The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1907-08-17
Capt. Smiths Weeks Review.

| since the close OF the 0ScAl year,
| June 80. bar silver has advanced q
| points in the London and New York
| markets. and in spite OF a decrease ed
| shipment from London to India for
currency demands holders of the metal
are decidedly firm. the mint bureau
| paying close to 10 cents per ounce for
deliveries At Philadelphia, Denver and
| San Francisco. The secret Of this Arm
| ness In the price OF the white metal is
the practical ascension OF the much
advertised Cobalt balloon. which last
year threatened the mining and metal
| lurgical world with "veritable food
| of silver" such as the Comstoc X :
| poured forth in the demonetization pc
| rIod OF 1873
From millions In high grade stur"
| In the early fall OF 1906. Cobalt ore
shipments have dropped to an average
of 600 tons per week of medium grad e
| ore. which pays but Indifferent profit
| when the excessive cost OF mining
transportation to outside points and
| treatment by American smelters Is
| subtracted. Cobalt now talks econ.
omy, the curtailment of wages and liv-
ing expenses. and the immediate con
| struction of home smelters. While
this transformation from bonanza TO
business proceeds there is talk on the
! curb OF suspending dividends. and IN
the strength OF this talk Nipissing, the
leading cobalt share. has dropped in
Boston and New York to $3.50 and $,
with the would-be sellers vastly out
numbering the buyers. Persons who
buy shares for immediate and sensa-
tional lifts do not stand for a consery-
ati!e policy. with its average dividend
Of to 10 per cent yearly. About this
time last year. when the Guggenheim
Exploration Company had barpAined
Tor large interest in Nipissing, 10
keep the silver output in control, tho
stock advanced by leaps and bounds
from $14-the contract price-to as
high as $40 on the New York curb.
with wild excitement attending the
sales. The engineers OF the Explorl-
ton company who checked up on the
glowing report of John Hayes Ham
mond, did not agree with the concur
sions OF the 100000 per annum ex-
pert, Then the Guggenheims let go
Of their holdings, but were decent
enough to protect their followers at a
loss OF some $500, 900 to the Explora-
ever. another Guggenheim concern tn.
United Metals Selling Company. has
cleared vast profit In sales OF silver.
copper. lead and zinc, SO that the Co.
bait loss has been many times made up
removal OF threat against the sta
billty of the white metal, which is soon
to be used on an extended sale In
Cuba. where the rate OF wages and
cost Of living make silver peculiarly
useful as the currency of the people.
To meet the popular demand in
Cuba Secretary Taft has decided to
make American money legal tender in
the island. demonetizing all foreign
coins. including the Spanish A Cuban
silver currency of low denomination,
bearing a fixed relation to American
coins. as in the Philippines. will be IN
troduced. Our silver certificates. gold
certificates, bank notes. etc, will con
tinue to circulate until the Cuban gov
ernment Is ready to make its own pa
per issues. Currency reform along the
line proposed means additional work
for American mints, including the
plant in Denver. and wider market
for the product of American silver
mines.
To return to Cobalt The district
was recently examined by Willet G..
Miller. NJ. E. provincial geologist OF
Ontario. who has every reason to be
prejudiced in its favor In a recent
paper, read before body of mining en-
gineers, he declared that Cobalt was
unique in its association of ores. "In
no other part Of America did the met
ais of silver. cobalt nickel and arsenic
occur together. The only known places
where they were found in combination
were Saxony, Bohemia, and one place
In France. Most OF the noted mineral
deposits OF Ontario were unique. The
nickel ores OF Sudbury required years
OF experimenting for their profitable
treatment. The corundum and mica de-
posits were also phenomenal. The CO.
bait mines had been rapidly developed
because the ore was rich In silver,
but owing to its peculiar and RE-
FRACTORY character the cobalt,
nickel and arsenic had been practi-
cally wasted"
Very different this from Leadville.
where the Yak Tunnel, Mining and
Milling Company pays steady quar-
terly dividends OF six per cent. upon
ores that average from s.. SO to 81 per
ton. containing values in silver, gold.
lead, zinc and copper. all economically
mined and as easily treated as lead
silver ore at the smelter Leadville
produced last year s1,249,4 ,403 in gold.
$4.lU4,394 in silver, $3.o51,261 in lead
$s75,O0S in copper and S4,541.75S In
zinc, together with $4,000 worth OF
manganiferous iron ore, and $12,5Oo
in bismuth. or s13.Ss4,324 all told.
This was close to a ten per cent in
crease over 1905, with dividends total
ing $2,070o00, or near to fifteen per
cent of the gross value of the product.
There is an essential difference be-
tween this record and the Cobalt
showing, in which the more or less
valuable by-products are practically
wasted.
Boston reports Nipissing bears as
nndulY aPpraSsiya Ranortc staAo Tint