The copper era. (Clifton, Graham County, Ariz.) 1899-1911, 1902-02-06
The Cost Of Copper.
Mining and Scientific Press.

lily gathered mlslnfOrmatlOn relating
70 it is appearing in print.
In the Lake Superior mines the cost
OF prod ucing copper is inversely as the
richness OF the ore in metal. The ore
in the mines is not uniform in It's con-
lent. The general business policy fol-
lowed At these mines while copper was
at l. cents a pound has been TO mi ne
out the lowest grade ores that would
yield enough copper to pay small
profit. The cost OF copper at many
Michigan mines has, in following this
policy, been from II to Is cents a pound.
Now that copper sells for only II cents,
the policy at these mines will be to
take out higher grade ores and thus
reduce the cost per pound OF their pro-
duction below - cents. Not all OF the
mines will be able to do this, the guam
tity OF sufficiently high grade ore be-
/ ing too small to permit OF an economic
I production. That is to say. these
/ mines cannot be worked to the capacity
of their plant or proportionate to the
| investment they represent. Tho larg-
er and older mines can adjust the grade
of their output to the lowered sale
I price.
| The Calumet & Hecla mine, when
copper was selling three years ago and
longer at 10 cents pound, and less,
was reducing 4! per cent ore-ninety
pounds of copper to the ton. The cost
of mining and reducing ore OF this
grade, aside from the refining, is no
more than If tho ore contained only l
per cent. of copper. 1t is absolutely
less costly now than five years ago to
mine and mill these ores. The Calu-
met & Hecla produced copper at cents
or less per pound when copper was sell
ing fom 10 cents pound down. IT. as
is claimed, it has been costing cents
4 pound to produce copper when copper
was selling at l. cents, it is evident
that the IL per cent ore was left in
reserve and ore grading about per
cent copper has been mined. To
maintain its profit margin against tho
lowered selling price, it will take the
exceedingly simple way of mining rich
er ore.
The Calumet & Hecla will not be
alone in this policy. Ia 1894 the Allan |
tic mine, with copper averaging a sale /,
price of 8 cents a pound, made a profit
from ore that yielded only seventenths |
of per cent, or fourteen pounds to the !
ton. The segregated costs of this pro- |
duction were per ton of ore: Mining, |
including break ng and sorting, S0.751S; |
rail transportation to mill (3 miles), |
SC. .0303; stamping and separating, So
$3.50; freight to New York, smelling, |
refining and marketing, SO. l71l, max |
ing a total of s1.1922, or S0.OS5l5, per
pound Of copper produced. The cost |
of production at this mine is now stated |
to be - cents, which would simply |
mean that one-half OF l per cent ore |
was being mined. 1t would seem quite
safe to assume that there is to be no |
material reduction in the output OF
copper from tho older of the Lake /
Superior mines. and not much, il any, |
reduction Of profits earned by them.
In the Rocky Mountain and Pacific
States copper mines the effect OF the
reduced sale price is not 30 readily
for by mining higher
grade ores. For example, the LIE Roi
mine an Rossland, b. c., yields grade
of ore running close to 1.3 per cent cop
per-26 pounds TO the ton. The smell
ter pays for 20 per cent OF this. or Is. 2
pounds. On this quantity reduction
Of cents pound on the selling price
ore, and third less net value in the
ore reserves. The different character
Of the underground mining from that
in the Lake Superior copper mines in-
troduces physical difficulties which
make il impracticabl le to increase the
grade OF ore mined without at the same
time Increasing the ton costs and re-
iucing the life and total net output of
the miues.
In mines where copper is a larger
part of the total values, as compared
with the gold and silver, the cost OF
prod duction is a still more serious mat
ter. At Butte, Mont, the gold per
ton OF ore is low-$0.10 to 81, the silver
larger. But the gold and
silver not agg-egating anywhere noar
the ton cost OF mining and reduction,
his lower sale price of copper makes
, much larger proportionate reduction
in the total value Of the metal produc-
lion, aud a larger cut into the profit
margin under 11-cent copper. The
mines OF Butte are now being worked
10 depths at which, though the metal
contents are more uniform, they are
over in quantity. A lower sale price
of copper cannot be as certainly COM
for by mining g higher grade
ore as was practical bic when these mines
we're worked closer to the surface.
The problem OF adjusting costs to the
new price conditions is certainly a
serious aud difficult problem, if any
thing like past production aud earn
ugs are to be maintained. Costs,
which are stated to be from 10 to Il :
cents pound now for the production
1t all but few OF the mines (the Bos-
Ton S Montana being stated at centsl, ,
,annot be reduced much without re-
iucing the output of metal and the
life OF the mine very materially.
In AriZona Utah Navads ard CaE- ,