Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1890-01-18
THE eeLp AND Silver YIELD.

THE GUILD AND Sh1~E1
The Director of the Mint has lost no
time in collating his statistics for 1889,
says the San Francisco Call, and in pre-
senting them to the public in tabular
form. He figures the total production
of the precious metals in the United
States at $92, 374, 200, Of which S3S, 1877.
500 was gold and $50, COG, 700 was silver.
The product has not varied much since
the exhaustion of the Comstock bonan-
zas and the discovery Of argentiferous
carbonates in Colorado. Five years ago
the Mint reckoned it at SS3, 400, 900, of
which s3l. 500, 900 was gold and $751;
900, 900 silver. Other estimates for the
years lSS3-S7 gave an annual gold pro-
duct Of about s35, 900, 900 and an annual
silver product of about 500, 900, 900. So
that, generally. we may say that the
American product of the precious metals
has remained about the same for several
years.
II we call the worlds product OF
those metals $3.50, 600, 900, sos, 900, 900
OF which is gold and the balance silver,
the United States contributes 40 per
cent of the whole, no other nation pro-
ducing anything like as much. We beat
Russia and Australia in gold, and Mex
leo, Bolivia and Chile in silver. Indeed
it is not too much to say that. if any
accident, such as war, suspended the
working Of the mines Of this country,
no foreign nation could maintain a cur
rency on a metallic basis. The consump-
tion of. the precious metals runs SO
closely on the heels Of their production
that a very slight decline in the crop
would produce serious disturbance. One
year with another the commercial ma
tions coin about $500, 900. 900 of gold
and silver; the consumption in the arts
is not so readily ascertained, but France
alone uses up about IS, 200, 900 a year;
SO that the surplus stock from a produc.
ton of $3.50, 900, 900 would not cut an
important figure.
Some years ago high hopes were en-
tertained of gold discoveries in Africa.
Some considerable quantities Of gold
dust were obtained from Senegal, but
the supply was not maintained. There
is of course some dust in the rivers of
North Africa, but it is impossible to say
how much. The mines Of Venezuela
have been increasing their yield Of late,
but in their best year they have not
reached an output equal to one.third Of
the present yield Of California. We are
assured from time to time that the Mon
golian gold washings are going to assume
q new development; this may prove the
case; the sands of the continents Of the
Amoor river lave been washed for gold
from the earliest historical periods, and
no doubt in the hills where these streams
take their rise there are COLLABORATING
quartz veins. But year follows year,
and China does not seem to get any
nearer to realizing a gold supply which
would enable the empire to float a gold
currency. 1t is just possible that Alaska
may loom up as an important producer
of gold before the Middle Kingdom.
CALIFORNIA; production of the precious
metals does not vary much from the ff-
teen millions at which it has stood for
several years. The State is credited by
the Director of the Mint with a produc.
tion of $l4. $50, 900 in 1889. OF this
about four-ifths. sl2, $50, 900. was. gold.
There is no reason to apprehend a dimin
ution Of this supply, though the days of
hydraulic mining are over. The rocks
of the Sierra are impregnated with gold.
and centuries may elapse before it will
cease to be profitable to work the veins
with modern methods and improved ma
chinery.