Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-14
MINES RETURN
GREAT WEALTH
ONE YEARS GAIN is NEARLY
NINE MILLION DOLLARS
PETROLEUM FOR FIRST TIME
sURPAssEs GOLD
State Mlneralogist Completes Report
Showing Production of Various
counties--copper and Plat
mum Forge Ahead

State Mineralogist Lewis E. Aubury
has just placed in the hands of the
state printer a complete report of the
mineral production of California, by
counties, in the year 1907, which will
be issued for general distribution soon.
The figures are based on the returns
that have been made by producers, in
response to inquiries sent to them on
blanks. The total mineral output of
California, last year, is announced to
have been $55, 697, 949, or a gain in to-
tai value of $S,921, 1854 as compared with
the grand total for 1906.
The feature of the year. as disclosed
by the returns. was the advancement
of petroleum to the first place, sur
passing gold in the value of output for
the first time. The production of gold
and silver fell off $2,O7O,7oS in 1907, as
compared with the preceding year. Pc
troleum, owing to the increase in price,
was more largely produced and was
brought up to the first rank in ag-
gregate values.
Metallic substances, including
precious metals, represent $24, S96,083 in
the grand total for 1907 The metallic
substances include gold, silver, quick
silver, copper, lead, tungsten, zinc,
platinum and chrome. The production
of zinc, which was first reported in
1906, continued in 1907. In metallic
substances the figures for 1907, COM
pared with 1906, show falling off that
amounts to 1,206,619. AS the decrease
in tie precious minerals amounted to
q n ho ~ cI1h
are seen to have been more largely
produced than in 1906.
Gains Are In Copper
The gains are in copper, pyrites,
chrome and platinum. AS usual the
value of silver is given at the CONNER
cial average rating in New York.
The non-metallic substances were pro-
duced in 1907 to the value of $a,495,000.
Under this heading are included coal,
mineral waters, borax, infusorial earth,
salt, magnesite, manganese, gypsum,
mineral paint, fuller'S earth and gems.
The production of the non-metallic sub
stances in 1906 was $2,589,984.
The great increase for 1907 was in
hydrocarbons and gases. The COM
bined values of these substances was
SIS, 1929, 1897, a gain for the year over the
total value for 1906 of $7,S59,664. The
hydrocarbons are asphalt bituminous
rock and petroleum. Values are esti-
mated for the several grades of pc
troleum on the basis of f. o. b. in the
various fields, the barrel prices on un-
expired contracts being also taken into
account. There were produced 7,687,171
more barrels of petroleum in 1907 than
in 1906 The production of asphalt rose
from 77,756 tons to 79,71S tons and the
value from $777,560 to $1,o5S,4O0.
Structural materials made record
L.. e IS NJ
against $7,S59126 in 1906. The list of
California structural materials includes
bricks, pottery clays, cement, lime,
limestone, rubble, macadam, concrete
rock, marble, granite, sandstone, slate,
glass sand and serpentine. The largest
gain in any branch of the structural
materials Industries must be credited
to the brick and pottery clays, taken
together.
Petroleum Heads the List
The minerals in 1907 took the follow
ing order in values: Petroleum, gold, |
"copper" clays and their products, c.
ment borax, silver. This is the same
order as in 1906, with the exception that
petroleum succeeds to the first place
and gold takes the second place.
The productions of the several coun- |
ties are summarized as follows: Placer
county produced t. asbestos; asphalt |
was produced in Alameda, Contra |
Costa, Kern, Los Angeles, Santa Bar
bara, San Luis Obispo and San Fran
cisco counties. The bituminous rock all
came from Santa Cruz and San Luis
Opispo counties.
Borax is credited to 1nyo, San Ber-
nardino and Ventura counties; cement |
to Napa, San Bernardino and Solano |
counties; chrome to Calaveras and |
Shasta counties.
Brick clays were utilized in Alameda, |
Contra Costa, Fresno, Humboldt, I'm
perial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles,
Marin, MERGED, MADEIRA, Mendocino, |
Orange, Riverside, Sonoma, Santa |
Clara, San Joaquin, San Mateo, San |
Diego, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino |
Sacramento, San Francisco, San Luis
Obispo, Shasta, Solano, Tehama, Tu-
lare and Ventura counties.
Pottery clays are credited to Ala
media, Amador, Calaveras, Los Angeles, |
Placer, Riverside and Sonoma coun-
ties.
Coal was mined in Alameda, Amador
and Monterey counties.
The great bulk of the copper was
produced in Shasta county, the copper
output of that county alone being more
than $1,000 900 pounds. Calaveras pro-
duced 3,941, 1888 pounds Fresno stood
third in copper production with 100000
pounds to its credit. The other copper
producing counties in 1906 were Anna
dor, Ell Dorado, Inyo, Los Angeles, Ma
dera, Nevada, Orange, Riverside, San
Diego, San Bernardino and Siskiyou.
FuIIer's Earth and Gems
Kings county produced fuller's |
earth. San Diego, Riverside, Sonoma |
and Tulare counties reported produce |
ton of gems. The negligence of pro-
ducers in making reports is response |
BILE for the relatively small showing for |
gems.
levada, Placer, Riverside, Sacra-
mento, San Bernardino and San Diego |
counties were granite producers, and |
Colusa, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara,
Siskiyou and Yolo the sandstone pro-
ducers. Some serpentine was quarried
in Los Angeles county. Alameda,
Colusa, Contra Costa, Los Angeles,
Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito,
San Bernardino, San Francisco, Santa
Cruz, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, So
lano and Sonoma are entitled to credit
for the production of macadam. Mar
BILE was quarried in Inyo Los Angeles,
Riverside, San Bernardina, San Diego
and Tuolumne counties and rubble in
Alameda, Los Angeles Marin, Napa,
Placer, Riverside, San Diego, San Ber-
Santa Barbara, Sacramento,
EN-1I