The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1901-05-09

Charges to Be Greatly Reduc ed
for the Purpose of Increase
inc Output OF Mines.
Manager Jones Says Mine Owners
Must Have q Chance TO Oper-
ate at Profit.

simon GuggenheIm OF the executive
board OF the American Smelling
and Refining Company gave the posi-
tive assurance in New York last Thurs.
day that the capacity OF every smelter
owned by the trust would be increased
and modernized without delay and
that efforts viii be made to treat a
larger amount Of low grade ores,
adding nthat the trust will aid the
miners in developing this class OF
properties.
The plan, as stated by another OFF,
cial of the trust is to adopt gradua-
ted scale of treatment charges, based
in part upon the value of the ore, thus
making the high-grade product pay
in part the cost Of smelling the low
grade ores.
1t is given out by the trust people
that their desire is to increase the
product of all classes of ores to the
greatest possible extent, realizing that
the greater the tonnage handled the
greater the profits Of the trust.
7. r Jones, the Salt Lake manager
of the American Smelling and Refining
Company, vouches for the correctness
of the statement given out in New
York, and adds
ITO encourage production and thus
make our business heavier. the mine
owner must be given chance to
operate at a profit. We must have
the ore to treat in order to make
money ourselves, and have no doubt
that we shall be able to arrange terms
that win be mutually advantageous.
This will be welcome news TO the
miners of this locality, many of whom
have good propositions, hut they have
learned that in the case of lead ores for
instance they must contain at least 40
per cent lead in order to pay freight
and treatment charges. That is to
saw. ores which contain 40 per cent
lead will leave no margin for the miner
unless the gold and silver contained
therein is sufficient to show profit.
Lead is settled for by the Smelling
company at Salt Lake on the basis of
SO. 80, and from this II cents pound
is deducted for shipping the bullion to
the custom market leaving s2.65 as
the actual price paid to the producer.
But the lead ores of this camp show
values ranging from SO to $50 in gold,
and from 20 to so ounces in silver, and
under the new schedule, which will
soon be announced, many of these
properties will be worked at a good
profit until such time as a smelter is in
operation in Ely. when the vast guam
titles Of low-grade ores that will not
now warrant shipping will be handled
successfully.
From a statement compiled by the
New York Engineering and Mining
Journal. it is seen that there has been
a steady increase in the value of metals
during the past three years, and If
the charges for treating ores were
kept down to what is considered an
honest basis the miner would not have
much to complain Of.
The average price of silver in New
York during the year 1899 was SO. So;
In 1900ft was 61.4l, and for the first
three months of this year it was 81. so.
In 1900 the average price Of copper
in the same market was 1919, while
thus far this year 1t is 16. 35
For lead the average price was 81. 81,
and for the first three months of this
wear il has remained stationary at
"a. .35. But regardless of the price on
the markot the American Smelling
and Refining Company has fixed SO. 90
as the arbitrary figure at which the
nroducer must dispose of his lead, and
the result is that number Of good
nronerties in the vicinity Of Ely, as
: we'll as elsewhere. can not be worked
not so much because of the price Of the
metal as on account of the unfavorable
scbedule fixed by the Trust for the
traatinu Of the ores.