Gilpin observer., 1908-01-23

Cobalt, gives It Is his opinion that tho
commercial value of the silver output
of Canada this year will be $9,OOO.OOO.
Ac correspondent of the Mining Jour-
nal, London, writes to that publication
that the value Of the shipments Of sill
yer for the first ten months from the
Cobalt mines is placed at $8,O0O.OOO,
and that considerable ore Is being
stacked at some of the mines awaiting
the completion of the smelters now in
course Of erection comparatively near
the mines.
Since the discovery of gold at Daw-
son in 1896 the Klondike country has
contributed total Of $128 100000 to
the amount credited to Canada In the
table of the worlds production for the
eleven years ending with 1907.
The gold output Of Mexico has been
increasing for several years, while the
silver yield has been fuctuating. Our
figures are too meagre at this writing
to predict with any satisfaction the
silver output in this country for 1907.
Russias production of precious met
ais has been on the wane since 1903,
when the product of gold was $24,-
$4,000. This falling off is said to be
due largely to the disturbed social
conditions rather than to deterioration
Of the mines. In 1906 the production
fell to about $19,500.000, and it is ex-
pected, when the returns for 1907 are
obtained, that the shrinkage will cut
down these figures at least $1,5OO,OOO.
In the year 1906 thirty-six Ural and
Siberian dredgers recovered 37,6O6
ounces of gold and 6,472 ounces Of
platinum, which is equivalent to an
- in
and between $4,000 and $4,000 In plat
mum in each dredge.
The gold product Of British India
has been gradually increasing until for
the year 1906 it reached little more
than $12,00O,000. This is the last of
the principal foreign gold-producing
sections. There are quite a number
of other sections from which gold Is
obtained, the largest of which is ia
pan, with about $3,250.000. Corea,
which last year produced $2,250,000, Is
expected to show something of an ad-
vance in 1907, unless the political trou-
bles there have seriously interfered
with the mining interests.
1t is generally understood that the
production of gold has been on the
increase in the United States for the
last twenty years. The annual produc-
tions show a steady gain from 1887,
and the increase was only interrupted
once during that period, in the year
1903. The annual product for 1887
showed yield Of $33.000,00O. which
was only trifie more than one-third
of the product for the year 1906, which
amounted to s94.373,S00.
Nineteen states and three territor-
les are found in the list of the gold
producing sections of the United
States, yet about three-fourths of the
entire product comes from one terri
tory and three states, viz, the territory
of Alaska and the states of California,
Colorado and Nevada.
Alaska reached the high water mark
in it's production in the year 1906, the
gold output amounting to s21,365, 100.
1t was expected that this yield would
be still further increased in the year
just closed, but labor troubles in the
principal districts have seriously inter-
fered with this result. The famous
Fairbanks or Tanana section was es-
pecially affected by the strikes of the
miners, and nothing was done toward
operating number of the large yield
ing properties. However, with the
building of railroads and the discov-
cries of new districts it is not improb-
able that Alaska will overtop its rec
ord of 1906 in the near future.
There has been little fluctuation in
the annual yield of California for sew
eral years. The differences, however,
show a gain. While the placers and
drift mines have been gradually fall
ing off in yields, the quartz mines,
which gave nearly two-thirds of the
entire output, about held their own un-
til within the last year or so. The
losses, though, have been made up by
the Introduction of the comparatively
new forms of mining. the dredges and
the copper smelters. The dredging
system has been very profitable and
the number of plants in operation is
being increased yearly.
The development of the dredging in
terest has been a source of apprehen-
sion among some who fear a deluge
Of gold Such fears, so far as the
dredging fields of California are con-
cerned, are needless, for while this
method of mining is quite profitable,
the area of dredging territory is linn
tied. and the gross product reached
little over $5,000.000 in 1906, although
it is estimated the yield from this
source for 1907 will exceed that
amount by s1,500.000. and it is prob
able that even the yield of 1907 will
be exceeded in the future. Still, the
product will only figure as small per-
centage Of the total for the whole
country.
To the state of Nevada belongs the
credit of having made in 1907 the
greatest increase in the annual produc-
tion returns of gold of any mining
state or territory of the Union. While
1t rose in 1906 to the fourth place in
the list of the principal producers, 1t
makes still further advance in 1907,
and will take rank as third.
In 1906 the gold product passed
from $2.000.000 in 1900 to the 100000
dollar mark II will he some time vet