CENTEAL AND EASTEEN NEVADA. 433 



economical and systematic methods of operation as are available in ordinary 

 mines, and much labor is, therefore, involved in accomplishing the work. 

 Labor costs $4 per day in coin ; and this is the chief item of expense. It 

 amounted to $1,260 in one month in the Consolidated Company's works, the 

 product being 900 tons ; equal to $14 per ton ; besides which the cost of sup- 

 plies and materials was $1 per ton. The rock is pretty hard and requires 

 blasting. According to Captain Roberts, superintendent of the Aurora Con- 

 solidated mine, the cost of mining, per ton, is not less than $12. 



There are no steam hoisting works on any of the mines in this vicinity; 

 ordinary hand-windlasses have sufficed for the depths to which mining has 

 thus far been carried. The region is very dry and there is no water to be 

 raised from the mines. The present method of operation requires little or no 

 timbering. 



Milling. — The ores of the Treasure Hill mines are simple in character 

 and are readily worked by the ordinary Washoe process, that is, by pan amal- 

 gamation. The silver-bearing mineral is chiefly chloride of silver. They 

 require no roasting and yield a high percentage of their value when carefully 

 manipulated. The general features of the process and of the machinery em- 

 ployed have been already described in the chapter devoted to the subject of 

 milling of the Comstock ores. 



Although the chloride ores of White Pine require no roasting some of 

 the mill-men of the district prefer to crush them dry, and, until lately, most of the 

 mills were arranged for that method. The object in this is, or was, to avoid 

 the loss that is involved by wet-crushing, in the washing away of fine particles 

 of rich mineral, that are either swept away by the stream in the form of float- 

 ing scales, or that are reduced to an impalpably fine condition and are carried 

 ofi" in the slimes, thus escaping the treatment of the pan. This was a matter 

 of much importance in working very rich ore, as the loss of a small percent- 

 age amounted to a large sum in actual value ; and the increased expense of 

 crushing dry was therefore well repaid. For working ores of lower grade, 

 however, wet-crushing is preferred, on account of its comparative cheapness ; 

 and, of late, since the average value of the ores of the district has fallen off 

 considerably, several of the dry-crushing mills are reported to have been re- 

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