The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-06
The CortIInenr nf Gnlh-


From the Portland Oregonian
The facility with which placer-mining on
a small scale provides gold for the few
lucky seekers. as distinguished from the
more businesslilSe undertakings Of quartz
properties with Withdrawals OF capital
from other channels and the maintenance
of pay-rolls, is to be limited in the Yukon
district. This is poor mans mining" that
costs something. Probably sl,50O0OO would
be a liberal estimate Of the gold taken
from the kiondike, but fully that amount
has been spent in the past six weeks in
efforts TO get There on the part Of indlVid-
uals and corporations. The cost of gold in
the full Significance must be computed
from the unsuccessful as wen as the sac
cessful effort TO get 1t. And as this includes
such remote elements as the insurance on
vessels lost in Yukon voyages, and the in
Vestment of stay-at-homes in grub-stakes
and stock subscriptions, the average ounce
of gold represents a good cash outlay as
well as a vast amount of toll and hard
ship.
Gold-mining has never yielded very
handsome returns on the investment In
the aggregate. In California last year tho
value Of gold mined was si396O, So and the
cost OF getting it was Sl2, 5O6 555. That Isl
IL cost last year 30 cents to mine 81 worth
of gold. This is not exactly like finding
money. IN COLORADO the business was taP
more successful, a yield of $23 COO, 900 cost
ing only Si35OO.00O. and in Montana the
cost of mining "A dollar was even lower, or
about As cents. Taking the country over
the total gold and silver mined in 1890 was
$99, 2S3. 752, and the capital invested was
1886 1928, 1893, or $3.50 of capital for every dol
lar of bullion produced. Every dollar in
vested produced 20 cents worth Of bullion.
Undoubtedly these figures reveal no
more than half the real cost Of the mining
They show only the inVes tment in working
mines, very slender basis for calculation,
as any one familiar with mining knows
In pursuit of gold thousands Of men III
every part OF America have spent their
lives and all their money. Thousands who
are going to the Yukon will leave there
not only the thousands they are taking,
but perhaps also their lives as well Not
one prospector in twenty-five so the rec
ords show, is successful. and one-half CT
those who do find paying quantities in
rock mining are caught in other go.d-min-
ing ventures that do not pay for the la
Dor employed. Paying veins often tempt
investors to increased outlay for machine
cry and labor. only to find at the end that
the promise has been an illusory one III
the amount of capital sunk in abandoned
mines and lost by individual prospectors
should be added to the capital employed IN
paying properties, it would be found that
on the whole, gold-mining Is a risky bush
ness, and that for every dollar of gold
produced probably twice that amount has
been expended Nor are the profits even
" divided, for the lucky ones are few ana
the losers many. To the ordinary chances
Of failure and loss the Yukon fields add
those Of an Arctic climate and a great
distance from civilization. Even with tha
known Righteousness Of gold insthe Alaska
and northwest gulehes, 1t Is doubtful II
civilization will ever get the money back
II Is now spending e gather 1t.