Gilpin observer., 1906-03-15
OUTLOOK FOR THE MINING IN
DuSTRY IN COLORADO.
By Simon Guggenheim.


American Smelling and Refining Com
'pany, appear in the Denver News In
substance Mr.. Guggenheim said:
feel that the outlook for the min
ling industry, particularly in Colorado,
was never brighter. With the present
comparatively high prices for silver
and lead and the constant introduc.
ition of improved processes for the
smelling OF ore, the miner and pros
lpector are encouraged to still further
develop the old producers and to dis
cover new camps. This is an era OF
mining speculation. The "wildcatter"
has done the industry great injury, but
despite that, men of money are turn
ing to the mines of the world for
profitable investments. AS an illus
tration of this trend of sentiment Mr..
Schwab has in measure abandoned
iron and steel to go into gold. silver
and copper mining. A number of
other financiers whose names are al
most household words are following
his example. They have heretofore
confined their operations to railroads
and industrial stocks. Their advent
in the mining world will give the min
ing industry a tremendous impetus and
materially assist in the development
western states.
Some men foster the idea that the
interests of the smelter and the miner
are inimical. l want to combat that
position in the most emphatic manner
The interests of the miner and the
smelter are indissolubly bound up. We
cannot prosper unless the miner pros
pers. We are constantly installing new
processes at great expenditure of
money in order that we may treat
lower grade of ore. Rock which was
thrown on the dumps a few years ago
is now being profitably smelted. With
the changes in equipment which we
are making we will be able to drop
down another notch.
You can not conduct business as
complicated as that of the American
Smelling and Refining Company with
out leaving room for complaints, but
we are always open to suggestions,
and we endeavor to remedy apparent
injustices as rapidly as the exigencies
of our business will permit. We invite
the miners to come forward with their
complaints. A friendly talk will prob
ably lead to a satisfactory adjustment.
At the recent meeting of the execu-
tive committee of the American Smelt-
ing and Refining Company we deter
mined to greatly increase the capacity
of existing plants by installing new
processes and up-to-date equipment,
and to erect some entirely new plants.
At Garfield Beach. near Salt Lake,
we have purchased about twenty miles
of the lake front and are erecting one
of the largest copper smelters in the
world. 1t will be in partial operation
by July and it will handle the ores
of Utah and Nevada.
We have ordered the erection of n
modern smelter on an island near Oak
land, California. This with out Selby
plant will handle California and Ne
vada ores.
We are putting much capital into
Old Mexico. A large lead and copper
smelter will be erected at Torreon;
also at Chihuahua
Here in Colorado we plan some i'm
provements which must be extremely
gratifying to every well wfsher of the
state. You know the foundations of
our family fortune were laid in this
state and we naturally feel n loyalty
to this commonwealth. In 1883 we
started the Philadelphia Smelling and
Refining Company at Pueblo, and there
/ gained my first experience in smelt
ing.
Our Leadville plants will be reno
waited and new furnaces and new pro-
cesses installed which will increase
our capacity at least twenty-five per
cent. This will have a very material
effect upon the future of the Cloud
City camp-which in my opinion is
destined to continue for many decades
TO be one of the worlds greatest min
ing camps.
About ono year ago one of our aux
iliary corporation, the United States
Zinc Company. erected zinc smelter
at Pueblo. 1t was largely in the na-
ture of an experiment. but 1t has
proved so successful that we have de-
termined to erect a second zinc smell
ter in Pueblo, which will have double
the capacity of the first plant. Be
tween them the two smelters will EN-
ploy about 900 men. making ma
terial addition to the payroll of Little
Pittsburg." Ground will be broken for
the new smelter this spring and 1t Will
be rushed to completion.
We recognize that Colorado's zinc
output is assuming very important pro-
portions, and we desire to encourage
the mining of that class of ore. A few
years ago the silver-leadzinc ores of
Leadville and other camps were not
marketable. We introduced European
processes and furnished n market for
this refractory stock. AS the produc-
ton of zinc ores will justify the out
lay we will erect other zinc smelters
and enlarge the capacity of existing
plants. The zinc miners may depend
upon it that they will have every facil.
ity that science and capital can afford
for the handling of their ores.
Our Denver and Pueblo plants are
to be overhauled and new processes
installed which will increase the ca
pacity OF those plants from twenty to
twenty-five per cent. This change Is
equivalent to the erection OF several
new smelters hampered with the old