San Francisco Paper - Cyaniding Practice of Churchill Milling Col, Wonder, Nev.

Believing that the results accomplished in the mill of the Churchill Milling Co., Wonder, Nev., during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1914, will be of interest, I am presenting the more prominent facts and figures showing the progress made in treating this ore with especial reference to tonnage, supplies, costs, and extractions. The mill is situated at Wonder, Nev., in the Wonder mining district, 55 miles east from Fallon, Nev., the nearest railroad point. All supplies are hauled this distance by freight teams, this method of transportation having been found more reliable for continuous service than truclis, the price paid for hauling being slightly under one cent per pound. In this mill are treated the ores of the Nevada Wonder Mining Co. Ore is Unusually Hard The company which tested this ore before the mill was built reported "This ore is an unusually hard, tough, oxidized quartz, carrying a small percentage of high-grade sulphides, containing good values in both gold and silver. None of the rebellious silver minerals appear to occur in appreciable quantities." ... "In regard to the mill tonnage this ore is unusually hard and tough, and a high stamp duty cannot be expected. Using a 20-mesh screen and 1,050-lb. stamps, our best work was three tons per stamp per 24 hours." It is very probable that the ore delivered to the testing plant was harder than the regular mill run has proved to be. However, at present the mine is developed to a depth of 1,000 ft., and still shows hard ore in places at this depth in about the same proportion as on the upper levels from which the test ore came; during this year's work, ore was treated from nearly all levels. Together with this hard ore in the mill feed a considerable proportion appears to be broken down and tending to crumble, thus making an ideal mixture for stamp milling. A small proportion of talc is also noticeable, which sometimes increases in amount to the point where it is very troublesome in the thickeners.