Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-01


islands. The coinage for this year is
expected to exceed that OF last year by
20 per cent. Uncle Sam makes money
by buying silver bullion at 56 or 81
cents an ounce, which is passed back
to American citizens on par with gold
at the ratio Of sl'2s per ounce.
The exhibit OF the geological survey
at the mining exposition wifi show that
about seventy-five minerals are pro-
duced In this country, ranging from
cheap grades of coal TO diamonds. Few
diamonds have been found, but they
were widely scattered and as their
locations and surroundings were SIM
liar to the places where diamonds are
found in great abundance in South
Africa, scientists hold out to prospect
ors the hope of finding a Kimberley
field in the new world.
There are vast mineral resources In
this country, notably in the case OF ce-
nent, that are as yet practically un-
touched. but in other cases the end OF
the known supply is in sight. American
ccal deposits. for instance. II is calcu
lated, viii only last a comparatively
short time. With such facts in mind
the mining experts OF tho world are
now developing now processes and new
machinery TO utilize low grade miner
ais which in the past have been wasted.
In the Pennsylvania coal fields there
are thousands of tons OF slack coal,
once regarded as waste, which can be
utilized commercially. High grade
gold ore Is disappearing In certain To-
caiities. but by means of the cyanide
process of extracting the metal, the
abandoned mines and piacers can be
worked again with profit. One of the
most interesting features of the expo
sition will be that portion of the gov
ernment exhibit dealing with the black
sands. which are the residual sands left
after placer mining. Recent iuvestiga-
tions by the government experts con-
Quoted at Boston and at the Portland,
Ore. exposition, showed that these
waste sands contain upward of fifteen
different minerals. including gold, gar
net and pl tinum, which can be ex-
tracted by scientific processes. This
discovery means that when the present
supply OF these minerals Is apparently
exhausted the sand along watercourses
and even on the seashore can be made
to pay tribute to the industry Of the
American miner.
It is expected that promoters of tin
mines will take especial interest in the
exposition. At present there is no
American process for working tin ors
in the United States although there are
large deposits Of the mineral in Alaska.
South Dakota, North Carolina and in
other states. American tin ore now
has to go to Hamburg, Germany, to be
worked. 1t is hoped that a practical
process for working the ore here will be
an outgrowth Of the exposition.
Petroleum, officially classed as a min
eral. offers the least dangerous occu-
| patton in the mineral industry, and
proves the most profitable. The Stan
dard Oil company disburses about $780,,
100000 annually in dividends. The
metal mines of this country yield very
| this is credited to. the copper mines.
The more scientific. practical and
| thorough the manner in which mineral
| resources are worked, the greater are
| the financial returns. That explains
why mechanics. engineers, scientists
and inventors are constantly at work
| improving the system of mining, until
| today mining in America is more near
| ly an art than ever before. Electricity
and compressed air have taken the
| place of mule power in hauling ore
laden cars along subterranean tram
ways in the mines. The hand drill
| that had to be hammered has given
way to drills driven by compressed air.
| Water a great enemy of the practical
miner, is pumped OUT by electricity
or hydraulic power. The idea of the
| weight of a column of water serving
| to eliminate other water from a mine
seems the very acme of utilitarianism.
Electric light is used in mines where
the deadly fire damp may be exploded
by the flame of a lantern. An electric
| flame is the latest source of heat in
reducing ores, thus saving coal and
gas. This electricity is frequently
made by water power, which also ope-
rates hoists in the shafts of mines.
Hydraulic mining is practiced in Cali
| fornia, where banks of gold-bearing
gravel melt awav before a powerful
stream of water from a hose nozzle.
In the western deserts automobiles
have taken the place of the old-time
wagon and packhorse in transporting
ore to market. So it is all along the
line of mining machinery and equip
ment.
| Improvement and advancement are
the order of the day in mining. This
the exposition expects to prove. 1t also
expects to demonstrate the urgent need
of department Of mines and mining,
practical and commercial interest In
mining to augment the scientific work
OF the geological survey. Numerous
bills now pending in congress provide
for such measures, beinS prompted by
the fact that 1000 lives are annually
sacrificed in mine disasters.
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