Tonopah bonanza. [volume] (Butler City [i.e. Butler], Nev.) 1901-1909, 1908-12-05
EDITORIAL COMMENT.
A sENSELEsS RUMOR.

mine II Tonopah is liable to shut down in order to avoid further
loss 0 account of the present low price Of silver. For the last few
weeks the price OF silver has lowered around As and 40 cents and
the difference between this price and that of 50 cents which has been
the price for the past year, makes such a difference that it is wiser
to shut up shop than to lose the amount. 1t is said that the loss to
the Tonopah mines has been over a million dollars IN the asst year
and that the margin of profit is SO small now that further working
of the properties is prohibtive"
The statement by R. F. Dunlap, vice president of the Montana
Tonopah Mining company. on the first page of this paper, utterly re-
flutes this claim which is senseless, unfounded, and altogether harm
full. The people of Tonopah themselves are in a way directly re-
sponsible for this rumor. A lot of wiseacres, who know nothing at
all Of the operations of the mining company, and who could not
give a single figure as to the value of the ores being milled by the
various Tonopah mining companies, their operating expenses, ton
mage of ore removed, cost of milling, etc. have set themselves up as
authority, and are saying that If silver gets below such and such
a point, the mines will have to shut down" They have even set the
date for the closing of the mines, at anywhere from today to the first
of the year. OF course, with these rumors ahoat, the miners, their
wives and daughters, are all exercised, and from the first gossip of
lit is alleged" gossip has changed to cit is a fact" that the mines
will close. Gossip, like a SNOWFALL, gathers size and weigh, as It is
passed along.
Nearly three weeks ago, when it was rumored that the Mizpah
was to close. the writer stated that some darned fool will send out
the report that the mines are to close and wanted to head it off
then by positive denial, but was caused to desist from his intention
by advice to the effect that the rumor was sc utterly foolish that it
would die down at once and would not gain outside circulation. The
first rumor was caused by a slight change in the shifts at the Mz-
pah, in order that more effective work, and consequently increased
production. might be secured at that mine. During the past two or
three days, there has been a rumor that the Montana was to close.
and this Office has been in receipt OF inquiries from outside papers
for information IS to the matter.
AS showing how utterly foolish are those reports, even should
silver drop to % cents, We want to quote some figures.
The value of ore is based upon the market value of the metal
which it holds, whether it be gold. silver. copper, iron. lead, tin, or
anything in the mineral line. When the market quotation on silver
was SO cents per fine ounce, the average values of the ores from the
Tonopah mines was $40 per ton. Every one in Tonopah, and who
is familiar with Tonopah mining conditions and values, knows that
this is a medium, not a high average. The Tonopah ores rn one
third in gold, and two-thtrds in silver. That means that this $40
Ora contains 4 Q 2 in old nor To- ad . q IN silver Mind yu
this is based upon a silver valuation Of so cents per fine ounce. Now,
suppose the price Of silver goes down to % cents per fine ounce.
That would mean that the silver value in this formerly $40 per ton
ore would be cut in half, and would be but $13.39-but the gold
content OF 1888 would remain unchanged, IS the price of gold does
% vary This would still leave the value of the ore taken from the
Tonopah mines at $2s.66 per ton. Does that look like shutting
down the Tonopah mines? If the owner of the Bonanza could show
capital anywhere in the world that he had a mine which was capable
of turning out an unlimited quantity of ore worth $13.3 in gold and
s13,SS in silver per ton-or even the 1888 in gold without the sill
ver-tomorrow he could write his check for more than one million
doilars-and have it honored. Read the following carefully
The Homestake group of mines and mills is in South Dakota, at
Lead City. Terravine and Central City. This group of mines, for
the fiscal year ending May 81, 1908. muled 1,450s 800 tons of ore.
which yielded ~$4,717746, or 1925 per ton in bullion. The expenses
of mining. milling of taking the ore from its place beneath the
earth and converting it into bullon-and SO on was $S,6O4,7S4, or
$24S per ton leaving al actual profit per ton of II cents. a total
profit for the year over and above every expense incurred by the
mine in any particular, or s~1,112,675.
The gold of the Homestake district-for it is a gold ore-is
found in quartz and pyrites, finely distributed through vast bodies
Of shists, and associated with iron pyrites. chalcopyrte, arseno-
pyrhte and asbestos.
The Tonopah ores contain $1s.33 in gold, which is alone a value
four times greater than the values contained in the Homestake ores,
and with silver at rs cents per fine ounce, the Tonopah ores are nine
times as rich as Homestake ores. Does 1T cost nine times S much
to mine and mill the Tonopah ores? 1t does not. Taking the wage
scale, the 'mueker,' the lowest man on the wage scale, gets 81 per
day in Tonopah. At the Homestake mines. we are informed. he gets
SO per day, which is not nine times more wages for the Tonopah
miner. The wage scale for all the other workers in the Tonopah
and Homeaake mines is in proportion, for both are under the iurs-
diction of the Western Federation of Miners. Supplies Of all kinds
including fuel, powder, and everything used in a mine, are pur-
chased in the same markets and at the same prices by the Home
stake and the Tonopah mines, with the Homestake mines having
possibly one per cent the best Of 1t on account of buying a little
larger quantity. The only additional cost there is is in the freight
tariffs. which will not approximate 8 per cent Of the total cost of the