The Washington herald., 1909-03-21
ENORMOUS WEALTH
LIES In MINERALS
Some of the COuntry's Mining
Resources Described.
NEW FIELDS OPEN ANNUALLY
Development OF Underground Re-
sources One of the striking Move
ments of Nations Industrial Activ-
ities-MineS Widely Scattered Feed
transportation Lines.

the United States is one OF the most strik-
/ Ing movements Ia our Industrial history.
The annual publication Of the reports
which cover the entire Geld produce bulky
volumes. sOmetimes rivaling the die
/ tionary in size and thickness. Several
weekly ana monthly publications are de-
voted 10 chronicling the news regarding
/ this field alone. and 10 be accurately IN
formed OF all that IS taking place would
occupy the entire time OF the most dill
gent reader
/ Constantly new fields are being opened
and new methods OF mining being intro
duced. The development OF transpOrta-
ton facilities every day brings new dis
! tricts nearer TO the markets and m
creases their value It is now realized
moreover, that like the forests which
were once IimitIess over the land. the
supply Of mineral wealth is not mex
/ haustible and steps are being taken 10
prevent waste
Mines widely Distributed.
Our mines are widely distributed There
/ Is scarcely a State which cannot boast
/ OF It's production OF al least one mineral
| Pennsylvania. with product from her
mines aggregating in value nearly one
third that OF the entire country, takes
the lead in coal. cement. stone, and nat
ural gas; Minnesota Is proud OF her pro
duction OF iron ore. and Arizona Of her
/ copper. Colorado takes first place In the
production Of gold and silver. Missouri in
/ lead and zinc. Ohio IN clay products. and
/ Oklahoma IN petroleum
! Tins widespread distribution Of min
erals has much 20 do with the develop
ment OF railroads and Interstate com
merce: it builds Up great industries near
the mines 10 make use Of their product
II is the corner stone % the country S
/ prosperity to-day. The new industrial
South Is possible largely because the
! Southern States produce nearly Z per cent
OF the iron ore % the country and over
p per cent of the coal
Reflected In the Mines.
Being so intimately related 20 the great
business projects Of the country. it Is only
natural that any disturbance in the busi-
/ ness world should be reflected IN the min
/ ing industry. An era of financial de-
/ preston when credit fails and building
! languishes means the closing or many
mines where. owing 20 poor transporta-
tiOn facilities, lean guilty of the ore. or
I difficulties IN mining H. the margin be-
tween the cost Of production and the mar
ket price Is narrow.
/ Sometimes by cutting down its work
Ing force or by increasing its production
with the same force, thus relatively cut
/ ting down expenses. a mine can keep IT'S
head above water in panic times. bat
Tc al = Ia
method. an increase in the production. IS
APT 10 mean a further fall IN price. The
fan panic Of 1907 and its resulting busi-
ness inactivity affected many mines and
seriously Comparatively few mines
closed entirely. however and practically
al have now recovered
Copper Mines Going Again
/ Copper mines suffered a. much 81 no,
more than most during the hard times.
and their recovery shows that the mining
industry is on its feet again. Operations
IN many mines ceased entirely for a time
and many more cut down their working
force The big Amalgsmated copper
mines In Butte. Mont were closed for q
few weeks. although the smaller concern
OF the Pittsburg and Montana Company
kept its output up 10 the average. In
some Arizona camps men were laid OF
u and several newly developed mines with
limited resources were temporarily
closed. but tho copper production OF the
State as a whole was not greatly reduced
Utah was the exception 20 the general
-ule, being the only State with a con-
siderable output Of copper that actually
4 Increased its production I'm the twelve
months ended in June. 1905 The Utah
Copper Company. handling 11000 tons Of
material day, is largely responsible FOR
the Increase in that State In spite OF
low prices and Unfsvorable conditions
generally II increased its operations on a
large scale. In the Lake Superior region
there was at no time more than a per
cent reduction OF output.
During the last half OF 1905 a few new
mining companies began the production
OF copper and an increase over the pro-
duction OF 1907 is expected. although there
IS probably a decrease in the total amount
Of refined copper produced. Michigan
shows little change, and a large increase
IS looked for IN Arizona and Montana.
New Mines in Idaho.
A weIl-known gOld-mining country O.
comparatively recent Development is the
Occur dAlene district in Idaho. In tbs
early SOS some placer work was don,
there and several millions of dollars were
produced from the north side district. but
placer mining there is now practically
a thing OF the past Ruined cabins. Cd
fumes. piles OF worked gravel. and rust
ed picks and shovels mutely attest the
hardihood Of the pioneers who invaded
this portion OF the Northwest at a time
when II was practically unknown terri,
tory; but their day has passed.
The bedrock OF the district. ancient
states ard Quartzites. is very old and
covered in many places by the morair
deposits Of local and continental glaciers
There are numerous dikes and rocks OF
sedimentary origin that show evidences OF
great metamorphic action. The bedrock
is supposed 20 be precambrian in age
The gold bearing quartz and placer de
poSits are found In the Prichard forma-
ton, tnick silieiOus states showing a good
cleavage
The Burke formation. which is super
imposed upon the Prichard. is composed
OF hne grained silicious rocks terninatine
IN siliciOus shales at the bottom and in
light colored quartzites at the top. This
formation contains lead and silver.
Five Glasses Of Ores.
There are five distinct classes Of ore
deposits in this region, gold placers. and
veins. copper veins. tungsten veins. and
lead-silver veins. Placer deposits and
veins OF gold are found almost entirely
on the north side. The most important
ores are found in the lead-silver veins
which have been located on both the
north and south sides. though those or
the north side have not yet been fully de-
veloped
The region around Virginia City. New
is another famous mining locality. IN
this district is included the Comstock
Lode. 1t was there that the milling OF
silver ore was first practiced IN this