The copper era., 1909-02-18
Gold and Silver Mining in the United
 States in 1908.

According to special press bulle- tin prepared by Waldemar Lindgren, of the United States Geological Sur vey, the gold-mining industry of the United States had a successful and prosperous year in 1908, in spite of many adverse conditions of trade and finance. Fundamentally, this prosperity is due to the fixed price and apparently limitless demand for the product. The immediate causes operating to increase the output were in part the removal of certain abnormal features tending to depress the production in 1907, such as the partial closing of the Homestake mine in the Black Hills of South Dakota and the labor difficulties in the Mother Lode counties of Cali fornia. To some degree the in- creased production of gold is also in- directly due to the closing of many mines in the base-metal camps. A tendency toward increased production by small operators was noted as early as the last months of 1907 and con tinued through 1908. Large numbers of miners left the districts in which the output ot lead, copper and zinc was curtailed and began placer work or took up leases in gold-mining camps.
 The Director of the Mint estimates the production of gold for 1908 from domestic sources at S96, ,3l3, ,256, against 800, ,435, 700 in 1907. South Dakota, Alaska, California and Colo rado show large estimated increases, ranging from S2,OOO,O 1000 to 8, 600, 900. The estimates for Utah indicate a de- crease of about Sl 100000; for Ne vada a decrease of 8, 100000. The production of Montana, Arizona Idaho, Oregon and other silver-pro- ducing states has remained approxi. mately stationary. The production from the Philippine Islands shows a gratifying increase, the estimate o1 the Mint being S3O6, ,7O8, against S7S,. 700 in 1907. As part of the Philip pine gold does not reach the United States hints the showing IS proba bly even better than these figures would indicate. Most of the gold was re- covered by quartz mining in Benguet and by dredping operations in Para cale.
 The depression in the base-meta industries did not affect the gold pro duction to any considerable degree for the total base-metal ores contri bute only 9 to 10 per cent. of the nor nal output of gold for the country The gold from copper ores suffered i little reduction, but the small amount; contributed from lead and zinc ores were much reduced.
 The silver-mining industry present: a far less satisfactory condition than that of gold, owing to the low prices for silver, lead, copper ant zinc. During the year the large smelters of Utah and Colorado were partly operated on reduced capacity Important mines in Leadville, Aspen Creede and Park City, Colorado which were operating on low-grade ores, found it very difficult to make profits on ore of the same grade. that yielded we'll in 1906 and 1907, ant were therefore compelled to reduce their output or to close. Owing tC temporary lack of demand iron India the silver market declined al most continuously from about 56 cent: per ounce in the early part of the l year to about 48 cents iu December the average price being 5 cents The year closed with New Yorl prices at 50 cents. However, the purchases by India during past year: have been large and have steadily increased, and there is no reason tC expect d sudden falling off in thi: market. The extraordinary heavy production of the Cobalt district ir Canada, which for 1908 may approxi mate 17,0OO,OOO ounces, undoubtedl, contributed to the depression Ill the price of silver. A great reduction in the output of silver in the United States was clearly foreshadowed 1T the figures of the Geological Survey for the mine production in 1907 which amounted to only 52, ,5OO, l04 i fine ounces, whereas the refineries and the hints reported 56,5l4, 700 fine ounces. The shortage in the mine output for the last months of 19O- was naturally reflected in the refinery returns for 1908, and was accentuateC by still further reduction in the pro duCtion of the mines. The Director of the Mint estimates the production of silver in 1908 from domestic sources at 51, 79S,O53 fine ounces.-U s. Geological Survey Bulletin.
 The number of Japanese of al classes who left the United States foI |