Arizona republican., 1904-04-04
The Country's rlineraI Resources.

Although the governments data on the mineral resources of the country the reports of the director of the mint as we'll as those of the geological sur yey-are not generally issued under wear after the collection of the inform ation on which they are based, much interest attaches to them because or the exhaustiveness with which they treat the subject.
 A communication from the geological survey states that owing to the com pleteness of the canvass made, the volume of mineral resources for lsO2' which the survey will soon have ready for distribution, will be of more than usual value to those interested In the development of the country's mineral wealth. Acting in cooperation with the census office, the agents of the sur vey personally visited most of the pro- ducers and procured more complete data concerning the conduct of the various mining industries than they had ever before attempted to collect. This more detailed inquiry necessarily consumed more time than had the less thorough collection of statistics made in previous years, so that the publica- ton of the annual volume has been in consequence delayed. Separate chap ters of extracts from the entire volume have, however, been issued as fast as they were completed. The finished volume will be bound and ready for distribution about the middle of April.
 The figures showing production indi- cate a continuation of the remarkable activity in the mineral industries of the United States noted in 1900 and 1901. In 1902, for the third time, the total value of the commercial mineral products of the United States exceed ed the enormous sum of $1,000, 900, 900. The exact figures for for 1902 were $1.- 2S0, 639. .415, which, as compared with $1, ,OS6, ,5S4,S51 in 1901, shows gain of 1892 per cent. As heretofore, iron and coal are the most important of our mineral products. Nearly all the inn portant metals increased in both out put anu NdluGs lHC lCSo HIT portant metals platinum, as cofhpared with 1901, lest in both quantity and value even more than it gained in 1901 as compared with 1900, the production in 1902 being 94 ounces, valued at s1,- S14, as compared with 140S ounces, valued at s27,526, in 1901, with 400 ounces in 1900, and with 300 ounces in 1899. The fuels increased from s442,- 41O,9O4 in 1901 to s469,O7S,647 in 1902, a gain of $26,667,74 743, or 6 per cent. Every variety of fuel increased in value ex- cept anthracite coal, which showed a decrease in quantity of 2S, ,9O1 $50 long tons and in value of s36, ,S9O,4S4.
 The gain of s174,O64414 in the total to the increase in both metallic and nonmetalic products, the metallic pro ducts showing an increase from s51S,- 266,259 in 1901 to S642, ,25S, 5s4 in 1902 gain of s123. .99S. .325, and the nonmetalic products showing an increase from $567 ,31S,592 in 1901 to $617, ,3SO,SS1 in 1902, a gain of $50,O72, ,0Ss. To these should be added estimated unspecified pro- ducts, including building, molding, and other sands reported to the survey, the rare mineral molybdenum, and other mineral products, valued at $1.OOO, ,OOO making the total value of the mineral products for 1901, sl,26O. 639, ,415.
 The manufacture of arsenious oxide