O-
W 1^
Z]>V% 5^
^Jln iS
(L-
i^
65 tJ
^i|)
m
^c/AUvaaiu^'^' ^c/Ai
in<:,vv"nrr
4^
•■TURR.'.rf
Pi
<\\i rvfVT;?.v/A
^)l
.
.K-m'
^=^1 iv^
ir.c
T' ?^
AJi
ilVJ-JO>'
^?fe)i 1^
'U.'.U\ Ha . vl V I I P IM U Y / ,' .
■ iiNrvfw\/»
r^i 13^1 i^
^tmi
^J'i13DN^
•"'<>'/U AN^f
-mir ^ ^
Ui
MEXICO'S
TREASURE HOUSE
c^'^
MEXICO'S
Treasure-House
(GUANAJUATO)
A7i Illustrated and Descriptive Account of
The Mines and. Their Operations
in 1906
BY
PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S.
Author of "Through Five Republics (of South America) 1905"
* J AM not blind to the unison of opinion as
expressed by scientists and experts that
Mexico will one day furnish the gold, silver
and copper of the world; that from her
hidden vaults, her subterranean treasure
houses, will come the gold, silver, copper
and precious stones that will build the em-
pires of to-morrow and make future cities
of this world veritable New Jerusalems."
— The late Cecil Khodes.
44 PAGES ILLUSTRATIONS 6 PANORAMIC VIEWS
2 MAPS AND DIAGRAMS
NEW YORK
The CHELTENHAM Press
MCMVI
Copyright 1906 by
Percy Folckk Martin
of 6 Gray's Inn Square, W. C
London, England
Contents.
rT
f /
PAGE
7-14
Earl}^ Days in Guanajuato 15-32
The State of Guanajuato 33-50
The "Patio" Process 51-60
Labor, and Mexican Peons 61-71
The Consolidated jNIining & Milling Co 72-82
The Reduction & Mines Co 83-99
The Guanajuato Development Co. (I). . . . 100-111
The Guanajuato Development Co. (II)... 112-126
The Peregrina Mining & Milling Co. (I). 127-139
The Peregrina INIining & Milling Co. (II) 140-152
The Guanajuato Mineral Development Co. 153-162
The Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines
Co 163-176
Some Mines with Promising Futures 177-200
Guanajuato Power & Electric Co 201-210
British Capital in Guanajuato 211-228
Prominent Men of Guanajuato 229-252
Conclusion.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.*
PLATE. SUBJECT. FACING
1. Panoramic view of the city of Guanajuato, 1906 Title
FACING PAGE
2. Mexico's output of silver from 1877-1905 13
3. His Excellency General Porfirio Diaz, President of the
Republic 21
4. A typical street in the peon quarter of the city 29
5. A peon standing at the door of his house 37
6. The State Prison, known as "The Carcel" 45
7. Market day in Guanajuato 51
8. Church architecture in Guanajuato District 57
9. The "Patio" process at Guanajuato 63
Preface .. .
Chapter I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XL
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVL
*The Photographs published in this VoKime have been principally taken for the work by
Mr. Percy S. Cox, of Indepeiidencia, Mexico City, and are now given for tha first time. They are
all Copyrighted. The Author is also much indebted to the courtesy of Mr. R. H. Burrows, of
Guanajuato, for several of the photographs used.
PLATE. SUBJECT. FACING PAGE
10. Old style of hoisting: The horse-whim 69
1 1. Quicksilver room in an old Patio mill 73
12. General view of The Consolidated Mining & Milling Co.
of Guanajuato 75
13. General view of the Cj-anide Plant belonging to The Con-
solidated Mining & Milling Co 77
14. Cyanide plant, office buildings and manager's residence
' of The Consolidated Mining & Milling Co 79
15. A rich portion of the vein at the fifth level 81
16. The vein showing a width of 163 feet from the fifth to
the second levels.
17. Table showing official gold output from 1824.-1891. ... 85
18. Boca Mina, at the Valenciana Mine (Reduction & Mines
Co.) 89
19. Precipitating plant (interior), Reduction & Mines Co.. . 93
20. Precipitating pl.nit (exterior). Reduction & Mines Co.. . 93
21. Offices and cyanide plant at Hacienda de Flores 97
22. General view of the cyanide plant, Hacienda de Flores. . 108
23. Entrance to the Pinguico Tunnel; belonging to The Gua-
najuato Development Co 107
'2i. General shaft of El Cedro Mine, belonging to the Gua-
najuato Develo2)ment Co Ill
25. Claims belonging to the Central Group of Klines; The
Guanajuato Development Co 115
26. General view of the Central Mine, belonging to the Gua-
najuato Development Co 119
27. The Nayal Custom Mill, adjoining the Central Mines;
property of Messrs. McElhiney & Bryant 123
28. Site of the new St. Matias Mill, owned by Mr. Frank G.
Peck 127
29. The Bryant Dam at the Peregrina Mine, wliieh is now
completed 131
SO. The Barrcno shaft of the Peregrina Mine 135
31. Peregrina iiO-stamp mill and foundation of 100-stamp
mill, the Peregrina Mining & Milling Co 139
82. House on the San Isidro Ranch, belonging to The Guana-
juato Development Co 145
33. Stream feeding the new reservoir during the dry season 149
84. American oak timber on the San Isidro Ranch 153
85. Basin to be submerged behind dam, San Isidro Ranch. . 157
S6. Shaft and electric hoist at the Nueva Luz Mine I6I
37. I. a Torre Mines, which, with the Nueva Luz, are the
property of tlie Mineral Development Co 165
38. JesTi.s Maria Mine. La Luz, property of the Amalgamated
Gold Mines Co 169
PLATE. SUBJECT. FACING PAGE
39. Dumps on the Jesus Maria Mine, La Luz 173
40. Map of the Guanajuato Mining District, showing the
system of veins 179
41. The San Cayetano Mine, property of The United Mex-
ican Mining Co 183
42. Panoramic view of the town La Luz, of the Guanajuato
District 189
43. Yard of the Refugio Mine, La Luz District, the property
of The Guanajuato Development Co 197
44. The El Cubo Mine, near Guanajuato 205
45. The Guanajuato Power & Electric Co., view of Com-
pany's substation at Guanajuato 209
46. The Guanajuato Power & Electric Co., interior of sub-
station 215
47. Mexico's output of gold, 1877-1905 223
48. Map of the Guanajuato Mining District, showing the
districts and areas 229
49- His Excellency the Governor of the Guanajuato State. . 236
PREFACE.
"Know thy opportunity.''
-PiTTACUS.
WORKS UPON MEXICO, although not
numerous, have, of late years at least, been
readily procurable; but for the most part
they have dealt with the past history of the Republic,
relating to its early troubles and ignoring the present
and future greatness of this remarkable country.
In regard to Mexico's principal asset, viz : its mines, I
can but repeat the words of the poet Byron, that "the
best of prophets of the future, is the past"; and if only
what has been will be again the mineral wealth of all the
rest of the world will have to stand the test of keen
comparison, and must be prepared to meet with a shock
of surprise.
A temporary visit to the Guanajuato district, where
a great revival of interest among the mines has set in,
convinced me that were the investing public of the Uni-
ted States and Great Britain to know something more
than they do about this very remarkable mineral camp, it
must prove of infinite benefit to them and of material
advantage to Guanajuato itself.
Thus, in my travels through INIexico for the purpose
of collecting materials for a book on the whole of the
Republic — which is to be published towards the middle
of next year — I found it expedient to tarry awhile in
Page 7
Mexico's Treasure-House
Guanajuato, and there to study the conditions and
prospects of a district which I always beheved, and now
know, will one day not far distant rival the famous Rand
itself, and prove to be an important apartment in that
"treasure-house" from which will come the gold, silver,
copper and precious stones "that will build the empire
of to-morrow, and make future cities of this world veri-
table Jerusalcms." which were the words in which the
late Cecil Rhodes once described ^lexico.
"Civilizing by syndicate" is not a bad method to
adopt, provided the members of such "syndicate" are
men of honor as well as enterprise, and both remember
and observe the conditions under which this kind of
civilization should be conducted, — that is to say, so
as to benefit the country generalty as well as to enrich
themselves. The Anglo-Saxon races have already
"cornered," if I may adopt such a term, four-fifths of
the gold-producing mines of the world, and it is, there-
fore, eminently fit that the magnificent mineral interests
of Mexico should be likewise mainly in their hands. But
for British capital in the first instance and more from
America in the second, probably the mineral riches of
Mexico might have lain dormant or but imperfectly
developed for many years, neither the Spanish pioneers
nor the Mexican proprietors having had the means or
the scientific knowledge to work the mines beyond a cer-
tain j)()int. Forei/.;n capital and foreign brains have,
however, joined together to some purpose, and the con-
sequence of tills combination must be as beneficial to
Mexico and to the Mexicans as to the enterprising finan-
ciers who ha\e come forward at the psychological
nujment to helj) in the country's development.
Guanajuato's Future 9
The Guanajuato gold and silver mines differ from
most other mines of the world inasmuch as there is ab-
solutely nothing conjectural nor problematical about
them. For close upon four hundred years they have
been not only known but actively worked, and they have
from first to last contributed about three-fifths of the
total amount of the world's supply of silver. "Imag-
ination rules the world," as Napoleon once declared;
there is, however, no sort of imagination about this state-
ment.
In this unpretentious volume I have attempted, to
the best of my ability, to provide some description of an
exceptionally promising mining district, and before all
the good things in it have been- appropriated. It is not
unusual to proclaim the virtues of an individual after
his death, ignoring all his abilities and attributes while
he is still preserved among us. Much about the same
kind of policy is adopted with regard to profitable com-
mercial enterprises, which are not infrequently intro-
duced to public notice after the cream has been hcked
off by favored insiders.
Probably this might have been the case with the
Guanajuato gold and silver mines, but for the fortunate
circumstance which brought me here and which has en-
abled me to learn something of the district which is
destined shortly to astonish the investing world under
the new regime of improved treatment and scientific
development through which it is passing. I honestly
believe that Guanajuato is destined to take first rank
among the gold and silver camps of the world, and it is
because of this conviction that I desire Anglo-Saxon in-
vestors, who have followed my writings for some twenty
10 Mexico's Treasu re-House
years upon both sides of the Atlantic, to share in the gol-
den possihilities which are here unfolded.
In this treasure-house of ^Mexico — Guanajuato — are
vast riches whicli may still to-day be sharcd-in by those
who have earl\ knowledge of their opportunities and
who do not hesitate to avail themselves of them. The
time is not yet when everything in tlie shape of a sound
(ruanajuato property is ''up in the skies," as is the case
witli some other Mexican mines, such as the Dos Estrel-
las in Michoacan State, the shares, of $100 each, of
which are selling for $8,500 and have been sold at the
stu])endous figure of $9,500. When it is remembered
that in Mexico between the years 1887 and 1889 as much
as $14,401,048 (say £2,880,000) was produced by the
mines of Guanajuato alone, sufficient should have been
said to prove the great value of these mines and the ra-
tional probal)ility of their continuing to yield handsome
returns to their fortunate proprietors.
Those wlio ti()ul)le to read the following pages will
realize why it is that these mines are passing into the
hands of Anglo-Saxon capitalists one by one, and how
llie opjjortunities which exist to-day for participating in
this attractive enterprise may soon fade away.
I would desire to point out that in the subjoined
chaj)ters I have not availed myself of the privilege
claimed by so many writers, and assumed the mantle of
the i)r()})lRt. 1 have contented myself with speaking of
things as they actually are or have been, rather than as
tliey may be: ])crmitting my readers to draw their own
conclusions, which the data and descriptions afforded
should enable them readily to do.
From niy varied experiences, gathered upon nearly
One Billion Dollars! 11
every gold-field of the world and a quarter-of-a-cen-
tury's uninterrupted writings ujjon such forms of in-
vestment, I feel certain that no necessity exists for
"cramming facts down the throats" of the intelligent
reading public. I provide the material, collected and
sifted, if I may say so, with much care and no small
amount of trouble; it is for those who read them to
accept or reject the statements therein set forth.
I can only sslj, however, that those who enter now
into the but partially occupied field of industry which
the gold and silver mines of Guanajuato hold open, be-
fore the finest of these opportunities have been seized
upon and closed, should have but little cause to regret
their decision. The invaluable adjuncts of a stable
government, a settled country and the best class of
financial interests of the United States and Great Brit-
ain represented in the management at work, are all
here; these should form the best recommendations, next
to the unquestioned richness of the mines themselves,
for all who are desirous of participating in Mexico's
treasures.
Those who have formed the impression that the Rand
in the Transvaal is the only wonderful producer in the
world, and who have heard of the celebrated West
Australian and British Columbian mines, have probably
but little knowledge of what the Mexican mines, and
especially those situated in the Guanajuato district,
have achieved. At Guanajuato the principal or
"mother vein" has jdelded the sum of $1,000,000,000
(one billion dollars), as sufficiently proved by the Mint
and Government records. The chief mines situated on
the mother vein (Veta Madre) include the famous
12 Mexico's Treasure-House
\'alenciana, the Rayas, the ^lellado, the Cata and the
Sirena, etc. Of these the Valenciana has been the
greatest silver prochicer, having to its credit the sub-
stantial sum of $300,000,000 and having been worked
down to a depth of 2,400 feet on the inchne. Taking
the ^^■hole of these mines together, covering as they do
an area of 10,000 feet on its strike, the output has been
over Ji^800,000,0()0, while the average depth worked with-
in that course has been something less than 1,.300 feet.
Perhaps no closer explanation of the output of silver
from Mexico during recent times could be offered than
by means of the diagram to be found elsewhere, for
A\hieh I ma\' say I am indebted to the courtesy of the
Editor of The Financial Neics (of London, England),
and for which great newspaper I have had the honor to
act as Special Foreign Correspondent for nearly a fifth
of a century.
It is only necessary to add that my illustration com-
prises seven main perpendicular divisions, each division
including four years' total silver output, commencing
witli the period 1877-81 and ending with the period of
four years 1902-5. At the margin on either side of the
design a scale of million dollars is seen, rising from zero,
by equal divisions of $25,000,000, to a total of $350,-
000,000 at the summit.
The total output for each period of four j^ears having
been computed from official figures, vertical black
cohimns. corresponding by their varying heights to the
amount i'ov each period, appear in each division, and in
juxtaposition with the scale in the margin. It will be
seen from the total figures given of the ])roduction of
sihcr during the four years 1877-81 on the diagram,
.MEXICO: OUTPUT OF SILVER,I877-I905^.
5
JSj:-'81\1SS2-S \]SSJ-(^\1800-5 \lSi)^'l\lS()8-'0l\lQ02-0S.
.500
215
?.S0
.225
20G .
.qi .
.160
J2S
f7£\/CO: EXPO.^r^ or .'KSTTALS \
Sc^ D .
IQCO-OI
/Q0r-03
ICI02-03
/qC3 -otf
/go-f-.os
00^ S,^.'ii>6
'gi/s.2s6.
^.■^6$.il3
/^••J26-f3'P
/jd^ii-f(
^ L\£f>
. T2.4lC.e6S
^^,632.-*-J'
JJ.SJ^T'^
■;q.lio.6<)o
6Jnsi-ft'
COPPBH
- ii.nv"
/6a*fssi
Z0I22.Z38.
2S.!3-f.2/6
i^.80J,420
LE.AD
. Xc6ii^S
sjjosfj-
SbbeZ'H}
^ Si.Sb!-8
\M.i.i r.\< ^• (ii'.NiKAi Don I*(>i;i iimo Diaz.
l'l«M<|(iil arrobas. In all prob-
ability Gorces drew his conclusions from one district
only and, therefore, formed them falsely; certainly had
he known Guanajuato as he should have, and as other
authors then and since have known it, he would never
have fallen into that gross error of describing Mexican
ores generally as "poor." If these ores were "poor,"
I would like to know what he was pleased to consider
"rich"?
Chapter IV.
The Mexican Labor Supply. — The Mexican and American Miner
Compared. — Relative INIerits and Demerits Considered. — The
Peon and Public Holidays. — But 200 Working Days out of the
Year. — Old Time Wages and Wage-Sheets. — High Cost of
Mining. — The Meaning of a "Bonanza." — Hard Labor in the
Mines. — The "Mozo" — How Peons are Usually Handled. —
The Influence of the Parish Priest. — Brickmaking. — How the
Peon Lives. — What he Eats and What he Wears.
NO one who has had anything to do with mining in
any part of the world, who has ever read any-
thing about the pursuit of mining or has ever
held a single share in a mining concern, need be told that
next to the possession of a mine at all comes the all im-
portant question of efficient and cheap labor. The Gua-
najuato mines are especially fortunate both in the quan-
tity and the quality of their labour supply, and although
the rate of payment is to-day more than double what it
was say twenty or even ten years ago, it is still suf-
ficiently modest to leave the employers perfectly easy in
their minds as to its present and future condition.
People who study the pay-roll sheets of Mexican
mines and compare the figures with those of, say, Amer-
ican miners, observing what is to them the extraordinary
anomaly of a Mexican receiving but 75 cents as against
an American's $3.50 gold a day, are apt to miss the very
important point that while the former is "absurdly
cheap" he is less than a quarter as good or as rehable. It
is to be remembered that a Mexican laborer in the mines
is only about one-half to two-thirds as efficient as an
Page 61
62 Meooico's Treasure-House
American miner, while his number of "Saints Days''
(over 140 in the year) render him less reliable as an in-
stnuiient than his Protestant brother-workman. Apart
from these facts, however, the ^Mexican miner is a good
and fairly reliable worker, and in Guanajuato he is par-
ticularly plentiful. His rate of pay is 75c., INIexican Cy.
(say one shilling and sixpence) a day, and in certain
classes of work ; such, for instance, as assorting, grading
and masonry construction (which is paid at even lower
rates), the Mexican is a distinct gain. Men receive an
average payment of 75c. a day, women 50c. and boys
25c., all Mexican Cy. — surely a moderate enough rate
when the fairly long hours of labor are considered !
Such things as strikes and "unions" are unusual, the
Mexican being, as a rule, a perfectly tractable and fairly
industrious worker, but requiring a careful overseer.
A mine manager of many years' experience in Mexico
has placed on record his conviction that, in regard to
labor efficiency, taken all round, and considering care-
fully all the pros and all the cons the Mexican miner
is rather preferable to the American. Whereas the for-
mer is easily managed and does nearly all classes of
work fairly well, especially excelling in working out and
exhausting bodies of ore, the white worker demands
much higher wages, quite disproportionate to the charac-
ter and the amount of work that he does, and is addition-
ally much more difficult to manage. While the Mexican
can work underground well and easily and is an expert
in stone and masonry work, the American is not skilled
ill nnderground stone work, although he is good at tim-
bering, while the Mexican is not. On the other hand
tlie Mexican, if he gets the chance, will become a thief
The Mexican Miner 63
and steal quantities of ore and tools from time to time,
while he is prone to drunkenness and to occasional loaf-
ing. The American miner, while far from a saint so far
as peculations are concerned, and loving as he does his
glass of whiskey whenever he can get it, is on the whole
more reliable, and having a due sense of honor, may be
trusted with safety where a Mexican certainly could not.
One of the greatest objections to employing Mexican
laborers is the enormous number of feast days which
they persist in keeping, and which leaves them little
more than 200 days out of the year for work. Both the
farm laborers and most of the miners insist upon leav-
ing their tasks on all Sundays and Mondays of the year;
all feast-days of a national character ; all feast days or-
dained by the Church; the day of the patron saint of the
hacienda where they work; feast days of the patron
saints of the nearby villages and churches ; birthdays of
the owners of the hacienda, and of the administrator;
their own birthdays and those of the members of their
families; days upon which the baptisms, weddings and
funerals of the members of their families or of their
friends take place ; and on any other excuse, frivolous or
serious, that may present itself. Things are somewhat
improving, however, since several managers of mines
and plantations now make it a rule to dismiss altogether
any man who too frequently absents himself from his
duties, a course of procedure which is having a markedly
beneficial effect, especially since the Church itself is
opposed to such absence except on its own solemn feast-
days.
It is a source of wonderment to some how the former
mine owners managed to make such colossal fortunes
64 Meooico's Treasure-House
from their properties, considering the heavy expenses to
which they were put for labor, machinerjs fuel etc., all
combined, and which brought the total cost of their
working up to something like $15 or $18 per metric ton,
compared %\ath but $5 to-day.
It cost them from $1.50 to $3 a ton to have the ore
dumped on the "patio" and handsorted; all the ore from
the stopes was carried painfully and slowly on men's
backs to the shafts, dumped and rehandled there. The
extremely hard physical exertion which this part of the
proceedings entailed upon the luckless individuals carry-
ing it out would horrify the "worthy souls" in England
who lament the "slavery" of the Chinese employed on the
Rand. Theirs is child's play compared to this arduous
carrj^ing of heavy sacks full of ore up an uneven, pre-
cipitous stair of stone steps, cut at uncertain distances,
no more than 6 or 8 inches wide and as steep as 10 or
15 inches. Walking up or down such subterranean stair-
ways as these, with no burden to carry, is trying enough ;
but to attempt it when heavily loaded, as I have de-
scribed, is the most painful and exhausting labor imag-
inable. While the poor peons thus employed were mis-
erably paid, the pay-rolls generally, owing to the number
of men at work, were exceedingly heav^^ amounting to
from $4,000 to $5,000 weekly. Mr. Dwight Furness,
one of the best-informed men in Guanajuato and the
United States Consul there, has stated that even in the
mines worked during the past ten years and under com-
paratively modern conditions, like the Esperanza and
Cedro, the cost of mining averaged over $12 per ton
of ore to the mills. In addition to this, the mills, being
nearly all located on the banks of the Guanajuato River
When A Mine Is In ''Bonanza" 65
on account of the water-supply as much as for security,
heavy freight charges for transportation of the ores to
the mills had to be encountered, being never less than
$1.50 per ton and amounting to as much as $3.50 per
ton. In those days it was the mills that made most of the
money, Mr. Furness telling us that the mines were
almost universally worked under the old "avio" or lease,
all profits, except in times of bonanza being made in
these mills, the mines in the course of time being looked
upon merely as so many feeders to supply ore to the
mills. The word "bonanza" — which is really a sea term
— as appHed here, I may point out, means a mine in
such a state as to cover all the expenses of working it,
and to leave a considerable annual profit to the pro-
prietor. It implies no particular sum, for there may
have been a "bonanza" of a million or a "bonanza" of
only 20,000 dollars ; but it always signifies among Mex-
ican miners that things are proceeding satisfactorily —
in short that they are "in the trade-winds," with stud-
ding sails set below and aloft and every prospect of a
prosperous voyage.
Recalhng the extremely arduous existences passed by
the Mexicans employed in mining under their Spanish
masters, and in the early days of their freedom from
practical slavery, brings up the question as to what sort
of labor the mines are enabled to depend upon to-day.
This may be said to be abundant and on the whole cheap,
or at least it appeared to be so until the several pros
and cons in connection with native and white labor
are carefully considered. Upon this phase of the ques-
. tion I have already commented (see page 62), thus
affording opportunities for comparing the opinions
66 Mexico's Treasure-House
of various mine-managers who have had great experi-
ence with Mexican peon workers.
From what I have seen of the poen laborers at the
mines and haciendas in Mexico, I should say they are a
tractable and easily managed people, seldom rebelling
against recognized authority, although upon occasions
they have been known to indulge in rioting. A handful
of local police will, however, speedily put an end to an
outbreak, and a few cracked skulls the following day,
combined with a broken-down door or so, are usually the
sum total of damage sustained.
Especially useful and amiable is the hody-mozo, of
whom every mine possesses at least one, and as many
as half-a-dozen. Upon long or short cross-country
journeys on horse back the 7/1020 is found simply in-
valuable and quite tireless. He thinks but little of him-
self, and never until every want and wish of his master
have been met and gratified. Although to-day, when
travelling in almost any part of iVIexico, if I except the
states of Sonora and Yucatan in some portions, is at-
tended with no more danger than would be found to
exist in Broadway or Piccadilly, the mozo is not re-
quired to defend his master from brigandish attacks,
he would be perfectly ready to do so at a moment's
notice, and to lay down his life for him if necessary.
Although times have changed and are changing day by
day, the mozo remains just the same faithful, trust-
worthy and careful servant, not over intelligent, maybe,
or over cleanly in appearance, but as loyal and as de-
pendable as one could meet anywhere in the wide world.
All the great estates or haciendas in Mexico have their
mozos as well as their peon labour. Most of this is
The Mexican Peon As He Is 67
hereditary, and almost as much of an inheritance as the
estate or hacienda itself. The laborers here are ads-
cripti glehoe; the owner of the hacienda is their feudal
lord ; they seek and obey no authority but his, and unless
forcibly turned away they would seldom think of leaving
him and his emplojonent. So far, then, as the supply of
such labor is concerned Mexico is peculiarly fortunate.
As an individual, the Mexican peon is not a loveable
character — except for his fidelity. He is much like a
child in many ways, and has to be frequently treated as
one. He even fails to resent a chastisement from his em-
ployer, provided his conscience tells him that he has de-
served it. I have seen a peon, knocked down by a heavy
blow on the jaw from the fist of his enraged master,
simply pick himself up more surprised than angry, and
depart without the least evidence of any resentment. On
the other hand a word of encouragement or a courteous
"buenos dias" when met on the road, brings a smile of
pleasure and gratification to his face, the genuineness of
which is unmistakable.
The peon is slow by nature, very improvident, being
practically born and invariably dying in debt, greatly
addicted to drunkenness from indulging in too much of
his beloved pulque, and spending his slender earnings
upon cock-fighting and betting on lottery chances. He
is seldom able to control himself under great provoca-
tion, and the use of the knife is painfully frequent even
in the cities, being only rarely punished (as it certainly
should be) by death.
Perhaps one of the greatest faults possessed by the
Mexican miner-peon is his thieving propensity. A very
keen eye has to be continually kept upon him, otherwise
68 Mexico's Treasure-House
every tool in the mine would disappear in time, and
great quantities of rich ore also. When the disappear-
ance of the mining tools becomes unusually serious, the
manager pays a visit to the parish priest, formulates a
complaint, and then patiently awaits the favorable re-
sults which he knows will come.
The priest is generously treated by the mine owners
and managers, for his personal influence is enormous and
practically indispensable. He, on the other hand, could
barely exist but for the "remembrances" of which he
from time to time is the recipient at the hands of the
mine-proprietors. So, on the Sunday following the theft
of the tools, the priest preaches a solemn and soul-stir-
ring sermon. With appropriate dramatic gesture he re-
lates how "a certain dream" the previous night had at-
tended him, "in which the faces and forms of certain
among his flock came out clearly, faces and forms of
those who had stolen wickedly the tools belonging to
such and such a company, which paid them wages for
their labor, but whom they shamefully robbed in return!
How could he with all his prayers and penances hope to
save from Hell's fires the souls of those who thus sin-
fully stole the company's tools?"
The next day those mining tools reappear as silently
and mysteriously as they had disappeared, and let us
hope many a repentant soul has thus been saved from
perdition.
Long before the Spaniards came to Mexico the native
races had travelled far upon the road to civilization; of
this there is abundant evidence to-day. Their present
backward condition may be attributed to the cruel perse-
cutions, slavery and oppression which they had to un-
Makers of Bricks 69
dergo at the hands of their Christian conquerors. For
three hundred years they were kept in dense ignorance
by the priests, their minds being alone filled with the
most degrading superstitions. Is it, therefore, any
wonder that the peon of to-day is but little better than
his forefather intellectually, and can it be marvelled at
that he is more successfully approached and controlled
through fear and threats ? The semi-torpid condition of
the peon class is more the outcome of abuse and neglect
than any natural defect of intelligence on their part.
The next ten years, I should say, are destined to effect
some change among the rising generation, but the
evolution of the Mexican peon will be a slow and pain-
ful one from an educational and social point of view.
It is interesting to watch the peons at mines and on
the haciendas making their adobe bricks, reminding one
strongly of a scene out of the Bible, but not at all of the
process described by Walt Whitman in his "Song of the
Broad-axe," — "The bricks one after another, each laid
so workman-like in its place, and set with a knock of
the trowel handle."
The peons use certain kinds of earth, tough and pos-
sessing special qualities known to themselves. They mix
the earth with plenty of water until the mass resembles
a thin kind of mortar. Cut straw is then added, and
when this has been well mixed up in the mud, it is ready
to be converted into bricks. The further process is sim-
plicity itself. A frame, generally 24 x 18 inches, is used,
which is divided by a cross-board into two even halves.
This frame is placed flat upon the ground and the wet,
earthy mixture is just shoveled into the two partitions,
the top or overflow is scraped ofl*, the frame work lifted
70 Mexico's Treasure-House
and the two bricks are left to dn'- in the sun. They are
fully twice as large and about as thick as an English or
an American-made brick, and of a dirty brown color.
A skilful and industrious adohero (as the Mexican brick-
maker is called) can easily make from 100 to 300 bricks
a day. These are left for a couple of days to dry, being
turned once or twice by hand. When sufficiently firm
to stand upon their edges, they dry much faster.
Until some few years ago, practically all the mine
buildings, as wtU as the houses in the interior towns of
JNIexico, were constructed of these adobe bricks, and
some towns to-day still have some 90 per cent, of their
buildings thus constructed.
It takes but little to sustain life in the Mexican peon,
and it is astonishing to find these puny-looking, under-
fed men carrying enormousty heavy burdens, which no
bulky English or American navvy would care to
shoulder. The staple food of the peon is the tortilla, a
flat, round cake, soft and doughy, made of coarsely-
crushed maize. In the condition in which it is eaten by
the Mexicans, roughly mixed and only slightly baked,
and filled ^\ith a greasy mixture of hot chile and
chopped-up onions, it is not particularly palatable
to the average European or American. But these same
tortillas, well mixed and properly baked, are agreeable
enough, and when eaten with butter, having been pre-
viously toasted to a nice crispness, they are even
delicious.
The peon rarely tastes meat; but when he does in-
dulge in this luxury it is not the choicest portions of the
animal that he can afford to buy. Tortillas for break-
fast, dinner and supper, day in and day out all the year
The Peons' Costumes 71
around, form his main and in fact only refreshment, but
apparently he thrives upon the treatment. Clothes cost
him little or nothing, and house rent but a mere trifle.
The male peon usually wears a loosely fitting suit of
white cloth, — originally white, that is to say, and any old
pair of sandals that he can pick up. His hat is a wonder-
ful creation in size, being of the "Mother Goose" style
known to us mainly through the pantomimes, and as
dirty as the rest of his attire. His inevitable companion
is his blanket, which he carries about mth him all day
and sleeps in at night. These blankets are usually of a
cheap and but thinly-woven material, and can afford but
little real warmth. The color varies, but for every blue,
brown or other hue, one sees a hundred of bright red,
that being the color mostly favored by the wearers.
The women's costumes are of cheap and sober-colored
prints — blue, brown and black; except upon holidays
and feast days, when both women and girls adorn them-
selves in all the colors of the rainbow, adding much
brightness and animation to the street scenes thereby.
Some of the women and Httle children wear sandals,
but many may be found barefooted. When not wearing
the shawl-mantilla, women use the same steeple-crowned
hats as the men and boys, these costing only a very few
centavos a piece.
Chapter V.
The Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Milling Company. — A
Powerful Corporation with Numerous and Valuable Properties.
The Different Interests Controlled. — Plant, Machinery and
Equipment. — The Sirena Group of Mines. — The Vein Area. —
How the Vein is Worked. — The Cardonas Group. — A Valuable
Mine in Prospect. — San Vicente and San Bartolo Groups. —
The Barragana Group. — A Visit to the Mine. — The Milling
Operations. — The Company's Financial Position.
THE Guanajuato Consolidated ]\Iining and Mill-
ing Company was organized in the year 1898,
to take over and work the Sirena mine, situated
on the Veta ]Madre (or INIother Lode) of Guanajuato.
Since its organization, the company has been gradually
and persistently purchasing additional property until,
at the present time, it owns at least six times the area of
mining property that it possessed originally.
The following is a list of the properties which the
Guanajuato Consolidated ^Mining and Milling Com-
pany owns outright or is interested in:
Pertenencias. Acres.
Sirena Group 73.96 182.75 (Entire own-
ership)
Barragana, Constantina,etc.67.50 100.78 (50 percent.)
San Vicente, San Bartolo, 39.67 98.02(03 percent.
and entire
ownership re-
spectively.)
Cardonas r2.00 29.05 (50 percent.)
Total 193.13 477.20
Carmen 48.03 120.10 (51percent.)
Grand total 241.70 597.30
Pag:e 72
The Mines' Equipments 73
Besides the above, the Consolidated Company owns
10 per cent, in the preferred and common stock of the
Concordia and Rayas Company, one of the largest com-
panies operating on the Veta Madre, north of the Sirena
mine.
The milling plant and miscellaneous interests owned
by this company can only be briefly described owing to
their number, but, first, must be named the fine Hacienda
de San Francisco de Pastita, adjoining the town of
Guanajuato and covering a tract of land about 5 acres
in extent, surrounded by a high wall, as is usual on all
Mexican haciendas, old and new. In this area are situ-
ated the company's Stamp Mill, Cyanide Plant, Melt-
ing House, Assay Office, Power Plant, Electric Light
Plant, Workshops, Storehouses, Local Water Works,
Main Business Office, Residence, Stables, and Gardens.
The stamp mill is one of 80 stamps, recently finished,
being equipped with the most improved modern appli-
ances and machinery, which have completely replaced
the old mill plant first built by the company. In ad-
dition to the 80 stamps, there are two Huntington mills
and a complete concentrating plant of Wilfley tables,
Johnsons and Frue vanners.
The cyanide plant is quite a modern one, consisting
of 50 steel tanks and a series of masonry tanks, having
an aggregate holding capacity of 2,300,000 gallons of
pulp, and equipped with the pipe-lines, pumps, agita-
tion machinery, zinc boxes for precipitation and filter
presses, etc.
The power plant is both electric and steam, and
consists of electric motors, having an aggregate capacity
of 1,000 horse-power, with transmission lines for power
74 Mea^ico's Treasure-House
and light throughout the hacienda and to the mines. As
an auxiliary to this plant, there is a modern steam-plant
of Heine safety boilers, Corliss engines, etc.
A splendidly equipped mine tramway consists of a
uniformly-graded track of 40ft. steel rails, laid to 26-
inch gauge, extending from the stamp mill, in the ha-
cienda, through a tunnel into the mine-workings, a total
length of 8,780 feet, exclusive of side-tracks, whicli
make an aggregate of more than 10,000 feet in length.
The water works consist of a jNIata dam storage
reservoir, in which are impounded the waters flowing
in San Nicolas Creek, the most important branch of
the Guanajuato River, together with intermediary dams,
masonry aqueducts and pipe-lines extending between the
dam and the company's hacienda, a distance of 11,437
feet, and thence distributed throughout the hacienda
by branch pipe-lines.
The Sirena Group of mines, to which reference has
been made, includes within its boundaries an area which
covers 3,300 feet along the course or strike of the Veta
Madre vein, by 2,000 feet from the hanging- wall of the
outcrop of the vein horizontally over its dip, or down-
ward continuation into the earth. The Veta JNIadre,
having a dip angle of 45 degrees from the horizontal,
tlie horizontal width of surface area of 2,000 feet, would
include within its vertical boundaries a total distance or
depth of 2,825 feet of the downward continuation of the
vein. The total area, therefore, of the Mother Vein,
within the Sirena group, is a rectangle, measuring 3,300
feet in length ])y 2,825 feet in breadth, which would
contain 9,322,500 square feet.
Geneh.m, Vif.w
iHE Guanajuato Coxsoi.inATED Mining and Milling Co.'s Plant and the Siren.i
Tlie Sirena vein passes behind this mountain, and dips beneatli it towards the mill.
^
The Sirena Mine 75
This vein area is, however, further increased by that
portion of the vein lying under the per.teneneias cover-
ing the company's Purisima tunnel. This covers an
area of 328 feet along the strike of the vein, by 984
feet over its dip. This latter dimension of the surface-
area covers 1,392 feet of the vein on its dip; hence,
328 feet x 1,392 feet gives an additional vein area of
456,576 square feet, which, added to the 9,322,500 square
feet alre^y calculated, gives for the superficial area of
the vein within the boundaries of this group, a total of
9,779,076 square feet. Reduced to larger measures to
facilitate a more adequate conception, this area is equal
to 225 acres.
To better understand the forgoing measurements, it
should be borne in mind that the thickness, or width, of
the Veta Madre ranges from 100 to 300 feet, and that
under this group there lay 225 acres of this vein-matter,
varying in width, within these thicknesses, and dipping
into the earth at an angle of 45 degrees, and also that
the greater portion of this area is, as yet, unexplored.
This mass of vein-matter is believed to be ramified with
masses and bodies of ore of as yet undetermined dimen-
sions, while these bodies may continue in dimensions
equal to those of the ore bodies now developed in the
bottom workings of the mine, say, 100 feet or more in
width, while it is possible that these ores may range from
low-grade milling ores to high-grade shipping ores, so
altogether a fairly accurate conception of the enormous
extent of the Sirena mine and the clever engineering
which is required for its systematic exploration, develop-
ment and economic operation, may be formed.
76 Mexico's Treasure-House
The magnitude of this vein and the ore bodies which
it contains is probably without parallel.
The Cardonas Group covers an area of 12 perte-
nencias of 29.65 acres, over the Veta Madre, and lies to
the east of the Cedro. This group also practically ad-
joins the Carmen Grou}). There is considerable de-
velopment work done on this property, and a large body
of ore, having an average value of $12.50 per ton gold,
has been developed. The prospect for a valuable mine
in this group is exceptionally good; in fact it may be
said that such is already assured.
The San Vicente and San Bartolo Groups lie in the
Santa Rosa district. They contain within their bound-
aries two of the three veins that traverse the Santa Rosa
district, and have made it famous as a mining centre.
There is considerable systematic development of a sub-
stantial nature done on the veins in these groups, which
has developed large payable bodies of milling ores.
The Barragana Group is located between the Pere-
grina mine, owned by the Peregrina ^Mining and ]Mill-
ing Company, which, as will be seen from the descrip-
tion of that company which follows, is erecting a 120-
stamp mill for the treatment of its ores and the El
^lonte mine, o\\Tied by a ^lexican company. The
latter mine is accredited with a production of about
$30,000.00 in the past. The work done on the Barra-
gana Group shows it to hold out great promise of mak-
ing as large and profitable a mining enterprise as its
neighbor, the Peregrina mine.
The Sirena mine is the most prominent and the more
extensively operated of all the company's mining prop-
erties. I was ena})led to make a careful examination of
GiiNF.HAL View ur Tin: Cvanidi: Plant at Tin. (iuAXA.iuATO Coxsolidatku JIinini; ami Mii.i.iNt; d
'I'vikfii frutii tlif roof of tile nmiiager's housf.
The Journey to the Mine 77
it, and the impressions received were highly and
uniformly favorable.
Leaving the rock house of the stamp mill, at the
hacienda, the journey to the mine is made in a flat car,
"Pullman," over the well laid tram road, 3,500 feet, to
the elaborately ornamental portal of the Purisima tun-
nel, the adit or main entrance to the mine; thence
through this tunnel 2,500 feet to its intersection with the
"Veta Madre," near the El Principe shaft, thence
northerly through the vein, 1,300 feet, to the Soledad
shaft, thence, continuing northward in the vein, a
further distance of 1,476 feet to the end of the tunnel,
and so on to the northerly boundary of the mine.
This tram road is tracked with 40 lb. steel rails, laid
to 36-inch gauge, on a 1/10 of 1% grade, in favor of the
loaded cars coming from mine to mill. This tunnel
intersects the Veta Madre at a point 400 feet vertically
below the surface. Below the tunnel level, the vein is
developed through the two incline shafts named above,
"the El Principe" and the "Soledad." These shafts
are sunk on the vein below the tunnel level to vertical
depths of 500 feet and 450 feet respectively, and, con-
necting these shafts with each other, tunnels are run in
the vein an average vertical depth of about 100 feet
apart. From these tunnels, at intervals, crosscuts are
run at right angles towards the hanging and foot walls
of the vein, and from these crosscuts raises are made
through the ore bodies to the levels above. Thus the
vein is penetrated with horizontal and vertical openings
or workings, by means of which it may be examined and
its physical conditions determined.
78 Mexico's Treasure-House
The tunnels in the vein are tracked with steel rails on
which push-cars, having a capacity of three-quarter ton
each, constitute the rolling stock. When the ore is
broken in the vein, it slides by gravity down through
chutes to the levels. These chutes are equipped with
gates, at each level, which, when opened, allow the ore
to pass through and fall into the push-cars. When
these cars are full, the gates of the chutes are closed, the
chutes acting in the meantime as storage bins. The
loaded cars are pushed to the shaft by a peon carman,
and the load of ore is dumped into the receiving bin, at
the shaft station. At the point in the shaft where the
level workings start through the vein, there is a large
excavation called a "station." Under the floor of the
shaft stations, large pockets are excavated in the hang-
ing walls of the shaft, having a holding capacity of from
two to three hundred tons. The bottoms of these pockets
are provided with two gates, which, when open, dis-
charge into the hoisting skips in the shaft. When the
skips are full, a hoisting signal is given to the engineer
at the top, and the skips are hoisted over steel tracks,
and, on reaching the top, which is about 40 feet over
the tunnel level, are dumped automatically over bar
screens ( called grizzlies ) .
Wlien passing over these screens, the portion of the
ore fine enough to pass through the openings in the
screens falls through and is conducted to a separate
compartment in the ore screen, called the "fines." The
ore pieces which are too large to pass through the screen
slide by gravity into a compartment adjoining that for
the fines, and here the ore is known as the "coarse ore."
These ore bins discharge their contents througli chutes.
> — X
JLLiT'
I
Treatment on Reaching the Surface 79
into steel cars, having a holding capacity of three tons
each, which are hauled to the dayhght by a 25 horse-
power electric engine in trains consisting of ten cars each.
On reaching the surface, the cars containing the coarse
rock are dumped into a storage bin, this having a ca-
pacity of 200 tons. At the bottom of this bin is set a
Blake crusher which receives the coarse rock, as it is
delivered by gravity from the storage bin, and crushes
it to pieces, fine enough for the largest piece to pass
through a II/2" ring. Thus crushed, the rock falls into
the boot of an elevator, from which it is lifted 45 feet and
delivered into a screen, and thence passes through the
feed hopper, when it is delivered on to an endless pick-
ing-belt. This belt consists of steel slats 30 inches wide,
and which overlap each other in an ingenious way, and
is itself some 75 feet in length, between the carrying
wheels at either end, and having a travel speed of 30 feet
per minute.
The ore elevated from the crusher is fed regularly on
to this belt, on which it forms a thin layer. On either side
of the belt are stationed ore-sorters, who pick out the
waste, or low-grade, ore as the belt carries its load past.
About 20% of the weight of the coarse ore coming from
the mine is picked out and goes to the waste, or low-
grade dumps. By the time the belt has passed 12 ore
sorters, 6 on either side, the ore which it carries is cleaned
of all undesirable matter and the remainder is delivered
into the clean ore bin at the delivery end of the belt.
From this bin it is loaded into three-ton cars, and the
coarse ore, with the fines screened in the mine, are run in
trains of 10 to 12 cars and dumped into the storage bins
at the Stamp Mill, which have a holding capacity of
80 Mexico's Treasure-House
1,000 tons. The ore thus delivered has an average value
of $30.00 Mexican Currency (say £3) per ton.
And now begin the milling operations. From the
mill storage bins, which are situated immediately behind
the stamp batteries, the ore, already crushed as de-
scribed, is fed automatically into the battery mortars,
of ^\hich there are 16. In each of these mortars there
are 5 stamps.
The crushing, or pulping, operation is carried on by
means of these 5 stamps. Each of these stamps ^veighs
1,250 ttjs., and is lifted by a cam and dropped 7 inches
100 times a minute on the ore which is fed into the mor-
tar. The pulping of the ore is effected wet, 7 to 8 tons of
water being fed into the mortar for each ton of ore. The
front of the mortar is fitted with diagonal slot screens,
equivalent to 35 mesh per linear inch. In the pumping
operation the splash of the falling stamps, keeps the
pulp in continuous agitation against the slotted screen,
and, when the pulp grains are fine enough, the water
carries them out through these screens. On issuing from
the mortar, the pulp is sized, the slime going to the Frue
vanners and the sand to the Wilfley tables. Tlie con-
centration effected on these show a recovery of about
509c of the values in the crude ore extracted, in a con-
centrate weighing about 2.5% of the total weight of the
pulp. The concentrates recovered by the Wilfley tables
are sold to smelters and yield about 887o of their gross
value in the form of bankable funds, net, to the com-
pany.
The pulp flowing from the Wilfley tables, and con-
taining 50'' of the gross value in the crude ore, is now
subjected to a process of preparation for cyanide treat-
"VM*.
A Prosperous Concern 81
ment. By gravity settling and hydraulic classification,
it is separated into sand and slime, these occurring in
the ratio of 40% and 60% respectively. The sand is
then conveyed to the sand-leaching tanks, of which there
are 20, and receives a treatment in these, varying from
14 to 16 days, during which time a recovery of values
amounting to from 90 to 94^'' is made. The separated
shme is submitted to the ordinary slime treatment in
20 steel tanks, where a recovery of values equal to that
made in the sand is effected.
It should be said that the cyanide solution, after ex-
tracting the values from the sand and slime, is directed
to flow through boxes filled with zinc shavings, where a
precipitation of all the values is effected, in the form
of an impalpable gold and silver powder. This powder
is collected and melted into bars and sold.
The company receives, from its various methods of
treatment described, about 85% net of the original
values, in the crude ore milled, in the form of bankable
funds.
The company owning and operating all the valuable
properties which I have mentioned in the earlier portion
of this chapter is naturally a stong one, financially
speaking. The high opinion which the investing public
hold of the Consolidated Mining and Milling Com-
pany's stock is proved by the price at which the shares
of $5.00 stand to-day, namely $7.00, or nearly 50%
prem. ; while I have no hesitation in saying that, from
what I have seen of the mine of Sirena, and from what I
know of the management ( which I can only characterize
as efficient in the highest degree) , these shares are worth
$10.00 a piece, and may shortly reach that figure.
82 Mexico's Treasure-House
The whole authorized capital of the company is $3,-
OOO.OOO. divided into 60,000 shares of $5.00 each. There
are bonds of the value of $300,000, in the form of 20
year 7/t sinking fund convertible gold debentures. It
may also be observed that a sufficient amount of stock is
set aside for the redemption of the bonds as they mature.
The Board of Directors is a small one, consisting of
four members, namely, ^Ir. Frederick L. Corning,
President ; Mr. C. V. R. Cogswell, Secretary and Treas-
urer; :SIr. Robert ^Mulford and Mr. M. E. MacDonald.
The latter gentleman, to whom so much of the present
success of the company's operations is due, is also man-
ager, while his equally able brother, Mr. Bernard Mac-
Donald, is the consulting engineer. Mr. John S. Butler
is the chemist and metallurgist.
The company has already commenced to pay divi-
dends, having declared a quarterly distribution at the
rate of 6% per annum. Up till now, the company has
wisely used all its resources for thorough development,
and to place in a perfect condition of efficiency its valu-
able ])roperties. Henceforth the Consolidated Alining
and Milling Company may be regarded as a permanent
occupant of the dividend-paying list among the Mexican
Mining Companies.
Chapter VI.
The Guanajuato Reduction and Mines Company. — A Group of
Historic Mines with Romantic Associations. — The Stories of
the Rayas and Valenciana. — Progress of the Centuries. — Inter-
ruption from the Revolution. — British Possessions Pass Away.
— Modern Methods and Management. — How the Company
was Formed and Who Formed It. — Some Tests of the Re-
sults. — Big Profits in Sight. — Treating the Ores on the
Dumps. — A Plucky and Successful Experiment. — The Bustos
Pipe Line. — The Company's 80-Stamp Mill and Machinery. —
Financial Position and Management.
THE associations connected with several of the
properties owned by the Guanajuato Reduction
and Mines Company render their position a
pecuharly interesting one, apart from the fact that their
holdings form one of the most important and powerful
groups in the whole district. The history of some of
these celebrated mines is practically the history of Gua-
najuato (and its mining industry) itself.
As is probably well understood, in view of various
descriptions given, the Mother Lode mines, the great
majority of which are held by the Reduction & Mines
Co., are divided into four different groups, namely:
The Valenciana Group, comprising the Valenciana,
the Esperanza and the Tepayac;
The Cata Group, comprising the Cata, the Secho, the
Maravillas, the San Lorenzo and the Avispero ;
The Mellado Group, comprising Mellado and numer-
ous annexes ;
The Rayas, comprising the Rayas and its annex El
Maguey.
Page 83
84 Mexico's Treasure-House
These mines are the principal properties belonging to
the Reduction and Mines Company, but in addition
they possess La Union, Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato,
El Obrero del Porvenir, and La Sorpresa. Tiiis last
named mine was added to the company's holdings later
on, and the sum of $100,000 gold (say £20,000) was
paid for it.
In the La Luz district the company owns a large
and extremely valuable group of properties, which are
located on the La Luz, Rosario and other subsidiary
veins, and comprise the Purisima with its annexes Santo
Nino and La Palanca; Rosario; San Francisco de Pili;
San Pedro Gilmonea; Emma; Loreto; Todos Santos;
San Cayetano and Abundancia; as well as interests in
Asuncion de la Navarra, Independencia and Plateros,
and reversionary rights to the JNIejiamora. A huge prop-
erty adjoining the others and known as the Americana
has also been purchased, and the entire property on the
La Luz vein, purchased from the Rul Estate amounts
to a length of 7,000 feet.
The first named four groups are all situated on the
outcrop of the famous Mother Lode, and were pur-
chased from the Rul Estate, which had previously pur-
chased them from former owners or their representa-
tives. It should be borne in mind that the Valenciana,
the ^lellado and the Tepayac were originally tlie prin-
cij)al Guanajuato properties of the Anglo-^NIexican
Company, while the Rayas, the Secho, and Cata were
among the holdings of the United Mexican Company.
Nearly every one of these mines has a history of great
])n)ductions, the Valenciana alone having a recorded
output of something like $300,000,000 (say £00,000,-
run
FTT^Trz :,:::zT;^'iovA::...".-ATr *>
k
■J.
..j...-|,^,v-.--..; >..;...[.;. .^^i^.
_u.. ».«.i.i;
■m
•jZkArfMAtbai.
acuRacion..
fc
•■■t1tt#*
IXPOnTAClDN
ffi
(i"l|) ( )l I IM 1 riloM TIM. ( I lAXA.IlA !( > l)lsli;i( I'
ll{()M ISl'l 1«1»1.
'^ I 111- .•il((i\ «• (ii:iins .in- \ (TN iniiiiiti-. hut ciii lie rcid 1)\ t lie aiil <>(' .i pow iii'nl
luaiiiiitv iiii; iilass. Ai riiou.j
IMatr i;.J
Riches Bring Honors 85
000) to its credit — an almost incredible amount for
one mine to have yielded.
Some historians declare that the Guanajuato mines,
taken as a whole, have produced ores to the value of
$1,350,000,000 (say £270,000,000) , of which no less than
$1,000,000,000 (£200,000,000) came from the Mother
Lode proper, and $350,000,000 (£70,000,000) from the
mines on parallel vein systems, situated from 8 to 10
miles distant, of which the principal one is La Luz.
The early discoverers of these mines, before they
passed into the hands of the two British Companies
mentioned, gained fame and fortune from their posses-
sion. Thus, Senor Don Jose de Sardaneta, of Legaspi,
owner of the Rayas mine, was created "Marquis de
Rayas;" Senor Francisco Mathias de Bustos, owner of
La Cata and Secho, became Viscount de Duarte; and
Senor Antonio Obregon, of Alcocer, discoverer and
owner of Valenciana, became Count de Valenciana. In
this way was enterprise rewarded in the olden days;
somewhat different from the present time, when suc-
cessful mine owners — from South Africa — are de-
nounced in the House of Commons as "thieves and slave
owners" and the shareholders are termed "rascals," while
the Government seeks every means to ruin them.
Romance clings with astonishing pertinacity to many
of these Guanajuato mines to-day, and will never by the
natives, at least, be allowed to die out. For instance,
it is related of the Rayas mine that the owner, progenitor
of the Marquis aforesaid, conceived the idea of carrying
his levels forward to a point under the dip of the Santa
Anita shoot, which was worked as an open cut. The old
man dreamed of his great mine night after night, but
86 Mexico's Treasure-House
dying before he could accomplish his great object he
enjoined his son and successor on his death bed to carry
out his scheme, j)r()pliecying that he Mould succeed and
"discover even greater riches and honors."
The prophecy was verified at first, for the Rayas mine
became one of the most celebrated in the whole Guana-
juato district; and put enormous wealth into the hands
of the new owner of the property.
However, the prophecy was only fulfilled in part.
The riches had come — and gone, but the honors still re-
mained in the future. Convinced that his venerable
father was inspired on his death bed and that he could
not possibly be mistaken, the younger Legaspi persisted
in carrj'^ing on the work of development to the south-
east. He met with the ordinary experience of men who,
since the time of iEsop, find many willing to advise one
to "go on" and others who implore one to "stop." It was
the case of the "old man and the ass" over again. Only
Legaspi knew what he was doing, and he proceeded to
do it. He persevered; and in due course of time his
efforts were rewarded by the discovery of a second
"bonanza," the riches coming from the shaft of San
]Miguel. Xow, again, rose the fortunes of the Sardaneta
y Legaspi family, and on this occasion the second part
of the old man's prophecy came true, for the King of
Spain made the Rayas owner "^larquis de Rayas" —
for a small consideration — and an enduring monument
to the great man exists to-day in the form of a magnifi-
cent building erected on the mine, with flying buttresses
and a sculi)tured portal surmounted by a beautifully-
carved statuette of the Archangel ^lichael ("prince of
celestial iXrmies," as Milton called him) and tutelar
Saint of this part of the mine.
Valenciana Church 87
The Valenciana, with such a magnificent record,
naturally is not deficient in historical interest. In this
case it deals with one Antonio Obregon, a Spaniard of
great piety but with a keen appreciation of the good
things of the world, and who, after vainly searching for
some good pay ore, one day came across a poor and
helpless individual, who, in return for certain kindnesses
and benefactions, promised Obregon assistance in locat-
ing a rich strike. In due course his promise was re-
deemed, much to the surprise and let us hope the material
appreciation, of the Spaniard, since he became thereby
the richest man in the world at that time. His great
piety found further expression in the construction of
one of the most beautiful churches ever built by an
individual. He began it in 1765 and completed it in
1785, the total cost being $1,000,000, or, say, £200,000.
Nothing can exceed the costliness of the altars and their
furnishings, and the Valenciana church, admirably pre-
served and most piously regarded by all Mexicans, re-
mains the finest show place in Guanajuato — nay, in
Mexico — to-day.
In the year 1700, more than 30 reduction works were
in operation at Guanajuato, with a total capacity of 500
tons a day. Records exist which prove that progress in
the 18th century was rapid, the mint, a pretty accurate
index, showing that the yearly increase was considerable.
During the first years of the new century the precious
metals mined in Mexico amounted approximately to
$10,000,000 a year. By the end of the century this had
increased to an annual production of $23,000,000. This
sum represented two-thirds of the world's production of
silver during that period. From 1760 to 1810 Guana-
88 Meocico's Treasure-House
juato contributed 30% of the entire Mexican produc-
tion and 20' < — or one-fifth — of the entire world's out-
put of silver.
The century was only 10 years old when revolution
came stalking into jNIexico, and from that time the mines
— especially those of Guanajuato where the first echoes
of revolt made tliemselves heard — commenced to suffer.
As the great majority of the mine owners and operators
were on the side of the Government — believing that in
the end it must win and having naturally a keen eye for
their own interests — the revolutionists had no mercy
upon them and their properties, which were destroyed
right and left, their workmen likewise being carried
away as recruits, willing and otherwise. The out-put
fell from $5,000,000 in 1810 to $1,000,000 in 1820. For
fifteen years this condition of things prevailed, when
an improvement commenced to manifest itself. It was
at this time that the two British companies (the Anglo-
Mexican and the United ^lexican) already referred to
came upon the scene and managed to buy up the half-
ruined properties at a very low price, and being wel-
comed by the impoverished Government as the har-
bingers of fresh foreign capital — so sorely needed, since
the country had but little of its own.
Among the very wealthiest of the Spanish residents
in ^Mexico was the Rul family, which had for a hundred
and fift\^ years been amassing property in the Guana-
juato District, until they had collected properties cover-
ing more than 8,500 feet of the ^lother Vein. ]Many, if
not most, of these mines had been leased by the Rul
family to British companies, and they, therefore, em-
ployed the funds paid to them for these by taking up
Lack of Cheap Power 89
other claims on the La Luz veins, which for 200 years
had lain dormant in favom* of the Mother Vein. The
history and experiences of the La Luz district will be
found more fully commented upon under Chapter XII,
dealing with the Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines
Company.
At the time that matters were first brought to the
attention of the Reduction and Mines Company, all of
the properties of the Mother Vein, excepting the Cata,
and all of the properties at La Luz, were filled with
water and had been practically abandoned. The Cata
had been unwatered to the 800 foot level, but was being
worked in a hand-to-mouth fashion by a few "buscones"
under most disadvantageous circumstances. The dis-
trict, in general, was poverty-stricken to the last degree,
as practically no mining work was going on and the min-
ing population was, in a large degree, either at the point
of starvation or was emigrating to other camps. The
utmost discouragement prevailed throughout the dis-
trict, but at this very moment a deus ex machina ap-
peared in the form of Mr. Leonard E. Curtis. This
gentleman, who was a lawyer, whose life work had been
with the electric companies, came to Guanajuato in
1902 to investigate certain legal titles pertaining to
mines controlled by Mr. George W. McElhiney, but,
having a good deal of time on his hands, he and Mr. Mc-
Elhiney made a thorough reconnaissance of the district.
The enormous masses of wastes produced by ancient
workings impressed him greatly, and he soon became
convinced of Mr. McElhiney's views that the principal
cause for the moribund condition of the district was the
lack of available and cheap power. So convinced was he
90 Mexico's Treasure-House
of this, that upon his return to the United States he made
a startling proposition to certain friends that they should
expend something- over a million dollars in bringing
several thousand horse-power to a camp which, at the
time, was using none and was, to all intents and pur-
poses, completely dead.
His faith in the future, however, was contagious, and
resulted ultimately in the establishment of the Guana-
juato Power and Electric Company, whose first in-
stalled unit was capable of delivering 3,500 horse power
into Guanajuato. This power-plant was opened in
November, 1903, and is fully described under the head
of Chapter XIV.
During this same time, two energetic young Ameri-
cans, ^Ir. George W. McElhiney and Mr. George W.
Bryant, had been extremely busy in getting together the
large old mine holdings of the Mother Vein, and plac-
ing them in such legal form that a commercial consoli-
dation could be effected. Having done this, the pro-
ject was presented to ]Mr. George A. Beaton, of New
York, who forthwith despatched to Guanajuato, to
make preliminary examinations, Prof. R. T. Hill, one
of the best-known geologists of the United States Geo-
logical Survey, with a corps of able assistants. ^Ir.
Charles L. Kurtz, now the President of the Guanajuato
Reduction and Mines Company, was also sent by Mr.
Beaton to look over the general situation.
Mr. C. W. Van Law accompanied Mr. Kurtz in Sep-
tember of 1903 for a preliminary look-over the situa-
tion, coming again in November of the same year, when
immediately upon his return to New York a large staff
for sampling and surveying purposes was collected to-
Testing the Dumps 91
gether, and from 100 to 200 men were told off to do the
sampling work. The enormous quantity of the dumps
resulting from past workings and their reputed work-
able grade at once formed the principal point of attack
in the investigation, since, could these stores be treated
at a profit, there would be provided a sufficient founda-
tion for a large enterprise, leaving the mines themselves
to follow as a secondary consideration.
As a consequence of the investigation, shafts were
sunk through all the principal dumps to the original
ground surface underneath, and hundreds of samples
were taken, weighing from 500 to 2,000 pounds each, to
determine the grade of the dumps. From the depths of
the shafts and the contours of the ground surface under-
neath resulting, the quantities of the dumps could also
be accurately estimated. At the same time, sampling-
investigation was pursued in the Cata mine and such
portions as were available of the other mines, and it soon
became evident that, leaving out of account any question
of mine-ore from the vein proper, there was at least as
much available material lying as "fillings" in the old
stopes under ground as there was on the dumps.
All this, however, would have been useless without a
metallurgical process which would economically and ef-
fectively extract the values from the ores. A five-stamp
mill was leased in the outskirts of the town : the services
of Mr. F. J. Hobson, who is one of the best-known
silver-cyaniding chemists of the world, were secured to
conduct the tests, and a large number of mill-runs were
made on a practical scale from the dumps. The results
were more than satisfactory. It was easily demon-
strated that there was, as a minimum, $1.00 (U. S. Cy.)
92 Mexico's Treasure-House
a ton profit in some two million tons of dump ore already-
mined and on tlie surface, and not less than $1.50 per
ton profit from the waste fillings under-ground, aggre-
gating another milhon tons. There was the strongest
reason to believe that the old mines, instead of being ex-
hausted, might be counted upon to yield again a very
large production of grade which would result in most
handsome profits.
Under these conditions, options for the properties
were quickly closed, and without waiting for the ex-
piration of the time of the options' final payments, these
were anticipated by about 18 months, and all of the
properties taken over were paid for in cash. In order
to assure the dip of the vein to much greater depths than
they had before been worked, additional properties were
also secured, ])oth at I^a Luz and on the Mother Vein,
which would allow of the working of the latter to about
5,000 feet, practically throughout the length of the
holdings of this company.
In February of 1905, a thoroughly energetic and
comprehensive construction program was commenced.
A 150 horse-power compressor was installed upon the
Cata mine with its complement of air drills, with which
new levels were commenced below the old workings and
driven as rapidly as possible, and with most gratifying
results. A considerable flow of water having been en-
countered, large electric pumps were likewise installed
in the Cata mine, and the unwatering from the Cata of
the Tepayac mine was accomplished; the unwatering of
the Rayas and Mellado mines in tlic same manner is now
proceeding. Plans have been completed for a 1,000-ton
mill to be located at Bustos Hacienda, right at the shaft
(.lANA.HA i() Kr.Dic I'lox AM) Mim:s Company.
Iiiti-riur \ ii-w ot j)r<(i|iit;iliiiii' phiiit. c-ontainiiiix (ittctii zinc hoxrs li;iviii 1{ r.Dl ( I ION AND M I M ,S ( '( (M 1' A N ^^
Sand Iracliiiii; tallU^. with sliiiic tanks in l)ackjj,r<>un(l. sliouinir sands under
tnatincnt.
Plate 2n.\
IS.-.-pafref)!*.
A Daring Experiment 93
of the Cata mine and at a point central to the entire
system, where easy railroad transportation from all
the properties can be secured.
In order to thoroughly demonstrate on a working-
scale the practicability of treating these ores, it was de-
cided to install one-quarter of the ultimate unit im-
mediately, deferring the completion of the full unit until
this had been run for three or four months. During
the construction of the mill, however, a five-stamp unit
was kept running constantly, making cyaniding tests
of the ores from the various mines of the company, with
such results that the cyaniding question in all of its de-
tails was settled before the completion of the present
unit, and active preparations are now under way to pro-
ceed with the increased capacity.
The position of the Bustos mill site, in a narrow valley
with little flow of water to carry off the residues, made
necessary a somewhat daring experiment, that of sepa-
rating the crushing and concentrating portion of the
plant by a distance of nearly a mile from the cyanide
plant, which could be located on the main stream of the
district where there is always sufficient water to carry
away residue or tailings discharged. Against practi-
cally the unanimous opinion of all visiting engineers
who were consulted, it was decided to carry the ores,
after they had been crushed and concentrated, through a
small cast-iron pipe, laid with uniform grade, from the
Bustos mill to the cyanide plant situated in the heart of
the city, utilizing simply the flow of the water in which
the ore was crushed, due to the gravitation of the pipe.
As the grade available was only 21/4% it was believed by
almost every one that the sand could not be carried, and
9.4 Mexico's Treasure-Hoiise
that the pipe would inevitably be choked and stopped
up. Certain experiments were made upon this matter
which caused the company to proceed with their con-
struction on the original lines indicated.
The plants were started ]March 1, 190G, and have been
in constant operation, 24 hours a day, since that time.
The pipe line, which was looked upon with so much fear
by visitors, demonstrated at once that not only was
there no danger of stoppage but that it would actually
carry several times the volume of pulp treated with
perfect ease, and with much less water than is normally
used in the mere crushing and concentrating of ores.
In fact, before the normal stamp-mill pulp, coming
from the concentrators, is introduced into such pipe hne,
the company, by means of large settling cones, are
removing something like 50% of the water and return-
ing it immediately for mill use, the pulp flowing
through a mile of 8-inch cast-iron pipe without experi-
encing the slightest difficulty, thus effecting the trans-
portation of 250 tons of ore per day, for the distance of
a mile through the heart of a crowded city, and this
without a cent of expense. The pipe being, in general,
buried throughout a considerable distance of its length,
requires no expensive maintenance or inspection, and the
right of way for such a line was, naturally, but a small
fraction of what would have been necessary for any
other means of transportation possible.
The ore is brought from the Cata mine in 4-ton gable-
bottom cars to a large bin above the crushing plant, in
which plant the ore is double-crushed to 'Yi" cube by
gyratory crushers, sorting likewise taking place on a
sorting belt. The crushed ore is conveyed and elevated bj^
The Mechanical Treatment 95
a travelling belt and distributed into the steel bin of the
mill structure, which bin has a capacity of 2500 tons of
crushed ore. The ore is then passed through "Challenge"
feeders to the eighty (1050 lbs.) stamps, Allis-Chal-
mers pattern, making one hundred 7^2 drops per
minute. The mortar is of extra heavy "El Oro" type,
weighing 9000 lbs., with extra broad base directly bolted
to heavy concrete piers.
The 30-mesh pulp from the batteries goes to Wilfley
tables, of which there are 24 in the mill, such tables
having no elevators, the middlings, instead, being gath-
ered at two common points in the mill, and elevated for
regrinding in an Abbe tube-mill, this being re-handled
over special Wilfleys before joining the tailings from
the balance of the tables in a concrete launder running
through the centre of the concentrator-room. This
launder delivers into a tunnel which conveys the pulp to
a cone-house where, in two steel cones, 20 feet in dia-
meter, a portion of the water is removed and returned
for re-use in the mill. From the cone-house, the pipe
line above mentioned conducts the pulp to the cyanide
plant, where a classification into sands and slimes is ef-
fected by a double cone system, the sands being received
through Butters' distributors into either of two receiv-
ing tanks, and, after draining, discharged through 6-
bottom discharge gates in each tank upon conveyor
belts, which elevate and convey the sands over the top
of a line of 40 ft. by 8 ft. leach tanks, into which the
sand is showered by a special distributing tripper and
handled by ordinary leaching process with 12-day leach
time.
96 Mexico's Treasure-House
The overflows from all classifying cones pass over a
trap to eliminate any sands which may have escaped,
the slimes being conducted to 36' x 12' agitating- tanks,
and treatment effected by agitation and decantation.
The agitation is by means of mechanical arms supple-
mented by 6" ^Meese & Godfried centrifugal pumps.
After the final wash in the slimes tanks, the slimes are
pumped into high settling-tanks, where a final settling
and decantation takes place before discharge. All de-
canted solutions pass through sand filter tanks before
entering the zinc room.
The zinc room contains 15 steel zinc boxes, of 6 com-
partments each, each compartment being 4' x 4' x 3'. At
"clean-up," the precipitate is flushed through a hopper-
bottom of each compartment into steel launders to a
central sump, being thence pumped through a Johnson
filter press, and, later, briquetted in combination with
fluxes and melted directly into bars. No acid treatment
is given, as nothing which will not pass a 60-mesh screen
is sent into the filter press, all coarser than this being re-
turned to the zinc boxes. The ores consist of clean,
white quartz containing a small percentage of iron py-
rite and silver in the form of argentite, without any
other base in the ore.
Owing to the very large tonnage of material actually
in sight, the system of construction followed has been
rather unusual, the mill structures throughout being of
steel, wood only being used for the floors and similar
purposes. The masonry foundations over the entire
plant are extremely massive, and the whole has been
built with the idea of securing a minimum operating cost
r
Financial Resources 97
and maintenance through a period of activity which
will extend over a good many years.
The operation returns for the month of March, 1906,
lately completed, evidence that the metallurgical extrac-
tions upon which the company's original plans were
based will not only be reached but exceeded, and the
operation costs, even at this early day, it can be said with
certainty, will be less than the costs which have been
figured on in all preliminary estimates. Whereas the
original promotion of the company's enterprise was
purely on the basis of low-grade dump handling, the
mine developments have been such that the dump
question is of less and less importance, and it becomes
evident that, with a reasonable time for mine develop-
ment, the mines will be perfectly able to carry the
whole enterprise with a correspondingly much larger
basis of profit.
The financial condition of the Guanajuato Reduction
and Mines Company is an indisputably sound one, the
affairs of the concern being in the hands of a Board of
Directors many of whom are distinguished financiers
and recognized commercial authorities. The following
statement of resources and liabilities made up to the end
of last year (1905) will show the precise position of this
company:
98 Meanco's Treasure-Uouse
Resources.
Property Rights and Franchises $8,747,442.34
Unsold Bonds in Treasury 569,472.45
Machinery, Tools and Equipment 15,266.34
Materials and Supplies 75,327.89
Furniture and Fixtures 6,956.62
Organization 53,237-39
Construction 304,863.51
^Nline Development 80,636.88
Accounts receivable 166,953.76
Cash on hand 58,300.71
$10,078,457.89
Liabilities.
Capital Stock $7,500,000.00
Bond Issue:
Outstanding bonds. .
$1,930,527.55
Unsold bonds in hands
of the American
Industrial Devel-
opment Company
$569,472.45 2,500,000.00
Accounts payable... 36,018.74
Misc. Receipts 39,066.24
^Mexican currency ad-
justment — U. S.
Cur rency equiva-
lent @ 200 3,372.91
$10,078,457.89
The Company's Officers 99
The capital stock of the Guanajuato Reduction and
Mines Co., as will be observed, is $7,500,000, to which
must be added bonds of 20 years' life, and bearing inter-
est at the rate of 6 per cent., bringing the total capitali-
zation up to $10,500,000. The bond issue in circulation
at present is $2,500,000, and the additional $500,000 of
bonds will only be issued after the expiration of two
years from the date of the mortgage, and then only for
the purpose of providing funds for the purchase of
additional property or to pay for increase or improve-
ment of the company's plant. The Board of Directors
is as follows : Charles L. Kurtz, Columbus, Ohio ; John
S. Bartlett, Boston, Mass. ; Leonard E. Curtis, Colorado
Springs, Colo. ; Samuel M. HamiU, Schenectady, N. Y. ;
Henry Hine, Colorado Springs, Colo. ; Leon O. Bailey,
New York City; Clement A. Griscom, Jr., New York
City; George B. Cox, Cincinnati, Ohio; Carlos W. Van
Law, Guanajuato, Mexico.
The various high offices in the Company are filled by
the following gentlemen: Charles L. Kurtz, President;
Leonard E. Curtis, Vice-President ; Henry Hine, Vice-
President; Clement A. Griscom, Jr., Vice-President;
Charles F. Dowd, Secretary and Treasurer; LeRoy
Parker, Auditor ; Frederick W. Stehr, Assistant Treas-
urer; Martin F. Turner, Assistant Secretary; Leon O.
Bailey, Counsel; Carlos W. Van Law, General Man-
ager; Pablo Martinez del Bio, Counsel at Mexico City;
Carlos Robles, Counsel at Guanajuato and Pope Yeat-
man, Consulting Engineer.
Chapter VII.
The Story of the Guanajuato Development Co. — Methods of
Financing and Assisting Promising Properties. — A Mutual
System of Profit-Earning. — The Securities Corporation's Po-
sition. — The Guanajuato Representatives. — The Various
Properties Described. — Their Early Development. — The Work
Carried out and the Results Achieved. — The Pinguico. —
Ricliest Ore in the District. — The Cedro Group. — Former
Workers Neglected Great Opportunities. — Valuable Ores and
their Treatment.
THE Guanajuato Development Company is an
American Corporation, formed in the State of
New Jerse}' for the purpose of acquiring
properties in the Guanajuato ^Mining District, devel-
oping them sufficiently to prove their value, and, sub-
sequently, offering them for purchase to other compa-
nies or organizing subsidiary companies upon them with
sufficient capital to work them thoroughly. These prop-
erties are taken up on lease with an option to purchase
the same outright, which affords an opportunity for the
subsidiar}^ company to prove the value of any property
before actually taking it over.
The first operations of the Development Co. were to
secure the right to purchase three mining properties and
one ranch, all being situated in the district of Guanajua-
to. The capital of this company, which is $1,000,000
(U. S. Cy.) preferred and $3,000,000 common stock, is
devoted practically entirely to making first payments
upon such properties as it may take over, and to defray
their initial development expenses, so that it may be re-
Pagfi 100
Guanajuato Development Co mpany 101
garded, in every sense of the word, as an "exploration"
as well as a development company.
Being controlled, as it is, by men of great experience
and with an intimate knowledge of the Guanajuato
Camp, it is scarcely necessary to say that very few
mistakes are made in the selection of properties. It is
also worthy of note that, in disposing of its holdings, the
parent Development Company asks for no cash profit,
being willing to accept therefor a common-stock repre-
sentation in addition to the amount of actual cash which
it may have expended either for the acquisition of the
properties or for their preliminary development. Thus
the interests of the Guanajuato Development Co., and
the newly launched enterprise, to which it disposes of its
interests, are mutual. For its future profits, the Devel-
opment Co. looks to its offspring, and is willing to
share with them whatever success they may achieve, re-
ceiving in common with other shareholders the dividends
which are paid on the ordinary stock of such subsidiary
companies. No greater amount of confidence in the
value of the properties of which it disposes could be de-
monstrated; in a word, the Development Company
agrees to "sink" or "swim" with the purchasers of its
holdings, whose well-being Is its well-being likewise.
The Securities Corporation, Ltd., is a powerful Amer-
ican Co., and was responsible for the development and
eventual flotation of the famous Peregrina Mine. It
was also due to this Corporation that the Guanajuato
Development Co. was brought into existence. The home
of The Securities Corj^oration, Ltd., is in New York
(40 Wall street) , and it also has representatives located
in most of the large cities of the United States. All of
102 Mexico's Treasure-IIouse
the officers are men of considerable experience and un-
doubted standing in their respective communities, being
in close touch with the investing public, and well able to
form an accurate judgment as to the position and
future possibilities of the different properties which
they handle.
It is notable that these representatives receive no
stated salaries, their remuneration taking the form of
a commission resultant upon the sale of those securi-
ties which are taken up, and subsequently redisposed
of, by The Securities Corporation, Ltd. This com-
pany, likewise, offers securities for sale, and adopts the
very novel and sensible method of inviting its agents
and representatives to personally visit the properties
which it is proposed to sell to them. Prospective pur-
chasers are in this way afforded every opportunity to ex-
amine such properties, and personally see for themselves
ever}i:hing which is claimed for them. All possible date
and information are given, and nothing but the utmost
frankness is practised, so that there can be nothing in
future for the corporation to reproach itself with,
should any unforeseen circumstances militate against the
success of the undertaking. It is not in mortals to com-
mand success, as Addison tells us, but they can do more
and deserve it; that is a dictum recognised and acted
upon by all legitimate enterprises, among which The Se-
curities Corporation, Ltd., may undoubtedly take rank.
In Guanajuato The Securities Corporation, Ltd.,
and the Guanajuato Development Co. are represented
by Messrs. IMcElhiney and Bryant, both of whom for a
decade past have made a close and careful study of
Mexico, and especially of Guanajuato, as a field for in-
/. -2
.•^ tJD
Four Valuable Properties 103
vestment. Although the word of these gentlemen would
be accepted without demur, and their judgment respect-
ed by the majority of investors, The Securities Corpo-
ration, Ltd., has deemed it desirable to further strength-
en its individual recommendations by employing other
independent mining engineers upon all of the properties
which Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant call to their at-
tention. This was the method adopted in regard to the
Peregrina Mine, referred to later on, and which is
one of the properties which are to-day proving in
every respect as valuable as the preliminary reports
made upon them by independent experts, as well as by
Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, represented them to be.
A similar method of procedure will be adopted in re-
gard to all the properties which the corporation will
offer for sale from time to time.
There are, at the present time, four properties in partic-
ular of which I would desire to speak, viz. : El Pinguico,
El Cedro, La Central and the San Isidro Ranch, but be-
fore proceeding to describe these various holdings I
would say that I have visited one and all personally and,
therefore, do not write from mere hearsay or accept
without further question the high opi-nions which have
been passed upon them by others. Inasmuch as these
properties are likely to be offered at no distant day in
the form of investment, either in the United States or
Great Britain — and most probably in both conjointly —
I propose reviewing them in more or less detail.
Pinguico. — The word "pinguico" in Spanish means
a certain class of shrub that grows prolifically in Mexico.
The property so named comprises several mining claims,
namely: El Pinguico, Ampliacion del Pinguico and
104 Mexico's Treasure-House
San Jose, having a total superficial area of 121 acres.
The claims were practically unknown at the time of their
being acquired by Messrs. McElhiney and Brj^ant in
1900. They were taken over not on account of any par-
ticular mineral outcrop on their surface, but because, in
an adjoining property, a xeiy rich vein had been dis-
covered, which, if continuous, would almost certainly
lead directly into the claims of the Pinguico group.
This step, therefore, showed great foresight and discern-
ment upon the part of ^Messrs. ]McElhiney and Bryant,
whose prevision has since been abundantly justified by
subsequent events. At the time that the Pinguico prop-
erties were secured by the gentlemen referred to, and
who eventually transferred them to the Development
Co., the ore in the adjoining mine was nearly 2,000 feet
away, but the vein in which tliis occurred was so strong
and so apparently continuous that it was considered, by
its then owners, to offer the attractions of a ver}- safe
mining speculation. In the six years which have trans-
pired since then, work has been continued by means of
tunnels and shafts for the purpose of reaching the ore-
body which was known to exist in the adjoining mine,
and which proved to be continuous to the boundary-line
of the Pinguico property.
It was only after four years' work (namely, in 1904)
that these efforts were rewarded, and a year later
(1905), the first profits commenced to accrue. During
the period of exploration and development, a \evy con-
sidera])le outlay had necessarily been incurred, — the
ground proving particularly difficult to work, and the
disappointments not a few. No expense, however, was
spared in the provision of the necessary mining equip-
The Pinguico Mines 105
merit. The speculative value of this property having
been proved by Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, the
Guanajuato Development Co. acquired all their inter-
ests therein, but at a very moderate price, the vendors
accepting, as usual, their profit in the form of securities
of said purchasing company.
The work which has been done upon the Pinguico
property included the driving of several hundred feet
through the ore which had previously been discovered by
the original owners. The vein has been found to consist-
ently grow wider and the ore as regularly to increase in
value; the average value of this to-day is at the high
rate of $50 U. S. Cy. (£10) per ton.
The ore contained in the vein of this mine is entirely
different to any other which I have seen in the Guana-
juato District and is, indeed, almost unique in character.
It is of a clayey nature, which rapidly hardens upon be-
ing exposed to the air. I have every reason to believe
the statement made to me "that the ore of the Pinguico
mine is quite the richest that is found in the Guanajuato
camp."
Work is proceeding actively at the mine in the 500 ft.
level, and is advancing at the rate of 4 ft. per diem,
through ore, which is, as I have stated, worth $50 U.
S. Cy. (£10) per ton. The vein has a width of 20 ft.
Workings both above and below this level assure 150 ft.
above and 150 ft. below, so that every foot of advance
which is made in this level practically guarantees 400
tons of this extremely rich ore. The ore-chute has been
follow^ed for over 200 ft., — thus constituting the very
richest chute which has been found of latter days in this
district.
106 Mexico's Treasure-Hovse
It is scarcely necessary to point out that the values
which the Pinguico has heen proved to contain came
upon the original owners with something of a shock of
surprise, and no doubt caused them to regret the precipi-
tation \\ith which they had tied up their property. What
has been their individual loss, however, has proved to the
advantage of the Guanajuato Development Co. as a
whole, and of course a benefit to INIessrs. ^NIcElhiney and
Bryant, who receive their profit indirectly in shares of
the company acquiring this valuable property.
ISIy examination of the mine sufficiently proves that
the present owners have allowed no question of initial
expenses to interfere with its proper equipment and
management. All the necessary offices and buildings are
in excellent condition, including a blacksmith shop, store-
houses, administration offices, dwelling houses, sorting-
sheds, transformer house for the electrical current, etc.,
etc. The machinery, which consists of a 20 and a 50
horse-power electrical hoist, an electric blower, a 50
horse-power electric compressor and a 20 horse-power
electric pump, are all in first-class order.
The workings consist of a 500 ft. cross-cut tunnel,
which cuts the vein at a depth of 200 ft. below the sur-
face. Upon this vein one 500 ft. shaft has been sunk
from the cross-cut tunnel, and another 800 ft. shaft is at
the present time being sunk from the surface, at a posi-
tion selected at about the middle of the claim. It would
probably be no exaggeration to estimate the net profit al-
ready in sight at $2,000,000 (£400,000), while a con-
servative estimate of the future foretells, with almost
absolute certainty, a further $4,000,000 (£800,000) as
y
^%. ^ 2 I
^^ ft^^i.;. /:f
4
^
=fc^-
y
5
El Cedro Group 107
representing the ore to be blocked-out before the end of
the current year.
Probably, shortly after these lines appear in print, the
Guanajuato Development Co. will form a subsidiary
company for the purpose of operating upon a large and
comprehensive scale the Pinguico mining property. In
the meantime, however, the development work will con-
tinue to further prove the value of the property, which
will be later on transferred.
It only remains to be said that the claims of the Pin-
guico group are held upon unquestionable titles from the
Federal Government of Mexico. The exact dimensions
of the area which it holds are 3,300 ft. along the vein,
and with deep level rights also amply protected.
The high values which were previously referred to are
found exclusively to the south end of the claims and oc-
cupy only 600 ft. from the south end toward the north
end. As the development work progresses toward the
north, both the width of the vein and the values which
it contains steadily increase. If it should be proved
that these values endure along the entire extension of
the ground, the Pinguico mine would become a celebrity
for its richness as was the Valenciana (also in the Gua-
najuato camp) in its most halcyon days, and when it
produced no less a sum than $300,000,000 (£60,000,-
000) . That which has been, may be again.
El Cedro. — These properties consist of a large
number of mining claims covering a superficial area of
200 acres, and including the following claims :
El Cedro.
Fractions between El Cedro and Guadalupe de Pro-
videncia and San Caralampio.
108 Mexico's Trcasurc-IIouse
Fractions between El Cedro and Piirisima Concep-
cion.
Purisima de la Concepcion.
Fractions between Purisima de la Concepcion and El
Cedro.
Guadalupe de Providencia.
Fractions betwen Guadalupe de Providencia and EI
Cedro and Xuestra Seiiora del Patrocinio.
San Caralampio.
Fractions between San Caralampio and Nuestra Sen-
ora del Patrocinio.
The above named properties are located on the cele-
brated ":Mother Vein" (Veta JNIadre) of Guanajuato,
of which I have previously spoken, and having an exten-
sion along that vein of about 6,000 ft. with deep levels
amply covered. The properties were originally spht up
among six different owners, each of whom operated his
own portion of the property as a separate mine, and in
each of which a good ore-chute was developed and a
large production of ore obtained. Under one manage-
ment, it is scarcely necessary to say that the operating
expenses are considerably reduced. During the 150
years which these properties have been worked, as much
as $50,000,000 gold (£10,000,000) has been taken out
of them. Some few years ago, a IMexican corporation
was organized, which succeeded in purchasing from the
six different owners who held the properties the whole
of their rights, and in this waj^ the much-desired combi-
nation of the various properties was brought about and
form to-day what is known as the "Cedro" group.
The early proprietors, although they succeeded in in-
stalling a certain amount of modern machinery, were not
Development Co.'s Enterprise 109
able to successfully operate the properties, nor, indeed,
did they possess the funds necessary to erect an up-to-
date treatment plant, without which no mining propo-
sition of this character can ever become a thoroughly
profitable enterprise. Success was attained, however, by
efforts more or less spasmodic, as was proved by the
values which the owners extracted from their properties.
Sometimes they found very high-grade ores which pro-
duced enormous profits ; but without a systematic opera-
tion, necessitating a large amount of working capital
which they did not possess, nothing like permanent or
regular success could be expected. It was not, therefore,
difficult to induce the owners to sell out to the Guana-
juato Development Company, under the usual provision
of bond and lease, providing for obligatory develop-
ment being done.
Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant were again the me-
dium for the acquisition of this property for the Develop-
ment Co., previously making an examination to assure
themselves of the desirability of acquiring the mines,
with the result of finding more net profit in sight in the
mine than the total purchase price represented. The bond
and lease under which the property is held call for the
payment of the purchase price at the end of two years
from Jan. 1st, 1906, during which time active develop-
ment work must be continued, and this is going on both
rapidly and consistently at the present time.
The vein passing through the Cedro property has an
average width of 40 ft., across which it is mineralized in
many portions — frequently for its entirety. The grade
of ore found was not profitable under the old methods
of treatment; but to-day, by means of modern mining
110 Mexico's Treasure-House
and milling machinery and the invaluable cyanide pro-
cess, the mine is proving to be an enormously profitable
investment. The former owners opened up the mine by
means of four vertical shafts and two incline shafts, to
an average depth of 700 ft. But a small proportion of
the ground which was thus opened-up had been touched,
as it was considered of too low a grade to produce profits
by the old methods. To-day, this same ore, which carries
about $12.00 U. S. Cy. (£2.8.) per ton, is capable of
producing from $6.00 to $7.00 U. S. Cy. profit (£1.4.0
to £1.8.0) on every ton of ore which is mined and milled.
There are some 200,000 tons of "dumps" on the prop-
erty, or what were called "dumps" by the original owners,
but these really may be regarded as reserve heaps of ore,
inasmuch as their value is very nearly $6.00 per ton,
and mil return a $3.00 profit on each ton after milling.
The former owners of the Cedro properties had rejected
vast amounts of "fillings," — that is to say, ore which
they had not thought it worth while to extract for treat-
ment, considering it of too low grade; but the present
proprietors will be able to mill these rejections with con-
siderable success, since accurate tests have proved them
to be capable of yielding from $4 to $5 U. S. Cy. per ton
profit, by proper milling methods.
The workings of the mine traverse long distances un-
touched by the former owners, for the reasons indi-
cated above. These bodies contain several hundreds of
thousands of tons of ore, ready for breaking and send-
ing to the mill, there to be turned into gold and silver
bars and handsomely recompense the owners for their
outlav.
C)
Contemplated Improvements 111
Under the management of the Guanajuato Develop-
ment Co., the Cedro group is having its workings con-
siderably deepened and fresh enormous bodies of ore
blocked-out. By the end of the present year the Devel-
opment Co. will be in a position to form a subsidiary
company on a large scale to take over and work the
Cedro properties. It is contemplated to erect a mill
having a daily capacity of from 300 to 500 tons, which,
when completed and in operation, will secure a profit of
$5 U. S. Cy. (<£l) per ton on every ton of ore treated.
The property, once in the hands of the operating com-
pany, will be equipped with all the necessary and most
modern machinery, destined to be operated in a very
efficient and economical manner. The Cedro property
may be considered among the most valuable in the Gua-
najuato District, and yielding an average all-round
profit of $5 (£l), means, considering the vast amount
of ore already in sight and that yet to be blocked-out,
a handsome return to those investing their money in it.
Chapter VIII.
The Story of the Guanajuato Development Company (Continued).
— The Central Group of Mines. — The Company's Scope and
Methods of Working. — The Aparecida Mine. — The Victoria
Mine. — The San Prospcro Mine and Mill. — A Great River
Dredging Scheme. — San Isidro Ranch and Dam Undertaking.
COXTIXUING the description of the proper-
ties of the Guanajuato Development Com-
pany, I may now proceed to consider that im-
portant group known as La Central, and which com-
prises the following claims :
AmpHacion de San Vicente, Canales, Xuevas cuadras
de Canales, San Vicente, Nuevas cuadras de San Vi-
cente, 3a. AmpHacion de San Vicente, Santa Isabel, La
Escondida, Alfa, Beta, Gama, Delta, Jota. All of these
have a superficial area of 172 acres.
The mines are situated in the immediate proximity of
the Cedro properties, already described, but they pos-
sess their gwti veins entirely distinct from those of their
neighbours'. Some thirty veins traverse the property'-
outcropping on the surface, and showing values in gold
and silver ranging from $10 to $20 U. S. Cy. (£2 to
£4) per ton, leaving a very handsome margin of profit
for the operating compan\\
When the Guanajuato Development Co. took over
these properties, they had already been worked for a
year previously through five tunnels and four incline
shafts. These workings served to open up twelve veins
at depths ranging from 200 to 500 ft., and the ore-
Page 112
Rich Pockets of Gold Ore 113
bodies thus exposed were of the very high-grade, above
mentioned. It was necessary to outlay considerable
sums of money to further open up and work these veins,
and to provide the necessary mills in which to treat the
ores mined. The original proprietors were unable to
obtain the funds required for this purpose, and were,
therefore, ready to dispose of their properties to the De-
velopment Co. under the usual bond and lease terms, at
the same time selling the mill which they had already
erected, and which is sufficiently large to afford an earn-
ing capacity of several thousands of dollars per month,
all of which profit is being put back into the property by
the Development Co.
It is estimated that it will take a further period
of 18 months to put these mines into efficient shape to
produce a regular output of 200 tons per day. In due
course of time the Guanajuato Development Company
will organize a subsidiary company for the purpose of
taking over the Central group, — in the mean time sup-
plying sufficient sums of money to erect and equip a
mill and furnish the mines with thoroughly up-to-date
machinery. The anticipated result will be an earning
capacity of $1,000 U. S. Cy. (£200) per day.
Some extremely rich pockets of gold-ore have been
found upon the Central property, while specimens of
native gold are frequently met with. During the past
working, some comparatively small pockets of gold have
been found which have produced as much as $1,000,000
(£200,000) in a few months. Anticipating a continu-
ance of these lucky finds, the former owners entirely
neglected to work the low grade for more sure profit -
earning ores. Under the new management, it may be
114 Mexico's Treasure-House
taken for granted that, while the Development Com-
pany will keep a keen look-out for and extend a ready
welcome to any more of these rich pockets, the less val-
uable ores will be vigorously and consistently worked, —
the scheme of operation embracing the blocking-out
of a large tonnage of moderate-grade ore, of which it is
absolutely certain the mine contains vast stores.
The San Isidko Ranch. — Besides the mines to which
I have referred, the Guanajuato Development Company
owns the San Isidro ranch, which is one of the oldest
properties in the State of Guanajuato, its titles dating
back more than 200 years. It is situated up in the moun-
tains, east and northeast of the famous mining district,
and is precious from more than one point of view. In
addition to possessing a large area of thickly -\vooded
scrub oak, it is exceedingly valuable for charcoal and
pasturage, and vAW. accommodate 5,000 head of cattle.
This ranch, moreover, comprises a very large drain-
age basin which will render possible a storing of a vast
accumulation of water, to be used hereafter in the mines,
mills and factories in Guanajuato, and for irrigating
a huge area of rich agricultural land on the plains. The
ranch covers some 16,000 acres, of which two-thirds are
tributary to a single drainage-basin. This latter can be
economically dammed and thus formed into a reservoir
sufficiently large to contain nearly 6,000,000 cubic me-
ters (1,500,000,000 gallons), while the ground having
a much greater altitude than any of the surrounding-
country, the water can ])e supplied by means of gravita-
tion to any point which is necessary for the purposes of
the mines, mills, factories or irrigation.
«•
jiio
i
^ '^
X
~ 'S
\V
E -
■:?
-^ i-^
i^ 3i
I
The San Isidro Dam 115
For every ton of ore milled in the Guanajuato camp,
it is necessary to provide about five tons of water for
each ton of ore that is treated ; and in view of this, com-
bined with the fact that the mines, as a rule, have but
comparatively small quantities of water in them, and
that the flow of the streams near by is practically nil
(except in the rainy season) , the value of the San Isidro
Ranch as a storage-dam will be recognized.
As a matter of fact the mines will have to depend en-
tirely upon the San Isidro dam for their future water
supply, while the various mills, factories and farms will
be fortunate in being able to secure so regular a supply,
and thus render themselves independent of any climatic
assistance.
The dam will be able to supply from its accumulated
storage enough water to run thousands of stamps in the
Guanajuato District, as well as irrigate, for a distance
of from 6 to 10 miles, the rich lands which spread out in
the adjoining plain. It is not unreasonable to anticipate
a most prosperous and remunerative farming and agri-
cultural industry in the Guanajuato neighborhood, since
the new dam ^y\\\ he in a position to supply all the water
necessary. Upon the San Isidro Ranch itself no fewer
than 5,000 head of cattle can be pastured, and inasmuch
as these animals could be purchased as yearlings at ten
dollars Mex. (<£l) and sold as three-year-olds for thirty
to forty dollars Mex. (£3 to £4), the handsome profits
which this enterprise can secure for the industry alone
will be obvious. Taking this in conjunction with the
regular annual revenue from the mines for the supply oi
water and the sales of the scrub-oak, the proposition
116 Mexico's Treasure-House
should be an extremely tempting one from an investor's
point of view.
Cattle-raising has always been a very important and
remunerative industr}^ in Mexico, and carried on as it
\^ill be at Guanajuato on the San Isidro Ranch, under
experienced management, it should prove by no means
an unimportant asset of the Guanajuato Development
Company. The Spaniards, in whose possession this
ranch remained for over two hundred years, were keen
believers in cattle-breeding, and by means of special
legislation they made it the favorite occupation of the
inhabitants of the country. Before their time, however,
cattle-breeding in INIexico formed a very inconsiderable
part of the country's exports; later on this industry was
turned to somewhat better advantage, the hides being
manufactured into leather and the tallow being used for
the making of soap. Towards the close of the seven-
teenth and the whole of the eighteenth century, sheep
farming became an industry of great value, especially
in the northern and central provinces.
Guanajuato is one of the principal agricultural and
cattle-raising States in the Republic. It ranks third in
the list of cattle-producers, Jalisco coming first, with a
value of $13,333,922; Chihuahua second, with $9,215,-
465, and Guanajuato third, with $8,840,537. With the
naturally rich ])asturage and the abundant water supply
which the San Isidro Ranch will henceforth enjoy, there
is no reason whatever why the State's cattle production
should not be materially increased by this fine property,
as soon as it gets into thorough working order.
The Organization and Staff 117
THE MANAGEMENT OF A GREAT
ENTERPRISE.
When the Guanajuato Development Company
took over the whole of the active Guanajuato business
of the Securities Corporation, Limited, and of the
Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, it was also obliged to
take over the management of all the properties pre-
viously managed by those gentlemen, with the result
that to-day it controls, through its offices, the business of
the Peregrina Mining & MiUing Company, the Nayal
Milling Company, the Central Mining & MiUing Com-
pany, the Cedro Mining & Milhng Company, the Pin-
guico Mining & Milling Company, the San Isidro
Ranch, The San Prospero Mines Company and the San
Matias Mill of that company, the Aparecida Mines
Company, the Victoria Mines Company, the Guana-
juato River Gold Mining Company, the San Mateo
Mines Company, the Guadalupe Mines Company, the
Navidad Mines Company and the La Luz Mines Com-
pany, as well as the personal properties of Messrs. Mc-
Elhiney and Bryant and Mr. Peck.
In order to handle all these properties and to look af-
ter the construction of their mills, the equipment of their
mines and the handling of their concentrates and bul-
lion, a very large organization naturally is necessary.
Mr. Geo. W. Bryant is the active business head of the
company in Guanajuato, and in his office is found a
technical staff covering every branch of a business which
includes the construction of the mills, the equipment of
the mines and the complete operation of both. To carry
this out properly and in a systematic and well-organized
118 Mexico's Treasure-House
manner — as assuredly is done — it has been necessary to
gather together a highly efficient technical corps re-
cruited from every part of the world. Upon the staff of
this company are to be found men who have graduated
from technical colleges in every part of the globe, and
who bring to bear upon the conduct of the various mines
and properties the combined experience and ability of
the best brains of the world.
The laborers employed are entirely Mexican, and it
therefore becomes necessary that the managing staff
should be efficient both in speaking and writing the
Spanish language and possess a thorough knowledge of
the capacity and customs of these people. It is hardly
as simple, as may be imagined, to obtain employees pos-
sessed of these qualifications as it is to obtain men in the
United States where but one language is spoken, and
where both labor and material are more easih' procured.
In spite of these draw-backs, however, it can be safely
said that the construction of mills and the equipment of
mines \\'ith their necessary complicated machinery can
be done more cheaply in JNIexico, and especialh^ in Gua-
najuato, than in any part of the West. As an example
of this there may be mentioned the construction of the
new Peregrina mill, consisting of 100 stamps (a com-
plete description of which will be found in Chapter X) ,
for the sum of $200,000 U. S. Cy. (£40,000) and the
building of the great Peregrina dam, with a capacity
of storing 100,000,000 gallons of water, for less than
$25,000 U. S. Cy. (£5,000).
The Aparecida Mines Company 119
SOME PROMINENT GUANAJUATO
PROPERTIES.
The Aparecida Mines Company. — This company
owns the following mining claims: "El Fenix," "La
Perulera," "La Independencia," and "La Ampliacion
de Independencia." They comprise a total superficial
area of 116 acres, and are located on the celebrated
Mother Vein between Rayas (belonging to the Guana-
juato Reduction and Mines Company), on the N. W.,
with its recorded production of $300,000,000 (£60,-
000,000) and the Sirena (belonging to the Guanajuato
Consolidated Mining & Milling Company) on the S. E.,
with a production of over $50,000,000 (£10,000,000).
The Aparecida claims cover about 2,000 feet along
the vein, with the deep levels protected to a depth
of 2000 feet vertically. The outcrop of the Mother
Vein is very strong throughout the properties, and, in
the crosscuts of the mine, a width of about 200 feet is
constantly shown.
The property was worked on the surface in the early
days, and large amounts of ore were taken out at that
time. Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant, of Guanajuato,
obtained an option for the purchase of the property in
the year 1903, and then formed the Aparecida Mines
Company, a Colorado corporation with a capital of
$1,000,000 (£200,000). Sufficient capital was sub-
scribed to carry out a certain amount of development
work, which has resulted in the opening up of some very
large, and unquestionably rich, ore-bodies. The ore de-
posits of the Rayas and Sirena mines, situated on either
side of Aparecida, have been found to be the richest at
120 Mexico's Treasure-House
a depth at least 1,000 feet below the present workings of
the Aparecida; so that it is perfectly reasonable to as-
sume that further enormous tonnages of good ore are to
be won from so wide a vein beneath the present work-
ings.
It is the intention of the company to erect a mill and
to thoroughly open up the mine to a still greater depth.
Mr. Frank G. Peck is President of the company, and
its offices are in Colorado Springs. Messrs. G. W. Mc-
Elhiney and Geo. W. Bryant hold a large amount of
stock in the company, as well as many Eastern people.
The mine is equipped with electrical machinery, and
as will be recognized from the description of its situa-
tion, it occupies a very strategic position. ]Mr. Geo. W.
Bryant is manager for the company in Guanajuato.
The Victoria Mines Company. — Some six years
ago a group of Colorado mining entrepreneurs became
interested in a piece of virgin ground located on the
great ^lother Vein of Guanajuato, and adjoining the
famous Valenciana mine. Due to the fact that the sur-
face of the claim was not promising, it had been left
untouched for close upon three centuries. This
group of Colorado people purchased the property, and
formed a corporation known as the "Victoria Mines
Co." With a full knowledge of mining and the risks
which are usually entailed therein, they erected machin-
ery and sank a modern shaft to a depth of 1000 feet,
cutting the vein at about 900 feet and going right
through it. They found ores running from $6.00 to
$9.00 U. S. Cy. (say from £1.4.0 to £1.6.0), which
at that time were not "pay"; and this fact resulted in
San Prosper Mines Co. 121
stoppage of any further work on the property. To-day,
however, with the introduction of cheap electric power
and of the cyanide process for treating the ores, this
grade of ore will leave a profit, when worked, and the
mine will undoubtedly be re-opened very soon. The
claims comprise the following: "La Victoria," "Am-
pliacion de la Victoria" and "2a Ampliacion de la Vic-
toria," with a total superficial area of 135 acres. Mr.
Frank G. Peck is President of the company, and its
offices are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mr. Geo.
W. Bryant is General Manager in Guanajuato.
This is one of the properties which, there can be but
little doubt, will develop rapidly in the future, and will
be a testimony to the splendid courage of the men who
sank deep shafts into that apparently barren ground.
The San Prospero Mines Co. — This is a Color-
ado corporation, of which Mr. Frank G. Peck is
also the President, and Mr. Geo. W. Bryant the Gen-
eral Manager at Guanajuato. The property comprises
the claims of "San Prospero," "San Francisco" and
"La Ampliacion," with an area of 70 acres. These
claims are located about half a mile from the celebrated
Valenciana mine, and its principal vein is parallel to the
Mother Vein of Guanajuato, dipping at about the same
angle and in the same direction. As an old mine, it was
worked by open cuts on surface, frequently to a width
of 50 to 60 feet; but at no time was any serious effort
made to sink shafts and carry on proper mining work
until Mr. Peck purchased the property in the year 1900.
He immediately equipped it with machinery, and began
systematically developing the property. At present
122 Mexico's Treasure-House
there is ample ore blocked out, ^dth a value of from
$10.00 to $12.00 U. S. Cy. (£2.0.0 to £2.8.0) per ton,
largely in gold. For the working of the property and
the building of the mill there was formed the San Pros-
pero iSIines Company, and in December of last year was
begun the construction of a 40-stamp mill for the treat-
ment of the ores of the property. In order to secure
ample water facilities, ]\Ir. Peck purchased all of the
surface-land in the immediate vicinity, and which com-
prises several small ranches, thus securing to himself the
entire water rights for his mill.
The mill, which is now nearly completed, comprises the
usual crushing machinery, silver-plated amalgam plates,
Wilfley concentrating tables, hydraulic separators for
separating the sands from the slimes, tube mills for re-
grinding the sands, sand-tanks equipped with the Blais-
dell system for automatically charging and discharging
the tanks and in which the sands will be treated by cya-
nide, slime tanks with the Hobson patent agitating
machinery for agitating the slimes in the tanks, precipi-
tation house equipped with the latest methods for precip-
itating cyanide solutions on zinc, filter presses, fur-
nace for melting precipitates, and, in fact, everything
needed for the most modern, complete combination cya-
nide mill. This mill will have a capacity of from 125 to
150 tons per day; the motive power throughout is elec-
tricity, and the water is supplied by a series of large
dams in which all the water collected from a considerable
area is stored. While not the largest in the camp, the
"San Matias" mill is, in every sense, absolutely com-
plete, and no care or expense has been spared either by
its original designer, Mr. F. J. Hobson, or its owner.
Valuable Tailings Carried Away 123
Mr. Peck, to make it thoroughly perfect in every re-
spect ; and it is but fair to say that it will eif ect a saving
of from 90 to 95 per cent., if not more, while the entire
operation will be carried out as cheaply as good manage-
ment and automatic machinery can render possible.
The San Prospero mines will be otherwise thoroughly
equipped with electrical hoists, compressors and pumps,
so that mining there will be made as cheap as it is pos-
sible to make it. At the bottom and both ends are found
good ore, and it is safe to predict a long and a profitable
life for this attractive property.
A GREAT SCHEME IN PREPARATION.
The Guanajuato River Gold Mining Company.
— For more than three hundred years the tailings
from the many patio mills of Guanajuato have
been discharged into the Guanajuato River, with the
result of filling up a depression to a depth of
more than 30 feet with finely-crushed sands, which ex-
tend below the City of Guanajuato for a distance of
some seven miles. In the early days of the sixteenth,
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, milling by the
patio process did not save nearly as much of the precious
metals as the improvements of later years made possible,
with the result that much of these taihngs carried away
in the Guanajuato River still retain good values. It is
estimated that over 100,000,000 tons of tailings have
gone from these mills into the river, and scarcely any
of these tailings could have contained less than 21/2 oz.
of silver; and since but very little of the gold was saved
in the old style mills, these same tailings must carry a
124 Mexico's Treasure-HotLse
very large proportion of the yellow metal. The tailings
in great quantities have been washed down the river and
taken too far away to be of any immediate service ; but
nearly 10,000,000 tons of these sands still remain, carry-
ing an average value of $2.50 U. S. Cy. (say lO/s) per
ton.
The company joined with INIr. Geo. W. McElhiney
and his partner, ^Nlr. Geo. W. Bryant, in securing from
the State Government of Guanajuato a concession to
excavate and treat these taihngs. Their concession stip-
ulated the expenditure of a large sum of money >vithin
a certain length of time. This money was duly expended,
in a very careful and thorough investigation of the
quantity and value of the tailings, for which purpose
excavations were made along the entire seven miles of
the river course and bed, and the material was
thoroughly sampled and tested after each excavation.
Some extremely remarlvable and liigh-grade deposits
were discovered, and these were especially realised when
the bed-rock was reached, where frequently large de-
posits of quicksilver, lost from the amalgamation mills,
as well as of silver amalgam, also lost by the same proc-
ess, could be scraped off the bed rock, while every crev-
ice of the rock held a small ])ool of quicksilver.
The results of this investigation pointed to concentra-
tion as the best method of treating the tailings, and a
small plant was erected, using electricity for power, and
equipped with various kinds of concentrating-tables for
the test work. It was found that a concentrate could
readily be made carrying from $.50.00 to $100.00 U. S.
Cy. (£10 to £20) per ton, and represent a saving of
about half of the values contained. The cost of exca-
A Golden Prospect 125
vating the material from the river, separating the coarse
rock from the fine sands and passing the sands over con-
centrating tables, was 25c. (say 1/) per ton, so that a
very good margin of profit remained. The success at-
tained upon a small scale has emboldened the company
to erect a plant on a larger scale, having a capacity of
about 3,000 tons of material per day. Such a plant
should have an earning capacity of $3,000.00 per day
and can probably work eight months in the year. There
is sufficient material to supply such a plant for about 10
years, and it is confidently believed that it will return its
entire cost with its first year's profits.
A still larger deposit of these tailings is found fur-
ther below the ground held by the concession of this
company, which is the property of Mr. Frank G.
Peck and Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant. While the
grade of the lower deposit is not so good, yet the ton-
nage is very much greater, and it is readily handled by
the same means as in the upper part of the river. It is
quite probable that these two propositions may be
eventually combined, in which case the plant would be
increased in size, and a profitable hf e of at least 20 years
given to it.
This is undoubtedly one of the best propositions in
Guanajuato to-day. It is possible to sample the values
and measure the tonnage with absolute accuracy, while
many deposits of extremely high-grade values, and also
much solid amalgam and quicksilver, have been found.
No effort has been made to include them in the average
value of the taihngs, and it is the intention to treat the
material exactly as is done with the gold placers of Cal-
ifornia, the only difference being that, instead of re-
126 Mexico's Treasure-Hcmse
covering free gold, as in the case of California, the
values will be recovered in the form of sulphides or con-
centrates, which must either be melted on the ground,
cyanided, or sold to the smelters. Another point of dif-
ference between this deposit and the placers of CaHfor-
nia consists in the fact that the average value of the 14
miles of river covered by these tailings deposits is about
$4.00 per cubic yard, while the value of those of Cah-
fornia is 15c. per cubic yard.
The material ^^dll be excavated by dredging ma-
chinery, as is done in Cahfornia, and it will then pass to
concentrating tables, where as much as possible of its
contents will be saved. It is to be greatly regretted that
the values are too low to permit of economical cyanid-
ing, but it is possible that in later years even this may be
attempted with success.
The haciendas situated on the banks of the Guana-
juato River, where in former days the patio process of
treating the mine ores was in constant operation, and
from which the discharged tailings fell into the river,
were as follows: Casas Blancas, San Juan, La Trinidad
and San Francisco. The last of these haciendas to
operate the old patio process may still be seen working,
being the only one of its kind now left, perhaps. Par-
meo, Barrera Grande, Barrea en Media, Dolores, San
Antonio de Barrera, Noria Alta, Cipreses, Rocha, San
Pedro, Pardo, San Francisco de Flores, Purisima de
Flores, Graniditas, Salgado, Patrocinia, Carrica, Esca-
lera, San Matias, San Gavier, La Luna, Duran, Lucito,
Bustos, San Augustin, Puerta Grande, San Geromino,
and San Francisco Patista, are the other haciendas,
many of which are now in ruins and deserted.
Chapter IX
The Peregrina Mining and Milling Company. — A Substantially
Financed Undertaking. — A Mine with an Interesting History. —
The Early Indians and their Work. — Description of the Pere-
grina. — The Veins. — How They are Being Worked. — High-
grade Ores. — An Intelligent System of Development. — The
Motive Power Used. — The Machinery as It Was and as It Is.
THE initial mistake made by so many mining
companies situated in different sections of the
world of attempting to conmience the develop-
ment of new mines without sufficient capital of their
own, or a substantial financial "backing," has been
avoided by the majority of the Guanajuato companies
at present working in this district. One of the most
substantial and successful enterprises is The Peregrina
Mining and MilHng Company, of whose properties I
propose to speak in detail, first, however, desiring to
point out that the great amount of success which has
attended this company has been mainly due to the fact,
that, from the beginning of its career, it has enjoyed the
invaluable assistance and abundant resources of The Se-
curities Corporation, Limited, of New York.
This great company paid for the whole of the ex-
haustive examinations and voluminous reports made
upon the property, which required no less than five
months to complete, and cost something hke $20,000, or
say £4,000. Engaged upon the work were two of the
most distinguished mining engineers and metallurgists
to be found in Mexico, namely, Mr. A. B. Carpen-
Page 127
128 Mexico's Treasure-House
ter and ^Ir. F. J. Hobson, both of Mexico City.
Some nine other American engineers were also en-
gaged in this work, and it is only fair to say that,
so far as expert knowledge and ripe experience can
make anything absolutely certain in this world, the
Peregrina Mine has been thoroughly and unquestionably
established as a valuable and workable proposition.
Nothing was left to chance for want of consideration,
every ton of ore in the mine itself and on the dumps be-
ing carefully measured, sampled and assayed, while
thorough discussions and consultations were held as to
the most advantageous methods to be adopted for the
recovery of the ore-values both by milling and cyanide
process, and determining what should be about the cost
of the treatment and its attendant results.
Having thus provided the means and opportunity for
the Peregrina to be known and to "know itself," The Se-
curities Corporation, completely satisfied from the exam-
inations that it was not wasting its substance, con-
sented to finance the enterprise all through, and subse-
quently acquired the property by purchase. The pre-
vailing conditions of the markets at this time favored
the purchasers, and the mines were acquired at a very
reasonable figure. It is certainly worthy of mention,
and may be carefully noted by English and American
promoters generally, that the purchase price of the Pe-
regrina was net to the proprietors, not a single dollar
being added in the way of commission, promoters'
profits or other "watering" before it reached the hands
of the shareholders. Of how many similar concerns can
this reassuring statement be truthfully said?
Peregrinas Ancient History 129
Thus equipped from its inception, and handled by-
men of ripe experience, untiring energy and strict in-
tegrity, the Peregrina commenced operations, and
conducted in the same manner and under the same spirit,
has to-day advanced into the front rank of the soundest
and most valuable mining property in Mexico.
Like that of many of the most celebrated mining
properties in the Guanajuato Camp, the history of
Peregrina goes back for many years, being celebrated
for its enormously rich silver ores in the pre-Indepen-
dence days. There are certain old inhabitants still exist-
ing who remember their fathers and grandfathers telling
of the great wealth drawn from these mines ; but, success-
ful as these early workers undoubtedly were, there is no
question that they knew little or nothing of the real
value of the mines, nor did they even know how to make
the most of what they found there. The Spaniards
ignorantly threw aside as useless thousands of tons of
ore on to the "dumps" (that is, heaps) , and to-day these
same dumps are reckoned among the most precious as-
sets of The Peregrina Mining and Milling Company.
There is reason to believe that Peregrina was being
worked and big quantities of ore being taken out by the
Indians before Cortez ever set foot in the country, and
the hateful name of Spaniard had come as a curse to
the peaceful "Chichimecas," inhabiting this portion of
the country.
Tradition is rich in regard to Peregrina, and among
other records it is found that huge outcrops of the fa-
mous Peregrina vein, measuring 50 feet wide and of im-
mense value, were worked by the primitive fire and
water method, i. e., building a fire in a tunnel in the wall
130 Mexico's Treasure-House
and then throwing cold water on the heated surface,
causing it to crack and fall to pieces. To-day, that
50-foot outcrop has given place to a vast fissure 1,500
feet long, 100 feet deep and 60 feet wide, extending
from wall to wall, and proving conclusively that if the
old fire and water process of mining was slow, as it un-
doubtedly must have been, at least it was sure — for the
Indians certainly got out rich silver and gold from the
rock and used it.
But whatever amount they took out was represented
tenfold by what they ignorantly or carelessly left in.
They only troubled themselves about the richest kind of
ores, as they knew them, fortunately for the present
owners leaving intact numerous bodies of ore which
measured in length anywhere between 400 and 500 feet
and having a depth of about 150 feet. No evidence ex-
ists that the early workers knew of these valuable de-
posits, or knowing of them, troubled themselves in the
least to wrest the treasures which they contained from
the encumbering rock. In silver, these deposits yield
about $20.00 or $30.00 a ton, but in gold — of which
the Indians seemed to take absolutely no heed — there is
a return of nearly $10.00 (=£2) per ton. The stores of
these valuable ores are almost exhaustless, including
what has been blocked-out in the mine and what exists
on the dumps outside.
Whereas the early Indians and their successors always
regarded the Peregrina mine as a silver-producer and
very little else, the mine is actually a valuable gold, as
well as a silver, property. The proportion of the yellow
to the white metal amounts to no less than G8 per cent, to
32 per cent. It may be mentioned that one parallel vein
The Main Vein and Ores 131
in the south end of the mine carries 70 per cent, of gold
and 30 per cent, silver in value. Under these circum-
stances, the Peregrina may legitimately be described as
a "Gold Mine," and a very valuable one, too. By the
present methods of working the ores, which I shall de-
scribe in detail later on, nearly all the values are re-
covered, whereas formerly they were only very imper-
fectly secured by the patio process.
The mine contains a main vein embracing about 3,874
feet of length. This has been developed for about two-
thirds, say 2,558 feet and to a vertical depth of nearly
900 feet. The main vein may be divided into two por-
tions, the northwest and southeast. In the first mentioned
part, the workings contain no portion of the main vein in
the upper levels ; and it is only encountered at a depth of
597 feet from the surface. In place of the main vein,
however, there is a complete system of smaller veins, all
having in their time yielded abundantly. Splendid ore
is found as the main vein is encountered, the width being
exceptionally great. In some parts the width is nearly
40 feet, of which at least 14 feet have a value of $10
(or £2) per ton, while at one point samples taken and
treated resulted in a return of $43 (£8/12) per ton.
In the southeastern portion of the main vein the esti-
mated amount of ore is over 300,000 tons, of a value of
$10 per ton. Careful measurements have been made here
as elsewhere in the mine, although some difficulty in
actually securing measurements was experienced owing
to this part of the mine being choked up with "fiUings,"
that is, large quantities of discarded ore. A considerable
part of the vein here remains undeveloped, but that the
ore body continues to exist without any change in char-
132 Mexico's Treasure-House
acter cannot be doubted. AVhere samples have been
taken, the results have been exceedingly satisfactory.
There are several valuable parallel veins existing both
at the southeast and northwest end. The most impor-
tant, perhaps, are the first named. The workings here
are developed through crosscuts from the Barreno shaft,
and drifts on this vein show a width of ore measuring
over six feet. The vein dips towards the main vein at an
angle of 80 degrees, the best of its ore running in chutes,
one of which has a length of 154 feet along the vein.
The value of this ore is about $9.75 (say £l/19) per ton.
A good deal of work must have been done here in the old
days, but some 6,000 tons of ore remain between the two
existing levels. Several other branch veins run here,
some of which, however, are only of a low-grade ore.
The northwest end of the parallel veins shows an ex-
tensive amount of w^orking. One vein is nearly vertical,
^vith a width of from one to three feet. The ore is found
in pockets or chimneys and lenses, and has been proved to
be of a high grade. Some of the ore has been tested, and
has yielded a return of $50 (or say <£lO) per ton, and
this over a width of three feet. Other samples have re-
turned as high as $40 (£8) and as low as $11 (£2/4)
per ton, but this part of the mine has been but little de-
veloped of late years, and contains great possibilities.
It is quite exceptional to find such an amount of ore of
so consistent a grade as that in the Peregrina, bearing in
mind the length of the workings with both ends open.
Another feature is the constant width of the main vein,
and the indications which it presents of becoming even
wider. At the bottom level the ore chutes are remark-
ably well-defined, although the northernmost end, as I
Total Value of Ore 133
have said, is as yet only partially and imperfectly deter-
mined. I was particularly well impressed with the lack
of necessity for the use of expensive and cumbersome
timber in the shafts, the nature of the walls of the veins
being such as to render this superfluous. Then, again, a
very small quantity of water is encountered, reducing
considerably the cost of pumping, always an expensive
and troublesome part of mining. The three large shafts
which I inspected are admirably constructed, and are
situated very favorably both for ore extraction and ven-
tilating the mine. The Guadalupe shaft retains its
steam hoist as well as its new electric hoist and is in
addition installing a pump, when it will be used as an
auxiliary pumping shaft. These shafts have the follow-
ing dimensions: Guadalupe 1,050 feet deep; San Fran-
cisco, 900 feet deep ; Barreno, 420 feet deep. The total
value of ore in the mine measured upon four sides may
be conservatively put at $2,500,000 (U. S. Cy.) or, say,
£500,000 net profit to the shareholders.
I have already mentioned the valuable character of the
dumps, but perhaps a few further words of description
of these desirable assets of the Peregrina mine may
prove interesting, and at least merit some attention.
Some of these huge mounds of ore which, during the
many years that the mine has been working, have been
brought to the surface and there "dumped" down, have
distinctive names of their own. Thus there is the Guada-
lupe Dump, composed almost entirely of ore from the
main vein, and the Barreno Dump having 65,000 tons
of $10.00 ore. It is protected on all sides by well built
stone walls, two pits being sunk on the top. Samples
taken from these yielded $8.50 (say £1/14) per ton.
134 Mexico's Treasure-IIouse
There are probably some 18,000 tons of ore on the
Guadalupe Dump, and all of about the same value. The
total value of the dumps on Peregrina is well over
$1,000,000 (about £200,000). This large amount of
value must be added to that of the ore in the mines itself,
viz: $2,500,000 and the mine fillings, representing a
further $170,000, making a grand total of $3,700,000
(or say £740,000) in net profits.
The Peregrina, like all the other properties belonging
to the same group of proprietors, is situated close to the
City of Guanajuato, being about 7 miles distant. The
locality is scenically a charming one, the mine being con-
tained in a series of romantic-looking hills, part of an
apparently endless range stretching away almost as far
as the eye can reach. An immense undulating plain lies
beyond on the other side, which, when irrigated, as is
proposed, with the waters which will be stored up by
means of a huge dam, constructed at San Isidro, will be-
come a veritable Eden of agricultural prosperity. A
winding wagon road connects the mine with the city,
and over this tons and tons of massive machinery and
supplies may be seen day by day being transported by
mules. This is likewise the main road leading to other
mines in the neighborhood.
The altitude is about 8,200 feet, and the atmosphere is
as invigorating and as delightful as champagne. Work-
ing in such a locality means more to those who are em-
ployed there than the average mind can realise, since one
of the greatest drawbacks and dangers attendant upon
mining, namely, having to exist in a trying and perhaps
a malarial atmosphere, is entirely avoided. There are no
pestilential troubles to health nor noxious insects to deal
y. ^
^ i
y. -^
The Mine's Development 135
with, the attendant climatic and atmospheric condi-
tions being as favorable as the most exacting could de-
mand.
The Peregrina property in area consists of about
160 acres, all told. The actual mineral rights consist of
65 pertenencias, that being the local title of a mining
claim. The mill-site consists of over 15 acres, and has
just been considerably extended to accommodate one-
hundred additional stamps. Water rights permit of the
collection of water and use of the same over an area of
some thirty thousand acres, an advantage which need not
be enlarged upon. Of the dam already in existence and
a new one projected, I give fuller details elsewhere.
In no other part of the world which I have visited have
I encountered a more thoroughly intelligent and com-
plete system of development than that in vogue at Pere-
grina. Even before the present owners took over the
mine, an enormous amount of development had been
gone through, the Mexican proprietors having spent
much time and energy in searching for the silver, but,
as already pointed out, leaving out of their calculations
the magnificent gold-values, and overlooking some of
the finest silver-bearing veins also. There is little which
has been lost sight of by the present proprietors.
It has been estimated that the work already carried out
in drifting and raising on the main vein apart from the
shafts, amounts to miles of drivage, this having cost
$250,000, or, say, £50,000. Almost the whole— certainly
nine-tenths — of these miles of drifts and winzes is in good
mining ore. The three shafts on the mine have been most
advantageously located, and the ventilation of the work-
ings is perfect in all respects. So much having already
136 Mexico's Treasure-House
been done, and all in a systematic manner, the present
further development has been proceeded with under ex-
ceptionall}" favorable conditions.
The present depth of the bottom level will not have to
be exceeded for a long time to come, there be-
ing abundant ore above it for many years. The man-
agement are now continuing the drifts to the northwest
on the two bottom levels, and every fresh 50 meters
driven here means another 10,000 tons of ore blocked-out
between the levels, and as much again above as below.
The south, or Carmen, level, is also being continued,
and is thus extending the large and well-defined ore
chute, so that this, in view of the great width of the vein
that is found, means an enormous quantity of new ore
being developed at a very little expenditure. In the near
future the "Barreno" shaft will be further sunk; and this
will, as a matter of course, still further extend the
amount of tonnage in the south end of the mine, as well
as opening up the latter for economical extraction.
Owing to the scarcity of fuel in the district, which
never at any time could have been great, but which has
been growing less and less for many years past, the
former workers must have found great difficulty and
heavy expense in running what machinery they had. To-
day, a complete transformation has come over the mining
industry at Guanajuato, for the necessary motive power
is that of electricity. Both the mines and mills are ad-
mirably equipped with the latest forms of macliinery of
this character, the current being furnished by the Guana-
juato Power and Electric Co. at a very reasonable price,
considerably less, I may say, than many mines have to
Electrical Motive Power 137
pay out West, but which still leaves a handsome profit
to the supplying company itself.
The motive power travels over 100 miles by cables
from the State of Michoacan, and elsewhere will be
found a description of the origin of the Guanajuato
Power and Electric Co. and its methods of supplying
the mines and the City of Guanajuato. For the two
years that the company has been doing business the ut-
most satisfaction has been afforded to its customers.
Guanajuato is, in my opinion, one of the best-lighted as
it is certainly one of the most romantically located places
in the Republic of Mexico. The town, or rather City of
Guanajuato, possesses nearly 80,000 inhabitants, this
number being considerably added to day by day as the
attractions of the mining district become better ap-
preciated.
One of the most valuable improvements introduced by
the new management at the Peregrina, when the mine
was taken over from its former owners, has been the con-
struction of the Bryant dam, which has a holding capac-
ity of 93,000,000 gallons and a working capacity of
186,000,000 gallons. The height of this structure is 24
meters, and it has a length of 100 meters; the total cost
of building having been $25,000, or, say £5,000.
The crushing plant and machinery which existed in
Peregrina before The Securities Corporation, Ltd., be-
came the owners, included the Kinkaid mills, having a
capacity of 40 tons daily, but they have been superseded
by a 20-stamp mill.
The present plant also comprises the new and very
complete 20-stamp mill, amalgamating plates and Wil-
fley concentrators, treating over 70 tons a day of the
138 Mexico's Treasure-House
highest grade ores. The construction of another large
mill, having 100 stamps, is also proceeding, the founda-
tions being now complete, and by the time these lines
appear in print in all probability the hum and thud of the
full 120 stamps on the Peregrina mine will be heard day
and night, having a combined capacity of no less than
320 tons of ore daily. The average value of the stuff
passed through may be taken at $10.00 (£2) per ton,
yielding a profit, after all expenses, losses and taxes
have been deducted, of $1,700.00 (£340) per day, which,
working only 340 days out of the year, is equal to $500,-
000.00 (£100,000) a year.
Besides the crushing machinery in use in the two mills,
there are working a 150 horse-power steam hoist, situ-
ated at the Guadalupe shaft, and a 30 horse-power steam
hoist on the San Francisco shaft. Both of these hoists
are what is known as of the double-drum type, and are
being used for the extraction of water as well as of ore.
An additional hoist of 55 horse-power operated by elec-
tricity, has been erected at the Barreno shaft and a 150
horse-power electric hoist is being installed at the San
Francisco shaft. A 70 horse-power compressor, electric-
ally driven, works the air-drills of the mine, and a 50
horse-power electric pump will take out the small
amount of water made.
Although upon the Guanajuato mines a general type
of crushing machinery is in use, some of the managers
adopt one system of treating sand and slime and some
another. There is as much difference of opinion preva-
lent among mine managers as to which is the best treat-
ment of ores, as there is among other experts in relation
to other industrial enterprises. Again, each particular
Different Ore Treatment 139
mine has a particular kind of ore, and naturally what is
found to be most advantageous and economical for the
one need not necessarily be equally beneficial for the
others.
On the Peregrina mine an important installation will
be made this year, namely, the Blaisdell process of hand-
ling the sands.
Chapter X.
The Peregrina's Equipment. — The Mill. — How the Ores are Treated
from the Time They are Brought to the Surface Until the Pro-
duction of Gold Bars. — The Crushing Machinery. — The
Stamps, Dies and Shoes. — The Wilfley Concentrating Tables. —
The "Sponge." — Concentrates. — The Blaisdell Process De-
scribed. — The Economy Effected in Labor. — The Peregrina's
Remarkable Extractions.
THE Peregrina stamp mill, consisting altogether
of the 120 head of stamps, is connected with the
mine by two tram Hnes. The ore is brought over
this line in steel cars with a capacity of II/2 tons each, and
out of them the stuff is dumped into bins having a hold-
ing capacity of 200 tons. From the bins the ore is fed
automatically through two Gates ore crushers, wherein
it is broken up to a size that would pass through a ring
having a diameter of 1% "• From here the stuff is con-
veyed to the ore-bins, having a holding capacity of 1,000
tons, behind the stamps, by means of a belt-conveyer,
and discharged by a tripping device which is under per-
fect control, making it possible to fill the bin to its fullest
holding capacity. Passing from the bin, the ore is fed to
the hea\y stamps by automatic appliances into the mor-
tars, in which the stamps drop. The weight of these
heavy stamps is 1,050 lbs. each, while the mortars them-
selves have an individual weight of 9,000 lbs. The mas-
sive mortars are set upon concrete blocks, securely held
down by heavy iron bolts which pass down through the
battery block, having stirrup-shaped loops in which are
fixed pieces of 60 lb. steel rails.
Page 140
The Crushing Process 141
The battery block is 180 feet long, 6 feet wide at the
bottom, 4 feet wide at the top and 6 feet high, accom-
modating the full 100 stamps. These are divided up
into groups or batteries of 5 stamps to each mortar. The
stamps have a drop of from 6 to 8 inches, with about
90 drops to the minute.
Simultaneously with the automatic feeding of the ore
to the mortars, water is introduced, so that while the
stamps are being lifted by means of the revolving cams,
fixed upon the cam-shaft and dropped at regular inter-
vals, the ore is being crushed and wetted at the same
time. The "shoes" fixed on steel stems meet the dies as
they drop, and thus crush the ore which is continually
falling from the bin between them. Both shoes and dies
are composed of the hardest kind of steel so as to suc-
cessfully withstand the hard work which they have to
perform. The action of the dropping stamps sets up
automatically a splashing and washing motion of the
mixed ore and water, so that so soon as the ore has been
crushed to the proper size, it is washed out through the
front of the battery where it is met by a frame carrying
screens. The screens used in various mills differ some-
what as to their coarseness or fineness, but those at the
Peregrina mill have a mesh of 30 sqs. to 1 inch, that is to
say, 30 small openings to the linear inch.
The crushed material has by this time assumed the
character and is known by the name of "pulp," being
quite liquid in consistency^ The palp now passes over
amalgamating plates of copper which have been previ-
ously silver-plated and charged with quicksilver. As the
pulp passes down and over the surface of these amalga-
mating plates, the particles of gold, coming into contact
142 Mexico's Treasure-Housc
with the quicksilver, are held fast, the rest of the liquid
flowing away, but leaving about 40 per cent, of the pre-
cious metal behind on the plates. These latter are
scraped, and the gold is thus secured.
The next stage of the milling process is the treatment
of the liquid, still containing, it will be remembered, 60
per cent, of the gold and silver particles. The pulp
flowing through the screens is thrown on one side of the
copper plates, which have a width of 40" and a narrow
strip of wood affixed as a dividing line in the centre, ex-
tending the entire length of the plates, namely, 8 feet.
While the pulp is flowing along on one side of the plates,
the mill-men (having first washed the plates) add more
quicksilver, the object being to soften the coating of
gold which has formed into a hard surface as other par-
ticles have been washed over it and have adhered. When
the desired degree of softness has been attained, the
whole of the deposit is removed by means of a rubber
squeezer being pushed up and along the surface of the
copper plates. By this action all the soft amalgam, or
deposit, is removed easily from the one side, after which
the flow of pulp is transferred to the other side and the
same course of procedure is followed. When the plates
have been thus completely cleaned and all the soft amal-
gam removed from the plates of one battery, the process
is continued to all the other batteries. The whole amount
of soft gold deposit collected is now placed in a chamois
leather, and subjected to a process of squeezing. The
greater part of the quicksilver runs through and is pre-
served for future use, while all the gold particles, as well
as the other foreign matter, are retained, forming a ball
which is technically termed "hard amalgam." This mass
Separating the Gold 143
contains about 20 per cent, of gold and 80 per cent, of
silver, quicksilver and other matter.
The next step in the treatment is to separate the gold
from the silver, quicksilver and other matter with which
it is still mixed. The whole of the rough amalgam is put
into a retort and placed in an iron pot, wuth a tightly fit-
ting lid. Inserted in this lid is a pipe, which, while the
pot (with its retort) is being subjected to a red-hot heat
in the furnace, connects with a tank of water. The in-
tense heat of the furnace causes the quicksilver to become
volatile and pass off in the form of vapour through the
pipe, but upon again coming into contact with the water
the quicksilver condenses, and, falling to the bottom of
the tank, is eventually recovered and used over again.
The quicksilver having now been entirely got rid of from
the amalgam, the retort, having previously been allowed
to cool, is opened and the contents — known as the
"sponge" — is removed. This presents a pale, yellowish
appearance owing to the purity of the gold which it con-
tains. The "sponge" is then smelted with the necessary
amount of flux, a substance used to gather up the
foreign matter remaining, and forming into a kind of
scum which can be easily removed, leaving the pure metal
behind. The result of this treatment is a pure lump of
gold— 990/1000 fine.
But the whole process of recovery is even now not
completed. There is still the treatment of the pulp res-
idue to be considered. When leaving the copper plates
the pulp is led through troughs to Wilfley concentrating
tables. These are composed of wooden frames built
upon an inclined plane, and covered with linoleum. Here
are affixed a number of riffles, or narrow strips of wood.
144 Mexico's Treasure-House
The Wilfley tables are continually being shaken and agi-
tated in much about the same manner as is the floor of a
threshing machine. The movement is lengthwise, with
a distance of about % of an inch, the number of "shakes"
to the minute being about 232. The result of this agita-
tion of the pulp is to separate the sulphides of silver as
well as other heavy mineral particles from the sands or
pulp, the stuff recovered being termed "concentrates,"
which is sold to the smelters for further treatment. This
is the practice at present in force, but Guanajuato mine-
managers are proposing to treat their concentrates them-
selves in future, and thus effect great economies by elim-
inating entirely the middleman's profit — in the shape
of railroad and smelter charges. When this innovation
has been — if it ever is — introduced, there will be no inter-
vention between the mine-managers and the banks and
mints which buy pure gold. The saving to the mine
owners would be considerable.
After leaving the concentrating tables the pulp is
delivered to sizing and separating cones. Here the sand
and slime are separated, the coarse sand being delivered
to a tube-mill and the slime is run into the tanks, where
it remains until ready for the cyanide treatment.
In the tube-mill the sand is subjected to a treatment
which makes it much finer, when it is again sized in the
cone-sizer. It is now delivered to a collecting tank where
all the water is drained away. This tank being filled, the
gate in the bottom is opened, permitting of the Blaisdell
process ])eing applied.
The Blaisdell system, as established at the Peregrina
mines, furnishes an automatic means for charging and
discharging the eighteen leaching tanks in which sands
/. -J
A
z.
_2
■"
\j
i>
_
'■J
'—
^
A
^
^
^
3
ci
r.
5
-^
3
^■^ 3
~» it
3 :q
0.
Labor Doric Away With 145
are treated. The charging is accompHshed by means of
an apparatus similar to the Butter's distributor, which
takes the wet material directly from the collecting tanks
and distributes it conveniently, and in a porous condi-
tion, in the tanks, without labor of any kind. The dis-
charging machine consists of a special arrangement of
harrows working in the tank by means of a large ma-
chine, setting upon the tank, and moving backward and
forv/ard along the row of tanks on special rails. The
harrows throw the sand tow^ard the centre, where they
fall through an orifice, previously bored through the
centre for that purpose, on to an automatically-moving
belt below, which carries them to the tailings stacker,
and which deposits them in an adjoining hill in large
heaps. The charging of the tanks by this process is
so much better than by any other that the leaching
process is greatly aided, and a far better percentage of
extraction is obtained. By the discharging process, all
labor is done away with, and the cost reduced from 10c.
(Mex.) per ton to about 2c. (Mex.) per ton.
A more complete description of the Blaisdell system
follows on page 147-
The following table showing the total amount of
values extracted by the Peregi'ina method of treatment
of its ores, as well as the cost of such treatment, will no
doubt prove of interest :
146 MCiVico's Treasure-House
RESULTS OF TREATMENT PROCESS:
Mine Ores:
Saved on plates 19.7 per cent, of total value
Saved in concentrates . . 24,23 per cent, of total value
Saved from coarse sands 12.94 per cent, of total value
Saved from fine sands. . 13.69 per cent, of total value
Saved from slimes 23.76 per cent, of total value
Total saving 94.32 per cent, of total value
The above results were obtained from large milling
tests, and after a thorough preliminary examination.
The figures refer to net extraction after allowing $20.00
(say £4) for freight and treatment charges per ton of
concentrates. The material assayed per ton (2,000 lbs.)
.626 oz. gold and 17.4 oz. silver. Total value — $23.38
(about £4/14).
Dump Ores:
Saved on plates 19.00 per cent, of total value
Saved in concentrates.. 9.10 per cent, of total value
Saved from coarse sands 14.76 per cent, of total value
Saved from fine sands. . 15.55 per cent, of total value
Saved from slimes 35.34 per cent, of total value
Total saving 93.75 per cent, of total value
These results refer to the material treated, which as-
sayed per ton (2,000 lbs.) .26 oz. gold and 5.52 oz. silver,
total value being $8.83 (say, £1/15/6).
The Blaisdell Process 147
Cost of Treatment.
The cost of the milling and treating the ore from the
Peregrina mine with the plant at present in hand is as
follows :
Power $0.34
Wear and tear .25
Cyanide treatment chemicals .38
Zinc 05
Labour .12
Sundries .10
Administration .25
Interest on investment .15
Depreciation .21
$1.85
or, say 7s. 9d. per ton.
THE BLAISDELL PROCESS.
The purpose of the Blaisdell System, which is the in-
vention of Mr. W. H. Blaisdell, President of the Blais-
dell Company of Los Angeles, California, is to eliminate
the great mass of um-eliable and unskilled labour hereto-
fore required in the cyanide plants for charging and dis-
charging the sand vats. By this system no manual
labour is required from the time the ore leaves the crush-
ers until it reaches the precipitation house, or tailing
dump. Although this system was invented and first
placed in use but three years ago, it is now handling the
product of over 1,000 stamps in the United States, Mex-
ico and South Africa.
148 Mexico's Treasure-House
Among the plants using it are :
El Oro Alining and Railway Co., Ltd., ^lexico,
Cia. Minera Las Dos Estrellas, ]Mexico,
Black INIountain ^Mining Co., Mexico,
Peregrina ^Mining and ^Milling Co., ^Mexico,
San Prospero ^Mining Co., ^Mexico,
Tonopah Mining Co., of Nevada, U. S. A.,
Chas. Butters and Co., Ltd., U. S. A.,
New ^lodderfontein G. jNI. Co., South Africa,
Langlaagte Deep ^Nlines, South Africa,
Knights Deep, South Africa.
The Blaisdell process has effected a great simplifica-
tion of plant arrangement as Avell as operation. It dis-
penses w^th the necessity for placing the sand-collecting
vats on a plane above the sand-leaching vats and the very
unsatisfactory construction of superimposed tiers of
leachers, so universally used heretofore on the Rand, and
in some parts of America. As is shown by the cut which
illustrates the sand department of the cyanide
plant of the Peregrina IVIining & Milling Co. of Guan-
ajuato, the sand collecting and leaching vats are all of
the same size, placed on the same level, and in two paral-
lel rows ; the four collecting vats are automatically filled
by two Blaisdell class W-C Distributors, these machines
being an improved patented form of Butter's Distrib-
utor, mounted on a swinging crane, so that one distrib-
utor serves two vats. (A Butters Distributor works
similar to an automatic lawn-sprinkler, which is revolved
b}' the force of the discharged water.)
The mast of the crane is mounted just outside the
trackways running along the outside of the two rows of
vats, in order to enable the distributor to be swung on
'I'^T7.
•^^^^Tf
(irANA.MAlO: SlIil.A.M I'l , 1 .1 ) I \( i llll. Xl.W 1{ I SI .1{ \( )I K
DiKiNc; rm. Dm' Skason.
Plate :{;{. 1 i^*-'- P'lK^" • -'■
The Excavator at Work 149
one side when the excavator has to pass into position for
emptying one of the collecting vats.
But one excavator is required for emptying all the
vats, collectors as well as leachers. It consists of a steel
truss bridge of a trifle greater span than the vat di-
ameter, being supported upon trucks having double
flanged-wheels which travel on the trackway, above
mentioned. At mid-span of the bridge is a large verti-
cal shaft of soHd steel, 8 inches in diameter. The verti-
cal shaft has two diametrically opposite featherways in
which feathers slide, fixed in the large bevel-gear at
the centre of the bridge deck, and thus is accomplished
the revolving motion of the four horizontal arms sus-
pended at the foot of this vertical shaft.
As this shaft revolves, it is automatically lowered by
means of the left and right-hand vertical screws, which
work in tlii-eaded bearings in the large cross-head which
supports the vertical shaft, and which is shown near the
top of the bridge truss. Suspended from the four hor-
izontal arms are a number of hangers, having solid steel
spindles, on which are mounted concave steel discs, such
as are used on agricultural harrows. It will be noted
that the discs are placed obliquely to the radii of the
beams, so that the furrow made by one disc is rolled over
towards the center of the vat by the disc on the follow-
ing arm. This rolling motion gives a minimum of fric-
tion, so that the power required for performing the work
is very insignificant, being about .075 horse-power per
ton excavated. The machine is actuated by small elec-
trical motors w^hich receive current from trolley wires
strung along the outside of each row of vats.
150 Mexico's Treasure-House
For filling the sand-leaching vats, there is required
only one distributor. It is a steel truss bridge and is
of mucli simpler design than that required for the ex-
cavator. On this bridge is a short belt conveyor wliich
dehvers the sand, discharged by means of a travelling
tripper on the conveyor running between the two rows
of leaching vats, to the centre of the distributor bridge,
where the sand falls on to a centrifugal distributing
plate, which showers it lightly and uniformly into the
vat. This machine uses the same trackway and trolley
wires as the excavator, a transfer-table being employed
for moving the machines from one row of vats to the
other.
There are also the following conveyors: Conveyors
Nos. 1 and 4 underneath the two rows of collecting vats
and delivering to Conveyor No. 3 via the short cross-con-
veyors, Nos. 2 and 5. Underneath the two rows of leach-
ing vats are the two reversible conveyors, Nos. 6 and 7,
which, when running to the left, return the sand for
double treatment to Conveyor No. 3, or, when running
to the right, deliver the taihngs to the stackings con-
veyor. No. 8. At the head, or discharge, end of Con-
veyor No. 8 is a rotating drum or pulley having on it
triangular-shaped hard steel beaters, or "batters," and
as the taihngs are discharged from the conveyor they are
thrown some 25 or 30 feet beyond the end of the con-
veyor by means of this rapidly revolving beater, which
is known as the Blaisdell Class N. Taihngs Stacker.
The purpose of this machine is to avoid the construc-
tion of a high trestle way (such as is quite common on
the Rand) , for by means of this device the dump is built
sufficiently in advance of the conveyor to enable the lat-
The Blaisdell Process 151
ter to be gradually extended outward upon it, and there
is required merely a very inexpensive substructure con-
sisting of cross-ties and stringers, for carrying the con-
veyors' idlers, or pulleys.
To avoid frequent splicing of the conveyor belting,
there is introduced near the tail-end of the conveyor an
expansion loop, usually about fifty feet between bend-
pulleys, which enables the conveyor to be extended for
nearly fifty feet, without adding additional belting. The
operation of this expansion-loop is very simple, and will
be readily understood by anyone familiar with conveyor
work.
After the dump has been built on an incline to any de-
sired height by means of the Class N Stacker, described
above, an additional conveyor equipped with the same
machine is started level at the height so attained. When
the new conveyor has been completed to its maximum
distance, the Class N Stacker is dispensed with, and a
new device known as Class L Stacker is put on this con-
veyor for the purpose of extending the dump horizon-
tally on a radius equal to the full length of the conveyor.
The principle of the Class L Stacker is almost identical
with the Class N, the only difference being that the re-
volving beater, which throws the tailings, is mounted on
an automatic reversible travelhng tripper. Referring
once again to the half-tone cut, the operation of the
plant with the machines in the position shown in the
drawing, is as follows : —
One of the Class W-C distributors is filling one of
the collecting vats ; the excavator has moved into position
over one of the leaching vats, raised the taper discharge
plug at the center of the vat by means of a hoist on the
1 j2 Mexico* s Treasure-House
excavator bridge, thereby creating an opening through
which to discharge the vat contents on to Conveyor No. 7
below. The travelhng chute or loading hopper over Con-
veyor No. 7 has been placed in position under the centre
of the vat-opening, and Conveyors Nos. 7, 5, 3 have
been started by nie^'ns of electrical switches on a conven-
iently-located switchboard. The Class Z-S Distributor
is in position over the leaching vat to be filled, and the
movable tripper on Conveyor No. 3 is situated so as to
properly discharge the load of Conveyor No. 3 on to the
cross-conveyor of Class Z-S Distributor. The excava-
tor is then started and the sand is automatically trans-
ferred for double treatment at the rate of one hundred
tons per hour, and at a cost of about half a cent per ton
(one farthing).
For discharging and stacking on to the dump, Con-
veyor 7 or 6, running to the right, is employed together
with Conveyor 8, the stacker and the excavator.
For transferring a collecting-vat charge to a leaching
vat, the excavator, Conveyors 1, 2, 3 or 4, 5, 3 and the
Class Z-S Distributor, are used.
After starting the equipment in any of these opera-
tions, it runs automatically, and should the operator fail
to return at the proper time it will automatically stop.
y —
/. ■.-
Jr. 5
.. y
o
Chapter XI.
The Mineral Development Company. — Capital and Directorate. —
The Nueva Luz. — The Mother Lode and the Nopal Veins. —
The Vein Systems. — Former Erratic Workings. — Bookkeeping
in the Olden Days. — The Government's Share; How was it
Computed.^ — The Shaft. — Its Cost and Time of Construction.
— The La Torre Mines. — Bright Prospects Ahead. — The Work
of the Future. — The La Sorda, and its Present Development. —
The La Planta.
THE Mineral Development Company of Guana-
juato and New York is composed of a number
of gentlemen nearly all of whom are members —
and distinguished members — of the mining or kindred
engineering professions in the United States. It is but
seldom that one finds a financial syndicate composed al-
most exclusively of such professional men, and it should
prove of considerable benefit to the mining district gen-
erally, for many reasons.
The Mineral Development Company acts up to its
name, for it actively "develops" the properties which it
acquired by means of its own money, through the avail-
able professional knowledge possessed by its own mem-
bers, and upon a system which one may accept for
granted is the best for the purposes.
The capital of the Development Company is $1,000,-
000 (say £200,000), of which less than $600,000 has
been issued. It is not intended to increase this issue un-
less the prospects of the various virgin properties war-
rant the company in extending their operations. The
shares are of a par value of $50.00, and there is but one
Page 153
154 Mexico's Treasurc-House
class in issue. The Directors are as follows: President,
Mr. Theodore Dwight, M. A. I. M. ISI. and I. and S. I.;
Vice-Presidents, Captain W. Murdoch Wiley and R. V.
Norris; L. H. Taylor, Jr.; Mr. J. P. Whitney; Major
Charles E. Lydecker; Dr. Joseph Struthers; Mr. Vir-
don and INIr. J. E. Van Doren, Secretary and Treasurer.
The offices of the company are at 99 John street, Xew
York; Dover, Delaware, and at the mines at Nueva
Luz, Guanajuato, iSIexico. Mr. H. H. Miller, E. M.,
is Resident INIanager.
Certainly the choice of properties made as a start has
been a singularly happy one. Although they have their
way yet to make, and their history is as yet practically an
unopened book, the prospects of the company's holdings
are sufficiently encouraging; and the splendid reputa-
tion of their immediate neighbors is so suggestive, that
no fear need be entertained of the ultimate results. As
will be seen, the ground occupied by the Mineral Devel-
opment Company is in part historic, on account of what
has been produced all around, there being a record of
over $800,000,000 to the credit of the INIother Vein at
Guanajuato and which passes through the properties of
the company. They have this also to aid them, the fact
that tliis truly remarkable vein of ore has never failed, in
all the 300 years and more that it has been worked, to
yield paying ore in return for a well conceived and intel-
ligently carried out system of development. The com-
pany are the owners of the following properties: The
Nueva Luz, about one mile distant from the City of
Guanajuato; the La Torre mines, which are about five
miles distant, in addition to La Planta and La Sorda, the
former on the Mother Vein and the latter on the Sierra
The Nueva Luz 155
system. The first named (Nueva Luz) covers an area
of 72 acres, and the second (La Torre) has a superficial
area of about 90 acres.
The amount of ground which is occupied by Nueva
Luz mine, as ah'eady stated, is some 72 acres, situated in
the angle between the Valenciana and the Nopal, as also
mentioned. On the Nueva Luz the rich ore bodies dip
directly from the Valenciana, entering it at an angle of
45 degrees, and at a depth of 1,950 feet below the sur-
face at a point opposite the general shaft of the Valenci-
ana. The ore bodies of the Mother Lode continue
down, and have been stoped almost to a side line of the
Nueva Luz, say about 150 feet. As far as human judg-
ment goes, and in accordance with all reasonable suppo-
sition, the same rich ore bodies must continue down and
into Nueva Luz ground.
Then, again, there are the Nopal veins which run di-
rectly through the property of Nueva Luz, these same
veins having yielded ore as far down as they have been
followed on the latter company's ground about 700-800
feet and representing conditions — and consequently fu-
ture prospects of richness — identical with those of the
Nopal mine. Between the years 1860 and 1880 the No-
pal mine, by the aid of horse whims and the patio pro-
cess, produced over eight million dollars in silver and
gold, following the ore shoots to depths of 700 feet be-
low this smaller vein to reach the limits of the surface.
It required less depth in profitable work with the old
primitive mining methods than in the larger and richer
Mother Lode mines.
As a matter of fact, there are three different and dis-
tinct systems of veins known to traverse the Nueva Luz
15G Mexico's Treasure-House
ground. The first, the INIother Lode system, to which
the Xopal vein belongs, runs from northwest to south-
east and dips southwest (from N. 45 degrees W. to S.
45 degrees S. W. ) The JNIother Lode, on the other hand,
is itself one of three parallel vein systems which course in
a northwest and southwest direction, being well defined
and having huge outcroppings which may be traced with
ease for many miles. In a linear extent of 10,000 feet
tliis lode has been productive, its richest output having
been within 0,500 feet along it.
The second system of veins on the Nueva Luz is a
transverse one, running from southwest to northeast
and dipping southeast. These veins strike across the
first named at almost right angles, having on them the
veins of JNIanon and Nueva Luz, and upon which the
tunnels of the same names are run, and of which mention
is made later on.
The third system is that to which the Flat (of Nueva
Luz) and the Santa Inez (of the Nopal) belong.
The first ore struck was on the ground at the intersec-
tion of the ]\Ianon vein with the cross-vein of the second
sj^stem, west of the Canada de San INIatias. Upon its dis-
covery, this ore was followed dow^n until the workers
were driven out by the water, and, although a small one
only, the shoot yielded some very promising ore. How^
far the ore goes at present is unknown, as the water
renders it impossible to make a proper investigation.
The ground here seems to have been worked in a very
erratic manner by its owner, one JNIanuel Godoy. He
appears to have preserved no records of what work he
did or of what it cost him to do it, very unlike the ma-
jority of the mine owners of the Guanajuato and other
The Nopal Vein 157
Mexican mining districts, who kept voluminous records
of their transactions, not always reliable, perhaps, since
some of them, at least, maintained one set of books for
their own information and another for that of the Gov-
ernment officials, who based the amount of taxation upon
what they were shown in the books which were presented
for their inspection. I have, however, seen records going-
back further than a century, and kept in a most neat and
business like manner; who can say, however, at this stage
— and who then, for the matter of that — that the figures
provided are reliable? But Senor Godoy kept no ac-
counts at all, and it would be interesting to know how he
managed to square-up with the government of his day.
The Nopal vein has yielded some good ore, which has
been worked to a length of 1,000 feet. The owners pur-
sued methods of their own, there being no systematic
manner of working the vein or making a continuous
stope, large patches of unbroken ground being left be-
tween the various workings. However, the Nopal vein
was followed into the property of Nueva Luz, and a
quantity of ore taken out for which the trespassers had
to pay $14,000 as damages. Thereafter a strong iron
gate was put up at the junction of the two properties
underground, which marked the boundary-line.
One particularly favorable feature possessed by the
Nopal vein is its persistency in strike and output. The
outcrops are clearly visible throughout the territory of
the Nopal and that of the Nueva Luz mines, and for
a length of more than a mile. Reliable authorities con-
sider that from these surface indications on the last
named mine, it is probable that these veins will make
ore bodies in depth of that mine similar — or practically
1 J 8 Mexico's Treasure-House
similar — to those formed in them on the Nopal mine.
It is worthy of note that the highest values made were
those almost 1,000 feet distant from the Nopal line, the
ore at this point being rich in gold.
In deciding to develop the Nueva Luz property, very
careful plans were prepared after a thorough examina-
tion of the ground had been made by more than one
competent mining engineer. The outcome of the in-
vestigation was the decision to sink a deep shaft in-
tended to cut the Valenciana ore shoot in a depth belo'w
the old workings. Here I may mention that the Valen-
ciana mine itself has a shaft down 1,800 feet vertically,
and this has a diameter of 32 feet. The shaft being car-
ried a little further down — some seven feet, making the
total depth 1,807 feet — was abandoned by the then
owners on account of the cost of unwatering by means
of the inefficient methods then available.
The INIineral Development Company intend continu-
ing the work w here the previous owners left off. There
are ore bodies going, as has been proved beyond any
reasonable doubt, into the Nueva Luz ground, and this
company's shaft will, as I have said, cut the Valenciana
ore shoot. The shaft, originally measuring 11x11 feet,
has been converted into a modern 3-compartment shaft
measuring 5x16 feet. It is already down 416 feet, and
the total depth to which it is anticipated the shaft will go
is 2,920 feet. This will be at the centre and at the lowest
available point on the Nueva Luz ground. As the shaft
goes down it will cut the veins of the Nopal group as
well as the Santa Inez vein, this latter being met with at
about 800 feet below the surface. Cross-cuts and drifts
will then be run out at the most appropriate points, in or-
JLa Torre Mines 159
der to develop these several well-proven veins. The
shaft, as left by the former owners, was in good condi-
tion, and has been furnished now with a 50 horse-power
double drum electric hoist, the shaft being actively pro-
ceeded with day and night.
This shaft will probably be used in connection with
the Nopal system of veins, and an additional one sunk
for the purpose of working the Mother Vein, a cross cut
being planned from the 2,300 foot level, equivalent to
about 2,500 feet when compared with the Valenciana, as
the collar is about 200 feet lower than the latter.
The character of the rock encountered is favorable
for working, since it is not hard drilling and stands well
without the necessity of timbering. A modern electric
pump is capable of handling all the water which the
shaft may make. To reach the Mother Lode vein will
require about two years continual work. The total cost
will probably be about $200,000 (Mex.) , or say £20,000.
I now propose to speak of the Mineral Development
Company's second important mining properties known
as the La Torre mines, which are situated about five
miles southeast of the City of Guanajuato. The princi-
pal vein passing through the property is once again the
celebrated Mother Vein. The greatest bonanzas ever
encountered in the Mother Vein were those at the inter-
section of the hanging wall veins. In this La Torre
property, there unquestionably intersects, judging from
its du-ect course, the Carmen gold vein, which is now in
bonanza on a property within half a mile distant f roni
the La Torre mines. This Carmen mine was lately sold
in New York, and the company is in active operation
to-day, rapidly blocking out enormous quantities of rich
gold ore.
160 Medico's Treasure-House
The La Torre mines cover a superficial area of about
90 acres, the claim running about 4,000 feet (almost a
mile) on the strike of the ^Mother Vein, and having a
-width, and consequently a vertical de^Jth on the vein, of
from 1,000 to 1,500 feet (the vein dipping 45 degrees
from the horizontal). The surface is undulating, there
being a gradual rise towards the south end of the claim,
and the ground slopes to the southwest with the dip of
the vein, thus affording opportunities for shafts sunk
cutting the vein on the dip with comparatively slight
amount of sinking in good depth, as compared to the
outcrop of the vein. The outcropping of the INIother
Vein is distinctly visible to the eye through the en-
tire claim, presenting an impressive appearance, some
40 or 50 feet in width. Sampling of the outcrop shows
the vein to be mineralized, even at surface (which is quite
rare for this vein), but no development work has ever
been done, and the property presents an absolutely vir-
gin piece of ground.
For two centuries the work on this Mother Vein was
confined to the central group of mines, comprising those
between, and including, the Valenciana and Sirena. Dur-
ing the 19th centurj^ however, the development work
was pushed south and the Cedro mines opened up, yield-
ing many millions. These mines are now in operation,
owned by a powerful American corporation, and are
producing handsome profits. Later, the Cardones
mines, which are still further to the south, gave a bo-
nanza of high-grade gold ores; and, still further to the
south, the La Union Tunnel (immediately adjoining
the La Torre mines to the north) has been opened up
within the past ten years with the result of now yielding
I
SlIAl r AM) Kl.KC TKK IIoIST AT rilK XlKVA \ A /. MlM
IJ.loi.iriw- tc. Uk- Miiural l).v.l..|.nHril ( .... ( iiian.iju;.lo
Plate :{(i.]
1S<'<- i)ajr<"
KiO.
La Union Tunnel 161
very good profits both in gold and silver, although, as
yet, only partially developed. It has been worked in
the slowest manner, being owned and controlled by one
man, who is not a miner, his work consisting principally
of a tunnel on the vein and from this tunnel level,
two winzes on pay ore, in the sinking of which there
was an actual production for 21 months (as per copy
of all mill returns) of 2,469 metric tons, having an aver-
age assay value of 31 ounces silver and 28/100 ounces
gold per ton. The average value per ton was $21.10
U. S. Cy. for the full width of the pay ore, which
is about 8 feet, although the width of the entire vein in
this property, as proved by several crosscuts at the tun-
nel level, is 60 feet from wall to wall. All of this ore
came from only two parallel winzes sunk below tunnel
level, the greatest depth of which was 60 meters. At the
point at which this mineral was found, no crosscuts had
then been made towards the f ootwall, all the ore extract-
ed being from the hanging wall. The grade ol the ore
was materially increasing in value with dej^th, notably
so in its gold value. This was the condition of the La
Union Tunnel about January 1, 1902.
All this property is immediately adjoining the I^a
Torre mines on the same vein. Beyond any question
this vein continues to be mineralized through the La
Torre property. The work to be done in exploring the
property consists of a tunnel to be run in from the hang-
ing wall, to cut the vein at an approximate depth of 200
feet below surface. This will cost about $3,000 Mex-
ican currency; various inclines investigating the vein at
favorable points should not cost more than $3,000 Mex-
ican currency in addition. With the information gained
162 Mexico's Treasure-House
from these explorations a shaft could be sunk to 400
feet vertical depth, which would cut the vein on its dip
600 feet below its outcrop, and this could be done on the
remaining $14.,000 of the $20,000 ^Mexican currency
which must be spent on the development of the property
under the terms of sale. One or two cheap buildings, a
horse whim, cable and horses, are included in the above
estimate of expending $20,000 ^Mexican currency.
The JNIineral Development Company has done no
work on the La Torre property since January, 1905,
merely proving the vein for from 500 to 600 feet.
La Sorda mine is a virgin prospect which the com-
pany is now exploring. It is on the Sierra system, and
while the openings have not yet passed through the
leached ground, stringers running very high in values
have been encountered. The three parallel veins outcrop-
ping on this property are strongly defined, and are of
considerable width. Until further development has
taken place, little more can be said. The property em-
braces 100 pertenencias, or say 100 hectares=247 acres.
The La Planta property belonging to the same com-
pany is at present also undeveloped.
The Development Company prides itself upon the
fact that it has not found it necessary to issue any kind
of advertising matter nor yet a circular for the pur-
pose of soliciting subscriptions among the investing
public. Several applications from would-be investors
have, it is said, on the other hand been declined, such ad-
ditional subscriptions as have been accepted being those
of the original organizers and their friends, mostly be-
longing to the engineering professions.
Chapter XII.
The Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines. — Some Celebrated
Properties. — The Company's Directorate and Capital. — The
Old Workings. — Mexican Methods. — The New Management. —
The Shafts. — Geological Peculiarities. — Enormous Ore Bodies.
— Samples and Their Yield. — Colossal Dumps and Their
Values. — Underground Work. — What Has Been Done. —
Future Developments. — Dangerous Working. — Clean Record
of "No Accidents," to Date. — Some Heavy Work Ahead. —
Capable and Efficient Management.
THE La Luz district of Guanajuato is one of
the most famous and historically interesting in
the whole camp. In 1842 the great "bonanza"
commenced and continued for a period of several consec-
utive years. Hundreds of miners, with the usual shifting
and rolling-stone propensities of their kind, left the
other districts for La Luz, and for a few months, at
least, the paucity of labor was a serious matter for the
rest of the Guanajuato mines. The town of La Luz be-
came a beehive of industry and the liveliest in the State,
the population growing from a mere handful to a for-
midable army of over 20,000 souls in a few months' time.
The annual output from this rich district amounted to
several millions of dollars. The town to-day is still one
of the most picturesque that I have seen in the whole of
Mexico, with its exteriorally beautiful old church, and
occupies a position which practically overlooks the en-
tire country. From the full panoramic picture which I
give of the country, it will be seen that the position of
La Luz is ahnost unique. But the glories of La Luz
Page 163
164 Mejoico's Treasurc-House
commenced to wane when the star of the Rul mines be-
gan to rise, and in or about the year 18G0 one heard little
more of La Luz, but nevertheless it continued to distin-
guish itself as a good producer for some time to come.
The names of "Jesus ]Maria," "Villarino," "Sangre de
Cristo," "Providencia," "Remedios" and "Dolores" are
all historic names, and these mines are to-day being one
by one redeveloped and opened up gradually by tlie
Amalgamated Gold ]Mines Company of Guanajuato,
which owns them all. The "Jesus ;Maria" in particular
has a remarkable record as a producer, having probably
yielded the greatest amount of value in proportion to its
size of any mine in ^Mexico. The group worked by this
company is known under the title of "Xegociacion de la
Paz," and from first to last the mines enumerated above
are said to have produced something like $25,000,000, or,
say, £5,000,000.
The Amalgamated Gold Mines Company is an Amer-
ican corporation, promoted and financed by the Colonial
Securities Company of New York, and having its head
offices also in that city. The directorate is composed as
follows: Mr. Albert J. Adams, President; ]Mr. Rich-
ard W. Cannon, Vice-President; ]\Ir. George Karsch,
Treasurer and Secretar>\ The management at La Luz
consists of ^Ir. Lawrence P. Adams, JNIanager in Chief;
Mr. John F. Smith, Superintendent; INIr. E. Harris,
Chief ^liiier, and ]Mr. V. B. Sherrod as Constructing
and Mining Engineer.
The company's capital is $3,000,000, divided as fol-
lows: Purchasing and financing the mines $1,650,000;
unissued stock used for working capital, <^c., $1,350,000.
It is hoped that in due course of time the ore in sight and
La 'roiMM. Mini:.
I'ropcrlv (.f llir MiiiriMl Divclopnxnt Co.. Cuaiiajii.-ito
Plate 37.]
Si'f i)age ir)2.
Old Machinery Replaced 165
ready for treatment will yield more than $5,000,000, but
this is exclusive of the ore below the present level. The
estimate is made up as follows:
Ore dumps, amounting to 250,000 tons $875,000
Mine fillings, 250,000 tons 1,625,000
Ore in sight, 300,000 tons @ $15.00 per ton 3,300,000
Total: $5,800,000
Less contingency @ 10% 580,000
* Net total: $5,220,000
These profits can only commence to accumulate when
the mill, now being constructed, is completed. This
will be about the end of the current j^ear, the work being
extremely well and substantially carried out. In fact I
have not seen better constructional work at any mine in
the world than that being put in at the Jesus Maria mine
at La Luz.
The machinery used by the former owners was not of
a very valuable or useful nature, and an entirely new in-
stallation is being made. Within recent years a small
steam hoist was installed, and still more recently an elec-
tric hoist of 30 horse-power was put in at the Villarino
shaft ; but this did not help matters much, for the best
stopes were far below the bottom of the Villarino shaft,
and the ore, waste and water still had to be handled by
hand labor up more than 200 feet of ladders before the
hoist could be of service.
The ground is held by mining titles from the Mexican
Government, the following being a list of the claims and
their areas:
166 Mexico's Treasnre-House
I. Title No. 1451 for La Paz
^Nline containing 14.2572 Hectares
II. Title No. 2562 for La Paz
y Anexas, containing. . . . 13.6270 Hectares
III. Title No. 3590 for La Paz
y Anexas, containing. . . . 18.1520 Hectares
Total: 46.0362 Hectares
In addition to the above, 17 hectares have been re-
cently denounced to cover the dip of the vein. This
claim, known as "El Atleta," is still pending in the Gov-
ernment Alining Agency. The present management has
already done some good work. Five shafts have been
sunk on the property, three of which are now open, and
any one of which could be made into a working shaft for
modern hoisting methods. Of these three, that called
"Providencia" is about 10 feet in diameter and 500 feet
deep. Another called "Jesus IMaria" is about 12 feet in
diameter and 850 feet deep, and this is the best situated
for operating and developing the mine in connection
with a modern milling plant. A third, known as "Vil-
larino," is about 12 feet in diameter and 600 feet deep,
and also excellently located for use as an auxiliary shaft,
should one be required. There are a great many drifts,
crosscuts, etc., driven in the usual jMexican fashion. In
addition to these, there is the usual Mexican equipment
of horse whims, hand tools, rails, cars, houses, etc., a
good deal of which can be profitably utilized in modern-
izing the equipment.
(NoTK. — A hectare is 10,000 square meters, or 2.471 acres;
46.0362 hectares being equal to 113.7555 acres.)
La Luz Vein 167
A few words concerning the geological formation of
this country may be useful. In brief, the veins are strong
fissures in igneous rocks called diorite, the diorite lying
within a large field of andesite, porphyry, etc. The vein
filling is quartz strongly impregnated with calcite, which
in spots amounts to over 15 per cent, of the gangue. The
silver occurs principally as the simple sulphides, occa-
sionally associated with antimony. The gold is found
in small particles of pyrites scattered throughout the
gangue and as free gold, rather finely divided. The prin-
cipal vein system is formed by the junction of the two
veins, known as "La Luz" vein and "Los Plateros" vein,
and dips to the west at an angle of about 50 degrees,
The La Luz vein has a strike of about N. 12 degrees
W. and dips to the west at an angle of about 57 degrees.
The Plateros vein has a strike of about N. 40 degrees W.,
forming a junction with La Luz vein at a distance of
about 1,000 feet south of the north-end lines of the
property, the junction at surface being between Provi-
dencia and Jesus Maria. Owing to the difference be-
tween the dip and the strike of the two veins, the junc-
tion rakes to the south on the dip, and at a point about
800 feet below the surface the junction is about 400 feet
farther south than at the surface. The largest ore bodies
have been formed near or at this intersection, and there
is every reason to expect that this junction will continue
to supply large quantities of ore to a much greater depth
than has yet been attained in this district. From this
junction north, the La Luz vein passes successively
through "Los Locos," "La Trinidad," "El Refugio,"
and La Luz group of mines, which have had a combined
production of $240,000,000, exclusive of La Paz group.
108 Meccico's Treasnre-Hoiise
La Luz vein is unknown south of this junction, and
Avithin La Paz boundaries, but is supposed to be first
seen to the south in the adjoining mine called "Santo
Nino." The Plateros vein is but little known outside of
La Paz boundaries, although it has produced immense
quantities of high-grade silver ores from within La Paz
ground. It is the more recently formed of the two veins,
and probably "faulted" La Luz vein in crossing it. The
gangue from Plateros vein is remarkably high in calcite.
There are other veins on the property, most of which
are probably secondary fissures uniting with the princi-
pal veins near the junction. These veins have yielded
good ore bodies in places ; although they have been but
little explored.
Naturally all the good ore in the upper workings of
the ore bodies so far discovered has been stoped out.
This is generally the case in Mexico, as the Mexican
system of mining does not include the blocking out of
ore reserves. The ore stoped from these workings was
roughly sorted under ground, leaving the lower grade
ore as fillings in the old stopes, and further sorted by
hand, breaking and washing after reaching the surface.
The result of this system of mining is that large quanti-
ties of low grade, but profitalile, ore are lying in the
old stopes, and large dumps of the same material are
lying on the surface. This material without further
sorting can be treated at a good profit by modern
methods.
The Providencia shaft, located near the north end of
the property, is the most recent of any of the shafts,
having been sunk since 1898. It was sunk to develop
the La Luz vein on the north end of the property, and is
l^4^#-'-
ft.
3 ;;
X • I
Some Good Results 169
in the neighborhood of 600 feet in depth. The La Luz
vein at this end of the mine passes out of La Paz
ground and into that of Los Locos ground on the dip
at a vertical depth of approximately 750 feet. At a
depth of about 2,000 feet the vein again passes out of
Los Locos and into La Paz ground, the former being a
small area of ground lying partially within the bound-
aries of La Paz property. At a short distance farther
south, however, the La Paz ground covers the entire
dip of the vein to a depth of a Httle more than 2,000
feet and the dip is still further protected by claims, the
titles to which are now pending in the Government De-
partmento de Fomento. Something like 800 feet of
drifting and exploring have been done in the territory
adjacent to this shaft, with practically no stoping. An
average of four samples taken from a dump of 15,000
tons of ore mined from these workings yielded the fol-
lowing results: Silver, $2.48; gold, $2.34; making a
total of $4.82 — say, 19 s. per metric ton. The ore in
this dump having been sorted before having been put
on the dump, does not represent the average value of
the ore taken from drifting and development work in
this portion of the mine. An average of six samples rep-
resenting the width of the vein in this part of the mine
gave the following results: Width of vein, 4.7 feet; sil-
ver, $2.21; gold, $5.68; making a total of $7.89, say
£l/l\ per metric ton.
The Jesus Maria shaft is a vertical shaft which is
sunk in the hanging wall, and which cuts the La Luz and
Plateros veins on their dip at approximately 700 feet be-
low the collar of the shaft. The shaft passes through the
veins at their intersection with each other, and at a point
170 Mc.vico's Trcasu re-House
where the ore bod}- was wide. In later years, the INIexi-
cans stoped out this ore as far as possible, but they left
no shaft pillars, with the result that the shaft has caved in
at this point, and the workings in its neighborhood are
generally inaccessible. The ore chute formed at this
junction was about 600 feet in length, and in that por-
tion which is still accessible it averages 9.8 feet in width.
The average of 27 samples taken across the vein at va-
rious parts of these workings gave the following re-
sults: Width of vein, 9.8 feet; silver, $2.98; gold, $5.60;
making a total of $8.50 (say £1/16) per metric ton.
There are three levels in the bottom of this shaft which
are now filled with water and inaccessible; but the
sampling showed no change in values between the upper
and lowest accessible levels of this ore body. It is
claimed by all the old employes of the former operators
that the width and values are maintained in the lowest
levels.
The Villarino shaft is located about 328 meters
south of the Jesus ^Nlaria shaft, and intersects the vein
at a point south of the large ore chute above described.
The workings tributary to this shaft were formerly
known as "Sangre de Cristo," and the ore was formerly
hoisted through the old San Antonio shaft. The ore
body in the upper workings of the mine is distinct, and
separated from the Jesus ]Maria ore chute by a barren
streak in the vein. As this ore chute is at right angles
to the strike of the vein, it unites with the Jesus INIaria
ore chute at approximately 500 feet below surface, form-
ing one continuous ore body about 1,000 feet in length,
and extending both north and south from the junction
of the two veins. Twenty-six samples taken across the
Estimated Tonnage 171
vein in the various accessible drifts and winzes gave the
following results: Width of vein, 8.6 feet; silver, $4.75;
gold, $3.32; making a total of $8.07 (£l/12) per
metric ton.
The Plateros vein north of the junction contained a
greater percentage of its values in silver than any other
portion of the mine, and for that reason was more
amenable to hand sorting and treatment by the old patio
process. It has, therefore, been completely worked out
to water level, and the workings are now filled and
inaccessible. It is believed that in the drifts below
water level the vein carries very good values at every
point.
Practically all of the old stopes at or near the junc-
tion ore body are filled with broken ore remaining as
waste after the preliminary underground sorting. These
workings are accessible only in those places where drifts
have recently been spiled through the old caves, and
even a rough estimate of tonnage is impossible. An
average of 32 samples taken from points now accessible
gave the following results: Silver, $5.15; gold, $5.31;
making a total of $10.46 per metric ton. Judging from
the dimensions of those parts of the vein now accessible,
a conservative estimate would place the tonnage at 200,-
000 metric tons. There is but little doubt that practi-
cally all of this ore can be cheaply and safely obtained,
and without doubt large quantities of ore will be found
still standing in these stopes, as it was the practice of the
Mexicans to mine the better grade of ore only, and to
leave standing that portion of the vein which was found
of too low grade for the old patio treatment.
172 Mexico's Treasure-House
There are three huge dumps on this company's prop-
erty and which are comparatively easy to measure and
sample, and one other very much older dump. The
Jesus JNIaria Dump was estimated by cross sectioning
and sampling, the following being an average of
54 samples: Tonnage, 260,000; silver, $2.70; gold,
$3.60; making a total of $6.30 per metric ton. The
Villarino Dump contains 20,000 tons, the average of
seven samples being as follows: Silver, $2.05; gold,
$2.36; total, $4.41 per metric ton. The Providencia
Dump has a tonnage of 15,000; average of 4 samples
—silver, $2.48; gold, $2.34; making a total of $4.82
per metric ton. The Remedios Dump has a tonnage of
12,000; average of 4 samples — silver, $2.61 ; gold, $1.91 ;
making a total of $4.52 per metric ton. The total ton-
nage of broken ore, not including the Villarino, Provi-
dencia, or Remedios Dumps, is as follows:
Finings, 200,000 tons at $10.46 $2,092,000.00
Dumps, 260,000 tons at 6.30 1,638,000.00
Total, 460,000 tons at 8.108 $3,730,000.00
Approximately 40 per cent, of the above values is
in silver and 60 per cent, in gold. These ores have been
successfully treated by a combination of cyaniding and
concentration at the Purisima cyanide plant (a small
custom mill in Guanajuato), and experimental tests on
a laboratory scale have confirmed the above statement,
giving an extraction bj^ cyaniding alone of over 70 per
cent, of the silver and 90 per cent, of the gold, or an
extraction of 82 per cent, of the total values. This ex-
traction can undoubtedly be increased to 90 per cent, of
the total values by the use of amalgamating plates to
y.
/ ^.
The Value of a Dmnp 173
remove the coarse gold, and of concentrators to remove
the coarser sulphides before cyaniding. Calculating
upon the above basis, the following is an estimate of the
profit that ought to be made in the treatment of the
dumps and fillings:
Cost of drawing, hoisting and tramir'ing
of 200,000 tons of fillings at 40c. per ton $ 80,000.00
Crushing, milling and cyaniding at $2.25
per ton 450,000.00
Total cost of treating fillings $530,000.00
Relying upon a total recovery of 85 per cent, of the
gross values, there would be recovered in bullion from
these fillings $1,778,200.00, leaving a net profit from
the treatment of the mine fillings of $1,248,200.00 (say
roughly £250,000).
Cost of loading and tramming 260,000
tons from dump to mill at 20c. per ton $52,000.00
Crushing, milling and cyaniding at $2.25 585,000.00
Total cost of treating dump $637,000.00
A recovery of 85 per cent, of the gross value of this
dump should produce in bullion $1,492,300.00, leaving
a net profit of $855,300.00, making a total net profit
from the treatment of dump and mine fillings of
$2,103,500.00 (£420,700).
The first underground work of importance under-
taken was the timbering of the Jesus Maria shaft, on
which steady progress has been made on the day shift
only, and has now reached a point 120 meters from sur-
face. In traversing this distance, two large caves had
to be contended with; their measurements being ap-
174 Mexico's Treasure-House
proximately 75 x 40 x 20 feet and 130 x 30 x 18 feet,
Avhich, after deducting measurement of displacement of
timber, will require about 100,000 cubic feet of filling.
This filling is now being done with debris from the sur-
face, which is conveyed down the shaft through a series
of wood launders or boxes joined together in 12-foot
lengths. These two caves proved to be large, soft decom-
posed dioritic porphyry dikes, having approximately the
same strike and dip as the quartz veins, and the water
they carry in the wet season being undoubtedly the chief
agent in making these caves their present dimensions.
The accomplishment of this work down to the 120 meter
point without a mishap of any kind is decidedly a mat-
ter for congratulation, as it was a very dangerous piece
of work on account of the loose character of the
ground. It will continue to prove dangerous moreover
until the filling is completed.
Work has been for some time past going on at various
points on the San Lucas level (this Is about 230 meters
from the surface) , the most important being the opening
up of the San INIiguel ^\inze, situated about 90 meters
south of the Jesus Maria shaft, to the dimensions of a
three-compartment incline shaft on the dip of the vein.
Stoping operations are being conducted at two different
points, one on the north side 15 meters below the San
Lucas level, and the other on the south side 35 meters
below the same point, close to water level. The dimen-
sions of the three compartments will be, two for hoisting
4x5 feet, and the other 3x5 feet for ladder way. This
shaft, timbered to the San Lucas level wdth hoist and
pump installed, will dominate all development work be-
low water level, and will undoubtedly open up a large
San Lucas Level 175
body of pay ore, as the average value of rock broken
from both stopes is worth $20.00 per ton (<£4), with
an average width of 2 meters 50 cm.
The drift north on the San Lucas level terminated
at a point about 20 meters north from mouth of crosscut
leading to the Jesus Maria shaft (this crosscut show-
ing extensive old workings that are filled in), and as
samples taken from face of drift show that it was prac-
tically in waste, a crosscut was commenced to locate
the ore body corresponding with the old workings in
crosscut leading to shaft. Within 2 meters the old work-
ings were in evidence, and the drift was commenced
immediately on the hanging wall from the face of the
old drift and is being driven obliquely toward the hang-
ing wall across the line of vein, so as to cut the vein about
5 meters further north, and determine how far north
these old workings extend. A winze was also com-
menced on the San Felipe level (which is about 20 me-
ters above the San Lucas level) at a point north from
face of the drift North San Lucas; this winze and drift
will eventually communicate, and as the winze is ap-
parently in virgin ground, and the broken rock assays
$22.00 gold to the ton, it will open up in a good body
of pay ore. Various raises at points where pay rock is
in evidence in pillars and fillings have been commenced,
and where chutes will be installed to facilitate the ex-
traction of ore to the shaft.
The collar of the Villarino shaft has been re-timbered,
also the landing stage at the San Lucas level, and it is
now ready to handle all material and machinery for the
new incline shaft.
176 Mexico's Treasure-House
The whole system of working is extremely well
thought out and as well executed. Certainly the prop-
erties of the Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold ^Nlines
Compan}'- are likely to suffer nothing from lack of ef-
ficient and conscientious management, of which as a
whole it would be difficult to speak too highly.
Chapter XIII.
Some Mines with a Brilliant Past and a Promising Future. — The
San Cayetana. — A Remarkable Tunnel. — The Future Working
and Its Probable Cost. — The Pabellon Mine, a Once Famous
Producer. — Thirteen Years' Production. — The Union of Con-
stancia. — Another Big Tunnel. — Some Future Exploration
Work.— The Tajo de Dolores Mine. — The Celebrated Tajo
Vein. — Twenty Years' Production. — Refugio. — Bolanitos. — El
Cubo.
A INIONG the many famous mines in the Guana-
/\ juato Camp with a brilliant future assured un-
^ A.der a vigorous and a modern system of hand-
ling, may be mentioned the San Cayetana. Its history
goes back to a period considerably exceeding eighty
years, and since a complete — or at least a very full — set
of the mines books still exist and are in a state of good
preservation, the ambitious and industrious student
could scarcely find a more promising field than this for
his labors.
During the past five or six years, several fractional
claims have been denounced in the locality with the idea
of consolidating and making one complete block of the
property, which up till then had not been attempted,
many small and insignificant interests being held in the
scattered directions. A vast amount of good develop-
ment work has been done on this ground during the past
half a century including the construction of a remark-
ably long tunnel measuring 3,035 meters, and which still
remains in excellent condition, proving that the former
owners, although slow in their methods, were usually
Page 177
178 Mexico's Treasure-House
sure and did not skimp their work. This tunnel took
nearly 19 years to complete.
The San Cayetano Tunnel was commenced in June,
1862. It has a total length of 3,140 meters, 10,299
feet, exclusive of the branches, which have an additional
length of 3,540, or a total of 6,680 metres, or 21,910
feet. The tunnel has a grade of 1 in 120. The dimen-
sions vary considerably from 8x8 feet to the size of a
railway tunnel, viz., 12 x 18 feet. For the greater part
of its length the tunnel is a drift following the San An-
tonio vein. When first started it was only of small di-
mensions and the boreholes were drilled by steel pointed
iron rods, but when the subsequent developments dem-
onstrated that its dimensions were not sufficiently
wide, it was widened out for its whole length to the
Buenos Ayres shaft. This is proved by the numerous
steel-drilled boreholes, pointing towards the entrance.
Under great difficulties, on account of the bad air, the
first shaft (Buenos Ayres) located 500 meters from the
entrance to the tunnel, was reached, and work was then
proceeded with for a time and ^vith but little difficulty.
It had occupied almost ten years to proceed thus far ; and
records show that two years later, namely, 1874, the tun-
nel had reached a length of 800 meters (2,624 feet) .
For some reason unknown, the tunnel was not made in
a straight line in the first instance, probably on account
of searching for a vein which at the time the borers failed
to find, but which they discovered later in another direc-
tion. Although the tunnel was bored in an accurate
direction, there was a miscalculation in regard to the level
which, when the two ends came together, was found to
vary by some ten feet more or less. This was overcome
Ten Years' Prosperity 179
by lowering the floor of the part which was too high, the
gradient being only 1 in 120, or less than 1 per cent.
But work was again seriously interfered with by the
continuation of the bad air, and eventually a vertical
masonry wall had to be constructed in the tunnel to split
the air current and better ventilate the tunnel. This
proved successful.
It was on the 29th of July, 1876, that communication
was first established, and the tunnel then had a total
length of 1,300 meters (3,980 feet), of which 500 have
been completed during the last two years. Fourteen
years had elapsed since the work was commenced
in 1862. Enormous difficulties had been encountered
from the beginning and pluckily overcome. Great
patience and pertinacity had been evinced upon the part
of the management, and the shareholders had shown
great confidence in the ultimate success of the enterprise
by providing the necessary funds to carry on the work.
Every encouragement, however, was afforded by the ex-
cellent output from the San Cayetano mine, which
was being worked from the San Cayetano shaft.
While the tunnel was being constructed, and at a
distance of some 1,500 meters from the entrance, a shoot
of ore was encountered which, being pursued, led on to
the famous San Cayetano ore shoot, which resulted in
ten years' continuous output of valuable ore, aggregat-
ing some three-quarters of a million sterling, which was
distributed as dividends among the shareholders of the
United Mexican Mining Company, Ltd. This was in
the year 1881.
A large sum of money was then expended upon ma-
chinery, being paid for out of the huge profits from the
180 Mexico's Treasure-House
mine, and entirely apart from the amount distributed in
dividends. Among the machinery ordered was a mag-
nificent air compressor, which cost £18,000 dehvered at
the mine. This large piece of machinery is to-day at the
Cubo mine but is not being used, the two mines (San
Cayetano and Cubo) then belonging to the same com-
pany.
The elusive character of the ore shoots in Mexico, as
in most mining countries, is proved by the fact that the
ore shoot in the San Cayetano mine would have been
completely missed had the tunnel happened to be driven
at a level twenty feet higher than it was. This arose
frofti no special scientific knowledge possessed by the
engineers of that day, but from purely good fortune.
The o-reat value of the San Cavetano mine to-day
consists in the enormous extent of undeveloped veins, of
which there are six well defined, in addition to numerous
others located, distributed over the area owned by the
company, which exceeds 700 acres. These veins con-
tain ore of high grade.
It may be mentioned that while some <£l 0,000 might
be required to put the San Cayetano mine into a perfect
working condition, the mine is perfectly clean, abso-
lutely dry and in the best possible condition for exploi-
tation. All the mine buildings and 3^ard, as I can per-
sonally testify, are in admirable condition, some of the
most substantial and abiding work having been put in
by the former proprietors.
If I am asked for what reason the San Ca3'etano
mine has been worked so little by the present company
which owns it, and why it is desirous of selling it, my re-
ply would be two-fold : firstly, the San Cayetano is the
Necessary Developments 181
last remaining property belonging to the United Mex-
ican Mining Company, Limited, which has already dis-
posed of all its former holdings and the shareholders
of which are desirous of closing down their business
and distributing their assets; and secondly, the whole
of the profits having been somewhat imprudently and
improvidently divided up during the halcyon days, with
the result that no working capital was provided, there
is to-day insufficient funds in hand to carry on the fur-
ther development of the property. The fact must be
borne in mind that the mine is still being worked profit-
ably, but not nearly as profitably as would be the case
were the sj^stem of development more expansive and
more complete, which the introduction of abundant
capital would permit of.
Probably any further extension of this remarkable
tunnel would be unnecessary until some further devel-
opment in the mine itself had been carried out. It is
considered that as a commencement there should be a
drift run out under the Lourdes shoot from the Ano
Nuevo crosscut; 100 meters more or less ought to reach
the desired point, and encounter the extension down-
ward of the ore shoot which is now being mined by the
company near the surface. It would also be desirable
to prospect the Emma vein by sinking and drifting upon
it at some point not far removed from the northeast
end of the San Julian tunnel. The Emma vein is per-
haps the largest on the property, and is the one on
which the least work has been done. A small shaft was
sunk on it and a slight amount of mineral was produced ;
but these workings are now caved-in and very little is
known in regard to this vein beyond the fact that the
182 Mescico's Treasure-House
hill-side below the outcrop is almost covered with quartz,
proceeding from the decomposition of the vein.
The result of some recent sampling has shown that
there are large amounts of fillings of a milling grade in
the upper workings, known as San Antonio, running
very high in gold. Besides this, and of far greater im-
portance, is a large block of sohd ground containing
pay ore, which has been found above the tunnel and in
the Mexiamora ground. This ore extends upward as
shown by raise, and it is declared by those who did the
last work in the Mexiamora mine that the same character
and quality of ore exist in the lower workings of that
mine, proving a solid block of ground of fully 300 feet
in height and of an unknown length, which is very con-
veniently located for mining. This Mexiamora mine
produced as much as $11,000,000, but the bottom of the
mine is still considerably above the tunnel level. This
means a large amount of virgin ground between the bot-
tom of the mine and the tunnel level, to say nothing of
the possibilities of the ore shoot below the level.
It is now very difficult to obtain properties in Guana-
juato, since everything in the vicinity has been very
carefully denounced and carried to title with the excep-
tion of one strip lying along the northeast side of the
property, and following the general line of the Puerte-
cito River. This caused an inquiry into the reason for
the ground not having been denounced, and it was found
that it had been held for years by different parties, none
of wliom had ever done any work u])()n it by reason of its
proximity to the river, and at last had allowed it to
lapse, i.atterly, however, this last remaining claim
has been denounced under the name of La Blanca, and
I'l;it.- tl
'I'liK San Ca^ 1.1 AM) .Mini..
l'r<)|MTlv ui Liiittd McxiciM MiiiiiiiT ( •)., Limited.
The San Cayetano Production
183
now has been added to the San Cayetano holdings. This
is not alone a valuable mining claim, but as it extends
across the River San Cayetano it affords a fine dam site
and water rights for a mill for the property. One of the
best-known veins in the vicinity, the Pabellon, runs
through this ground from one end to the other, the sur-
face outcrop being just as pronounced as in the Pabellon
mine itself.
The following particulars relating to 13 years' pro-
duction from San Cayetano ore body may prove in-
teresting :
Aug.
9mos.
YEAR.
CARGAS.
RETURNS.
1882
1,348
$ 24,059.00
1883
19,768
298,691.96
1884
37,352
543,198.30
1885
40,592
537,251.13
1886
36,751
532,133.96
1887
65,704
632,634.29
1888
53,972
473,923.00
1889
357,119.00
1890
257,888.00
1891
172,729.50
1892
22,551
158,288.00
1893
6,957
84,626.00
1894
3,302
57,764.00
PER CARGA
(of 850 LBS.).
$17.84
15.11
14.54
13.23
14.48
$4,130,306.14 or, say, £413,030
ORE MINED FROM SAN CAYETANO.
Year 1884.
CARGAS. VALUE,
January 3,362 $37,788
February .... 2,817 30,798
March 2,797 29,661
April 2,650 50,026
May 3,902 73,172
June 3,134 51,776
CARGAS. VALUE.
July 3,991 %5S,92Q
August 2,445 37,582
September ... 2,580 46,101
October 3,655 46,281
November . . . 2,851 35,451
December . . . 3,143 50,361
37,327 $542,923
37,327 Cargas=:447,924 Arrobas=5151.1 metric tons.
542,923
5I5TI =$105.4 Mex. per ton.
184
Mexico's Treasure-Hou^e
PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENTS.
San Cavktano Mine.
Year 1884.
profit. loss.
January $ 12,518
February 13,170
March 66,764
April 16,839
May 52,808
June 168,559
July $11,698
August 21,746
September 127,979
October -6,108
November 17,945
December 110,119
$608,947 $17,806
Loss 17,806
Profit $591,141
THE PABELLON MINE.
The Pabellon mine has been one of the famous pro-
ducers of rich ore, the period of its greatest production
being about the fifties. It is stated that the fear of en-
countering water was the reason for the neglect of the
vein in tlie ground spoken of as being open to denounce-
ment. This fear may be entirely imaginary, however, as
the ground in the vicinity of the vein is very light and
solid, and may not permit the percolation of water; at all
events, even if all the water running in the little stream
were to find its way into the vein, a very small pump
would handle it effectively.
La Union y Constancia 185
LA UNION Y CONSTANCIA.
La Union y Constancia mine is located about six
kilometers from the City of Guanajuato, four kilome-
ters of which are over a wagon road and the remainder
over a trail, which can easily be made into a wagon road.
The property consists of the following claims:— La
Union, Fe de Constancia, and their Ampliaciones.
The length of the principal vein, the development of
which is contemplated, is 1,600 meters; the depth on the
dip of the vein is nearly 420 meters throughout the prop-
erty, thus forming an explorable area of 672,000 square
meters. The vein is the famous "Mother Lode of Guan-
ajuato," running through the district for about 17
kilometers, having a maximum width of 60 me-
ters strike N. 45 degrees W. with an inclination or dip
of 45 degrees W. from the horizontal. The rock on the
southern extension of the vein, where it is the strongest
and on which the La Union y Constancia is located,
consists of the hanging wall composed of diorite or
green rock, and the footwall a red conglomerate on the
surface, which in depth is the same diorite that is en-
countered in the hanging wall intermixed with car-
bonaceous slate (ampelita).
The vein filling is composed of seams of quartz, in its
different forms, frequently intermixed with calcite and
stringers of the same rock, that form the foot and hang-
ing walls, the stratum being generally parallel to the
dip of the vein. The principal minerals are argentif-
erous sulphides and native gold and silver; traces of
lead are few, and zinc has never been found. Along the
vein, where the body of the same can be measured 60
186 Mexico's Treasure-House
meters in width, the country rock is intermingled with
the vein, which sometimes divides it in three different
parts, which are called the vein of the hanging wall, the
centre, and the foot- wall veins ; but in the region of La
Union y Constancia, these divisions are not so well de-
fined. The three parts of the vein above mentioned
form one body of from 10 to 14 meters in wddth. The
reunion thus formed gives more probabilities for rich-
ness.
A great deal of exploration and exploitation work has
been done on this property, 's\dth various results. The
workings in Cata were deepened, explorations were
made in lower levels than those of the Sirena mine (be-
ing worked by the Guanajuato Consohdated Mining &
Mining Company), and the Cedro mine was deep-
ened to explore the present ore body in the Purisima
mine. Additionally there is a tunnel about 800 meters
in length, there being 800 meters yet to explore. Start-
ing from the entrance to the tunnel, various crosscuts
have been driven to cut the vein, encountering the same
12 meters in wddth in these crosscuts; 1.50 meters from
the face a vein was encountered 20 meters wide. A
short distance north of the last crosscut a rich ore body
was encountered, which is technically the continuance of
the ore body which originated at the entrance to the mine
(Boca Mina) on the top of the hill.
Aside from the Veta Madre passing through the
property in question. El Carmen vein and others of
less importance pass through this ground; El Carmen
vein, which derived its name from the mining property
situated about 500 meters west of La Union y Con-
stancia claim, was acquired by, and transferred to. The
A Proposed Tunnel 187
Guanajuato Consolidated Mining Company for the
sum of $400,000.00. The altitude of the La Union y
Constancia tunnel is 2,000 meters above sea level, which
altitude corresponds with the same levels in Valenciana,
Tepayac, Cata, Mellado, Rayas, Promontorio, Sirena
and Purisima del Cedro, where rich ore bodies were en-
countered, La Union y Constancia being the mine in
which the last rich ore body was found. Two workings
indicate where profit can be made at once, one of these
being the continuation of the tunnel and the other the
sinking of a shaft from the tunnel level.
It is estimated that to prosecute the work of the tun-
nel for the remaining 800 meters on the vein and to
reach the line, the cost per meter, including track and
extraction, also the necessary timbering, will amount to
$24,000.00; to this amount must be added the cost of
driving the necessary crosscuts every 40 meters, with an
average width of 15 meters each in length to ex-
plore the vein on the foot wall and hanging wall. This
estimate of $24,000.00 for driving the tunnel, crosscuts,
and other work to secure ventilation, could be reduced 30
per cent, by installing an air compressor and air drill
using electric power. Aside from the exploitation of the
mineral encountered in the tunnel level, one or more up-
raises can be made in places where there are indications
of mineralization, these explorations being valuable and
made easy in connection with the tunnel work.
The second work of interest that would have to be
performed is the sinking of an inclined shaft from the
tunnel level on the vein to a vertical depth of 220 me-
ters, and a total length on the vein of 300 meters on an
incline of 45 degrees, which is the inclination of the
188 Mexico's Treasure-House
vein. This inclined shaft has the advantage that it will
not leave the vein, the inclination being regular; which
has been proven in all the mines in the district. To in-
vestigate the richness of the tunnel in the lower levels,
a series of small crosscuts and small shafts should be
made; probably, three small crosscuts at a distance of
50 meters, vertical distance, or 70 meters on the vein,
and the small shafts in these crosscuts at a convenient
distance from the inchned shaft, to secure ventilation at
all times.
Considering the location of this property and espe-
cially the topographical position of the tunnel, com-
bined with the great advantages accruing from electrical
power being available, La Union y Constancia, if in
the hands of an enterprising and capable management,
should prove a valuable producer. Up till now, litiga-
tion has impeded any continuous development; but this
having been finallj^ settled, work will shortly be vigor-
ously resumed. This is the last remaining property on
the IMother Lode, south of Valenciana, which has not
been taken up by British or American capital, but it is
practically certain that before these lines are read La
Union y Constancia will have been disposed of to a pur-
chasing syndicate of either London or New York.
THE TAJO DE DOLORES.
The Tajo de Dolores mine is another property of
which the financial world is destined to hear a good deal
in the future. The Tajo vein occurs, and has been both
recognizx'd and exploited, at both sides of the Villalpan-
do Gulch (Canada de Villalpando) through two tunnels
The Tajo Vein 189
in opposite directions. The West Tunnel opens the La
Loca mine, and the East Tunnel the Tajo de Dolores
mine. The direction of the tunnels and vein is approxi-
mately east and west, with a dip of from 50 to 65 de-
grees to the south. Consequently, if the vein extends
sufficiently towards the east, it must intersect the main
Villalpando vein. Towards the west, at 200 meters
from the mouth of the La Loca tunnel, the course of the
vein comes to an end by splitting into various stringers.
The vein crosses near the surface the strata of green
sandstone, and in depth is enclosed in the argillaceous
schist, which comes in below the green sandstone in the
sides of the main Villalpando shaft, near the La Loca
mine itself and in the El CapuHn mine. This vein, in
the La Loca workings, has produced argentiferous ores,
with a predominating gangue material of compact
quartz, usually white, with enclosures of fragments of
wall-rock more or less siHcified. The main productive
minerals which have been encountered with greater con-
stancy are argentite, more or less seleniferous, in rich
stringers, in fine disseminations or impregnations; dark
ruby silver, or pyrargyrite in layers or crystalline
bunches; and compact polybasite, or disseminated in
company with chalcopyrite. Pyrite in small quantity
also occurs.
In the Tajo de Dolores mine, the most important de-
velopment is on the crossings of the Tajo vein with the
cross veins of San Francisco and El Baul, with a strike
of from 65 to 70 degrees west and a dip of 65 to 80 de-
grees toward the southeast. In this region, besides
the occurrence of argentiferous pay ores, the gold assay
of the ores increases, as is the case in the whole Villa 1-
190 Mexico's Treasure-IIonse
pando region at the intersection of the main with the
cross veins.
The Tajo vein itself shows the same composition as
in the La Loca mine, with an abundance of compact
quartz as the principal matrix. But the veins of the
San Francisco and El Baul, at the junction, show red
or oxidized ores with a matrix of more or less porous
quartz and ferruginous clay pockets. Some small
bunches of ore reached an assay value of 1,000 ounces
of silver and 20 ounces of gold per ton (of 2,000 lbs.).
The Tajo de Dolores property covers a portion of
what is known as the "Sierra System" of veins, on which
are located also the Santa Rosa, San Nicholas, Pere-
grina and Cubo groups of mines. The Cubo Venture
properties are situated to the north and west; the Ro-
mana (owned by the Governor of Guanajuato, Seiior
Don Joaquin Obregon Gonzalez and the Jefe Politico,
Cecilio Estrada), to the southeast; to the southwest
are several properties owned by various other individ-
uals. These mines have lately been brought into prom-
inence by the revival of work in the old mines of the
Guanajuato District, and particularly, through the
operations of the new Peregrina ISIining and ^Milling
Co. and the Cubo Venture, of which latter, Mr. Thomas
H. Legget, the well-known South African mining en-
gineer, is the principal party interested. The Cubo
Venture joins the Tajo de Dolores on the northwest,
and is worked to a depth of 700 feet below the lowest
workings of the Tajo, and on the same vein. On the
other side, southeast of the property, the veins continue
into the Romano, which has also produced large quanti-
An Interesting History 191
ties of ore, and has been worked down to the same depth
as the Tajo.
The Dolores vein occupied a fault plane between
the rhyolitic tuff on the hanging wall and the massive
rhyolite on the foot wall. The San Joaquin vein is a
fissure in the latter formation, which is a characteristic of
the foot wall of the Sierra system of veins. The mine
is in the Municipality of Villalpando, in the Guana-
juato Mining District, at an altitude of about 7,500
feet above sea level, and is connected with the City of
Guanajuato by a good wagon road six miles in length.
The property consists of 29.97 pertenencias, equal to
about 73 acres. The Tajo has an interesting history.
The mine was worked intermittently by the Spaniards
up to the time of the Mexican War of Independence, the
troubles of which caused its abandonment. Modern
systematic work was undertaken by Eusebio Gonzales
about 30 years ago, since which time three shafts have
been sunk and all the work below the tunnel level car-
ried out. There are no known existing records of the
production of the mine prior to the time of Gonzales, but
to judge by the extent of the old stopes and the value of
the fillings, several million dollars' worth of ore must
have been produced from the workings above the tun-
nel level. During the ownership of the Gonzales family,
the mine produced steadily right up to the final shut-
dovm in 1902. All the records are still in the possession
of the Gonzales family, who live in Celaya.
The Tajo has been a famous producer of rich ore,
however, and the reason for shutting it down was the
fact that the water got to be more than could be handled
with the small pump with which the mine was provided;
192 Mexico's Treasure-House
consequently the lower levels were abandoned in 1902,
and the water was allowed to rise. The mine, neverthe-
less, has given employment to numerous small gangs of
lessees, who have been working in the upper part and re-
turning a net royalty of $300.00 to <$500.00 (£30 to
£50) every week since the machinery stopped work.
From the information that one is able to obtain, the
mine never seems to have had so good a showing of ore
as at the time it was shut down. When the work in the
bottom was stopped, the management were underhand-
stoping a streak more than 10 inches wide, which aver-
aged $1,300.00, Mexican Cy. (£130), per ton. This
rich streak ^vas part of a vein seven feet wide, the rest of
which ran $38.00 (£3/16) per ton. The mines of El
Tajo and Peregrina were formerly owned by the Gon-
zales family.
An engineer who examined the Tajo in 1902, at a
time when the w^ater was entirely out of it, states that,
in the lower level and in the San Joaquin vein, for a
distance of over 100 meters, there was a rich sulphide
streak, about a foot in width, running the entire distance
without a break, and which would average 40 kgms. sil-
ver per ton without sorting, and that, alongside of this
rich streak, there was an additional width of vein of two
or three meters, which would average nearly a kilogram
of silver per ton.
The two principal veins running through the prop-
erty are those of Dolores and San Joaquin. The
vein of Dolores extends 1.6.50 feet through the prop-
erty with a dip of 60 degrees to the southwest. The
San Joaquin vein runs north 70 degrees east, dipping
southeast 70 degrees. The veins intersect each other
Interior of Mine 193
near the center of the property, and this intersection was
the condition which decided the formation of the large
and rich bodies of ore for which the mine has been
famous. Several smaller veins intersect these principal
veins at different points. An enormous stope exists
above the San Eusebio level; below this level, the stope
narrows up, but just at the water level it expands
lengthwise of the vein, and an old plan and some other
information show the productive portion of the San
Joaquin vein to be much more extensive in the bottom of
the mine than at any point above. The San Eusebio
shaft, the deepest in the mine, is located on this vein;
it is an interior shaft, the collar of which is at the tunnel
level. This shaft serves the double purpose of extrac-
tion of ore from the workings of the San Joaquin vein
and the drainage of the entire mine ; the shaft section is
two meters by five. The hoisting engines, as well as
those for pumping, together with the boilers, were lo-
cated in the interior of the mine at the collar of the shaft.
This arrangement was found to be extremely disadvan-
tageous to the workings of the mine, the smoke escaping
through the stopes overhead, rendering that part of the
mine absolutely inaccessible, besides which, the consump-
tion of so much fuel in the interior of the mine raised the
temperature throughout to a pitch that was most uncom-
fortable. This shaft is still in very good condition, with
the exception of a short distance near the collar, where
the shaft passes through the vein and the soft condition
of the ground has necessitated some timbering. Below
the level of San Nicholas, the shaft enters the footwall,
which is very hard rock, the lower part of the shaft,
consequently, being quite firm.
194 Mexico's Treasure-House
Whatever pumping machinery may be needed for the
mine will have to be set up in this shaft, as it is the deep-
est on the property, the water naturally draining to this
point. These w^orkings of the San Eusebio vein being
the richest part of the mine, it would probably be found
advisable to use this shaft also for hoisting, especially in
view of the fact that communication exists between the
San Eusebio shaft and the workings on the Dolores
vein through the level of del Carmen.
At the workings on the Dolores vein another immense
stope exists above the tunnel level. This narrows, going
downward in very much the same w^ay as the shoot on the
San Joaquin vein, and sufficient work has not yet been
done to prove whether it opens up again with depth. The
deepest workings, however, show good values in the
stopes below^ the Providencia level, and in another stope
close to the Dolores shaft.
There are tw^o vertical shafts located on the Dolores
vein ; the Dolores shaft is sunk directly in the gulch, and
passes through the vein into the footwall at the level of
the Frente Jesus, the workings below this point being
connected with the shaft by crosscuts. The condition
of the Dolores shaft is excellent for hoisting, having a
section of three meters square, which is sufficient capac-
ity for a double bucket way.
The Purisima shaft is of round section, about two me-
ters in diameter, and could only be used for a single-
drum hoist. This shaft is said to be onlj^ about 20 meters
below the level of the water. The drifts along both
veins, contrary to the usual Mexican fashion, are run on
level, and some of them provided with cars and track.
As far as can be judged by the condition of the work-
Ore Assets 195
ings above the water level, the mine should be in con-
dition for immediate production as soon as the water
is pumped out of it. The permanent water level is de-
termined by the Cubo tunnel, at which level the water
no'.v stands throughout the Tajo workings; this point
is about 200 feet below the tunnel level. The lower
30 feet of the workings are under water.
The principal assets of ore are contained in the veins
of San Joaquin and Dolores, consisting of low-grade
portions of the veins, the fillings of the old stopes and
the several dumps on the properties, which would not
pay to work under former conditions of transportation
and treatment, but which, under cyanide treatment,
adopted at present for the low-grade ores of the Guana-
juato District, would yield good profits. The larger
bodies of available milling ore, above the level, which
have been measured up and computed, are as follows :
In block "A," on the Dolores vein, between the large
stope and the water level, there are pieces of solid
ground that measure up 20,000 cu. meters, containing
45,000 tons of ore with an average value of $7.00 per
ton; total value contained in this block $315,000.
Block "B," a triangular block above the tunnel level,
on the San Joaquin vein, measures about 7,000 tons with
an average of $7-00 per ton; total value, $49,000.00.
Block "C," the large stopes on the San Joaquin vein
with the pillars and fillings they contain, wherever ac-
cessible, show values of about $9.00 per ton; roughly,
calculated this stope contains 20,000 tons with a value
of $8.00 per ton; total value, $160,000.00. Block "D,"
about 25,000 tons of dump rock, contained in four dif-
ferent dumps, with a value of $168,000.00.
196 Mexico's Treasure-House
These give together a total as follows :
BLOCK "A," 45,000 tons $315,000.00
BLOCK "B," 7,000 tons 49,000.00
BLOCK "C," 20,000 tons 160,000.00
BLOCK "D," 25,000 tons 168,000.00
$692,000.00
The expense of mining and getting this material to
the proposed mill ought to be easily covered as follows :
52,000 tons solid rock at 90c. per ton. . $46,800.00
20,000 tons fillings at 50c. per ton 10,000.00
25,000 tons dump rock at 25c. per ton. . 6,250.00
97,000 tons milling at $1.60 per ton 155.200.00
$218,250.00
Net return, U. S. Cy 473,750.00
I append a table showing the officially certified annual
production of the Tajo de Dolores Mine for years 1882-
1884 and 1887-1903, inclusive:
1882 1,506.118 0.763.. 4.0 $55,966-72 $7,831.20 $63,797-92
1883 2,406.848 0.905.. 4.0 87,127-88 12,505.10 99,632-98
1884 2,876-419 1.196.-4.0 187,607-88 14,956-50 152,564.88
1887 1,447-760 0-860. .4.0 49,802.92 7,528.30 57,331.22
1888 1,628.605 0.997.. 3.0 64,948.76 6,350.50 71,299-26
1889 1,136.966 0.767.. 3.0 32,884.88 4,433.00 37,317-88
1890 597-965 1.125.. 4.0 26,908.40 3,108.30 30,016.70
1891 867-674 0.848.. 4.0 29,431.48 4,511.00 33,242.48
1892 1,208.131 0.836. .3.0 40,399-88 4,711-00 45,111-08
1893 1,349.813 1-599-.5-0 86,334.00 8,773.70 95,107-70
1894 1,305.744 1.869-. 6.0 97,617-40 10,184.20 107,801.60
1895 1,723.550 1.277- .4.5 84,038.92 10,081.50 94,120.42
1896 3,815.374 1.006. .3.5 153,530.64 17,358.90 170,889-54
1897 3,427.144 0.971. .3.0 137,110.24 11,365.30 148,475.54
1898 6,126.925 1.111. .4.0 272,280.52 31,859-10 304,139.62
1899 4,397.558 1.029.. 3. 5 181,003.52 20,008.30 201,011.88
1900 3,549,708 1.173.. 4.0 166,552.20 18,457.40 185,009.60
1901 3,352.087 0.284. .3.0 131,938.12 13,072.80 145,010.92
1902 3,311.551 1.003.. 4.0 132,859.40 17,219.80 150,079-20
1903 1,226,887 1-446- -3.5 70,963.12 5.582.20 76,545.32
47,269-825 2,039,306.94 229,898.30 2,269,205.24
o
The Refugio Mine 197
It is necessary to add that the values of the preceding
productions are based on silver at $40 per kilogram and
gold at $1.30 per gram (Mexican Cy.).
THE REFUGIO.
The Refugio group of mines, situated on the famous
La Luz vein comprises six different properties, at one
time held by as many different proprietors. To-day they
are comprised under one management, namely, the La
Luz Mines Co. The total area of ground covered is a
very considerable one and a very large amount of devel-
opment work has been carried out. These mines have
been worked for over a hundred years, the first Guana-
juato mineral discoveries having been made on the La
Luz vein. The Santa Clara, the San Vicente and the
Refugio are new consolidated, and known as the Refu-
gio; the three shafts have been sunk to a depth of 800,
750 and 1,000 feet respectively. These shafts are all
connected with levels. The average value of the ores is
$12 (say £2/8) per ton, and the mine has a prob-
able value of several hundred thousand dollars from ores
in sight and on the dumps, as well as fillings. The char-
acter of the rock is quartz with sulphides of silver and
gold, and is very easily treated, being typical cj^anide
ore. The same class of mill fully decribed by me in con-
nection with the Peregrina mine would be admirably
adapted for treating the Refugio ores. In fact this por-
tion of the camp resembles very closely the ground occu-
pied by the Peregrina, carrying a large proportion of
free milling gold. It may be added that these three
mines have in their day produced something like $50,-
198 Mexico's Treasure-House
000,000, at a time when silver ranked with gold in
vahie. Under the new methods of treatment available,
and with the spirited management now being displayed
in the camp generally, it is certain that this group will
again prove of great producing value, and take their
position in the front rank of successful companies in the
Guanajuato district. This much may be said, that the
vein has been proven to exist and in good ore at a depth
of 800 feet lower than the present workings, namely,
1,000 feet in Refugio.
THE BOLANITOS.
The Bolanitos group of mines, the present property
of Sefior Jesus Andrade, is likely at no distant date to
become the property of an English corporation, negotia-
tions at the moment proceeding for their acquisition, but
not being actually concluded at the time of this volume
going to press.
Like most, if not all, Guanajuato mines in the I>a liUz
district, these mines are celebrated and have had a
history of their own. This history brought down to pres-
ent times is somewhat litigious in character, the outcome
it would seem of too much money having been made and
feelings of envy and jealousy having been excited. At
least this is according to one of the versions in circula-
tion, but naturally there are others. There seems to be
no doubt that the returns secured over a period of five
years amounted to $7,000,000 Mex. (say £700,000).
The Bolanitos group comprises the following mines:
The Bolanitos Mine 199
La Soledad del Abasta Los Angeles,
Viejo, Santa Rita (Bolanitos),
La Parfia, Santa Gertrudis,
La Restauradora, San Evodio,
La Esperanza, Santa Elena,
La Caridad, La Perla,
La Soledad de las Car- Los Reyes,
reras, Thesalia,
El Cuevo, La Cruz, El Golconda, El Carmen,
Peru, Ophir.
La Voluntad de Dios,
These properties have a total superficial area of about
323.27 pertenencias, say about 800 acres, a perfect net-
work of veins permeating- them. There is no question
that there exists great widths of low-grade gold ore above
the water level, the former working having been such as
to leave a good deal of ore in the mine. Above the water
level there are also pillars and fillings. The mine is at
present 500 feet under water; it has been worked only
to a depth of 700 feet, but the bottom has been left per-
fectly good. Another important portion of the property
is found in the Restauradora Tunnel, where, besides a
net work of gold-bearing veins, there are three dipping
east and one dipping west, which have given values of
from 30 grams of gold up to 7 kilos of gold per ton, and
which would form the basis of an extremely good mill-
ing proposition in themselves. There are five vertical
shafts, five tunnels and several inclines upon which are
installed five English steam hoists of from 10 to 25
horse-power, two crushers and dynamos for 100 lights,
extensive houses and offices and tools of many kinds.
200 Mexico's Treasure-House
THE CUBO MINES.
The Cubo group of mines is of considerable impor-
tance and extent, and has a substantial record of pro-
duction to its credit. It is one of the oldest properties
worked at Guanajuato, and the books of the various
mines composing the group form some interesting read-
ing to the antiquarian and geologist, to say nothing of
the man who would know something of what mining
cost and yielded in the olden days. The ground contains
some extremely rich veins, the principal mine (the Cubo
Venture) having been worked down to a depth of 2,000
feet. This property is on the Sierra vein system, and
has a modern mill of some 15 stamps and a cyanide
plant. It is understood that the Cubo property will
shortly change hands, as it is under offer to some New
York capitalists at present.
Several important experiments have been tried upon
the Cubo mine, such as the first cyaniding by the well-
known MacArthur-Forest process, and although this did
not turn out to be a success at first, it soon afterwards
did so, and was finally adopted generally on the Guana-
juato mines. The Cubo, like so many other properties,
formerly belonged to the United Mexican Mining
Company, Limited, and has all the makings of a sound
and profitable enterprise under competent management.
Chapter XIV.
The Guanajuato Power and Electric Company. — What the Mines
Owe to Electrical Energy. — Capitalists' Support. — The Area
of Distribution. — Pipe-lines 3,300 Feet Long, — Generating
Station. — The Turbine Wheel versus Impulse Wheel. — Power
House. — Generating Station. — Transmission Line. — Irapuato
Substation. — Guanajuato Substation. — Electrical Equipment. —
A Growing Demand for Power.
IN considering the conditions that have produced
a new era in mining methods in Guanajuato, it
is essential to give due credit to the introduction
of electric power in abundant quantities; in fact, the
introduction of electrical power may be considered as
having caused, to a greater extent than any other factor,
the present era of prosperity.
Some four years ago, when the question of bringing
power into Guanajuato was first considered, there were
but sixty stamps operating in the district ; to-day, mills
are in operation, or in process of construction, with a
total of 580 stamps, and many more large mills are in
contemplation. The promoters of the Guanajuato
Power and Electric Co. had evidently great faith in the
future of Guanajuato; but before it was decided to
build the power plant, a careful study was made of the
conditions prevailing in the camp, and it was believed
that even the old dumps of most of the mines could be
milled and made to pay a fair return on the investment.
However, it was impossible to tell to what extent ore
would be found below the old workings, but it seemed
Page 201
202 Mexico's Treasure-House
reasonable to suppose that a camp which had given such
great returns for three centuries under the old methods
of mining and milling would, when new methods were
adopted, again become a great producer. The first requi-
site in the introduction of modern mining methods
was, however, cheap and reliable power; and after the
conditions were thoroughly understood, capitalists were
induced to subscribe the necessary money to build a
power plant for Guanajuato, in the belief that other
capitalists would take over the principal mines and make
them great producers.
It was decided to bring power to Guanajuato before
a water power was found, and it was fortunate that the
man who first conceived the idea of bringing that power
to Guanajuato was one conversant with the best electri-
cal transmission practice, otherwise its consummation
might have been delayed for many years, for no suitable
water power was found within 100 miles of Guanajuato,
a distance which to most engineers would have seemed
wholly impracticable under the conditions then existing.
The Guanajuato Power & Electric Co. has a water
power upon the Duero River, near the City of Zamora,
and transmits power 101 miles on a steel tower transmis-
sion line into the City of Guanajuato. It also has a sub-
station at the town of Irapuato, controlling a secondary
distribution system which is operated at 15,000 volts. In
Guanajuato the distributing sj^stem is at the potential
of 15,000 volts, and power is carried at this pressure as
far as the town of I. eon, lying some 30 miles northwest
of Guanajuato. Besides this, there is a distributing
system of 15,000 volts starting west from the gener-
ating station, feeding a district along the shores of I^ake
The Hydraulic Work 203
Chapala as far as the town of Ocotlan, 40 miles distant
from the generating station. The company is distribut-
ing power, at the present time, over 103 miles of steel-
tower transmission lines, at a potential of 60,000 volts,
and over 100 miles of pole-lines at the potential of
15,000 volts. It also has in contemplation the erection
of additional lines to reach other important cities and
mining districts. With the exception of some unim-
portant branch lines, in connection with which it was
questionable whether the use of power would be contin-
uous and would therefore warrant the best construction,
all the distributing lines of the Power Company were
made in the most thorough and substantial manner.
The company operates under a concession granted by
the Federal Government of Mexico, giving it the right
to use 8 cubic meters, or 283 cubic feet, of water per
second from the Duero River, near the City of Zamora,
as already mentioned. By the construction of four
miles of canal, a fall of 100 meters, or approximately
330 feet, is secured. The canal is for the most part dug
out of volcanic rock, and the head-gate, penstock, aque-
ducts, etc., are constructed of heavy masonry. A novel
feature in the hydraulic work is a terminal reservoir,
which was constructed at a considerable cost to get a
sufficient amount of storage for regulating the fluctua-
tions in the power load during diiFerent periods of the
day.
Water is taken from the penstock to the power-house
by means of two pipe-lines 3,300 feet long, varying in
diameter from 57 to 69 inches. A pipe-line was con-
structed when the plant was first put in, and was made
throughout of steel varying from 5/16 to % of an inch
204 Meaico's Treasure-House
in thickness, dependinf? upon the amount of the water
pressure. At the present time the second pipe-line is
being erected, but in this wooden stave-pipe will be used
for the first 1,500 feet, or up to a head of approximately
150 feet; from that point down to the power-house
steel-pipe will be used, in conformity with the first pipe-
line, but of somewhat different design. This new steel-
pipe is lap- welded, so there ^^ill be rivets only at the
junction of two pipes, and the ends are made "male"
and "female" so that the lower end of one pipe fits ac-
curately inside of the upper end of the one following.
Large gate-valves have been put in each pipe-line just
before they enter the power-house, and there is also a
crossover between the two pipe-lines containing a gate-
valve, so that it is possible to run all the units from either
of the two pipe-lines.
The generating station was designed for 4 generating
units of 1,500 Kw., direct connected to Pelton water-
wheels at 200 R. P. ]M. and the installation first comple-
ted consisted of two of these units. At the present time,
however, a 3,000 Kw. unit is being installed, driven
from a turbine water-wheel built in accordance with the
Escher- Weiss patents. The first generating units in-
stalled were designed vAih but two bearings, two Pelton
water-wheels being overhung from the ends of the gen-
erating shafts, instead of being built with separate bear-
ings and frames and connected by means of couplings.
The Pelton water-wheels are equipped with deflecting
hoods and needle nozzles. The deflecting hoods are
operated by I^ombard governors, and the needle nozzles
by hand. The speed regulation is therefore obtained
by varying the positions of the deflecting hoods, and
Turbine Generating Equipment 205
hand regulation from the needle nozzles is only resorted
to in order to increase or decrease the size of the stream.
At the time that the generating plant was designed,
it was generally conceded that turbine water-wheels
would not give satisfaction when operated under a
pressure of 140 pounds per square inch; but since that
time there has been great advancement in the design
of turbine water-wheels, and as there are distinct advan-
tages in the turbine wheel over the impulse wheel, it was
decided to change the original plan and to put in a tur-
bine generating equipment of the capacity of the two
present generating units.
The power-house is 200 feet long and 32 feet wide,
built of solid masonry and with a steel roof. At one end
are located the high tension transformers, and through
the main body of the house are the various generating
units, with their water-wheel governors and various
valves. Two cranes of 10 tons each run the entire length
of the building, so as to facilitate the making of repairs.
The switchboard is directly in front of the generating
room, in a small extension of the building, and the oper-
ator at the switchboard is, therefore, situated where he
can observe the operation of all the machinery. A rather
curious feature in connection with the power-house is the
level of the floor, which is considerably lower than the
level of the outside ground, a tailrace 500 feet long and
approximately 20 feet deep being excavated to carry
away the water discharged. It is, therefore, exceedingly
difficult to publish any picture of the power-house which
would give readers any idea of its true proportions, as
I should have liked to have done.
The generating units are three-phase, 7,200 alterna-
206 Mexico's Treasure-House
tions of 2,300 volts. The machines running from the Pel-
ton water-wheels operate at 200 revolutions, and those to
be driven from the turbine at 514 revolutions. A switch-
board of blue Vermont marble is used for controlling
the generating units and the feeders to the step-up
transformers, and no switching is done upon the 60,000
volt lines when carrying power. The generating sta-
tion has now been running some two and one-half years
and no difficulty whatever has developed in the operation
of the machinery and transformers.
The transmission line between the generating station
and Guanajuato is constructed on steel towers made by
the Aeromotor Co. of Chicago, placed 440 feet apart,
supporting three copper cables of a carrying capacity
equal to No. 1 Bro^vn & Sharp solid conductor. The
insulators were built by the Locke Manufacturing Co.,
and were considered the best on the market at the time
that the transmission line was designed. This line was
the first which was ever built with steel towers and long
spans, and was undoubtedly a great advancement in
transmission line construction. This same construction
will be used for other high potential transmission lines
now in contemplation by the Guanajuato Power and
Electric Company. The transmission line has very few
horizontal angles, and there are stretches as long as 25
miles with practically no horizontal or vertical angles.
The Irapuato substation is equipped with 600 kilo-
watts transformer capacity, and it is expected that this
will be increased to 2,000 kilowatts within a short time, in
order to supply power for the City of Celaya and other
districts which will be fed from a 50 mile 33,000 volt
distributing line, to be erected upon iron poles. Around
Electrical Equipment 207
the town of Irapuato, power is supplied for agriculture
and manufacturing purposes. A good portion of the
power is used for pumping water from wells for the ir-
rigation of strawberries, the growing of which is an in-
dustry for which Irapuato is justly famous.
In Guanajuato the company owns some extremely
attractive grounds situated at the upper end of the
city, where the substation and residence buildings are
also located. The substation contains besides the elec-
trical equipment, a shop and testing room, as well as the
main Mexican offices of the company.
The electrical equipment consists of eight 970 kilo-
watt transformers, reducing the pressure from 60,000 to
15,000 volts, together with the necessary switchboards
and switching devices, and everything is built in the
most thorough and substantial manner. From the sub-
station, eight distributing circuits are carried out upon
five different pole-lines for supplying power to the var-
ious sections of the mining camp and the town of Leon.
In all, there are some 60 miles of 15,000 volt-distributing
circuits fed from the Guanajuato substation, and other
lines of importance are projected for supplying addi-
tional new districts. Transformer houses are located at
the various mines for reducing the voltage from 15,000
to 460, the potential generally used by the mining com-
panies. The distributing lines, as first constructed, were
erected upon wooden poles ; but these are now to be re-
placed by iron poles, where the load has become impor-
tant, and in time the whole system will be changed from
wooden to iron construction.
The Guanajuato Power and Electric Co.'s power-load
has developed from below 1,000 horse-power to more
208 Mexico's Treasure-House
than 4,000 horse-power, and the contracts now in sight
will still further increase the demand for power. In view
of the probability that the water-power already devel-
oped will prove inadequate for the future needs of Gua-
najuato and other places, the company is taking steps
to develop other water powers in the near future. It is
also making various improvements in its distributing
circuits and transmission lines so as to meet all future
needs of its customers and guarantee to them the best of
service.
The effect upon the Guanajuato mining camp of the
building of such an important power plant cannot be
overestimated, for the company has reduced by at least
one-half the cost of power, at the same time furnishing
power to its customers, and moreover power that can be
readily applied in many cases where the direct applica-
tion for steam power would be impossible. The credit
for such an important enterprise is due principally to
Messrs. Hine and Curtis, who originally conceived and
promoted the enterprise, and scarcely any less to Mr. G.
W. McElhiney, of Guanajuato, who co-operated with
them and conducted the Mexican end of the promo-
tion. Credit should also be given to the strong body
of capitalists who pluckily came forward with a million
dollars (£200,000) for the purposes of the construction
of the power plant.
The preliminary engineering and reports upon the
water power and power field were made by jNIessrs. Rob-
ert ISIcF. Doble, of San Francisco; Mr. H. H. Filley, of
Kansas City, and ]Mr. Chas. T. Main, of Boston. Mr.
Doble acted as consulting engineer, and INIr. Filley as
chief engineer during construction. Mr. Filley took
"^ ^
The Companies and the Power 209
direct charge of the construction of the hydraulic work
and generating station, and Mr. Norman Rowe had
charge of the construction in the Guanajuato Camp, and
is now General Superintendent in charge of operation
and the commercial business in Mexico.
It is stated that the path of the Guanajuato Power
and Electric Company was not always as smooth and as
prosperous as is the case to-day. It was extremely diffi-
cult to convince some of the companies working that
electric power was possible, or, being possible, that it
could be apphed economically and reliably to the mines'
machinery. One far-seeing individual, a native, went
so far as to ostentatiously order and erect a new steam-
hoist at the very time that the electric companies'
cables were being brought into Guanajuato. That fool-
ish and misguided man has Hved to repent his temerity,
and has now learned that "ignorance never settles a
question." To-day that steam-hoist is for sale as old-
iron!
But, although eventually nearly all the mining com-
panies and private owners signed contracts for the new
motive power, only one out of the whole lot was actually
ready to connect up when it arrived. The electric cur-
rent was waiting for nearly a twelvemonth to turn the
machinery, some of which was still on the road.
But things are very different to-day, and there is no
better supplied nor any better-hghted town than that of
Guanajuato, which scintillates at dark, and, from a
height, looks like a beautiful golden glowworm twink-
ling and sparkling in the soft darkness of the night.
Disappointing as they may have found their reform ef-
forts at first, the plucky pioneers and sponsors of the
210 Mexico's Treasure-House
Guanajuato Power and Electric Company can point
with pride and satisfaction to the latter-day prosperity
'v\ith which they have met. But cause for congratula-
tion rests with the mining companies especially, since
their former failures have been turned to successes and
their disappointments to brilliant realizations.
Chapter XV.
British Capital in Guanajuato Mines and Mexico Generally. — Two
Great Concerns^ one Dead and the other Dying. — Some Defec-
tive Management of By-gone Times. — Ward's Criticisms of
Companies in his Days. — The Anglo-Mexican Company and
The United Mexican Company. — Some Historic Mines and
What has Become of Them. — Extravagant Management but
Huge Profits. — The Question of Titles. — Mines Selection
Company of Mexico.
FROM a Britisher's point of view it is somewhat
mortifying to read of the former importance
which British enterprises possessed in Mexico,
especially with regard to mining, compared with their
position to-day. Whereas probably the sum of £80,000,-
000 would represent the whole of the capital invested in
this country by Great Britain at this time, as far back
as 1827, and even earlier, mining alone undertaken by
wBritish investors exceeded in value .£5,000,000. Con-
"sidering the almost overwhelming difficulties which en-
terprises of this character had to encounter in those
days, when there were no railways or decent wagon
roads by which machinery could be transported to the
mines, and when every pound of such material had to be
carried on mule-back, it is surprising to find that the in-
dustry advanced as far as it did.
The two greatest British concerns had their offices in
Guanajuato, — the Anglo-Mexican Company and the
United Mexican Company.
No doubt in those days money was lost almost as
rapidly as it was invested, owing to the ignorance which
Page 211
212 Mexico's Treasure-House
prevailed in regard to the mining conditions of the
country, and the incompetent persons who were sent out
to take charge of the mines. History repeats itself in
no particular more remarkably than that of mining, and
what happened in JNIexico in those early daj^s has been
experienced in South Africa, New Zealand and West-
ern Australia since. Not only were men who knew ab-
solutely nothing about mining sent out to take charge
(being probabh^ relatives of some of the Directors who
had to be found jobs somewhere and somehow), but
gross exaggeration was indulged in as to the real value
of the mines themselves. A very different condition of
things exists to-day both in regard to management, di-
rect representation and accurate reports upon the values
of properties, and all immensely for the better.
Although I say it with regret, and am in no way
lacking in respect for the individual in question, there
can be no doubt at all that Baron von Humboldt was
(perhaps unwittingly) responsible for most of the false
impressions which were created in Europe as to the
INIexican mines and their working. No allowances were
made for the serious drawbacks to which I refer, in-
cluding the difficulty of transportation, the lack of ef-
ficient native labor and the general disturbance of the
country. So ignorant were those who invested their
money in mining in Mexico in the early days that they
actually believed that everything existed to hand except
water, and that this was to be obtained by the latest kind
of British mining machinery! But Von Humboldt's re-
clame had its effect, a stream of immigrants from all
parts of Europe arriving, especially from England, —
Cornwall being drained of half its population, — men
Ward's Strong Criticism 213
who were miners and men who were not and never would
be "miners" — proceeding to the new El Dorado, only,
of course, to be disappointed and disillusionized when
they got there.
Ward, in his work on Mexico, states that in the year
1825, the Anglo-JMexican Company alone "expended
nearly £30,000 in salaries to men, most of whom were
shortly afterwards dismissed," and fully £100,000 in
machinery, including duties and carriage from the
coast, "not one-twentieth part of which was ever made
use of." This same authority apparently encountered
in his day a very similar class of men to those whom I
and others have met with at several mining centers
abroad, and notably in our own colonies, for he says : —
"English of the lower orders appear to undergo a change
when they leave their own country, which renders them
the most inefficient of human beings, — indolence, obsti-
nacy and insolence take but too soon the place of those
qualities by which our working classes are distinguished
at home, and as their prejudices are not less strong than
those which they have encountered on the part of the na-
tives, the result in all cases, where mutual assistance is re-
quired, cannot be favorable."
Proceeding, he declares that " the rage for taking up
mining contracts was such in 1825 that many adven-
turers who presented themselves in London for that pur-
pose disposed of mines, the value of which was, to say
the least, very questionable, to companies who bought
them without making any inquiries"; large sums of
money were paid down "for mere pits, which, upon in-
vestigation, it was found impossible to work."
With such an example before us to-day, it should be
214 Mexico's Treasure-House
a comparatively easy matter to avoid making any similar
mistakes in future, nor, indeed, is it at all probable that
future in^'esto^s in IMexican mines will go far wrong in
their selection provided that they will avail themselves of
the abundant opportunities that exist for making proper
inquiries from responsible people on the spot.
Among the oldest mining companies formerly work-
ing in iNIexico and having large holdings in Guanajuato,
were the said Anglo- JNIexican Company and United
Mexican Company. Both were heavily capitalized, the
former having £1,000,000 and the latter £1,200,000.
The Anglo-JNlexican Company had holdings in Guana-
juato, Mexico, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi and other
States; while the United Mexican Company possessed
huge interests in the States of Guanajuato, Guadala-
jara, Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Oaxaca and Mexico.
In Guanajuato the Anglo-Mexican Company owned
or leased the following mines: The Valenciana, The
ISIellado, The Tepayac, The Sirena, The Villalpando,
and several mines on the Veta Madre and smaller veins.
Of all these properties none remain to-day in the pos-
session of the company, which, however, is still living —
but is almost defunct ; and in fact it will probably go out
of business entirely as soon as one remaining mine, the
San Caj^etano, of which it still holds possession, is dis-
posed of.
The United ISIexican Company leased the Rayas mine
from the IVIarquis de Rayas, whose ancestor had been
ennobled on account of the generous donations which he
made from his mine to the King of Spain and to the
Roman Catholic Church. The Rayas is credited with
having been the first silver mine discovered in the Guan-
Tlil". (ir.WA.n Al () PoWl.li AM) I'J.I.C IKIC Co.
Interior of" siil)-st.itit>
QO-D PRODUCTION /goi-os
igoc-i^oi
igoi-i(j02
i(j02-iqoi
igos-igO'}
g.S2J.6'J2
g_g52.6]6
joo6b,soo
^ i TCOl /vo
l.gs6s3S
2 0/3.30/
788 S set
2 S 82.686
26goo/3
...3S .
^.JO .
Scv «S
mss.iz?.
■TO
i
t-i-4
i
45
25 ,
ZQ
IS .
10 .
X ^ _
I'l.it.- 17.
Safety of Mining Titles 223
are exceedingly simple, titles are usually perfectly well
secured, and the Government has done more, perhaps, to
render the mining laws fair, just, and reliable, than that
of any other country with which I am acquainted. It is
but natural that in a foreign country disputes should oc-
casionally arise, but such cases, however, are singularly
few in Mexico, and they certainly receive a fair and im-
partial hearing, justice being done to both parties. Nor
should there be any occasion to fear lawsuits if proper
precautions are taken in the transfer of properties, and
some native lawyer well acquainted with the Mexican
law of titles is employed.
This is neither the time nor the place to discourse upon
the question of mining titles at length; it is sufficient,
probably, to say that while many titles to mining proper-
ties date back for hundreds of years, as a general rule
this lapse of time is no impediment to their substantia-
tion. Records for several hundreds of years exist, and al-
though to the uninitiated some of the titles covering
mining properties, upon first investigation, may appear
rather involved owing to the number of individuals, liv-
ing and dead, who are or were at one time interested in
them, they are really simple enough compared with the
titles, and the laws which cover them, existing in the
United States of America. Those of Mexico certainly
afford fewer loopholes for evasion and less chance for
mere technicalities proving successful. It will, there-
fore, be recognized that foreign capital invested in Mex-
ican mining enterprises is quite as safe as that invested in
most countries, and a great deal safer than in some.
In this connection I may call attention to a recently
organized concern called the "Mines Selection Company
224 Mexicans Treasure-House
of ^Mexico," having its principal quarters at Guanajuato
and for its main object the rendering of a confidential
and efficient service, not only to the mine-owners, mining
companies, etc., but to prospective individual purchasers
and shareholders. This company owed its inception to
tlie ingenuity and enterprise, coupled with the ripe ex-
perience, of ^lessrs. MacDonald of Guanajuato, who are
and have been for some years connected with the
Guanajuato Consolidated jNIining & ^lilling Company.
Through their efforts and services, reports supplement-
ed with maps and estimates of the costs of the most
modern and economical mining and milling machinery,
can be henceforth obtained, and also ideas gathered as to
the most efficient methods of working the mines and con-
ducting the extraction and treatment of the ores. For
such prospective purchasers of Mexican mining proper-
ties who have no personal knowledge of the country, the
services of men of experience like Messrs. INIacDonald
cannot be overrated. It is probably no exaggeration to
say that there is no mining property in the Guanajuato
District of Mexico with which these gentlemen are not
intimately acquainted ; and it is only necessary to recol-
lect the fact that it was through them that El Real
del Monte mines, at Pachuca, were disposed of to an
American corporation under the most successful aus-
pices. It is questionable whether any more brilliant coup
than this has been carried out for a long time, and it is
especially noteworthy from the fact that for a year
previous attempts had been made in other quarters to
complete the transaction, but without avail. The Amer-
ican company owning El Real del Monte mines to-day
is one of the most powerful and influential corporations
in the United States.
Advantages of Electrical Machinery 225
ELECTRICITY IN MINING.
The crude patio process of amalgamation for extract-
ing the precious metals from the ore has, as I have
shown, been superseded by mechanical appliances, and
steam had hardly been adopted as an improved means
of power in Mexico to replace man and mule when
electricity became very generally and decidedly quickly
introduced. This came about naturally enough in this
Republic, where fuel is expensive and water power is
available. Guanajuato, as a district, has been among
the first to adopt electricity in aU mining and milhng
possibilities. Not only is the expense of power reduced
from one-half to one-third, but the conveniences which
accrue and the possibilities which open with electric drive
are unlimited. One has only to compare for a moment
the simplicity of running two or three wires to elec-
trically-driven pumps or compressors in a mine and
working the same by steam-pipe with its wasteful con-
densation, to perceive and appreciate the advantages
of the former method. With electric motors, the gen-
erating station (as compared with the boiler plant)
can be located at practically any distance. The com-
pressors can be placed near the work instead of piping
air at a loss.
There is practically no modern machine about a mine
or mill that cannot be motor=driven ; furthermore, there
is hardly a machine which is steam-driven that cannot be
adapted readily to electric drive by a slight change in
some part of its construction. Hoists, pumps, compres-
sors, blowers, etc., in connection with mines and crushers.
226 Mexico's Treasure-IIouse
stamp-batteries, tube-mills, mechanical agitators and ex-
cavators, sand-distributors, belt-conveyors, slime-pumps,
etc., etc., in connection 'v\4th mill and cyanide work, all
lend themselves admirably to electric motor-drive.
Electric haulage for carrying ore from mine to mill,
hauling tailings to the dump, etc., are all come into
use at a great saving o\'er the cost of hand or mule
labor, as well as at an increase in output.
One of the advantages derived from an alternating
current system is the great convenience of readily trans-
forming the voltage to whatever is desired, in case ma-
chines are to be driven at some distance from the power
plant, and thereby save in the copper required to trans-
mit the power. Probably, the principal one is the pos-
sibility of using the squirrel cage type induction motor.
This type of motor, properly constructed, is noted for
the abuse it will stand. It has been compared to a grind-
stone in its simplicity. It will operate continuously
without attention, and is provided with self -oiling bear-
ings which require filling only infrequently. These mo-
tors should likewise be capable of withstanding exces-
sive overloads and of being brought from an excessive
overload to a full stop for a short time without sustain-
ing injury. They have no brushes, commutators, slip-
rings or other moving contacts, and are, therefore,
entirely sparkless, so that no danger can result from
fire. They will withstand exposure to a reasonable
amount of dust, dirt and moisture, and do not require
skilled labor to start or stop them. The multipoint auto-
starters employed in starting them reduce the main line
current at starting, serving to relieve the system greatly
as well as the motor.
Economy in Electricity 227
The extent to which electricity has been adopted cor-
responds very closely to the extent to which its possibili-
ties, and the profits following its introduction, have be-
come generally known. A parallel instance is the intro-
duction of electric power distribution in factories. This
progressed but very slowly, until a sufficient number of
factories had been equipped to make the superior merits
of electric power everywhere manifest. No one now
hesitates to equip a new factory with electric apparatus,
and in many hundreds of old factories the existing
equipments of belts, shafts, pulleys, and other devices
are being ruthlessly "scrapped" to make room for elec-
tric motors.
The advantages of electric power over other means of
transmission are even more decided in the field of mining
than in manufacturing plants, and a rapid increase in
the use of electrical machinery is taking place in all
branches of the mining industry. Electrical lighting
of a mine and mill has not only proved a great conven-
ience, but increases the output very considerably over
the obscure method by candle illumination.
It may not be out of place here to cite an example of
a saving over steam which occurred in the Western Unit-
ed States. Steam pumps were replaced by electric in
a certain mine where the generating plant, motors, etc.,
cost $18,000 (£3,600), resulting in an annual saving of
$6,000, allowing for interest on investment and deprecia-
tion of the plant. In another mine where steam hoisting
was superseded by electricity, the hoists elevated the
cage at 1,250 feet per minute, raising 500 tons daily
from a 2,500-foot level by double-deck cages, carrying
8,600 pounds of ore. Up to the time that electricity
228 Mexico's Treasure-House
was adopted, the cost of motive power was never less
than $20 (£4) per horse-power per month, which after-
wards costs $7 (£l/8) per horse-power per month.
With steam it has formerly been necessary to drive
long stamp-batter)^ shafts with mills of 100 stamps or
more. In Guanajuato, the Peregrina Mining and Mill-
ing Co., the San Prospero Mines Co., and the Guana-
juato Amalgamated Gold Mines Co., which are now
almost ready to start new mills, drive units of 20 stamps
each by a 50 horse-power motor, thereby saving the long
shafting losses and at the same time rendering it possible
to shut down any one part of the stamps at any time.
In the handling of large quantities of comparatively
low-grade ore these economies and improvements must
not be lost sight of; nor have the mining interests in
Guanajuato been guilty of this, as is clearly evidenced
by the fact that the Westinghouse Electric and Manu-
facturing Co. of Pittsburg, Pa., U. S. A., have equipped
throughout with modern electrical machinery the more
modern mines and mills which are now about to operate.
MINING DISTRICT or GUANAJUATO, MEXICO
THE GUANAJUATO DEVELOPMENT CO.
c
Chapter XVI.
Some Guanajuato Men who Have Helped to Restore the District
to Prosperity. — The Governor of Guanajuato. — The Firm of
McElhiney & Bryant. — The Holdings Which They Control. —
Mr. Geo. W. McElhiney.— Mr. George W. Bryant. — Mr. Frank
G. Peck. — Mr. A. B. Carpenter. — Mr. F. J. Hobson. — Mr.
Percy H. Ramsden. — Mr. John C. Brennon. — Mr. Theodore
Dwight. — Captain W. Murdoch Wiley. — Mr. C. W. Van Law.
— Mr. Dwight Furness. — Mr. M. E. MacDonald. — Mr. Ber-
nard MacDonald. — Mr. E. P. Ryan. — Mr. Lawrence P. Adams.
— Mr. Norman Rowe.
SENOR Lie. D. Joaquin Obregon Gonzalez, the
Governor of the State of Guanajuato, was born
in November, 1843, and is therefore 63 years
of age. He studied for the law, and in 1864 received
the title of "abogado" (advocate). Entering politics
as a profession, Senor Obregon was elected Deputy
to the Congress of the Union in 1871, and continued
to sit as a member of that body until its termination
six years later, namely, 1877. President Lerdo de
Tejada appointed Senor Obregon a Judge in 1876.
He is and has been for many years a member of a
number of learned and scientific societies, and he was
duly elected to his present position as Governor of the
State of Guanajuato in the year 1893. His Ex-
cellency is a thoroughly genial and capable man, ex-
tremely popular alike with the people and the com-
mercial classes. At all times of public misfortune he has
demonstrated his great sympathy for and active interest
in the poorer people, while no popular undertaking ever
Page., 229
230 Meocico*s Treasure-House '
lacks his patronage and co-operation. Senor Don Joa-
quin Obregon Gonzalez lives in modest style, having the
palace for his official residence in the City of Guana-
juato, and a charming but very simple house for the
summer months in the residential quarter of La Presa.
MESSRS. McELHINEY AND BRYANT.
These gentlemen have been interested in Guanajuato
since the year 1895, when, as employees of other com-
panies, they con^^nced themselves that Guanajuato was
a camp second to none, and that it merely needed prop-
er methods adapted to mining and milling its ores to
make it one of the best kno^\Ti and most profitable min-
ing camps in the world. Mr. ]\IcElhiney was connected
from the beginning with the building of the plant of
the Guanajuato Power & Electric Company, associated
with iNIr. Leonard E. Curtis and Mr. Henry Hine, of
Colorado Springs. This is one of the most modern elec-
trical transmission plants in the world, built for the
purpose of supplying Guanajuato with cheap electric
power. The establishment of this power company made
it possible to mine cheaply the enormous bodies of low-
grade ore known to be contained in the old mines of the
camp, and at the same time encourage prospective work
upon virgin ground, where it was practically certain that
other great ore bodies existed.
Mr. McElhiney and his partner, ^Ir. Brj^ant, have
been interested in the promotion of nearly every enter-
prise that is working in Guanajuato to-day, and have
invested, and re-invested, in all those enterprises, there-
by showing their absolute confidence in the future of the
camp. At present they are officers and stockholders in
the following companies;
Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant 231
The Peregrina Mining and Milling Company,
Guanajuato Development Company,
The Aparecida Mines Company,
The Victoria Mines Company,
The La Luz Mines Company,
The Guanajuato River Gold Mining Co.,
The San Matias Mining & Milling Company,
The Guadalupe Alining and Milling Company,
The Securities Corporation, Ltd.,
The Mexican Securities Company,
The Navidad Mines Company,
The Buenavista Mines Company,
while they are also very large stockholders in the fol-
lowing :
The Guanajuato Reduction & Mines Company,
The Guanajuato Power and Electric Company,
and owners of:
The Matilde Mine,
The Lepanto Mine,
The San Jorge Mine,
The Argentina Mine,
The Regie Mine,
and many others. These gentlemen are constantly on
the alert to assist in the opening up and developing of
good mining properties in Guanajuato. They have
joined the Guanajuato Development Company in the
opening up of the Pinguico mine, of which they were
former owners, and in the Central group upon which
they had erected a mill and which they were developing
at the time that it was sold to the Guanajuato Develop-
ment Company. They obtained for the last named com-
pany, under bond and lease, the great Cedro property.
232 Mexico's Treasure-House
From Mr. Dwight Furness, for many years American
Consul at Guanajuato, Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant
purchased the Nayal concentrating and amalgamating
mill, which was for a number of years shut down, and
have now changed it into a large cyanide plant, where
purchased ores are treated by combined amalgamation,
concentration and cyanide process.
This mill, it may be mentioned, is situated seven miles
from the City of Guanajuato, is in the center of a gold
district, and so much ore is constantly being offered that
it is difficult to increase the mill rapidly enough to accept
the ore. The ore being very easily treated by the cyanide
process and the mines furnishing it in the immediate
vicinity, it is possible to offer a very low treatment
charge, thereby stimulating activity in the immediate
sm-rounding district among small owners who have not
the financial strength to build their own mills.
MR. GEORGE W. McELHINEY.
Mr. George W. McElhiney is a native of the State
of Missouri, United States of America. He first came
to Mexico some twelve years ago to enter the railroad-
contracting business. His attention being called to the
rich deposits contained in the Guanajuato River, his
first experience in Guanajuato was with these deposits.
It has needed years of experience to find out the proper
way to treat these enormous tailings deposits, but Mr.
McElhiney's patience and perseverance will probably
see realized, in another year, the construction of an
enormous plant which should produce profits of one
million dollars per annum from this project.
Mr. George W, Bryant 233
Associated with American capitalists he sought a
water power of sufficient capacity to supply 10,000
horse-power to Guanajuato, within a radius of 100 miles
from that point, and was successful in procuring the
Zamora waterfall, which now supplies all the power
used in Guanajuato and in the neighboring cities.
In the many mine promotions instituted by Mr. Geo.
W. Bryant and himself, his part was to raise the money ;
and in no case has he ever failed, as is evidenced by some
eight million dollars (American money) being brought
into Guanajuato through his efforts. Absolutely im-
known in the financial centers of the United States when
he commenced this work, his success evidences the im-
pression which his sincerity and perseverance have made
among investors.
Mr. McElhiney is now President of The Guanajuato
Development Co. of 40 Wall Street, New York City;
Vice-President of The Securities Corporation, Ltd.,
at the same address ; Treasurer of the Peregrina Mining
and Milling Company, also at the same address; and a
director of many other mining and milling companies
in Guanajuato. Guanajuato owes much to the tireless
energy of this still young man, without whose work in
raising capital it would have been absolutely impossible
to carry out the many projects which are now attaining
great success in the camp.
MR. GEORGE W. BRYANT.
Mr. George W. Bryant, the General Manager, is a
thoroughly practical mining man, with a wide and varied
experience in the Guanajuato Camp, where he has been
a resident for over 12 years. Mr. Bryant has filled, and
234 Meccico's Treasure-House
filled with distinction to himself and even'- satisfaction to
his colleagues, ahnost every kind of position available
in over twenty different mining properties of this
district. As a consequence, he acts as General Man-
ager for, and holds the full power of attorney giving
him absolute charge of their business and property, from
some twenty corporations and individuals, representing
nearly $20,000,000 of capital. He commenced his ex-
periences in jNIexico as an accountant and business man-
ager of properties which were owned by the United
Mexican Mines Association, Limited.
For some years ]Mr. Bryant remained as Resident
Manager of this company, after which he became the
General INIanager of the Victoria Mines Co., and later
on he had charge of the San Prospero ]Mines, the Refu-
gio ]Mines, the Aparecida INIines, the Central group and
many other equally important and successful properties
in the Guanajuato Camp.
It is not only in this district, nor, indeed, in Mexico
generally, that JNIr. Bryant is known. As a clever and
dependable mine-manager and expert, his opinions are
sought and his judgments are quoted largely in the Unit-
ed States of America, while in Great Britain his assist-
ance and ripe experience would, I feel assured, prove
of considerable value to all who may be desirous of
knowing something about the Guanajuato Camp from
a man who is absolutely competent and thoroughly re-
liable. In Guanajuato there is no one who is more
highly esteemed nor more genuinelj^ popular than Mr.
George W. Bryant, whose reputation as a distinguished
and exceptionally capable mining-man is equalled by his
personal popularity as an employer, born of a great
Mr. Frank G. Peck 235
generosity of heart, justice to others, a liberality in his
dealings with his fellow-workers and excellence as a
citizen.
MR. FRANK G. PECK.
Mr. Frank G. Peck is a very well-known miner of
the State of Colorado, and more especially of Cripple
Creek in that State, where he has been a resident as
miner and operator for many years, also as large
stockholder in and Secretary of the famous Portland
Gold Mining Company, which pays $1,000,000 (£200,-
000) dividends annually. Mr. Peck, who is very favor-
ably known to the mining public, is interested in many
other large mining properties of Cripple Creek as well
as of Colorado and the Western United States gen-
erally. He is a Director of the First National Bank of
Colorado Springs, considered to be one of the strongest
financial institutions west of the Mississippi River, and
also of the Colorado Title and Trust Company, of Colo-
rado Springs, besides being considerably interested in
many other local institutions. As Secretary and member
of the Executive Committee of the Portland Gold Min-
ing Company, Mr. Peck is in constant and direct touch
with the operation of that mine and of its large and suc-
cessful mill at Colorado City. In the year 1900, Mr.
Peck first became interested in Guanajuato, and from
his first visit to the camp he felt perfectly convinced that
it had a great future, only needing capital and proper
mining and milling methods to make it one of the
famous camps of the world of the future, as it had
made itself in the past. Mr. Peck verified his sentiments
by assisting in the organization of the Victoria Mines
236 Mexico's Treasure-House
Company, of which he is President. He has constantly
worked his San Prospero Klines, and is now building
the 40-stamp mill known by the name of "San ^Matias,"
described upon a preceding page. He is President of
and a stockholder in the Aparecida ^Nlines Company;
President of the Peregrina ^Mining and iMilling Com-
pany; Treasurer and Director of the Guanajuato De-
velopment Company; Treasurer and Director of The
Securities Corporation, Ltd.; Vice-President and Di-
rector of the Guanajuato River Gold ^Mining Company,
and a very large stockholder in the Guanajuato Reduc-
tion and Mines Company and in the Guanajuato Power
and Electric Company. Apparently INIr. Peck must have
found his investments in Guanajuato highly profitable.
Where so shrewd and cautious a man as ^Ir. Pecks leads,
even the most timid investor may safely follow ; and his
large holdings in the Guanajuato district may be ac-
cepted as an undoubted testimony to its value, otherwise
he would scarcely have continued to acquire them.
MR. A. B. CARPENTER.
Mr. A. B. Carpenter, who occupies the respon-
sible position of Consulting Engineer, in conjunction
with ]Mr. Brennon, to the Peregrina mine and group of
properties associated with the Guanajuato Development
Company, is a comparatively young man, but with
exceptional ability and experience. For several years
past he has been examining and reporting upon Mexican
mines, and is consequently thoroughly familiar with the
mining conditions and most of the mining camps of
Mexico. Mr. Carpenter is an American, having gradu-
ated at the Beloit College of Wisconsin some thirteen
His Excellexcy SkSsok Lk. I). .Ioaqtix Obkkciox Gonzalez.
Governor of the State of (xuanajuato since 1893.
[See pajre -237.
ate +9
Mr. Francis J. Hobson 237
years ago, after taking his degrees of Sc. B. & E. M.
at the famous Michigan College of Mines at Houghton,
Michigan. He commenced his experiences at the Cripple
Creek and Victor gold fields, in Colorado. Coming to
JMexico, Mr. Carpenter speedily found his field of occu-
pation, becoming identified with the Mexican Gold &
Silver Recovery Company, Limited, which had and has
extensive interests in this Republic. His reports are
now accepted generally throughout the country as au-
thoritive and absolutely reliable, and they carry great
weight with both practical miners and shareholders in
the Republic, as well as those in the United States of
America and abroad.
MR. FRANCIS J. HOBSON.
Mr. F. J. Hobson, E. M., is a mining engineer of rec-
ognized position, and his reports are sought after by all
who would ascertain authoritatively the value of mines
in the Guanajuato and Durango districts. Mr. Hobson
was a pupil at the Missouri State University, and subse-
quently at the Cornell University, at both of which he
distinguished himself. He has been practising as a min-
ing engineer since 1890, having successively passed
through the different positions of surveyor, mill-man,
mine-foreman, assayer, and manager to the executive
positions in connection with active mining operations.
In 1900, Mr. Hobson joined the MacArthur-Forrest Cy-
anide Company as chief chemist, still occupying that
responsible position, while he has also superintended
the erection and operation of a considerable number of
cyanide plants for this company in different parts of
Mexico. As Consulting Metallurgist to the Peregrina
238 Mexico's Treasure-House
JNIining and Milling Company, the Guanajuato Devel-
opment Comj^any and the Guanajuato Reduction and
ISIines Company, as well as to other large companies in
IVIexico and the United States of America, Mr. Hobson
has been of great value, and the successful treatment of
the company's ores speaks well for his ability and the
value of his services. It is a great question whether the
metallurgical department of this or of any other mine
could be in more competent hands.
MR. PERCY H. RAMSDEN.
Mr. Percy H. Ramsden is an Englishman and an
admirable representative of his race in appearance,
character and ability. At present in his forty-eighth
year, Mr. Ramsden is regarded as one of the shrewdest
and most reliable examiners of mining properties in
]\Iexico. Born in London and educated at Chigwell, he
came out to America about twenty-seven years ago,
and was there connected with a number of prominent
mines in the United States before coming down to ^lex-
ico. After spending about 18 months in the mining
district of Chihuahua, jNIr. Ramsden came on to Guana-
juato, where he has since remained. Every property
which Messrs. McElhiney and Bryant have since ac-
quired either wholly or in part has been previously ex-
amined by INIr. Ramsden on their behalf, and it is a note-
worthy fact that in all instances where fuller examina-
tions by the most experienced mining engineers has taken
place, Mr. Ramsden's opinions and findings have been
substantially endorsed. His intimate knowledge of the
entire district and his careful methods of procedure
render his services especially valuable to his company
Mr. John C. Brennon 239
and his associates. Combined with a keen eye for oppor-
tunities and a high sense of his responsibihty, Mr. Percy
H. Ramsden possesses an attractive personahty and as
a consequence wields much influence.
MR. JOHN C. BRENNON.
Mr. John Clark Brennon, who is connected with
the Guanajuato Development Company, was born in
Washington, and is about 34 years of age. Educated
at Georgetown University, he went to Michigan College
where he remained for three and a half years. Thence
Mr. Brennon went to Sonora, Mexico, and here as an
employee of the British company, the Grand Central
Mining Company, Limited, he saw a good deal of active
employment. His position was that of Assistant En-
gineer, and after remaining in this capacity for three
years Mr. Brennon travelled extensively through the
States of Chihuahua, Sinoloa and again through Sonora.
this time as a mining engineer. Subsequently, becoming
interested with others in a small but promising mining
property, known as the Ajuchitlan Mining and Milling
Company, he spent four years in the capacity of Man-
ager. His seven years' varied experience in Mexican
mining has stood Mr. Brennon in excellent stead, since
he is now a partner with Mr. A. B. Carpenter, the min-
ing engineer already referred to above, in conjunction
with whom he occupies the responsible and important
position of Consulting Engineer to the Guanajuato De-
velopment Company.
MR. THEODORE DWIGHT.
Mr. Theodore Dwight, who is the recently elected
President of the Mineral Development Company, al-
240 Mexico's Treasure-House
though a comparatively young man, being on the
sunny side of 40, has seen a very considerable experi-
ence as an engineer, both electrical and mining. Born
in 1868, Mr. D wight received a thorough education in
the United States, and in 1884, after five and a half
years spent in Europe, became interested in gas-lighting.
He soon afterwards connected himself with the Institute
of jNIining Engineers, and in the Autumn of 1890 he en-
tered the workshops of the Thomson-Houston Electric
Company, probably one of the finest training and finish-
ing schools for electrical engineers in the world. In
less than two years he became an assistant to the
First Vice-President and General Manager. It is cer-
tainly a tribute to Mr. Dwight's abihty and sense of re-
sponsibility that this important work was offered him
after so comparatively slight an experience in the com-
pany's employ ; and it is still more remarkable, perhaps,
that upon quitting that concern's ofiice he was offered
and accepted a precisely similar position with the
equally important New York concern, the General
Electric Company. In 1894 Mr. Dwight was appointed
Assistant Secretary to the American Institute of Min-
ing Engineers, and resigned from that position in
order to assume the presidency and management of
the JNIineral Development Company. Mr. Dwight has
been elected Councillor and Director of the American
Institute of ^Mining Engineers, and is a Trustee of
the United Engineering Society formed to administer
Mr. Andrew Carnegie's gift of $1,500,000 (£300,000)
to the engineering profession of America. Mr. Dwight,
who is a bachelor, is a very able administrator and a
highly gifted conversationahst.
A Man of Many Attainments 241
CAPTAIN W. MURDOCH WILEY.
Captain W. Murdoch Wiley, of the Mineral De-
velopment Company of Guanajuato, was born in Sal-
isbury, North Carolina, and is of Scotch-Irish and
French-Huguenot extraction. His first important ex-
perience was in connection with the 1877 North Carolina
Geological Survey, and during the period between 1877
and 1884 he was principally at sea in various capacities,
including that of the command of British and Danish
vessels. From 1884 to 1885 he was at Trieste, Austria,
in command of a Danish steam yacht, the "Adria," be-
longing to the Danish Minister at the Court of Vienna.
From 1885 to 1886 he was in the U. S. Consular service
in the South of France, while in 1887 he was a mem-
ber of the "Figaro" expedition into the Sahara Desert
for the purpose of determining the feasibility of in-
undating the Sahara and converting it into a navigable
inland sea.
From 1888 to 1889, Captain Wiley was interested in
a brokerage and commission business in London, and
from 1889 to 1891 he was acting as the Engineer of
Maintenance of Way on the Southern Railway, sta-
tioned at Asheville, N. C. He resigned this position to
become the Managing Director of the International
Trades Exhibition, Royal Agricultural Hall, London,
and acted as the Special Correspondent of several Eng-
lish and American newspapers. In 1898, Captain
Wiley took part in the Spanish- American War, after
which, in 1889 to 1903, he took charge of the Standard
Oil mining operations, in the Appalachian Belt. From
1904 to 1906 he acted as the President of the Mineral
242 Mexico's Treasure-House
Development Co., President of the Southern Develop-
ment Co., Director of the Davis & Wiley Bank, and
President and Director of various other American and
Mexican Mining and Industrial companies. He is a
member of the American Institute of JMining En-
gineers, of the Engineers' Club of New York, the
Southern Society of New York, the North Carolina So-
ciety of New York, the Fulton Club of New York, the
American Club of Mexico City, the Education-Rossers
Academy of Navigation, London, and the Johns Hop-
kins University, Baltimore, U. S. A.
MR. C. W. VAN LAW.
As manager of the highly important group of mines
belonging to the Guanajuato Reduction and Mines
Company, Mr. C. W. Van Law occupies one of the
most onerous and responsible positions in the camp. He
is comparatively a young man; but, hke most Ameri-
can mine managers to be found in Mexico to-day, he
evinces all the brightness, discernment and shrewdness
of his remarkable nation.
Mr. C. W. Van Law was born in 1874, and in 1882
he moved from Marietta, Ohio, his native town, to Col-
orado, which has been the cradle of so man}'^ clever and
successful mining men. He was prepared for college
in the excellent Chicago INIanual Training School,
where the rising generation of Americans are carefully
taught to use their hands as well as their eyes and their
brains. From this school Mr. Van Law went to the
Cornell University, and entering the mechanical en-
gineering course he graduated in 1896, with special
honors for original research. Immediately upon grad-
Mr. D wight Furness 243
uation, he went to the Tomboy mine, Telluride, Colo.,
there acting as assistant to the superintendent of mills.
In 1898 young Van Law became successively Master
Mechanic and Mill Superintendent of the Columbia
Menona Company, in the same district. Then he spent
six months in the Yaqui country, of the Sonora State of
Mexico, for the Sonora Development Company, being
in charge of their ten mining enterprises. In 1889 he
returned to Georgetown, Colorado, as manager of a
silver-lead proposition located there.
In the same year, towards the autumn, Mr. Van Law
was engaged by the intending purchasers of the
Smuggler Union Property, in Telluride, Colorado, to
make a series of metallurgical tests upon the existing
plant, which was brought to a 500-tons-a-day capacity
as the results of these same experiments. A consider-
able plant was also built for the same proprietors at
Silverton, and a large hydro-electric installation was
erected in Telluride.
In 1902 Mr. Van Law became associated with the
famous machinery manufacturing firm — the Allis-Chal-
mers Company at Chicago, and in August, 1903, he was
appointed as the Chief Engineer of their Mining De-
partment, a position which he occupied until he was en-
gaged to make an examination of the various properties
of the Guanajuato Reduction and Mines Company,
and ended by becoming their Resident Manager.
MR. DWIGHT FURNESS.
Mr. D wight Furness arrived in Guanajuato in Oc-
tober, 1887, to take charge of the mines known as Calera
and Cebada, and which now bear the name of Negocia-
244 MclVwo's Treasure-House
cion ]Minera "La Esperanza." These properties were
held by a St. Louis company called the Santana Mining
Co. Owing to questions arising as to the form of lease,
and also from the fact that the properties had been mis-
represented, the business was dropped early in the fol-
lowing year. Mr. Furness then began buying ores for
the Omaha & Grant smelter, through their representa-
tive, Wm. ]Mathews, and he associated with himself in
this business the then United States Consular Agent at
Guanajuato, Mr. Edward WiUiams. Then the firm be-
came AVilliams & Furness.
The new firm lost money, however, the first six
months, although they were doing a business of $50,000
per month. Mr. Williams shortly afterwards left the
firm and the business was continued under the name of
"Furness & Higby," until the end of the year 1889. The
concern was now very successful.
The action of the Sherman law and the fluctuating
price of silver caused suspension of ore-buying tempo-
rarily, but early in 1891 IMr. D wight Furness resumed
business in general merchandise, under the name of
"Dwight Furness & Co." He shipped ores to Omaha
and also to the Pueblo smelter, which was owned by the
Messrs. Guggenheim. Up to the time of ore-buying by
iNIr. Furness, no ore had been shipped from Guanajuato
to the United States, but ores, assaying over 300 ounces
per ton, had been exported to Europe, the costs of
freight and treatment amounting to over $50 gold
(£l0) per ton. The cost of freight to Omaha was
$19 gold (£3/16) per ton and the treatment charge
amounted to $16 (£3/4) gold per ton, the total
The Smelting Situation 24!5
charge to the miner therefore being from $38 to $40
(£7/15 to £8) per ton of ore.
In 1891 the Messrs. Guggenheim estabhshed the
smelter at Monterey, and since that time they have prac-
tically controlled the smelting situation in Mexico, and
treatment charges have been steadily reduced until they
now average about $25 to $30 Mex. (£2/10 to £3)
per ton of ore. In 1892 Mr. Furness organized the
concern into a stock company called the Furness &
Lewis Co., and a very extensive business was done until
1896, when the concern was sold out to Lewis, Mr. Fur-
ness reserving the State of Guanajuato and continuing
business under the name of D wight Furness & Co., and
later under the corporate name of "The D wight Fur-
ness Co." The Furness & Lewis Co. did a very exten-
sive business, amounting to about $2,000,000 per year,
scattered through twelve agencies, distributed in the
principal mining centers of the Republic from Chihua-
hua to Oaxaca.
Mr. Furness has always had control of these different
companies, and he managed the business. The head
company are still doing business of a little over one
hundred thousand pesos per month, or $1,200,000.00 per
year. In connection with ore-buying and merchandising,
the company have done considerable mining, and stiU
own a great deal of valuable mining ground in the
States of Guanajuato and Jalisco. The D wight Fur-
ness Company has also control of the San Gregorio R.
R., some 30 kilometers long from Marfil to the San
Gregorio mine, and is now arranging to continue the
same from Marfil to Guanajuato and on to Irapuato,
and from there to a connection with the Mexican Na-
246 Meanco's Treasure-House
tional at Salamanca, thus giving Guanajuato another
trunk line railroad connection. Mr. Furness has been
Consular Agent of the United States at Guanajuato
since November, 1889, and his appointment bears the
signature of James G. Blaine, late Secretary of State.
He has been connected with most of the leading enter-
prises in Guanajuato, and is a Director of the bank, etc.
Mr. Furness is everybody's friend, and probably does
not possess an enemy in the world.
MR. E. P. RYAN.
Mr. Edwin P. Ryan, JNIanager of the Peregrina
Mine, was educated at the Armour Institute of Tech-
nologj^ at Chicago, Illinois. He afterwards went to the
Michigan College of JNIines, which has turned out a
great number of brilliant 3'oung engineers now occupy-
ing prominent positions in all parts of the world. ]Mr.
Ryan graduated four years later (1900) with the de-
grees of Bachelor of Science and Engineer of JNIines.
He was the Mining Engineer of the Isle Royale Copper
Company from 1900-1901. Subsequently he was ap-
pointed as Chief Engineer and afterwards Assistant
Manager for the Mexican Gold and Silver Recovery
Company, Limited, of London, of the Buena Vista
Mines at La Yesca, Territory of Tepic, Mexico, and
served there from 1901-1903. He then became the Con-
sulting and Examining Engineer, as well as Chief En-
gineer of Construction, for the Kingston Copper Com-
pany, at Guadalajara, Mexico, staying there from 1903
to 1905, and this same year he was appointed Mining
Engineer to the Securities Corporation, Limited, of
New York and Guanajuato. In 1905 Mr. Ryan was
Mr, Lawrence P. Adams 247
appointed General Superintendent of the Peregrina
Mining & Milling Co. of Guanajuato, and remains in
that position to-day. His wide experience embraces
mining, milling, cyaniding and railroad engineering in
all its branches, gained in the iron and copper districts
of the United States and Mexico. Mr. Ryan is ex-
tremely well-liked by all who know him, and very highly
esteemed by the company fortunate enough to have se-
cured his services.
MR. LAWRENCE P. ADAMS.
Mr. Lawrence P. Adams, Manager of the Guana-
juato Amalgamated Gold Mines Co., was born in New
York City, July 26, 1873, and was educated at Phillips*
Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H., and at Harvard Uni-
versity, Cambridge, Mass. He first came to Guana-
juato January, 1901, where he was engaged in prospect-
ing until about June, 1905, becoming thoroughly fa-
miliar during that time with the mining conditions in
and about Guanajuato. In the above mentioned month
he closed an option for the "Negociacion de La Paz"
group of mines, which includes the Jesus Maria, Villa-
rino, Providencia, Sangre de Cristo, and Remedios, and
shortly thereafter he succeeded in organizing the Gua-
najuato Amalgamated Gold INIines Co. to work those
properties. Of this company Mr. Adams became the
Resident Manager. The subject of this biography, it
may be said, has made it a point to surround himself
with the most able men in the various hues of the mining
business that it has been possible to secure, and it is very
generally conceded that the engineering and technical
force at the mines has no superior in Guanajuato. One
248 Mexico's Treasure-House
of Mr. Adams' most capable and accomplished coad-
jutors is Mr. V. B. SheiTod, Constructing and Mining
Engineer, and a man of the greatest ability. The com-
pany may be said to have been exceedingly fortunate in
the possession of two such able officials as jMr. Adams
and Mr. Sherrod, as well as Mr. E. Harris, the Chief
Miner and Superintendent of the underground work-
ings, lately with the El Ore Mining and Railway Com-
pany, Limited.
MR. NORMAN ROWE.
Mr. Norman Rowe, Manager of the Guanajuato
Power and Electric Co., graduated from Cornell Uni-
versity, 1903, with degree M. E. with special reference
to work done in electricity. After graduating, he spent
five years with the Westinghouse Electric and IManu-
facturing Co., most of that time being passed in
the testing department. Mr. Rowe eventually left the
employ of the Westinghouse Co. to accept the position
of Electrical Engineer for the Compania Industrial de
Orizaba, INIexico, for the construction of an important
electrical transmission plant near Orizaba. After fin-
ishing the work at Orizaba, he went to California as engi-
neer of the San Francisco office of the Westinghouse
Electric and Manufacturing Co., and from there he
came back to Mexico City as Chief Engineer of the San
Ildefonso Hj^draulic and Electrical System. During
this period the six hydraulic plants were finished theie
and put in operation, and a complete underground and
overhead system was installed in Mexico City, together
with an auxiliary steam and storage-battery plant. Mr.
Rowe subsequently came to the Guanajuato Power and
Mr. M. E. MacDonald 249
Electric Co. at the time that the construction work was
commenced, and has remained with them ever since. In
all probability Mr. Rowe's name will be shortly men-
tioned with distinction in connection with a new and
recently-patented insulator which has been invented by
him and extremely well received by experts in the elec-
tric world.
MR. M. E. MacDONALD.
Mr. M. E. MacDonald, Manager of the Guanajuato
Consolidated Mining and Milling Company, began
his mining career in the Rocky Mountain regions of
the United States in 1883. From then until 1893 he
spent his time in the various practical branches of min-
ing, mastering, as he went along, every detail of the
practical work. Beginning with 1888, he occupied the
responsible positions of foreman and mine superin-
tendent in the largely producing mines of Colorado,
Idaho and Montana. In 1898, he went to Zacatecas,
Mexico, to accept the management of the San Cristobal
Mining Company at that place, and in the following
year he went to Guanajuato to take the position he now
occupies with the Guanajuato Consolidated Mining &
Milling Company, that concern having been just organ-
ized to take over and operate the Sirena Mine. At this
time the Sirena Mine, which is now one of the largest
producing mines in Guanajuato District, was full of
water to the tunnel level, and work on it had been sus-
pended by its Mexican owners, because it could no
longer be worked profitably by them.
The problems involved in the drainage and explora-
tion of this mine were then undertaken and mastered,
250 Mexico's Treasure-House
and a pan-amalgamation milling plant, operated by-
steam, was erected on it. This cost of operating the
mining and milling plants by steam, as the only motor
power then available with fuel at prohibitive prices,
coupled with a low percentage of extraction in the mill
of the values in the ore, left httle or no profit. Hope
was kept alive by prospect of cheap electric power being
brought to the camp and by the large bodies of low-
grade ore, M'hich were being developed in the deep levels
of the mine. On the advent of electric power, complete
plants of electric motors for mine and mill were in-
stalled, and, although the expenses for power were les-
sened thereby, this was more than offset by the increas-
ing baseness of the new ore-bodies developed in the deep
levels. Finally, this new evil was overcome by the aban-
donment of pan-amalgamation and the substitution of
the cyanide process, which has given remarkably satis-
factory results from the beginning. The manager, very
naturally, feels proud of this outcome of his struggle
with this property, since the mine has now entered the
dividend-paying Ust, and the shareholders, among whom
he is one of the largest, have expressed their confidence
in his judgment by electing him to the Board of Di-
rectors.
MR. BERNARD MacDONALD.
Mr. Bernard MacDonald, the Consulting Engineer
of the Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and ^Milling
Company, began his mining career in California, in
1874. At this time, practical experience was the only
road to the mining profession. All lode mines were then
operated under the direction of Cornish mine captains.
Mr, Bernard MacDonald 251
or miners of other nationalities who acquired all the
mining knowledge they possessed by practical expe-
rience, and the same was true of the milling operations.
From 1874 till 1880, Mr. MacDonald worked in the
various branches of practical mine work, in the lode
mines of Grass Valley and other mining camps in Cali-
fornia, and in the large mines on the Comstock lode, and
elsewhere in the State of Nevada, having, previous to
this experience in practical mining work, completed a
course in civil engineering, as well as the practical side
of mining and milling operations. In the year 1880 he
went to Leadville, Colo., to take the position of Mine
Superintendent with the Little Chief Mining Company.
After two years in Leadville he engaged as Superin-
tendent of the famous Lake Valley Mines of New
Mexico.
After spending some years in exploration of the new
mining regions, then made accessible by the advent of
railroads in New Mexico, and in mining on his own ac-
count, Mr. MacDonald engaged as manager with a
company which had undertaken the reopening of the
famous old Santa Ana Mines of Sonora, mentioned in
Ward's "History of Mexico." Afterwards he contin-
ued mining in Montana, Idaho and British Columbia,
being occupied as Manager or Consulting Engineer for
several mining companies. In 1904 he was engaged to
go to Guanajuato to make a study of the mines of the
Guanajuato Consolidated Mining and Milling Com-
pany, and the metallurgical problems involved in the
treatment of their ores. After reporting the results of
this study he was enaged as Consulting Engineer to
the company. The cyanide plant was designed by him
252 Mexico's Treasure-House
and erected under his immediate supervision. The
work devolving on him now, by reason of this position
with the company, occupies only a part of his time, the
remainder being devoted to the business of the INIines
Selection Company of Mexico, of which company he is
President. It may not be out of place to repeat here that
the recent sale of the Real del Monte mines at Pachuca,
which, by the way, are perhaps by long odds the largest
aggregation of real mines in the Republic of ^Mexico,
was consummated by him, at the price and terms of an
option obtained from the President of the company.
The ISIanager and the Consulting Engineer of the Con-
sohdated JNIining and Milling Company are brothers,
and were born near Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch-Irish
parentage. They came to the United States when young
men, and are citizens of the latter country.
Conclusion.
THE great questions which investors will have to
satisfy themselves upon, after they have been
convinced that the ores exist in large quantities,
are how much does it cost to mine and treat the ores,
what are the total management expenses, and how much
net profit remains thereafter? These questions may be
briefly replied to as follows: Even for deep mining on
the Mother Lode at Guanajuato, $4.50 (Mex. Cy.),
say 9/s., per ton of ore may be accepted as a liberal
allowance for mining costs (apart from milling) under
modern mining practice. The present price of stamp-
ing the ore through a forty-mesh screen, allowing for
all supplies, general expenses, etc., is not above $1.75
(Mex. Cy.) per ton of ore, including the cost of con-
centrating the pulp upon Wilfley tables. The cost of
pan-amalgamation of the tailings has hitherto been less
than $4 (Mex. Cy.) per ton, while the cost of cyanid-
ing will be under $3 (Mex. Cy.) per ton. Therefore,
a cost of $4.50 for mining and a total cost of $5 (Mex.
Cy. = $2.50 U. S. Cy.) per ton for all milling opera-
tions, may be accepted as a liberal estimate of cost for
future mining and milling operations at Guanajuato.
A total recovery of 90% of all the values of the ores is
readily obtainable by concentration and cyaniding.
From the 90 per cent, bullion recovered, there must
be deducted 5 per cent, for express charges and Govern-
ment taxes on bullion. This would leave about 85 per
Page 253
254 Mexico's Treasure-House
cent, net return in bullion of the original gold and silver
contents of the ore. Consequently, the total cost for
mining and milling will not exceed $9.50 (INIex.) per
ton, even in deep mining. Ore containing as low values
as $12.50 Mexican currency ($6.25 U. S. Cy. or £l/5)
in silver and gold per metric ton, can be successfully
mined and treated at Guanajuato. Most of the mines
here are treating much richer stuff than this, however,
but it is satisfactory to know that with the enormous re-
serves of comparatively low-grade ore available, the
mills of Guanajuato must be kept busy for many a year
to come and give the camp that most desirable of repu-
tations — "permanency."
Some of the illustrations which I give showing the
old and wearisome methods of working the Guanajuato
mines should prove of interest to those who are mainly
concerned in the economy and effectiveness of modern
methods. In place of old black powder, combined with
hand-driUing as a means of breaking the rock in the
mines, we have to-day the most powerful explosives and
air-compressor rock-drills. Instead of the horse-whims,
sometimes worked by as many as sixteen horses, we have
the modern electric hoist, and in place of the water-
buckets, hauled up by the slow overhead drums, we
find powerful pumps doing the work in a hundredth
part of the time and at a hundredth part of the cost.
It is estimated that the average contents of the ores
found in the ]\Iother Vein at Guanajuato are about
13I/2 grams gold to each 1,000 grams of silver. This
means that of the combined gold and silver values of the
Mother Lode ores, before the year 1820, the value of
gold represented about 17 per cent, and silver 83 per
New vs. Old Methods 255
cent. To-day the commercial ratio of gold and silver
values has increased the gold values in Guanajuato ores
to about 30 per cent, and reduced the silver to 70 per
cent. In the gold belt such as Peregrina and the mines
of the Guanajuato Development Company, the gold is
about 70 per cent, of the total value of the ore, thus
affording a marked distinction from the above men-
tioned mines. The mint records before 1820 show an
average value of gold bullion of 3.8 per cent, of the
total bullion value, or, with an estimated recovery of
87% per cent, of the silver values in the patio process,
a recovery of the gold values of the ore of about 4^
per cent., and a consequent loss of about 12% per cent,
of the 17 per cent, gold values of the ore. It would,
however, be unfair to charge this loss of 75 per cent,
of the gold values entirely to the patio process. No
doubt the greater part of the loss was incurred through
this process, as most of the gold, especially in the ores
containing sulphurets which come from the lower levels
of the mines, was lost, being carried away in the tailings,
or possibly in solution.
When the cyanide process was first introduced into
the Guanajuato mines, it did not receive a very hearty
welcome. The first mine at which experiments were
tried was Cubo, now the property of Mr. Thomas H.
Leggett, of New York, and others. It was found that
while the consumption of cyanide was low, the extrac-
tion was low also, the average being from 40 to 85 per
cent, of the silver and the gold in the ore, the time for
treatment allowed being about 16 hours. But for the
intervention and strong representation of some promi-
nent mining engineers who were interested in Guana-
256 Mexico's Treasure-House
juato properties and also in the Mac Arthur-Forrest
process, it is doubtful whether the cyanide process of
treatment would have found many friends in Guana-
juato at all. Further tests took place both at Cubo and
Sirena, the latter now being the property of the very
successful Guanajuato Consohdated JNIining and Mill-
ing Co., and with far better and more encouraging re-
sults. Some of the tests recovered as much as 92.5 and
94.5 per cent, of the total value of the ore, the yield
being concentrate and buUion. With these results be-
fore them, then, the Guanajuato Consohdated Mining
and MiUing Co. installed their present plant with a
capacity of approximately 200 tons per diem, and of
which a fuller detailed description wall be found in the
earlier chapters of this book.
Tests made by jNIr. Francis J. Hobson, Chief Chem-
ist of the Mac Arthur-Forrest Cyanide Co., upon some
Valenciana ores resulted in further plants being estab-
lished, an 80-stamp mill at the Bustos and the cya-
nide plant at the Hacienda de Flores being installed. In
1904, the Cubo mine also installed a cyanide plant, and
it is still running very satisfactorily. At the Peregrina
mine from 94 to 95 per cent, of the precious metals
have been extracted by means of the cyanide and con-
centration plant since 1905, and another 100 stamps
are going up at the present time with a cyanide annex.
At the Central mill a cyanide plant is in operation, and
another is now completed at the Nayal mill. At the
Hacienda San jNIatias, belonging to ]Mr. Frank G.
Peck, of the Portland Gold Mining Company of
Cripple Creek, Colorado, who is President of the Pere-
grina Mining and Milling Company of Guanajuato, a
Mac Arthur-Forrest Cyanide Process 257
cyanide plant is fast approaching completion, while a
Mexican mine-owner named Sefior Ibarbuengoitia has
converted his patio process to cyanidation. At La Luz,
the Guanajuato Amalgamated Gold Mines Company
are erecting 100 stamps on the Jesus Maria Mine, with a
cyanide plant. Taking all the plants collectively, about
700 tons of ore are being cyanided daily at Guanajuato,
but in a few months' time, in all probability, this will
have increased to some 1,400 tons per daj^
So pronounced have been the successes achieved by
the experiments at Guanajuato upon cyanidation of
silver on silicious ores that the process is removed en-
tirely from the region of doubt, and is now generally
accepted as having reached that of a certaint5^ It was
proved that while the employment of extremely weak
solutions of potassium (or sodium) cyanide was advan-
tageous to the reduction of gold ores, it was found pre-
judicial to silver; now, however, that stronger solu-
tions and more time are being employed, very diif erent
results are being achieved. It is said that experiments
upon a large scale have proved that even a vanner con-
centrate, containing silver sulphide associated with py-
rite, is amenable to profitable treatment by cyanida-
tion.
What threatened at one time to become a long and
troublesome case of litigation between the Guanajuato
mines and the local representatives of the MacArthur-
Forrest process (the Mexican Gold and Silver Recov-
ery Co., Limited), fortunately terminated amicably.
Towards the beginning of this year the Guanajuato Re-
duction and Mines Co. were sued by the agents of the
cyanide patents for infringement, and the matter pro-
258 Meccico's Treasure-House
ceeded sufficiently far to secure the Bustos mill at
Guanajuato being enjoined by the local judge, and his
official seals being put upon the doors and cyanide vats.
It looked as if every one of the companies using a cya-
nide plant would join in and make common cause with
the Reduction and Mines Co., and, but for wiser counsel
prevailing, this would have happened. But the agents
proving reasonable and far from vindictive, a compro-
mise was effected, the law being undoubtedly on the side
of the patentees and common sense on the side of the
mining companies.
The great uncertainties of mining are too well known
and have been too often experienced to need much com-
ment. In the mining district of Mexico as in all others
which I have visited in different parts of the world,
great surprises and intense disappointments are continu-
ally being experienced. The most promising floors or
chutes which even an experienced miner may deem cer-
tain to hold out for a good area, suddenly become inter-
rupted hy sterile portions which no one could have fore-
seen, or are diminished in their thickness or reduced in
value. On the other hand, poor and apparently worth-
less portions of a lode, regarded as of no value at all,
have unexpectedly shown rich ore chutes or even "bon-
anzas." Again and again has this proved the case
among the Mexican mines, so that every recurring day
has its delights as well as its delusions.
The surest way to distribute the dangers and at the
same time equalize the successes of mining is to distri-
bute one's eggs through many baskets ; in other words,
hold and work several mining properties simultaneously.
The best method to ensure success — all-round success
Uncertainties in Mining 259
bien entendu — in a lode-mining country like Guanajua-
to, for instance, is to carry on operations upon several
independent and proved mining claims, so that at least
one of them may be certain to flourish, while one of the
others may be in a state of development or temporary
falling off in returns, after having yielded a consider-
able output. Economies in management can also be
effected. This is the case with practically all the Guan-
ajuato companies, each of which possesses several mines,
not all contiguous either, and thus its interests are care-
fully spread over a large area with every prospect of
some, at least, turning out "trumps" and, not improb-
ably, all of them in due time.
The End.
Index.
Abasolo, 25
Abundancia, 84
Adams, Albert J., 164
Adams, Lawrence P., 164, 247
Adobero, 70
Aerometer Co., 206
Agassiz, 221
Agriculture, 40, 44
Alaman^ Lucas, 219, 221
Aldama, 25
Alhondiga, 22, 29
Allende, 47
Amalgamated Gold Mines Co.,
164, 176
American Miners, 6l, 63
Andrade, Jesus, 198
Anglo-Mexican Co., 84, 213,
217, 220, 226
Anglo-Saxon capital, 10, 211
Aparecida, 119, 231
Architecture, Spanish, 23
Argentina Mine, 231
Arrastres, 52
Ascuncion de la Navarra, 84
Avio, 65
Avispero, 83
B
Bailey, Leonard O., 99
Bajio, El, 34
Barragana Group, 76
Bartlett, John S., 99
Bartolo, San 72
Beaton, Geo. A., 90
Blaisdell Process, 147-152
Bolanitos Mines, 198, 199
"Bonanza," 65
Borde, de la, 1 7
Brennon, J. C, 239
Brickmaking, 69
British capital, 8, 217-224
Brown & Sharp, 212
Bryant Dam, 137
Bryant, George W., 90, 106,
109, 117, 119, 120, 121, 124,
230, 233, 234.
Buenavista Mines Co., 231
Buildings, public, 25
Bustos, Francisco de, 85
Bustos Mill, 23, 93
Butler, John S., 82
Cannon, R. W., 164
Carcel, 20
Cardonas, 72, 76
Carmen, El, 186
Carmen, Guanajuato, 72
Carpenter, A. B., 127, 236
Cata, 12, 83, 84, 85, 91, 92, 93,
94, 186, 187, 215, 220.
Catorce Mine, 58, 59, 218
Cattle raising, 115, 116
Cayetano, San. 57
Cedro Mine, 57, 64, 103, 107-
111
Cedro Mining & Milling Co.,
117
Celaya, 47, 206
Central Mine, 112, 117, 234
Central Mining & Milling Co.,
117
Central Railway, 31, 38, 48
Churches, 63, 87
Cogswell, C. V. R., 82
u
Index
Communications, 48
Conclusion, 253
Consolidated Mining & Milling
Co. See Guanajuato
Corning, F. L.. 82
Cortez, Hernano, 129
Costumes, peons', 71
Cotton mills, 46
Cox, Geo. B., 99
Cubo Mine, 57, 180, 190, 200,
215
Curtis, Leonard E., 89, 99, 208,
230
Cyanide plant (G. C. M. & M.
Co.), 73, 9S
D
Dam, Bryant, 137
Del Rio,' Martinez, 99
Departments, 47
Development Co., Guanajuato.
See Guanajuato
Development Co., Mineral. See
Mineral
Development work, 181
Diaz, Porfirio, 25
Divisions, 47
Doblado, 25
Doble, Robert McF., 208
Dolores, Tajo de, 188-196
Dos Estrellos, 10, 33
Dowd, Chas. F., 99
Dredging machinery, 126
Duarte, Viscount de, 85
Duero River, 202, 203
Dump, value of, 173
Dwight, Theodore, 154, 239
E
El Bajio. tr.
El Real del Monte Mines, 224
Electrical Co., Westinghouse,
228
Electricity in mining, 225-228
Electrical machinery, 136, 226
Electric power, 90, 137, 138,
202, 205, 206, 207, 209, 227
Emma, 84
Esperanza Mine, 33, 83
Esperanza Reservoir, 26, 29
Estrada Cccilio, 190
Exports of metal, 13
Extravagance in mining, 213
Feast days, 63
Fillcy, H. H., 208
Finances :
G. Redu. & Mines Co., 97, 98
Cons. M. & M. Co., 81
Peregrina M. & M. Co., 129
Guan. Dev. Co.. 105
Mineral Dev. Co., 153
Financial News, The, 12
Flora, 40
Flour mills, 46
Food of peons, 70
Fruits, 40
Furness, Dwight, 64, 243-246
"Gigante," 34
Godoy, Manuel, 156, 157
Gold production, 49. 50
Gonzalez, Joaquin Obregon, 190,
229, 230
Gorda, Sierra, 47
Governor of Guanajuato, 229,
230
Granaditas, 20
Griscom, Clement A., 99
Guadalupe M. & M. Co., 231
Guanajuato:
Consolidated Mining cc Mill-
ing Co., 57, 72-82, 86, 186,
224, 256
Development Co., 40, 100,
101, 107, 109, 111, 112,231
Foundation of, 15
Index
m
Governor of, 229
Power & Electric Co., 90, 137,
201-210
Pronunciation of, 18
Reduction & Mines Co., 57,
97-99, 238, 258
River Gold M. Co., 123, 124,
236
Sierra of, 34, 35
Situation of, 17
H
Hacienda de Flores, 256
Haciendas, 126
Hamill, S. M., 99
Hammond, John Hays, 16
Harris, E., 164, 248
Hidalgo, 21, 25, 29, 31, 36
Hill of Frogs, 19
Hill, R. T., 90
Hine, Henry, 99, 208, 230
Hobson, F. J., 91, 122, 128, 237,
256
House rents, 30
Humboldt, Baron von, 58, 212
Imports and exports, 45, 46
Independencia, 84
Industrial establishments, 46
Inundation, 37, 38, 39
Irapuato, S5, 202, 206
Jalisco, 33, 116
Jardin de la Union, 24
Jardin, Plaza, 26
Jesus Maria, l65, 166, l67, l69,
170, 215
Juarez, Benito, 25
Juarez, Teatro, 24
K
Karsch, George, 164
Kincaid Mills, 137
Kurtz, C. L., 90, 99
Labor, 61-66
Laja, 34, 35
La Loca, 189
La Luz, 15, 84, 89, 163, 164
La Luz Mines, 167-169, 197
La Luz Mines Co., 197, 231
La Planta, 154
La Presa, 29
La Sorda, 154, 162
La Torre, 159-162
La Union Tunnel, I6l,l62
La Union y Constancia, 185-188
Leggett, T. H., 190
Leon, 48, 202
Lerma, 34, 35
Lepanto Mine, 231
Limantour, J. Y., 49
Living, cost of, 30
Locke Mfg. Co., 206
Loreto, 84
Lydecker, Major C. E., 154
M
MacArthur-Forrest Process, 200,
256, 257
MacDonald, B., 82, 224, 250,
251, 252
MacDonald, M. E., 82, 224, 249
McElhiney, Geo. W., 89, 90,
102-106, 117, 119, 120, 124,
Maguey, El, 83
Main, Chas. T., 208
Manon Vein, 156
Maravillas, 83
Marm, 17, 29, 31, 38, 48
Matilde Mine, 231
125, 230, 232, 233
Mejiamora, 84
Mellado, 12, 15, 83, 187
Metal, exports of, 13
IV
Index
Mexiamara, 182
Mexican Cons. & Eng. Co., 39
Mexican Gold & Silver Recovery
Co., 237, 257
Mexican Securities Co., 231
Miller, H. H., 154
^Milling process:
G. C. M. & M. Co., 72, 73, 80
Pcregrina, 140-145
Mills:
Cotton, 46
Woolen, 46
Flour, 46
Miner, American, 61-63
Mineral Development Co., 153-
162
Mines Selection Co., 223, 224
Mining and agriculture, 41
Mining camps, 55, 5Q
Mining, uncertainties in, 258,
259
Mother Vein, 11, 15, 59, 72-77,
88-90, 108, 119-121, 154, 159,
160, 254
Mountains, 34,
Mozo, The, 66
Mulford, R., 85
National Mine, 55
N
National Railway Lines, 49
Navidad Mines, 231
Naval Milling Co., 117
Nayal Mine, 57
Nopal Mine, 157, 158
Noria Alta Mine, 57
Norris, R. V. 154
Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato,
84
Nueva Luz Mine, 155-158
Olla, La, 38
Ores, Guanajuato, 253, 254
Organization and Staff, 117
Pabellon Mine, 184
Pan- Amalgamation, 55
Panteon, 22
Parker, Leroy, 99
Pastita, 29
Patio process, 51-54
Peck, Frank G., 121-123, 235,
236
Peons, 67-70
Peons' food, 70
Peregrina ISIine, 57, 117, 118,
127-139, 255, 256
Peregrina Min. & Mill. Co., 127,
129
Peregrina Stamp Mill, 140
Pinguico Mine, 57, 103-107
Pinguico Min. & Mill. Co., 117,
118
Plateros, 84, 167, l68, 171
Plaza, Jardin, 26
Portland Gold Mining Co., 235
Power & Electric Co., The, 90,
137, 202, 206, 207, 209, 210
Power, lack of cheap, 89
Power plant (G. C. M. & M.
Co.), 73
Preface, 7-14
Press Comments on Work by
same Author, vii-ix
Priests and peons, 68
Productions, 10-12, 59, 84, 107,
113, 146, 154, 155, 157, 160,
161, 167, 169, 179, 183, 196
Promontorio, 187
Purisima del Cedro, 187
Purisima Tunnel, 77
Obregon, 17, 85, 87
Obrero del Porvenir, 84
Queretaro, 33
Index
Railway, Central, 31, 38, 48
Railways, 31, 45, 48, 49
Rain, 36
Ramsden, Percy H., 238
Rayas, 12, 17, 83, 85, 86, 214,
215
Rayas, Marquis de, 85, 214
Reduction & Mines Co., 57, 83-
84, 89, 97-99, 231, 258
Refugio Mine, 57, 197, 198
Regie Mine, 231
Residences, 26
Revolution, 3Q, 88, 221
Rhodes, Cecil, 8, 16
River Dredging & G. M. Co.,
123, 124
Rivers, 34, 35
Robles, Carlos, 99
Rosario, 84
Rowe, Norman, 248, 249
Rul estate, 84
Rul family, 88
Ryan, Edwin P., 246, 247
Salamanca, 32
San Bartolo, 72
San Cayetano, 57, 178-180, 183,
184, 214, 215
San Felipe, 34
San Francisco de Pili, 84
San Gregorio, 32
S
San Isidro Ranch, 103, 114-116
San Isidro Dam, 115
San Jorge Mine, 231
San Judas, 34
San Luis Potosi, 33
San Matias Mill, 122
San Miguel el Grande, 26
San Pedro Gilmonea, 84
San Prospero, 57, 121-123, 148,
228
San Rafael, 55, 215
San Vicente, 72, 76
Santa Inez, 158
Santa Nino, 84
Santa Rosa, 76
Santiago, 34
Saturday Night Club, 27
Secho, 84, 215
Securities Corporation, Ltd.,
101-103, 117, 231
Sherrod, V. B., 248
Sierra de Guanajuato, 34, 35
Sierra Gorda, 48
Sirena, 15, 72, 74, 75, 76, 218,
220
Smith, John F,, 164
Social Life, 27
Springtime, 40
Stamp Mill, Peregrina, 140
Stamp Mills (G. C. M. & M.
Co.), 73, 76, 77, 79
Stamps, Number of, 57
State of Guanajuato, 33
States of Republic, 33
Stealing tools, 67, 68
Stehr, F. W., 99
Struthers, Dr. Joseph, 154
Tailings, 123
Tajo de Dolores, 188-196
Tasco Mine, 17
Taylor, Jr., L. H., 154
Teatro Juarez, 24
Tejada, Lerdo de, 229
Telephone, 30
Tepayac, 15, 84, 92, 187, 214,
215, 220
"Through Five Republics of
South America, i
Timber, 40
Todos Santos, 84
Topographical features, 33
Torta, 52
Tortillas, 70
VI
Index
Trade, 45
Tramway Co., 29
Transmission line, 206
Tunnel, 39
Tunnel, San Cayetano, 178
Turbine generators, 205
Turbio, 34
Turner, Martin F., 99
U
Uncertainties in mining,
259
Union, La, 84
United Mexican Co., 84,
181, 211, 214, 215, 218,
222
V
Valenciana, 12, 17, 23, 83,
158, 214, 220, 221
Van Doren, J. E., 154
Van Law, C. W., 90, 99,
243
Veta Madre, 11, 72, 75-77,
186, 214
Victoria Mine, 117, 120, 121,
231
ViUalpando, 214, 220
Virdon, Mr., 154
W
Wages, 61, 62
Ward, H. G., 41-44
War of Independence, 28, 29,
.58 31, 36, 191
' Water supply, 115
Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg Co.,
„Q 228, 248
'I' Whitney, J. P., 154
^^' Wiley, Capt. W. M., 154, 241,
242
155, Y
Yeatman, Pope, 99
242, 2
108. Zacatecas, 214
Zamora, City of, 202
Work by the Same Author vii
WORK BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
"Through Five Republics (of South America) 1905."
500 pp.; 9Q illustrations; 3 maps; Price 9.1 /s. ($5.25 JJ. S. Cy.).
(London: W. Heinemann; 20-21 Bedford St., Covent Garden.)
"Nothing escapes his critical pen. . . . We can cordially praise his
industry and catholicity of interests."
"Illustrated London Nervs," Feb. 23, '06.
"The book is a valuable book and a conscientious book. We look
forward to Mr. Martin's promised story of Juan Fernandez."
"Manchester Guardian," Dec. 21, 1905.
"It is evidently a painstaking and laborious production, and mer-
its the most appreciative consideration."
"South American Journal," Nov. 25, 1905.
"Mr. Martin's last book 'Through Five Republics of South Amer-
ica' had a heavy sale." "The Mexican Herald," Jan. 11, 1905.
"Mr. Martin deserves congratulations on publishing a book which
he alone, probably, was qualified to write."
"The Sheffield Daily Telegraph," Nov. 29, 1905.
"Mr, Martin is a very competent writer on commercial and finan-
cial matters. His book (upon Mexico) will undoubtedly attract
great attention here." "The Mexican Herald," April 3, 1906.
"We would commend this excellent book to the attention of our
readers. It can be consulted with confidence by all interested in that
part of the world with which the author deals."
"The Field," Jan. 20, 1906.
"We hope that its success may induce him to take the pen in his
hand again. The work is extremely interesting and should greatly
enhance the reputation of its author."
"The Mining World," Dec. 30, 1905.
"Mr. Martin is highly recommended by prominent people of
England and Mexico, including President Diaz, and his report
upon Guanajuato promises to be the most complete and authoritative
that the district has had for years."
"The Jalisco Times," April 6, 1906.
"A book which will be found of some value by commercial men
and possibly by politicians. It may be read together with the more
historical volumes Mr. Martin writes with knowledge of par-
ticular cases and carries more weight than do more general critics."
"The Athenaeum," Dec. 2, 1905.
viii Work by the Same Author
"A most interesting book on the present condition of South Am-
erica is "Through Five lUpublics," to which I am referring else-
where, by Percy F. Martin, F. R. G. S. The book is filled with
useful and at the same time readable information."
"T. P.'s Weekly," Jan. 5, 1906.
"Mr. Martin's book carries all the conviction of candor, for the
author does not hesitate to blame as well as praise No serious
student will find fault with a record which so overwhelmingly out-
weighs blame with praise and which so strikingly opens up a
wondci'ful vista of progress and of industrial opportunity."
"The World's Work," Nov., 1905.
"A sturdy and substantial volume of over five hundred pages full
of hard information, picturesque notes and descriptions, chapters
on international politics and social evolution, the railways and traffic
and trade of that strange continent where they seem as ready for a
revolution as a bull-fight whenever there is an afternoon to spare. . .
A good many must come and go before this book ceases to be a ser-
viceable and interesting mine of information regarding South Am-
erica and its present stage of progress."
"The Pall Mall Gazette," Feb. 24, 19O6.
"Certainly no one can accuse Mr. Martin of painting too glowing
pictures of the Republic, he visited. He pitilessly describes the bru-
tality and hideous folly of the revolutions which so often disgrace
some of these Republics The letters which appeared in our
columns in the first half of the year have already familiarized our
readers with Mr. Martin's fluent pen, and will have shown how well
qualified he is to give his impressions on other industrial and social
aspects of these States." "The Railway News," Dec. 2. 1905.
"Mr. Percy F. Martin, F. R. G. S., has been travelling to good
purpose throughout the South American Republics. His book is
written with scientific accuracy of statement, and also in a pleasant
flowing style that makes it both interesting and easy reading. It may
be regarded as a standard work of reference. . . . The author may be
accepted as a trustworthy guide He presents valuable infor-
mation The author goes into commercial statistics at con-
siderable length in this noteworthy work, and he throws out some
suggestions for remodelling and reviewing the work of the British
consuls and vice-consuls in the diff'erent Republics."
"The Sydney Daily Telegraph," Jan. 27, 1906.
"Will be exceedingly useful to people who are tliinking of making
investments in that Continent. Mr. Martin is a keen critic of busi-
ness undertakings, and has extensive stores of information to im-
Work hy the Same Author ix
part on such subjects as railways, minerals and agricultural pros-
pects Particularly valuable as a guide to the way in
which British capital has been, and may with advantage continue to
be, invested. As regards the railways of the five Republics, one
could not hope for a more thorough and precise account of their con-
dition and prospects." "The Morning Leader," March 6, 1906.
"What is most important to record is that the contents are at once
informing and interesting. Mr. Martin has not made up his sub-
ject; he knows it from the inside, and he has been able to vary his
pages with side-lights on social matters with authoritative particulars
relating to economic questions and occasional criticism of political
affairs Reform is urgently needed in this matter (the British
Consular Service) and it is well that Mr. Martin should have drawn
attention to it in its relations to that particular quarter of the globe
from which, during the present century, the largest commercial de-
velopments may be looked for."
"The Morning Post," Jan. 11, 1906.
"The value of the book is much increased by the up-to-date charac-
ter of much of the information, some of the statistics coming down
to the past summer. One can find all that one wants to know or what
Mr. Martin thinks about the railway systems, the financial status,
and the commercial prospects of the various countries, and a very
readable list has the advantage of interpretation by a large number
of excellent illustrations. The net result to the general reader is an
entertaining useful volume, and there certainly does not exist a work
which presents in so comprehensive a form the latest political and
commercial information of the leading countries of South America."
"The Financial Times," Nov. 21. 1905.
"Mr. Martin's qualifications for so large a book are unquestion-
able. The author, as our own columns have from time to time testi-
fied, in recent years, is an indefatigable pioneer of commerce. His
experiences have hitherto been embodied in newspaper articles solely,
and he is to be congratulated upon his decision to bring together in
more permanent form the results of his three years investigations in
South America Altogther it would be difficult to overestimate
the value of this volume as an aid to the development of our com-
mercial interests in the regions dealt with, and it may be hoped that
it will be appreciated as fully as it deserves by our merchants and
manufacturers." "The Glasgow Herald," December 3, 1905.
G
/
m
,^
h
a
^OFCAli
o
£ IV /^
\ o
>:
fcT?
ii^ ^f r^
1 <-^
oe
^
i Xfic
V^
<
= ^ r
T s
oo
rn
I .--f
1>J
■^
Jo
1^1 iJ7AHV«r
^\^t•tNlvtKi;;
'-Si
^.JOJIIVDJO^ "^XJIDNVSOV^^
■c^EUNIVERJ//,
'-
li'NIVERS/^ ^vlOSANf^'"-
UQwsov^^ "^/iaaAiNftiwv^ '"^omm^^
'^my,>.\am>y^
mm
AWtUN
ii3
-
S-OfCAli:
6:
«i-
!HKAKr-C7/
^v
\:
il-i^ "'(yAflVaiiii-^
^'rt^•uNlv
'^F-fAllK%. ^-;^A^'
AVAf-llNlV(-P\/
:ilVAfjr.flAr,
\j\tii iiffA'»
. vWMlNIVERJ/-