The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1907-11-02
SILVER CAMPS OF COLORADO
OPENED.
By Capt James T Smith


with ample time for revision b. hind
them. have just been given 10 the pub
lie One is the final repvrt-the swan
song Director George f. Roberts
Of the United States minrs. the other
Is the review OF lead. zinc and copper
smelling in America during 1905 and
for the fiYe-year period between 1900
the census ycar-aut 1905. 1t comes
from the census bureau and is the work
ot story b I.add and William NJ. Stu
art. the latter being chief staJistician
Of manufactures In the report cogui
zance is taken OF 1913 establishments
engaged in the combined industry OF
copper. lead and zinc smelling and re
hning. Their combined capital was
Slt4 ,O36. They employed 26.s53
wage earners, paid s20,ejs,200 in
wages. consumed materials worth 1882
723 $50 and manufactured products to
'he value OF s+5I .39s 1854.
The relation OF copper, lead and zinc
mining to the output of silver is seen
by perusal OF the report from Mint
Director Roberts for the calendar year
1905. These are the figures which will
go to Congress next December, They
give Colorado second place in the si!.
YER column. while its position as a pro
ducer Of gold is seriously threatened
by Alaska only. which this year will
show a reduction as compared with
last, the reduction being traced to la
bor troubles when the gold winning
season should have been at its best.
~, 1,- "a in IN
its credit, is a negligible quantity. Like
Wall street, il is now engaged in
cleaning house" and this unpleasant
duty will keep it busy for some time,
much to the detrimeut OF its badly in,
1ated stock issues.
OF the 56.Jl1 800 ounces OF silver pro
duced in America last year. worth s3S,-
so, 400 at the market price, such cop
per states as Montana Utah and Art
zona produced &c, ,997. 800 ounces or
forty-eight per cent. of the total. This
was all bS-product, in being safe to as
sert tina. not a single property in All
zona, Montana or Utah was worked
mainly for silver. The large producers
were all on copper basis, and to the
high prices for the latter may be al
tributed the phenomenal output Of the
red and white metals. Thousands OF
men have recently been laid OF In the
prominent copper camps. The move
ment is not confined TO the United
States, but has crossed the line into
Mexico, where the retrenchment pro
So is yet under way, Mexico has
! 600 producing copper mines and 500
additional under development At al!
Of these. without notable exception,
The laying-Sff process continues so that
silver this year will be largely helped
by the decrease in supply. Since Sat
urday last the market quotation has
steadily advanced, with India and the
tnit-u States mints again N the mar
ket as purchasers.
While silver must fall off with cop
per in Montana, Utah. Arizona and
Mexico. it will gain with gold. lead and
zinc in the Colorado camps AT Sill
verton alone the gain this year over
last will be close to thirty per cent.
as the months OF July and August, with
the Ross copper basis plant in fun op-
Grafton showed an increase in output
over 1906 equal 70 sixty per cent 4
party OF Cleveland capitalists, interest
ed in the Old Hundred groIp. are now
in Silverton. inspecting the mines and
the modern CoRCtntrator. About all OF
the machinery is now on the ground
The ore runs we'll in silver and lead.
and tests made with the new method
Of &C ncentratlon show an average say
ing OF ninety-two per cent of the assAs
values, at very small cost. This means
another large shipper for this grow
ing camp.
Rico, the first camp To the west and
south Of the Silyerton district. is find.
ing itself fahuudanuy af'e- several ears
Of slump. II is primarily a silver camp
and furnished lis share Il the bouanzaa
and milllouaires in the white metal era.
For more than a year past the United
Rico Mines Company. made up OF New
York. Philadelphia and Denver capital
lists. has been carrying forward an eNs
teusive and well planned deyelopm mt
program on purely up-todate lines in
the matter Of power. mining and ore
treatment The ores carry silver, zinc,
lead. gold and copper. in the order
named, making it rather difficult to re
cover a fair percentage of values save
by the application of special methods.
The Australian Rotation" process is
about to be installed. and while the
plant is going up unit by unit the in
vestors are eheered by the nums rouS
strikes in the ore veins. no less than
five in one week being recent record
The Group Tunnel mill has been taken
our and will be thoroughly overhauled
An electric power plant is now in ssrv
ice, the wires extending TO the various
mines, tunnels and mills OF the com
pany. In fact, Rico has advanced in
one year from the sputtsring miners
candle TO the latest development OF the
bulbs that glow.
In the Gunnison county camps
where the veins are large and run well
In silver, lead and gold values, Eastern
and Middle West capital is busy this
season The Raymond company is on
Il dividend basis. the mill being opera.-
ed by day and night shifts. Recently
new ore shoot was cut in the 950-level.
which yields from two 10 seven ounces