Arizona republican., 1897-11-07
THE METAL MARKET.

THE METAL MARKET.
 New York, Nov. 6.-Silver certifi- cates, 57@5S1a; silver bars, 571s; MsK- ican dollars, 421s.
 OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICANS. Mexican Mines Need the Application
 of Modern Machinery
 G. w Tibbtts, formerly of this city, but HOW a nesident of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, is at the St. James hotel says the Denver Rapub- 1ican. MT. Tlbbiis has been in Mex ico for four years, examining mines and b.iying ore for MT Nash of the Omaha and Grant shelter, and dur ing that time has travelI-d all over the republic of Mexico. 'The mining industry is constantly improving" said he, "and the opportunities for investment were never better than alt present. There aG'5 two different formations in Mexico. In the east ern part of the state of Chihuahua is the lime and porphyry contact for mation, the ores being carbonates carrying an excess of iron, about 15 per cenid lead aud fif1een ounces of silver. Sometimes tha excess of iron increases at E!he expense of the sil- yer, but the percentage of lead varies very little. This is the great smslt- ing regdon, this character of ore being necessary for smelting purposes, and has caused the erection of the grea,l smelting plants throughout this mart. of the republic.
 But thIeIe is another class of ores that have not as yet been so exten- slNely worked Along the crest of the S1erras from the northern boun- diary to the Guaremalan frontier is a cont1nuous succession of mine al veins strong Assures, with granite walls, tine ore being sulphides, and at is here that there is the greatest opportunity for American enterprise.
 The Mexicans are fair miners. but they have not the crudest idea of con- centration and know nothing what ever about milling In this gr-Ia,- belt of sulphide ores, as rich and re- Glable as the ores of Gilpin county uhe values are in both gold and silye-.
 The Idea has been very general that becauslsI Mexico has in rhe nast produced great qua -tities of silver ii us sllVer country, but ithis is very Tar from the truth The Sierras are vast store houses of gold and event ually Mexico will become one of tbo great gold producers of the world Tn dhe northern part of the republic inc metallic values of these sulnhide o~os run about 25 per cent in gold. but as one goes south the percentage of so15 lncreasl7s and the ore becomes no-o refractory until i'm the extreme, south gold forms about 75 Der cent of rbo aneCaIhc values, and Elhe ore is so r,o- !ractory that even the patio system is aneHectdve in extracting the valuss
 All or this vast belt of sg1lnhidos IS practically virgin gnound ready for anbeullgent, modern methods of oner.- allhon In Chihuahua there are twe1no large milling plants operation and . sreauer Or less numbkr in Sonora brt soptn or Chihuahua there is mt Q single mill and the natives do mol seem fo understand how to take ad- vantage of the mill system.
 Regarddng the h of these do pos1Is or sulphides one instance, will give some idea. A mine in the soutlh- ern part of the republic has to nav Suon neavy freight rates aand snch nlgn smelt1ng charges that not bino. less than $10O ore can be sbinneg ana yet this mine is shipping rlpn carloads of ore per week Tho amount or sorting necessary and t;,,o quantity Of second and third grade ore lyfng on the dump that comId pc utahzed by concentration can ha lmagmed. It is in the southern narh of uhe republic that the q -eatest ro- wards await Amlsuicam enterprise in the establishment of mills.
 Another thing to be considered IS Nne question of transportation as 1t exists all over ithe republic. The Taalroads all run on the elevated pla- teau at a distance of from 100 to 2OO m1pss from the mountains. necosSi- tatdng wagon or burro transporta- ton for that distance so that if is practically impossible to shin any uhlng except bullion from the mines
 M Us equally impossible to ship i'm ledVy machinery, for any distance over 1oo miles, and it becomes impor- odint 10 devise methods of 1reatm ent Whlcn require the lightest machinery possnple, and any system which can Ieuuce the ores to an oxide and mt pnelh m condition for amalg9mation VIII ma an open field in Mexico. With proIH,s beyond anything that they can nope for in this country. for it coS.s great deal more to treat ores III Mexlco than in the United States eventually concentrating plants will pe estaollsned all along the Sierras DlE the best field now is for sucb ao1 procHsses c1 preparing the orc for dnialsdmallon, as can be erected with out ssflous expense, and of course that means light machinery.
 "It is to be regretted that Inc United States does not secure more of the Mexican trade, which is mainly in the hands of the Germans, but tha Americans do not seem to get hold as the Germans do. American goods are vastly superior ito German manufac- EurprS but the 18tte- sell maII on5