Weekly journal-miner., 1909-01-20
GOLD PRODUCTION
 SHOWS NATIONAL INCREASE

prepared by Waldcrmar Lindgren, of the United states Geological Survey, the gold mining industry of the Unit ed states had successful and prosper ous year in 1908, in spite of many ad- verse conditions of trade and finance. Fundamentally, this prosperity is due to the fixed price and apparently linn itlcss demand for the product. The immediate causes operating to increase the output were in part the removal of | certain abnormal features tending tol depress the production in 1907, such as the partial closing of the llomestake mine in the Black Hills of South Da. | kota and the labor difficulties in the | Mother Lode counties of California. To some degree the increased produc-
 ton of gold is also indirectly due to the closing of many mines in the base
 metal camps. X tendency toward in
 creased production by small operators
 was noted as early as the last months of lD07 and continued through 19Os.
 Large numbers of miners left the dis
 iric,s in which the output of lead,
 copper and zine was curtailed and be-
 gan placer work or took mp leases in
 goldmining camps.
 The director of the mint estimates
 the production of gold for 1908 from domestic sources at s96,3l3,256, against
 s9O. .435, 100 in 1907. South Dakota,
 Alaska, California and Colorado show large estimated increases, ranging
 from s2,O00,O00 to s3,60o,00o. The es. inmates for Utah indicate a decrease
 of about sl.20O,00O; for Nevada de.
 crease of s3,300,0OO. The production
 of Montana, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon :. and other silverproducing states has remained approximately stationary. e The production from the Philippine
 Islands shows a gratifying increase the estimate of the mine being $306,' 7Os, against s7s,7O0 in 1907. As part
 of the Philippine gold does not reach
 the United States hints the showing i' probably even better than these figures '' would indicate. Most of the gold wal recovered by quartz mining in Ben
 guet and by dredging operations 1T Paraeale.
 The depression in the base.metal in ', dustries did not affect the gold pro ', duction to any considerable degree, fo ., the total base. metal ores contribute on ly Q to 10 per cent of the normal out . nut of gold for the country. The gol' n. from copper ores suffered little reduc |, ton. but the small amounts contribu'
 cd from lead and zine ores were muc
 reduced
 The silver mining industry present IT far less satisfactory condition tha
 that. of gold, owing to the low price
 for silver, lead, copper and zine. Du 'c. ing the year the large smelters of uta ly and Colorado were partly closed an ,o partly operated on n reduced eapaeit.
 Important mines in Leadville, Aspe
 Creed and Park City, Colo, whi' oy were operating on low grade orc nm found it very difficult to make prof in- on ore of the same grades that yield' be well in 1906 and l9O7, and were ther -. fore compelled to reduce their outp
 or close Owing to the temporary la TO of demand from India the silver ms
 ket declined almost continuously fr' "' about 56 cents per pound in the eai e"' part of the year to about is cents ue December. the average price being go' cents. The year closed with NJ '''' York prices at 30 cents. However rus purchases by India during the p' eoo wears have been large and have s'e' ''" ily increased. and there is no reason 'en' expect a sudden falling of in "''' market. The extraordinarily hea hN' production of the Cobalt district !" Canada, which for 1908 may appro
 mate l7.000,Oo0 ounces, undoubte ten contributed to the depression m "F price of silver A great reduction 'o"' the output of silver in the Un' " States was clearly foreshadowed 'au' the figures of the Geological Sur 'en' for the mine production in 1907, WI 'i amounted 10 only 52,5oO,lN fine our res' whereas the refneries and the m ou'u reported 56,5ii,7oo fine ounces wh "P as the refineries and the hints rep
 so ed 56,5ii,700 fine ounces. The sh
 age in the mine output for the wave mont ms of 1907 was naturally rche " '" in the refinery returns for 1908, '"' was aecentuated by still further eu duction in the production of the mi oin' The director of the mint estin' "v the production of silver in lsos 'h'en domestic sources at 5l,79s,O53
 ounces