The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1908-12-11
MINERAL WEALTH.
Report Made by Committee to Con-
ScrvatiOn Congress-

inventory of the mineral resources
of the United States which the Sec
ton of Minerals Of the National Con-
servation commission under the
Craftsmanship of Representative
John Dalzell, of Pennsylvania, has
made during the summer and fall is
a long list of waning supplies. This
was shown by the report of the
section before the joint Conserva-
ton Conference, which summarizes
the figures of the country's mineral
wealth. Some of the main features
of this report were as follows:
What We Have.
The mineral production of the
| United States, now exceeds $4,000
| 100000 in value every year, and is
second only to agriculture as a con-
tribution to our national wealth. 1t
furnishes our light, heat, and power.
and supplies sixty-fve per cent of
the freight traffic of the country.
| The waste in the mining and
treatment of mineral substances
during a year is equivalent to
more than three hundred million
| dollars.
| The Fuels.
| or all our minerals the fuels,
| which supply heat, light, and power
| for domestic as we'll as industrial
| purposes, are the most fundamental
ly essential to the nation. The use
of the fuels involves their immpd-
late and complete destruction. The
Jnse of large supplies of other mater
lals also increases the rate of con-
sumption of the fuels for both met
allurgical and manufacturing pur-
poses, for as the nation has now
passed its early development stage,
manufacturing and consequently,
the use Of the fuels will increase
much more rapidly than population.
Exhaustion of Coal.
The available and easily accessible
supplies of coal in the United States
aggregate approximately 1,463, $780,
600 tons. At the present increas-
ing rate of production this repre-
sents an exhaustion of the coal sup
ply to January 1, 1908, aggregating
100000 tons. The rate of
production has been steadily in
creasing.
The first step in extending the life
of our fuel supply, according to the
report, should be to lesson the waste
in mining, handling, and transpor-
tation of coal. But there are equally
great possible savings it says, in
the use of the coal, not only in the
prevention of waste now recognized
as such, but also in discovering
means of avoiding the losses involv-
ed in the transformation of heat in
to mechanical and electrical energy.
Iron.
The known supplies of high grade
iron ores in the United States ap-
proXimate S40,06S,O 900 tons, which
at the present increasing rate of
consumption cannot be expected to
last beyond the middle of the present
century. If the acreage increase in
the production of coal which has
been shown in the past should be
continued it would require the pro-
duction during the next three dec
AIDES of 6,329, 100000 tons. 1t is
evident, therefore, that before 1910,
either the production will have
reached maximum and began to
decline, or large use must be made
of low grade ores not now classified
as available, or the importation of
foreign ores muVt he greatly in
creased. 1t should be remembered
that in the future use of low grade
iron ores, the condition will be rem
dered still further unfavorable
through the necessary use of low
grade Goals.
Other Important Minerals.
The known supplies Of petroleum,
natural gas, and high grade phos-
plate rock cannot be expected, ac-
cording to the estimate in the re-
port, to last much beyond the mid
die of the present century.
Waste Of Structural Material.
The waste of natural mineral re-
sources used in building and engi-
neering construction is of three
kinds:
l. That due to improper and
wasteful methods of mining and pre-
pairing for market.
2. That due to excessive use Of
structural material, because Of ig-
norance of their strength, durabil-
ity, etc.
3. That due to destruction by
fire on account of the inflamable
character Of building construction
and inadequate building laws, and
the non-enforcement thereof.
Fire Waste and Losses.
The greatest source Of waste of
structural materials and of money
values is that due to fires and is
one which can be most readily by
the substitution of fire resisting
building materials for the inflam-
able construction now SO prevalent.
The cost of fire to the country, in
Guiding not only property destroyed,
but maintenance of fire departments,
payment Of insurance premiums,
protective agencies, additional cost
OF water supplies. etc, amounted to
over $456,4S5,900 in 1907, or about
fifty per cent of the total value Of
the new building construction that
year. This fire tax exceeded the to-
tai value of coal, silver, copper, and