[D8814ABT], Letter from Paul D Dyer to Alfred Ord Tate, April 16th, 1888
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Title
[D8814ABT], Letter from Paul D Dyer to Alfred Ord Tate, April 16th, 1888
Editor's Notes
Your favor April 2 has arrived. I will be glad when the time arrives that TAE will employ me, for the electric light business can not be conducted here at a profit on a commission of 15% on net prices; freights traveling and hiring expenses are high. Last fall TAE wrote me that he wanted samples of the rarer minerals particularly Tellurium. Tellurium is not found pure anywhere, but it exists in some localities in this state in the form of Tellurides to a considerable percent, and near Durango Telluride of Mercury is taken from the ground being one of the very few mines of this kind in the world. You write that what is needed now is Sulphide gold ores so you want samples of these kind of ores exclusively. In this particular section most of the gold ores are free milling, but most all of it is concentrated, and that which contains sulphide of iron (and is sufficiently rich) is sent to the smelters, the rest (which runs under $40 per ton) is left on the dump as n.g. I should judge that TAE process for separatiing gold from the Sulphides, otherwise it would be of little value, as all recent smelters can handle this class of ore and get everything out of it. I suppose also that it can be erected in the mountains where there is available water power, where it would be out of the question to put up a smelter. The ore in this camp is the richest in the state. It has to be packed in small sacks on burrows down from the mountains (and this only during six months of the year) and the rich concentrates are then carted in the nearest railroad station (Dallas, four days journey) where they are shipped to a Pueblo smelter. The free milling as I said before is usually stamped at the mine. The "Sheridan" mine has already skipped four cars of concentrates this spring that run $8000 per car. As the Sheridan is forced to concentrate all their ore I suppose that they must have a large bulk of is that is too poor to ship that might be worked by the Edison process to advantage. I will send such samples that I can get, but my means are so extremely limited, that I can not do myself the justice, that I will when I have a small capital to draw on regular employment. We sold a station plant have the first of the year and two months afterwards the purchaser was sold out by the Sheriff, and all out material is laying at the nearest R.R. stationwith $1000 freight due on it. I am here now to find another purchaser and will do so at any sacrifice rather than go into bankruptcy, but we have already lost over on this plant in traveling expenses and lawyers fees $200 more than our commission will [--] to. After this plant goes in I will retire from the agency a loosen by just $1000 (all I made on the Salida plant). An old acquaintane of TAE, Insull has recently paid $125,000 for a property in this camp--a Col. Rodgers who wishes to be remembered to them. I will sell him a dynamo motot if his property develops as he thinks it will. The sooner I am employed the better it will be for me and if a small capial is advanced me I will keep accurate account of it and only use it for your business.
Author
Recipient
Mentioned
Date
1888-04-16
Type
Folder/Volume ID
D8814-F
Microfilm ID
121:902
Document ID
D8814ABT
Publisher
Thomas A. Edison Papers, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University