Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-30
TIN FOR THE WORLD.
America Has Enough Ore to More
Than Supply All Her Needs.
THE BLACK HILLS FULL OF 1T.
Encouraging Report Brought by an TX
pert sent to the Mines.
A GREAT FIELD FOR AMERICAN LABOR


WRITTEN FOR THE DrsPArcH.I
The existence of tin ore In this country,
and in the Black Hills particularly, in
quantities sufficient to pay to work, being
called in question by interested parties in
certain quarters. The DISPATCH and New
York Press sent into that country a repre-.
sentative, an expert on mines and mining,
with instructions to visit every mine, in.
vestigate thoroughly, and get all the facts,
and if he found that tin did exist in paying
quantities to find out why no marketable
tin has yet been produced by the Black
Hills mines
He spent six weeks in the Black Hills in
his investigations He went down into all
the mines that are open and being worked,
traversed every drift that has been run and
every crossing that has been made, and
brings back the assuring report that there
is tin ore in abundance, both at Harney
Peak and in the Niger Hill districts; that
in the former the work of development is
being pushed with commendable energy;
that the new mill Just completed at Hill
City will commence the reduction of tin ore
and the manufacture of American pig tin
for the market as soon as the Burlington
and Missouri Railroad has completed the
''spurs" now building to the mines This
work has been Unexpectedly delayed, but is
being pushed as rapidly as possible. Mr.
j. s. Childs. the experienced superintend-
ent of the Harney Peak Company, expects
to be able to start the tin mill and COM
mence to crush ore before the middle of
November. %
We Have the Richest in the World.
After gold and silver, tin is intrinsically
the most precious of metals The produc-
tion of it in the United States marks the
beginning of new industrial era for the
nation as great as that which followed the
first manufacture of the steel rail Until
the present time the value OF every pound
of tin used in America has gone to pay for
eign labor and enrich foreign capitalists.
This alone of the necessities of civilized life
was thought to be hopelessly absent from
the American domain. Not one pound was
produced in the United States until o few
months ago Every ounce of the S36, 1885,
679 worth of tin plate, sheets, ETC., used in
this country last year was imported. But
It has been proved beyond all possibility Of
doubt that the richest fields of stanniferous
ore In the world are within the borders of
our own country, and the necessity for pay
ing tribute to foreign lands is at an end.
We will in short time be able to supply
every pound of tin plate used by Ameri-
cans in canning vegetables, fruit preserves,
fish, oils and other commodities, and the
United States to-day prepares the bulk of
the canned goods of the world We will
manufacture tin foil, of which the United
States uses the larger moiety of the world 9
supply. We will produce and manuiact- :
ure tip in everyone of the necessary forms
and for everyone of the necessary pur-
poses, and have a large surplus left for
export
The Tin Supply of the World.
A few figures will show the exact future
value of the tin industry to this country.
The annual supply Of pig or bar tin for
Europe and America is 81 357 tons of 2, 224
pounds each. This tin is produced as fol-
lows:
Country. Tons
~ ~ Banka". i,sHj '''''
sonth Sea Islands siIlisoh. q a5ee s ....s7.4ss
Austrana q lSo
Total 81. 357
Of this total amount of pig tin the United
States uses IA, 646 tons, and. in addition, inn
ports 336, ,692 tons of tin plate, which, st
present prices, is valued at $25, 900, 900.
This means q total annual consumption of
%, ia tons of tin in the country.
In the English tin industry there are en-
ployed 6,120 miners underground and g. 5O7
above ground, or 11,627 in all; and these
people turn out $500 tons of pig tin an
nually, or an average of about eight-tenths
of ton to each individual. Using these
facts as a basis of computation the produc-
tion in the Black Hills, or elsewhere in the
United States, of the amount of pig or bar
tin actually consumed in this country in its
native state and In the tin plate imported
that is, %, ia tons-would require the
employment of ,143 men; all of whom. at
present scale OF wages in the Black Hills,
would receive from $3 to 81 per day-that
is. 81, ,095 to s., $50 per year-for in these
mills they know neither day nor night,
Sundays nor holidays; the fires in the fur
naces are never quenched. and the machinery
never stops except for repairs This would
give in wages expended annually from $685.
481, ,575 to $54, 823, $50, Is against compara-
lively nothing ct the present time.
We win Make Our Own Plate.
But the benefit to the laboring classes
and the country does not end here The