Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-05-24
WILL WORK BIG
NITRATE MINES
COMPANY PLANS OPERATIONS
NEAR NEEDLES
SEVENTYssIX CLAIMS ADEQUATE
TO SUPPLY AMERICA
Gigantic Undertaking Unfolds in An
nouncement of Organization of
Los Angeles Interests-To
Capture Chilean Trade

Arthur G. Munn's seventy-siX claims
near the Colorado river between Need
les and Parker have just been acquired
by the California Nitrate company, in
corporated under the laws of Arizona
with a capital stock of $4,000, 900.
The claims contain about IL, 100 acres
of the richest nitrate of soda fields.
and an immense industry will shortly
be developed. The nitrate beds of
these claims are found under the same
geological conditions and on the same
huge scale as in Chile. The chemistry
of both is practically the same, and
these claims alone contain at least 90
000 900 tons of saltpeter or nitrate of
soda bearing strata of high value.
Nitrate of soda is an essential in
gredient of all plant foods or fertilizer.
and the basis of all explosives manu-
featured in the world and so far sup
piled only from the nitrate fields in
the deserts of Chile. Chile exported last
year about $90000,000 worth of nitrate
to all parts of the world, the United
States taking about one-fourth or more
of the output The profits of the nj
trate manufacturers of Chile are enor-
nous last year amounting to about
$4,000, 900 on total investemnt of only
about $50, 100000.
Require Skill and Capital
Nitrate beds are not poor mems
Mines" but will require a large capital
and the best technical skill With such
applied to them, a new industry, highly
profitable, and of large Importance to
the nation as well as to the state, will
be started in Southern California.
The company will shortly put parties
in the field who will give attention to
detailed study exploration and devel-
opment of the nitrate fields selecting
so far as possible the best locations in
which to begin work, then one or more
factories will be erected, either in the
fields on the Colorado river, or at
Needles or Parker. in order to refine
the raw material into commercial salt
peter.
A factory furnishing about 200 tons
of refined saltpeter daily requires in
Chile an investment for machinery,
buildings carriers, etc, of about $780,
600 in gold
The claims owned by the California
Nitrate company while at least as rich
as those in Chile the strata containing
from seven to sixty per cent of nitrate
of Soda, are partly bordering the Colo
RADIO river and that solves the water
question for manufacturing and trans
portation purposes and avoids the ne
cessity of sinking costly wells, which
require good share of the investment
in the Chile desert
Water the Year Through
Water transportation for either the
raw material or the finished product to
Needles and Parker is available dur
ing the whole year, and either of the
two towns will develop into large
shipping center of nitrates for the
whole United States. Eventually all
the nitrate for the east and southeast
can be shipped via the Colorado river
Gulf of Mexico and the Panama canal.
The price of nitrate of soda, f. o. &.
Los Angeles, varies from $50 to $50
ton in carload lots, and if 1t is consld-
cred the Chilean government charges
an export duty of So a ton and the
freight to the United States from the
Chilean mines amounts to about $ll a
ton. it will be readily seen that this
discovery of the immense nitrate bear
ing fields in Southern California VIII
reduce the cost of nitrate for home
grain and fruit growers materially.
The United States removes annually
enormous quantities of nitrogen from
its soils, and it's farmers begin to real
ize the necessity and advantage of re-
placing this nitrogen by nitrate OF
soda. So far Chile has been the only
source for this important chemical, but
now the California Nitrate company
will furnish American agriculturlstS
with a home product derived from the
resources OF Southern
California.