Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-20

Over 5000 Producing Mines in
the United States.
Nearly Half a Billion Dollars
Invested.

In 1880 the Total Production Was Worth
Almost 500, 900, ,OOO-of the world'S
Product Our Mines Produce Nearly sS
Per Cent. of the Gold and Al Per Cent.
of the Silver-MininG statistics.
WASHINGTON, July 20.-The superin-
tendent of the census has sent to the
government printing Office the material
for the first part of the mining volume
Of the eleventh census. The most inn
portant part of this matter has already
been published, with the exception of
the part relating to the production Of
gold and silver in the United States
during the calendar year 1889. A bulle-
tin on this subject has been issued from
the census Office The bulletin, after
referring to the difficulty of obtaining
information from individual prospectors
and small Mines says that gold is main
ly produced by few large accessible
mines. from which it is easy to get sta
tistical information; but the cost Of pro
duction at such mines would not fairly
represent small mines or prospectors.
The Production ~ 1880.
The bulletin shows that the produc-
ton of bullion during the year 1889 was:
Gold, !, ,500, 800 ounces-United States
coming value, $32, 1856, ,744.
Silver, 81, So, ,S51 ounces United
States coming value, 1866, ,396,9SS.
Total, United States coming value,
800, 1888, ,132.
In gold this is nearly 20 per cent. of
The worlds product, and in silver Al per
rent.
Different Kinds of Mines,
The bulletin says: The number Of gold
and silver mining "claims' or 'loca-
tions,'' commonly called mines, in the
United States is practically beyond com
putation. The names of nearly lOO,0OO
of such claims or mines were received by
the census Office, but upon limiting the
Investigations to- |. Producing mines
2. Mines working but not producing. D.
Mines temporarily stopped, but which
had produced or upon which the work
done had established their value and
which could properly be classed as mines
the list declined to perhaps 10000, and
upon tabulating only such mines as
made returns of production or labor
statistics, the list was reduced to 0,O04,
which is still very large number COM
pared with the other mineral producing
mines in the United States,
Interesting Statistics.
Expenditures during the year, includ.
ing wages, value of supplies, etc, were
$G3, ,451 ,i36. The total value of mining
plant was $l65, ,960. .566, made up OF
buildings, railroads, machinery, under.
ground improvements, mine supplies
and cash and estimated valne of mines
exclusive of above items $33S, ,094, ,S21.
The value of mills and reduction works
was SEQ, ,362, ,772. Total value of mines
and works $4S0, 1923, ,43S. OF the 1904
mines on which returns of production
on labor statistics were made, 2B6 were
reported idle, 900 were reported work
ing but not producing bullion, % as
producing over $500, 900 worth Of hull
lion, a. rs producing $250, 900 to $780,
600, 107 as producing 100000 to $780,
600, 95 from $4,000 to $100000 437
from $4,000 to $4,000, 1,40S from
81 900 to $4,000 and 1910 less than
81 900.
From the statistics it appears that the
labor employed in the actual production
of the precious metals is better paid and
more productive, in fact, than in any
other industry thus far MAY, 1891 re-
ported in the bulletins issued by the
eleventh census.
The average earnings of all persons
employed at the gold and silver mines
(57, $3.50 was $725 year, while the aver
age output per man amounted to $l,723
n wear.