MINES OF BATTLE MOUNTAIN, EAST GROUP. 
465 
UNDERGROUND WATER. 
The first water encountered in the Independence mine was 275 feet below 
the collar of the shaft, or 9,569 feet above sea level. In January, 1895, the shaft, 
then 300 feet deep, could be kept free of water by raising about 25 gallons a minute. 
At the time of sale in 1899 the mine, then 900 feet deep, made about 350 gallons 
of water a minute. In January, according to Mr. V. G. Hills,® the quantity of 
water pumped was 300 gallons a minute. This, however, was being considerably 
augmented by development work on the 1,400-foot level, and in July of the same 
year the flow had increased to 450 gallons. The hulk of this water issues from 
fissures in the granite in the northern part of the level. The level at which the 
water would stand if pumping were abandoned is estimated by Hills at 8,940 
feet above sea level, or about 913 feet below the collar of the shaft. On April 17, 
the quantity of water raised by the pumps had increased to 560 gallons a minute, 
the increase being due to additional development work on the 1,400-foot level. 
a Fourth Ann. Rept. Portland Gold Mining Company, 190'?, p. 91. 
