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Thursday, November 19, 1998
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Section III: Archive on the Sierra Buttes Mine
340. (Sierra Buttes Mine) Archive of reports, ledgers and other material relating to the operation of the Sierra Buttes Mining & Milling Co. of Sierra County, California. Founded in the early 1850's, the mine was one of the first to concentrate on quartz mining, tunneling deep into the mountain sides to follow the gold-bearing veins. Around 1870 the mine was taken over by a British concern, which operated it until 1904, when it was bought by E.A. and J.O. Hayes, two brothers who were also involved in other mining projects. Under their leadership, the mine, which had languished as the richer and more readily available ores were exhausted, prospered once again with the introduction of new extraction techniques. The cyanide process was employed, using that toxic chemical to leach the gold from the tailings. It is estimated that over $16,000,000 dollars worth of bullion was produced from 1870 to 1904, with figures for the succeeding years not available. The archive provides a detailed view of the financial and economic realities in running a mine. It consists of documents at the core of any business, such as account and ledger books, payrolls, etc., as well as those peculiar to quartz mining in the Sierra Nevada, such as assay reports, expenses of the cyanide process, reports on mine yields, and other information. The bindings of the various books varies, as leather gave way to cloth and boards. The condition is generally very good or better.
The archive consists of:
Book of monthly reports for the Sierra Buttes Gold Mg. Co. Limited, from January 31,st, 1871, to January 31st, 1875. Consists of printed forms particularly created for the mining company, with each month having a General Statement, a Mine Statement, a Reis Mill Statement, a Hanks Mill Statement, a Coulter Mill Statement, a Boarding House Statement, and non-form pages listing classification of labor. The forms are filled out giving the overall yield, profit, etc., plus the details of the individual operations. The labor statements give the number of men working, their rate of pay, total pay, and indebtedness to the company. This latter figure invariably exceeded the former.
Monthly Reports for April, 1883 to August, 1889. Similar to the preceding, with slight differences in forms, including the addition of a "Tailings Works Statement." The Boarding House statements are mostly left blank, as occasionally are other statements.
Monthly Reports for April, 1904 to March, 1908, giving an overview of the mining expenses, yields, labor costs, production time lost by various causes, etc., including costs of development work. This was the period when E.A. and J.O. Hayes began operation of the mines, and were introducing new production techniques to increase the profitability of working ore of decreasing richness. Written in blank journal book from 1878.
Diagrams and Plans for apparatus at the Sierra Butte Mill, on cloth, incl. "Water Wheel for Sierra Butte Mill...Aug. 13, 1877" (mildew stained with horizontal tear); "Brodie's Patent Crusher, Hinckley & Co. Manufacturers, San Francisco" (wrinkled with some staining); "Plan & Elevation of Thirty Stamp Mill for the Sierra Buttes Mining Co." (light staining); "Side Elevation of Main Building" (stained and mildew damaged); and a sheet with plans and elevations for the boarding house (some staining & wear).
Day Book, Jan. 4, 1869 to Sept. 26, 1870, listing the day-by-day expenses of the mine, for labor, various supplies, etc.
Cash Book for September 1, 1889 to May 1, 1896, giving the expenses, credits and cash available, itemizing labor and other costs, freight expenses, etc.
Labor Ledger for 1887, 1888 and 1889, listing, for each employee, the amount of money owed and paid for each month of the period covered.
Receipt Book for June 8, 1889 to May 1st, 1896, with 6 forms per page, each signed by the person receiving a payment from the Sierra Buttes Mining Co., mostly apparently employees.
Time and Pay-roll log for December 1891 to April, 1896, with the days worked for each employee per month listed, the amount due and paid them, the nature of their work, etc.
Three Waterpress Letterbooks, covering Nov. 14, 1894 to Sept. 2, 1894; April 1890 to April 1896; and April 17, 1904 to April 31, 1912, containing copies of memos, letters and account statements produced during these periods.
Two Assay Books, for April, 1904 to September, 1906; and October 1906 to June 1909, giving the gold value per ton of samples from the different mills, tailings, and car samples. The second book also serves as a bullion record.
Two General Ledgers, April 1904 to July 1907; and August 1907 to August 1910, listing the credits and debits to the company accounts, the running balance, itemization of the various expenses, etc.
Two Account Books, 1904-1906 and 1907-1910, listing bullion and cash holdings, expenses for mining supplies, payroll, disbursements, costs of the cyanide operation, etc.
Two Account Ledgers, April 14, 1904 to October, 1909; and November 1908 to September 1910, itemizing the various expenses and payments in operating the mine.
Ledger giving expense statements for the cyanide operation, 1905-1908, including the costs of the various components (cyanide solution, zinc boxes, tanks, etc.), the operations of the individual tanks (schedule of filling, leaching, discharge, and assay values of the tails), the costs of labor for the overall operation, the amount of bullion returned, and, interestingly, the net benefit of using the cyanide process over the preliminary assay of the ore.
Provenance: The Hayes family, the final operators of the mine, in whose possession the archive has remained until this time. (4000/7000).