(Information submitted by Mr. Martin follows :)

BURKE-MARTIN MINES

The Burke-Martin mines located near Montezuma, Colo., are an interesting group of claims that merit further development and exploitation.

During my first visit to Montezuma, I was impressed with the general mineralization of the whole district. As I became more acquainted with past and present mining operations, it appeared evident that most of the mines are small surface workings that have hardly scratched the potential wealth of the region.

Among the mines that were worked 50 to 70 years ago and which still offer possibilities of producing appreciable quantities of lead-silver-zinc ore are the Bell and Silver Wing groups. These groups plus adjoining claims have now been consolidated and are controlled by the Burke-Martin mines and comprise a whole that offers an opportunity to develop and exploit in a systematic and workable manner heretofore not possible.

The area covered by the Burke-Martin mines consists of a biotite gneiss cut by fissure zones containing ore shoots of various lengths and widths. Quartz and pyrite containing gold are found in some places, galena with high silver content in others, and pure sphalerite with low silver often with galena. Native silver is often found in vugs and at fissure intersections. The ore shoots or veins are often baren or weakly mineralized and in places are displaced by faulting. In other places the ore shoots are wide and massive and often contain ore rich enough to ship without concentrating.

Mine workings of the Bell group are caved and at present inaccessible; however, records show that rich silver-lead ore was mined from this group for a number of years. Operations were conducted through vertical shafts from the surface and were discontinued when water in the lower levels became excessive. While mining was done principally for lead and silver, the veins also contained zinc and manganese which were not commercial at that time but would be valuable at present.

The Silver Wing mine lies northeast of the Bell group and was worked by two tunnels, one 135 feet above the other. The upper tunnel is over 800 feet into the mountainside and has yielded an appreciable amount of ore judging from the size of the overhead stopes. The lower tunnel is in 350 feet and has not yet tapped the orea that lies below the upper tunnel. The entrance to the lower tunnel is at the bottom of the mountainside and easily reached by car. A 100-ton mill is located nearby.

In the area between the Silver Wing and Bell workings, and also above the Bell, a considerable amount of bulldozer work was done during the last year. This work consisted of cutting trenches across the mountainside and gouging out the portals of some of the old cavedin workings that lie in this area. In a number of places ore was uncovered and 5 veins were located. These veins mostly parallel the Silver Wing veins.

The lower tunnel of the Silver Wing offers the logical means of developing the whole group of Burke-Martin mines. By making it a main haulage way and drainage tunnel it will provide entrance to the whole group. Advancement of the face will be in ore along the same vein that was mined in the upper tunnel. As the face of the tunnel is advanced the amount of ore overhead increases with the slope of the mountain until at about 1,200 feet it will be 700 feet under the Bell workings. During advancement, crosscuts from the tunnel will intersect five other known parallel veins that have outcrops on the mountainside. It is reasonable to believe that the driving of this tunnel will pay for itself in the amount of ore removed.

All in all, as mines are today, the Burke-Martin mines appear as worthy a mining venture as can be found anywhere.

PROPOSED PLAN OF DEVELOPMENT, BURKE-MARTIN MINES, INC., MONTEZUMA, COLO.

1. We have the best technical men available to expedite the work. The company policy shall be based on sound mining engineering and good business practice, working the mines with the intent of removing the ore in the most economical manner. The management will be in the hands of technicians capable and interested in making a profit, as they are also stockholders.

2. Erection of an all-metal building of the portal of the Silver Wing main haulage tunnel. The purpose of this building is: Change room for miners, storage for mining supplies, and cover for workshop and compressor house.

The fireproof safety factor of this item alone will appeal to the miners and the Safety Division of the Bureau of Mines.

With all of the mining department housed under one roof, it will make for a handy and economical operation.

3. Installation of mining machinery: Air compressor end blower, drifter, pipe, track, and mucking machine.

(NOTE. The electric power line was completed to the property last summer.) 4. Advertise for footage contractors and day's pay miners. We will receive competitive bids on the contract work. There is an abundant supply of miners and tunnel men at this time, and we should be able to secure the services of the best in the business. In letting footage contracts, we will be able to know in advance just how much drifting will be done at a certain given price. This will help us to pinpoint the ore reserves developed for a certain amount of expenditure.

5. Now, drifting will commence on the Silver Wing tunnel. When the rich silver junction is reached, another drift will start on this vein to connect all of the other known veins (Meteor, Albany, St. Joseph, Northern No. 2, and the Old Timer). As soon as each of the veins are cut, other drifts will be driven on them to develop more ore. With development work proceeding on 6 different veins, it is easy to realize the vast potential of the ore reserve in a short period of time. All ores removed from these drifts will be earmarked for milling to help defray the cost of driving the tunnel.

The advantages of a low level tunnel are many. Cheap mining in that all of the ores are delivered by gravity, and it will be just a matter of pulling chutes and loading cars after the ore has been blasted down. There will be no pumping of water as all water will run out by gravity. Then there is also the advantage of a winter operation unhampered by the heavy snowfall of the region. Last, but not least, the advantage of the mill location within 75 feet of the mine. All of these things have been planned to give us a real chance to cut down on our overhead and give us a chance to make more profit.

HISTORY

Burke-Martin mines had its beginning in 1947 when John M. Burke of Montezuma, Colo., sold his holdings to Thomas E. Martin of Indiana. Mr. Burke had worked the property since 1881. He had acquired claim after claim to put together the Burke group of mines on Glacier Mountain where silver was first discovered in Colorado.

When Tom Martin came to Colorado in 1948, the property was in a very rundown condition and badly in need of development work. The tunnels were caved in and choked with ice. Since this time, 9 different portals have been opened into old workings. All but 1 of these portal openings is the gateway to a vein of pay ore. After these portals were opened and veins of commercial ores were found. Burke-Martin mines set out to prove these veins from the surface with a bulldozer. This work has a range of about 1,000 feet laterally and started from an altitude of 10,000 feet and was completed at the top of the mountain or at 12,300 feet. Ore was opened at 6 different locations, laterally and was found at all dozer levels from the top of the mountain to the bottom.

The Silver Wing has two drifts, the upper drift is 850 feet and the ore is continuous for the distance of said drift. According to the statistical division of the United States Bureau of Mines, shipments made from this tunnel would give a gross value of $35 per ton at today's prices. Ore was removed from the upper drift for a distance of 450 feet, the remaining 400 feet is blocked out. A test shipment of the concentrates gave values of 1.86 ounce gold, 45.9 ounce silver, 42.1 percent lead, having a total value of $198.82. Past records of crude ore gave a concentration ratio of 4.1.

The content of these ores would indicate silver alone has enough commercial value to warrant further development of this vein. About 300 feet from the portal of the drift a high grade pocket of silver was removed from below the track and the return was 19 ton, which paid $29,000. This pocket has never been cut by the lower level. The lower level was started on the same ore body. Shipping was begun immediately upon contact. The ore has been drifted under for a distance of an additional 275 feet and no ore has been removed from this section of the mine. The intersection in the upper tunnel that made the high grade

silver pocket has not been reached by the lower level. This intersection, by survey, cannot be over 75 feet ahead of the present workings. On page 72 of the United States Geological Survey Professional Paper No. 178, I quote the following: "Shipments from the lower level of the Silver Wing indicate that the zinc ore contains only about 15 ounces to the ton, $13.50 of silver alone." Also quoting Mr. T. L. Johnston's report of April 12, 1953: "It is reasonable to believe that the driving on this tunnel will pay for itself in ore removed." (5 by 7 tunnel will pay in ore for the cost in advancing said tunnel.)

The Albany mine was opened by the bulldozer method and the vein was 40 feet wide. The test shipment of crude ore from said vein ran 5 ounces of silver, 5 percent lead, and 21.85 percent zinc. The gangue material was mostly manganese and an assay of this material across the vein ran 29 percent manganese. The St. Joseph vein was from 3 to 5 feet solid sulfide, lead, zinc, and silver ore. These two veins lie south of the Silver Wing's main haulage tunnel. The St. Joseph tunnel still had wooden rails that the original operators left in there. The Meteor is a 3-foot vein between the St. Joseph and Silver Wing; an assay of this vein ran 10 ounces silver, 22 percent lead, and 8 percent zinc. The "Old Timer" vein which lies to the north of the Silver Wing vein was exposed by the bulldozer method, the vein was 28 feet wide carrying a strong "pay streak” of sulfide, lead, and silver. The aggregate width of the sulfide is 9 feet. A test shipment from here ran 13.55 ounces of silver, 21.9 percent lead, and 42 percent insoluble (rock). The northern No. 2 vein which also lies north of the Silver Wing was opened by the bulldozer method. The vein was 3 feet wide and an assay showed values of 54 ounces silver, and 12 percent lead. All of the above veins parallel each other. Covering a lateral distance of 600 feet.

In the year 1951, a mill was started to beneficiate the ore from the BurkeMartin mines. This mill is not owned by the company but its purpose and location are advantageous to Burke-Martin mines. The mill is within 50 feet of the main haulage tunnel and its capacity is to be 100 tons, per day, minimum. It can be enlarged to cover the increase in production of the mine. The location of this mill will save the company $4.50 per ton trucking charges.

The CHAIRMAN. Now we will try to make as brief as possible the rest of the statements.

Mr. Potter, from Public Lands. I do not know why we should have Public Lands testimony here, but we will take them.

Mr. Potter is not here.

Mr. Wilfley is here now. We will hear him next.

STATEMENT OF C. R. WILFLEY, CONSULTING ENGINEER,
DENVER, COLO.

Mr. WILFLEY. I am consulting engineer to Silver Bell Mines Co. who operate the Silver Beli and Carbonero mines in southwestern Colorado. The company's general superintendent, Mr. A. A. Smith, at Ophir, prepared the following statement and I have been asked to present it here.

The following is Mr. Smith's statement.

Our operation is located at Ophir, Colo., San Miguel County, in the southwestern part of the State. Our company started up this operation some 7 or 8 years ago, soon after World War II. At the time we started in the mining business we had every reason to believe it was the time of all times to get into mining. Of course, we knew it would take from 5 to 7 years to develop a mine and get into full production. At that time base metals were scarce and the prices of base metals were fairly high. Because of this scarcity we stood a good chance of receiving even higher prices for our metals by the time we could get our operation into full production. Then started the rise of both labor and supplies but metal prices were controlled by ceilings that never rose. By the time we were getting into full production metal prices were dropping in the face of rising costs of production.

When we started this operation it seemed that there was no way in the world that we could get fouled up on metal prices. We were told of the great scarcities of base metals and that we were being patriotic by producing in ever greater

quantities. We were producing long before the expected time we thought it would take us to get into production, and thought we were producing much needed metals for the defense of our Nation.

Some 2 years ago, as now, we were producing gold, silver, lead, and copper as a bulk concentrate, and tungsten as a byproduct. Zinc prices were fairly high so we decided to install additional mill equipment and produce zinc as an additional byproduct. By the time we had purchased and installed this additional product, the price of zinc took a drop, and by the time we had produced our third carload the bottom dropped out for both lead and zinc. The price of zinc dropped to 12.5 cents and production was stopped.

During the first few years we had high hopes for our operation, so purchased additional mining properties, opened our second mine; namely, the Carbonero mine, in addition to the Silver Bell mine, where our mill is located. We built 37 modern living quarters for our employees to live in. We built mine access roads-bought several large trucks with which to haul ore from this new mine to our mill, and concentrates to the smelter. All construction was well done; looking into the future.

With the price drop of lead and zinc we soon found that venture capital was almost impossible to get, and we had to stop all new construction and development work in our mines, and devote ourselves to production alone. Those of you who are mining people know that a condition of this sort-production without development-cannot long exist. We developed our mines and constructed our buildings with the highest priced labor and supplies ever paid in the history of this country. Now we are faced with higher priced labor and supplies. Last December we were forced to give our employees another raise in pay. Of course, our miners cannot help it that we receive little or nothing for our metals; their living costs as well as ours are high and going higher.

The history of mining seems ever to repeat itself. I have been mining most of my adult life, and have known and seen many small metal-mine operations go down for these very same reasons I have talked of today, only to be devoured later by a large mining company who purchased their machinery and developed mines for a few cents on the dollar spent by the first, second, or maybe even the third small operator to try his luck. The small company's stockholders were usually left holding the proverbial bag, and believed the mine management to be swindlers or crooks.

In closing I would say that under the present conditions and fluctuating metal prices, the small mine operator has usually but one chance in a lifetime, and that is during a depression era, at which time all standards are equal.

I add the following to Mr. Smith's statement:

This company has been operating continuously for about 7 years on a 6-day-week basis, milling about 100 tons per day steadily, without interruption. It has produced a lead concentrate sold to smelters, containing:

Lead_
Copper

Zinc--

Pounds 1, 805, 940

449, 688 383, 930

As zinc is not recovered by the lead smelter, this zinc was not paid for and was lost to industry. In the attempt to make a recovery of zinc in a separate concentrate last year 75,689 pounds were recovered and sold.

At the current rate of production approximately 45,000 pounds of zinc per month is being discarded in the mill tailings and is therefore lost. About 60 percent of this would be recovered in zinc concentrate if the zinc plant were operated.

Early last year the company negotiated a contract with Defense Minerals Exploration Administration for an exploration project, to cost $79,120, half of which, or $39,560, is advanced by the Government as a loan.

Work began June 16, 1952, and on April 11, 1953, an exploratory drift, or tunnel following the Carbonero vein, had opened up new

ore for a distance of 385 feet along the vein. Mining of this ore was begun and repayment of the loan is now in progress, through a royalty to the Government on proceeds of the production.

At the time the Government loan was under consideration metal prices were: Lead, 19 cents; zinc, 1912 cents, and copper, 242 cents a pound. Gold and silver were, of course, at fixed prices. (Gold and silver constitute about a fourth of the gross assay value of the ore.)

The damage done to this project is shown roughly in the following table. The average assay of the ore is the weighted average of 84 samples taken regularly as the work progressed.

The decline is $5.51 per ton or 29 percent for the 3 metals. If the fixed told-silver value is included, $4.48 per ton, the overall decline is 23 percent. If zinc must be eliminated because of its low price, the damage is still greater.

When a separate zinc concentrate is made, the additional milling treatment effects a somewhat higher overall recovery of the metals, with less going to waste in the tailings. A portion of the lead and copper is recovered in the zinc concentrate, adding to the value of this product. It is therefore believed that the suggested minimum, or supported, price of 33 cents a pound for the combined metals, lead and zinc, would justify resuming the production of the zinc in this ore. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much.

Now if my papers are correct, I have two special witnesses.

Mr. PALMER. May I enter the appearance of Mr. Hinkley of the Rico-Argentine Mining Co. of Rico, Colo.?

The CHAIRMAN. Is he here?

Mr. PALMER. He was unable to be here, but he asked me to state simply that operation is losing $250 a day and that unless some relief is extended they will be forced to close. That is the Rico-Argentine Mining Co. of Rico. Colo.

The CHAIRMAN. What was his name?

Mr. PALMER. Mr. Hinkley.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Cox of the Chamber of Commerce at Gunnison will be next.

STATEMENT OF GUY J. COX, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, GUNNISON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, GUNNISON, COLO.

Mr. Cox. My name is Guy J. Cox. I am executive secretary of the Gunnison County Chamber of Commerce. I would like to point out, due to the closing down of the lead and zinc production in Gunnison County, how it has affected the business and the economics of our small town and the small population of Gunnison County.