Drills and mills

[Danb]

I meet the author of “DRILLS AND MILLS”, Will Meyerriecks for the second time last weekend at Silver City, Idaho. He told me of dozens of mines he has explored in Colorado with so much original equipment left under ground. His book is very cool. He had not heard of MU and said he would check it out. I can get contact info for those who want to buy his book. The first time I meet him I ordered 20 for the gold club and they showed up with in a week. This guy really knows his mining stuff. I invited him to the BBQ but he was heading to northern Idaho.

http://silvercityminingcompany.com/upload/dm.jpg

Dan

[Joanne]

Hey Dan!

I have Will to blame for my mine exploration obsession. I have always enjoyed photographing old mining camps but after reading his book I wanted to take my interest to a whole different level. Now I'm rappelling down shafts and crawling though collapsing drifts. People think I'm nuts!

Mills and Drills is the best introductory book I have found. It gave me a good understanding of mining history and methods. Now I have a much better understanding of what I am seeing as I walk though a mine. If I could only have one book in my mining library, this would be it.

The only thing I don't like about the book is that I can't keep one for myself. I have bought a number of copies but have given them to friends who I know would enjoy reading them as much as I did. My friend Tony who lives in England has one of my copies on his nightstand. Ditto with Chris in New Jersey. Don't remember who I gave the third copy to....

Last time I was at the Tonopah Mining Park I tried to purchase another copy so I would have it in my own library but they were out of stock. I need to track down another copy and keep it for myself! Unfortunately it can be a bit challenging to find a copy in good condition.

Joanne

[Dawn_CL]

Whats the pricing on the book? what topics does he go into?

[Danb]

The sub title is “Precious Metal Mining and Milling Methods of the Frontier West”.
Lots of topics, pics, diagrams, charts etc. The pricing from 2010 was $30 per individual copy and discounts for larger quantities.

His email from the book is wmeyerriecks@yahoo.com.

[Joanne]

Hi Dawn,

The used price has gone up a bit in the last couple of years. A quick look on Amazon shows them for less than $50. I would like to pick up a new, or good used copy in the near future.

It covers the general history of mining in the west, then digs deeper into various topics such as placer and hard rock mining, how ore is milled and processed, drill development through the years, and how smelters work.

It's not a "how to" book by any means, but for those of us who are interested in mining it is a good read.

Joanne

[Dawn_CL]

Ill be contacting him for a copy.

[ExpUt]

I've enjoyed my copy of his book, he's done a great job with it. Must have for any mine history aficionados.