Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1891-10-23

silver, and is entitled to be callea "a
silver ore". No fair minded man can
deny this. There are very few ores
where silver is the predominant
metal by weight, and by far the
greater portion of the silver which is
in the world has been extracted from
ores containing but few ounces to
the ton.
a silver ore may he at the same
time All ore of lead or copper. or ether
metal, without being any the less an
ore of silver. We have ores which
are known to metalurgists and
miners AS lead silver" "copper" sill
ver", iron silver'', "zinc silver,
,.antimony silver, 'bargta silver",
cline silver", etc, and which may
or may not be profitable for ex raction
of metals other than silver, although
such metals may be the predominant
ones from which an ore gets its
characteristic name. Such ores are
known AS, and universally called
silver ores" but among mining men
and smelters they are called distinct
lively by the name of the associai ed
metal, the word "silver" being fire.
quently omitted because it is under
stood to be meant.
The Mexican Iead-silver, or silver
lead ores are wanted by certain smelt-
ing companies to mix with domestic
refractory ores for the profitable re-
cOvery of the silver contents of the
latter. Without the lead in the fur
mace mixture, the treatment would
be failure. The poor carbonate ores
and the lime ores. the sulphurize4,
arseuical, antimonal and Zinciierous
ores cannot be worked with profit
without the lead ores to mix with
them. The practical smelling mix
ture requires ut least fifteen per cent
of lead TO gather all the silver aid
make the charge melt easily. And
this lead should of course, for profit,
contain as much silver as may be,
that is, it should also be in silver
ore. In absence OF such suitable sill
YER lead, the 'dry" silver ores, or ore
that will not snielt without it, must
be worked with some less profitable
method, and must, consequently, de-
preciate in value. And AS many OF
these mines are worked on very mar
row margin of profit, this means a
closure of them. The demonstration
of silver by the republican party in
1873 was not a more deadly blow AT
the royal metal than the imposition
of the tariff on lead by the audaciOus
conspirators who now pose as the
special champions and protectors OF
the miners of Idaho!
The control of the smelling Of the
dry ores of the southwest rests with
the few companies who have control
of the suitable fluxing ores, and these
lead ores are deficient in quantity
and accessibility for the smelling of
all the refractory silver. These COM
panies, in consequence, raise the
smelling rates, or lower the price of
the refractory ores to whatever ex-
tent they please, and the miners
must stand the loss, or give up the
ghost. If the Mexican lead-silver
ores were admitted free, this disabil-
ty would be removed in a great
degree; both by the increase in the
desired notwithstanding ore and
by the competition of smelters who
cannot now compete from lack of the
same.t
The exclusion of Mexican lead
means the exclusion of Mexican gold
and silver also in ore or in coin, for
these metals in the ore require the
lead for their extraction, and we
have not enough of this for our own
ore; and Mexican coin and Mexican
trade are certain to abide where Mex
lean products are disposed of, and
will not be sent here except for reel
procal favors.
The importation of Mexican ores OF
gold, silver and lead blended i'm
proper proportions for profitable
|
prohibitive rulings, means the bring
ing into our country of just so much
hard cash, and the return to tho
Mexicans of only portion of it, and
just az long as the Mexican is not
paid more than the actual value of
his ore, just 80 long is it to our inter
est to let it come and to work it here,
few lead men and teaching process
people to the contrary notwithstand-
ing.
Yours in the Democratic faith,
A. +. PARKER.
*Amalgamatlon is, indeed our most
efficient and economical process for
the treatment of the poorer ores of
silver and gold, but the presence of
small quantities of arsenic, anthony,
zinc, lead and copper, or of either of
them, make All ore "rebellious," and
the extraction incomplete and ex-
pensive.
1t is also evident that the lead
ores of the northwest will prove in
sufficient in quantity for the profit
able working of the more abundant
dry base ores, and that the silver lead
of the kOotenai and other districts Of
British Columbia Is needed now In
Montana and will be needed in Idaho
and Washington AS soon as smelling
industries are fairly established there.
All base-ore concentrates which are
shipped from these states to be
smelted elsewhere are at discount
from lack of lead.