The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-11-12
That Land Option Coup.

W I'm inns SITUATION IN prospect. PEeSl-
dent Broughton determined to exercise
at once the options on the land required
for a new smelter. The total amount
involved in this transaction, together with
that made necessary to insure the COM
pany against any possible damage suits
from the land owners in the adjacent ter
ritory will not it is claimed by the Utah
Consolidated, exceed 100000 of which
sum 100000 has already been paid.
I These same interests assert that the
ted by President Broughton to any mil
lion-dOllar expenditure as has been al
legged and before any action involving
any such sum is taken the stockholders
will have ample opportunity to ratify it
or to put upon it the seal of their dis
approval.
President Broughton figures that the in
terest on the construction cost of a new
smelling plant, together with deprecia-
ton, will be a matter of s125,00o per an
mum, and in the new contract negotia-
tons he expressed his willingness to split
the difference between this figure and the
excess cost which the company is now
paying the smelling trust. This excess of
cents per pound of copper is a mat
ter of about 100000 when applied to the
present production of 100000 pounds per
annum. The Guggenheims. however,
would not listen TO this proposal. and SO
there was nothing left to do iii protec-
ton of the interests of the Utah Con-
.solidated but TO exercise the land options
as the IlISI step necessary IN the cree
ton of a plant of its own Had the OPP
tons been allowed to lapse. the company
would nave placed itself at the mercy of
the smelling trust, as il is claimed there
are no other smelter sites suitably To-
Gated which could have been secured
Has Guggenheims on Defensive.
The Utah Consolidated would now ap-
pear TO have the -Guggenheims on the de-
fensive With the smelling difficulties
already encountered at the Garfield plant,
some of which are a long way from cor
rection. and with the internal jealOusie5
and lack of cooperative harmony in the
administration of the affairs of the Smelt-
ing trust, the Guggenheims do not relish
the idea of another competing Smelter in
their field, as. if the Utah Consolidated
finally determines to erect works of its
own, it would naturally build the plant
large enough to take care of custom ores
in addition to its own
Utah Consolidated ores are very valu-
able to any custom smelter. They make
an ideal fluX in section of the coun-
try where fluXes are always at pre-
MUM and. once embarked in the custom
business. it is not impossible that the new
Utah plant could make such additional
profits in it's custom department as to
very appreciably reduce it own net cost.
Utah Con. Ore Reserves
Now. as to ore reserves. The claim
OF the Utah Consolidated people-and
these are the latest figures OF General
Manager Risque himself-the mine has
in sight today five years supply of
ore at the present rate of production. Nc
is made to hide the fact that
the ores are today running very much
lower in copper and gold than formerly.
The silver values are being well main
tanned. but there is very considerable
in the gold recoveries as well
as in the copper contents. The gold and
silver values have always been relied up
on to reduce. by between . and cents
per pound. the net cost of the copper
output. These precious metal recoveries
do not today exceed 81 per ton of ore.
IT, to the effect of the lower minerals
cation of the ore. there is combined the
additional cost of cents per pound in
cident to the treatment of Utah ores al
the Garfield plant, il is found that Utah
copper is today costing. not
cents per pound as formerly. but cents
per pound. OF almost double the figure
of former years-a figure which gave TO
the company the enviable distinction of
being the lowest cost copper producer in
the world.