Kelley Mine of Anaconda Co.

Are from the Greater Butte Project is hoisted through the new Kelley shaft. In 1946 when plans were formulated for the Kelley mine, two test cave blocks were mined by using the facilities of the old St. Lawrence mine. These blocks, known as the Adams No. 1 and Adams No. 2, produced more than half a million tons of ore. The experiment proved beyond all doubt that cave mining was possible- and economical-in Butte. Adams No. 1 was patterned after Inspiration cave blocks. Adams No. 2 was a slusher type, with the slusher lane on the first floor above the haulage crosscut and at right angles to it. Thirty-horsepower electric hoists slushed ore from 48-in. scraper buckets directly into cars for haulage to the shaft. These cars were the 57-cu ft Granby type hauled by 6-ton battery locomotives over 40-lb, 18-in. gage track. Prior to this time the largest slushing machines used at Butte were 15-hp electric hoists pulling 36-in. scrapers.