HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE GOLD DEPOSITS. 
145 
expenses, including a large mill built in 1902. The mine is now in an enviable posi¬ 
tion. It is said that not one share of treasury stock was sold for purposes of mine 
development or equipment. 
The English companies which have ventured into the Cripple Creek field have been 
notably unfortunate. The Lillie Gold Mining Company (Limited) was capitalized at 
$1,125,000 and had yielded $360,000 in dividends when it was found that the shoot 
pitched into the adjoining ground. On the basis of the moderate capitalization 
which the small area of only 7 acres would have justified, this should have been a 
successful undertaking. The Stratton’s Independence (Limited) was bought, with 
$5,000,000 profits in sight, for $11,000,000 and capitalized for £1,000,000 in £1 
shares, the value per share at the time of flotation being about $10; from 1899 to 
1904, inclusive, $7,500,000 have been produced and $4,000,000 paid in dividends. 
The Moon-Anchor Consolidated Gold Mine (Limited) has also an unsuccessful record. 
It can not be said that any record-breaking results have been achieved in Cripple 
Creek in the way of economic treatment of the ores. In fact, compared with that in 
many other districts, both in the United States and in foreign countries, the expense 
of mining and milling seems extraordinarily high. The combined cost of mining and 
milling in the large mines ranges from $15 to $25 per ton. At Kalgoorlie, Western 
Australia, where similar ores and conditions prevail, the total cost had several years 
ago been reduced to $10 per ton and is now still further reduced to about $7.50 
per ton. 
There are several factors entering into this problem. One relates to imperfect 
sorting and washing of ore, now less in evidence than formerly. The many rich 
dumps of supposed waste, profitably washed over again, testify abundantly to neglect 
in this direction. On the other hand, careful hand sorting will materially increase 
the cost of mining, though at the same time it may result in gr.eater profits.® There 
has undoubtedly been great carelessness in mining, as is shown by the profits made by 
tributers in old stopes. The Cripple Creek ores are much more friable than those of 
Kalgoorlie and loss by fines is much more apt to take place. Free gold is present in 
the Western Australia ores in varying amounts, while almost wholly lacking in 
Cripple Creek. The Diehl process used at Kalgoorlie includes a preliminary concen¬ 
tration on Wilfley tables, roasting and cyaniding of concentrates, and agitation with 
bromocyanide of the tailings from the tables. This does not seem to be directly 
applicable to Cripple Creek ores. But of even greater importance are the heavy 
charges for ore reduction, which, for very commonly occurring ores of $40 per ton, 
amount to from $8 to $13 per ton, inclusive of freight. To a great extent this is 
caused by the presence of many small operators, who can not afford to build reduc¬ 
tion works themselves and who naturally avail themselves of the advantages of the 
custom mill. The large mines mostly followed the example of the smaller contingent. 
The rich ores were there in sight awaiting extraction; the stockholders were awaiting 
their dividends. Why bother about a few dollars per ton when a custom mill was 
available ? This seems to have been the line of reasoning of many large companies who 
doubtless would have made much more money by waiting a little while and building 
their own reduction works, not necessarily on a very large scale. There is no doubt 
a Finlay, J. R., Eng. and Min. Jours November 21, 1903. 
