Editing Republic, Washington (section)

===Republic Mining District===
Republic was founded by gold prospectors in the late 19th century. Mining claims were first made along Eureka Creek on March 1, 1896,<ref name="Umpleby1910">{{cite journal |last1=Umpleby |first1=J. B. |year=1910 |title=Geology and ore deposits of Republic mining district |journal=Washington Geological Survey |volume=1}}</ref> after the northern half of the [[Colville Indian Reservation]] was vacated on February 21. On March 5, 1896, the Republic claim was staked by Thomas Ryan and Philip Creasor along Granite Creek, another branch of the [[Sanpoil River]]. The resulting Republic Mine eventually became the highest producer of gold in the county. On April 18, 1896, the Republic Mining District, originally called the Eureka Mining District, was established.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Full |first1=Roy |last2=Grantham |first2=Robert |editor1-last=Ridge |editor1-first=John |title=Ore Deposits of the Republic Mining District, Ferry County, Washington, in Ore deposits of the United States, 1933-1967 |date=1968 |publisher=The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum engineers, Inc. |location=New York |pages=1481–1494}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lindgren |first1=Waldemar |last2=Bancroft |first2=Howland |title=Republic (Eureka) District, in the Ore Deposits of Northeastern Washington |journal=USGS Bulletin |volume=550 |publisher=USGS |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0550/report.pdf |date=1914}}</ref>

The first [[Stamp mill|ore mill]] for processing low grade ore in the district was constructed in May, 1898, while highest grade ores were hauled {{convert|80|mi|km|abbr=on}} east to [[Marcus, Washington]] partway by cart and then via the Spokane Falls & Northern [[Branch line#North America|branch line]] for the remaining distance.  Between 1899 and 1900, stamp mills were constructed at the Mountain Lion mine in the northwest part of camp and the Republic Mine in the south resulting in a brief period where all of the district's ore was milled in the camp.  The Mountain Lion Gold Mining company 100-ton mill used a combination of [[Amalgam (chemistry)#Gold extraction (ore processing)|mercury plate amalgamation]] followed by [[MacArthur-Forrest Cyanidation Process|MacArthur-Forrest cyanide leaching]].  However, because of much lower gold and silver recovery rates, combined with the soon to arrive rail lines, the mill was soon shut down.  The 200-ton Republic mill processed the ore by first [[Roasting (metallurgy)|roasting]] the finely crushed ore, followed by [[cyanide process|cyanide leaching]], with the first loads of ore being processed in October 1900.<ref name="Umpleby1910"/>

In July 1901, the Republic mine and mill both shut down because of the milling cost, and a lack of enough profitable ore being recovered.  Ores in the Republic District were noted to have increasing percentages of silver concentration in the lower portions of the ore bodies, and the Republic mill did not provide more than a 50% return on assayed ore value, dooming the mill.  The Republic mine remained inactive until 1902 when the arrival of railroads in the town made mining profitable again.  From 1902 to 1909, ore was freighted north to [[British Columbia]] and then west to [[smelter]]s on the coast for processing, with periods where shipments up to {{convert|1000|st|kg|abbr=on}} of ore a week were regular.<ref name="Umpleby1910"/>

The Republic mining District encompassing Republic and the surrounding areas, had no defined borders as of 1909 when the geologist Joseph B. Umpleby visited, but included six townships with a center "a little west of the south end of Curlew Lake".  At the time of the visit Republic was the most important mining camp in the county and the largest with a population of around 1,500.<ref name="Umpleby1910"/>