624 MINING IFDUSTEY. 



None of the second-class ore, the blende and copper mixed, had been 

 worked. Its assay value was between $100 and $200 per ton. 



A force of 50 or 60 men has been employed by this company during 

 two or three summers, but during the winter seasons, thus far, their opera- 

 tions on the surface have been suspended altogether and confined to opening 

 the mine with a few men. 



There are several other lodes on this slope of the hill that have been 

 opened with much promise, but none of them have yet been developed to 

 •the extent of that just described. Among them are the Prima, Potosi, and 

 Coley. The last named had a shaft 40 feet deep, at the time visited, from 

 which a handsome lot of ore had been taken, resembling that of its neighbor, 

 the Comstock, but of which none had then been worked for the account of 

 the mine. A small quantity had been sold to other parties for $100 per ton, 

 of which the yield was not ascertained. 



An exploring tunnel has been driven into the hill a half mile from the 

 works of the Comstock, and lower down on the slope, by the Chenango 

 Company, designed to open such lodes as it may intersect. When visited in 

 August, 1869, it had penetrated the country-rock a distance of 400 feet, cut- 

 ting two or three lodes, neither of which had invited much exploration. 

 This tunnel has since been leased or purchased by the Boston Association 

 with the view of driving it on to the Comstock vein. 



The Chenango Company have a small mill, comprising dressing machinery 

 and Scotch hearths, which have been unemployed most of the time since 

 their completion. 



In the vicinity of Montezuma, several enterprises of prospective value 

 are in progress. About 50 or 60 men are employed here in various occupa- 

 tions. A number of lodes are being opened, the most developed of which 

 is that worked by Judge Lynch, who is also erecting a mill for the treatment 

 of the ores produced. The general features of the veins are similar to those 

 already described. The works in course of construction are designed to 

 treat the ores by dry crushing, for which there are 10 stamps, roasting in 

 reverberatory furnaces, and amalgamating in Vamey pans. A small, experi- 

 mental smelting furnace is also in operation in this neighborhood. The dis- 

 trict is one of growing importance. 



