The A B C of Mining: A Handbook for ProspectorsBramble, Charles A.
Science
The A B C of Mining: A Handbook for Prospectors
Bramble, Charles A.
Mining engineering; Prospecting
The horse whim is used in developing many a western prospect. The
windlass does not work well below forty feet, and where fuel and water
are to be had any sensible man will use steam power for deep mining,
but there is a gap between the windlass and the steam hoist which the
horse whim fills acceptably. To a depth of 300 feet a horse whim can
usually handle the rock and water. It is inexpensive, in the first
outlay, and costs but little to run. You can bring your bucket from a
shaft a hundred and fifty feet deep in two and a half minutes, and
with a seven hundred pound capacity in the bucket, in forty-five trips
you could raise fifteen tons a day. A shaft three hundred feet deep
would require four hours' steady work to bring to surface the same
amount. A fair speed with a one-horse whim from a three hundred foot
shaft is one hundred buckets per shift of ten hours, but the
prospector rarely has to figure on shafts of that depth. If the mine
turns out well it is likely to be in the hands of a powerful company
(of which he should be the principal shareholder) before the three
hundred foot level is reached. The weight of the horse whim is about
eight hundred pounds. It can be taken to pieces and packed anywhere
that a mule can travel; the heaviest piece will not weigh more than a
hundred pounds.
[Illustration: PROSPECTING MILL WITH HORSE POWER.]
A small stamp mill, run by horse power, is a very favorite machine
with western men, where the ore is free milling. The mortar in which
the stamps work has copper plates amalgamated with mercury inside, and
copper tables with amalgamated plates over which the pulp passes after
oozing through a fine screen in front of the mortar. These little
mills are so constructed that they can be taken apart or put together
in an hour or two. They require but one horse power and will do good
clean work up to their capacity. The following are the specifications
of a good one:
Total weight 1,500 pounds.
Weight of heaviest piece 350 pounds.
Weight of stamp 100 pounds.
Drops per minute 60 to 80.
Capacity per hour 300 to 400 pounds.
Diameter of pulley 30 inches.
Price, with horse power, about $350.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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