Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-09-23
Production of Gold
Will Shop Increase
Washington Bureau of
The OttumMa Courier
Washington, d. c.. Sept. 2.

Washington, D. c., Sept. 81.
One of the first duties incumbent
on the new director of the mint Pro-
lessor Andrew of Harvard, will be the
issue of the annual statement of the
mint bureau on the worlds production
of gold for the last year. Widespread
interest surrounds the issue of this
report on account of the care with
which it is made up
1t is expected that the report this
fall, which is for the calendar year
1908, will show continued increase in
the worlds production of gold. 1t will
also show an increase in silver pro-
duction.
The increase in the worlds produc-
ton of gold will not be due to Ameri-
can production. 1t is likely that the
production in the United States, in
Guiding Alaska, will show a falling off
from the production of the year be-
FORE
The worlds production in 1907
amounted to $41O, 1885, 300. This was
an increase of over $8,000,0OO beyond
the production of the preceding year.
For 1908 there will be another large
increase but it is not yet known how
1T will compare with the increase ex-
hibited in 1907. The enormous devel.
opment in the South African field ac-
counts for the increase which will be
shown in last yeare statistics when
they are out. The value of the African
production in 1907 was $151 500 800,
and for recent years there has been a
GfnDHu in fIo -
that continent, due to the vigorous ex-
ploltatlon OF the South African min
ing properties. On the other hand, Aus
tralia is declining in the amount of
gold output. Mexico is showing a ten
dency to Increase and the forthcoming
figures will probably show quite a per-
ceptible advance in it's production.
The part of the world to which ex-
perts are looking for heavy produc.
ton in the future is South America,
and Central America. Development in
those regions has not been carried on
to anything like the extent to which
it is believed it can be- The Siberian
field is also thought to offer vast pos
sibilities.
Unless the Nevada fields, which
have not yet made returns, come for
ward with unexpectedly heavy pro-
duction, the United States will be
shown to have gone backward in the
forthcoming figures. For one thing,
Alaska is pot producing as heavy an
output as It might be expected to,
The Colorado and California fields,
moreover, are not holding their own.
The production of gold in the United
States for 1907, amounting to $780,
435,700, was decrease of about S4,-
100000 from the preceding year. This
decrease was the first halt of any i'm
portance in the remarkable growth of
the annual yield of the United States
since 1883. The decrease then was
due to falling off in the yields of
Alaska, California, Colorado, Montana
and South Dakota. The indications
are that the 1908 showing will be /
about similar. The declines shown in
the different fields of this country in |
1907 were in part made up by an in
crease of about $6,OOO,O0O in the Ne
fada production. 1t is known Nevada |
bad big year in 1908, but it is hard
y thought 1t will be found sufficient to
overcome the declines in other fields |
The Nome field in Alaska alone
shows a decline of about a million
dollars.
The geological survey also gets out
1gures on gold and silver production. |
out in the past they have been made |
Up on the basis of the returns from |
he mines The returns which the mint
bureau uses are made up not entirely !
IN mine returls. but on the basis of
he gold actually obtained from the
shelters and otherwise However, the
geological survey is now getting out
is figures on the same basis as The
mint bureau.
j. G. Welliver.