the "inchne car" for the first leg of the hft. This is a stretch 

 of 2,000 feet at a grade of about 25%. There is then a small dip and we were attached to 

 the 7,000-foot cable. Much of this grade is 25% and every foot opened up some new beauty. 



From the top we had an unbroken view of 30 miles, taking in Preston and the cane fields 

 under cultivation belonging to the United Fruit Company, and covering 30,000 acres. 

 Horses were ready, and after lunch we took a ride over the mine works. A strata of 

 serpentine rock underlies the ore deposit. This deposit ranges from 10 to 30 feet in depth 

 and is a siu-face proposition. That is, the only thing to be cleared away is the vegetation 

 to begin operation. They have three drag buckets, with a capacity of one and one-half 

 yards each, and a four-yard shovel. 



I was allowed to examine the ponderous machine which handles the 14,000 feet of 33''2-inch 

 cable and the system of handling the loaded and empty cars, and I look uopn it as one of the 

 wonders of the world. It tried my nerve a bit to stand on top of a loaded ore car and feel it 

 pitch over the crown and start on its descent. This ws s extremely rapid, reaching the bottom 

 in fom- miirutes, and the sensation must be similar to that of a flying machine stimt when the 

 gasoUne runs short. 



The car was ready to carry me back to Felton, and the return was just as fascinating as the 

 morning trip had been. — J. Frank Lanning in the Pittsburg (Pa.) Gazette. 



CUBAN IRON-ORE TITLES 



Havana Correspondence of the New York Engineering Journal. 



Interest attaches to a recent development in the protracted litigation involving some of 

 the Cuban iron-ore deposits. The litigation originally involved the titles and was based on 

 the fundamental question as to whether the clay iron ore, a residual product from the decompo- 



