The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-30
Recent Advance Means Much to
American Smelling & Re-
filming Company.
THIS RISES FROM
LEAD IN PROCESS
The Price of White Lead Went
Down as Metal Price
Went Up.

Local leaders have been expecting the
increase in The price OF lead. but the
actual rise in price is mono the less well
come for this The following discussion
OF the lead situation Is contained i'll the
Wall Street Journal. and 1t will provo Of
value to local producers;
Leads rise OF 50 ton which places
the metal on a iAc d pound basis, is
regarded In trade circles as a somewhat
beiated but none the less welcome indi-
cGtion that this metal is at last sharing
in the Improvement recently seen in the
copper and speltcr markets. While the
Improvement was expected, ii seems to
have n3tcralized somewhat suddenly, as
on the day previous 10 the advance IN
pig lead the National Lead company re
duced the price of white lead &c q pound,
a somewhat surprising move, I'm View OF
the affiliations OF the National with the
GuGEenhcim interests. The National is
the largest customer OF the American
Smelling q Refining company and handles
between so per cent and 10 per cent OF
the white lead business of the country,
as we'll as large business directly and
through its subsidiaries in other lead
products such as pipe sheet, shot, oxides,
etc
= Lead production in 1909 was 922 2o6, 900
pounds and in 1908 S277S6,0oo. pounds,
both OF these totals including load smelt-
ed In bond. According TO President
Daniel Guggcnheim of the American
Smelling &. Refining company the Amer
producing at the rate of $4,000. ono pounds
per annum and the American Smelling &
Refining company 4i7,30O 900 pounds, so
that the total output of both concerns this
year Is expected to approximate 63O, OoO. :
900 pounds. Exactly what proportion OF
this is from foreign ores and bull lion is
difficult TO estimate, though II rs known
that by far the larger part OF all bonded
l.aI ig I,,r flt., A MOI
ing d Refining company.
Production OF lead by these two com
panies is partly from owned and CON
trolled mines but more largely from Gus
tom ores bought In the open market or
on time contracts. on the basis OF mar
ket prices for metal contents at the time
OF purchase,
On such contracts the smelter is not in
terested in price fluctuations except to
tho extent Of metal "in process !. e..
orc which has been bought for reduction
been sold and upon which there is
potential loss or gain according TO the
movement OF the market. Theoretically
the smelling companies sell the hnished
product at the time the ore is purchased,
but actually there is always a consider
able amount OF metal "in process" which
has to he taken into consideration in the
balance sheet.
Estimating conservativciy quarter
Of the ore treated is 'n process" at all
times, the rise in lead. II the advance
proved sustained, means additional
profits 10 Smclters and Securities OF be-
tween $50. Oo0 and s16O.000, Smelters re-
cciving about sl1S,0 and Securities S39.-
900. AS Smelters earned somew what more
and Securities about 1855. 900, it is evil
dent that tho additional profits from
leads rise Of 1i0c a pound Will not ar
feet this years earnings 10 any consid-
era BILE degree. An advance of cent a
pound however, would mean an addi-
tional income Of something like Sl.5Qo. 900
TO the two largest smelling and refining
companies.
on a rise OF a cent a pound as unlikely,
al least so far as the immediate future
is concerned. While il Is difficult to say
What the exact situation In the industry
is. since no clear view can he obtained
until statistics are published January ].
general opinion is' that supply is equal
to demand. II is wcli known @ mat mere mere
duty paid ores and bullion. now lying IN
government warehouses at various points
where smelters are situated.
The quantity so held amounted 10 So
600 0no pounds on the date Of the last
government report of September 80, as
compared with 2S.o00,ooo pounds Septem-
Der 90. 1909. II is supposed TINS accus
mutation is due partly to the new tariff
and partly TO some arrangement with the
foreign syndicate which controls output
and prices abroad. Formerly the gov
crnnent cancelled bonds on the eXpor-
tation OF 90 per cent Of the lead inn
ported, but since the new tariff went in
10 effect this provision has been can
celled and now arrangements made based
OH actual results obtained at the diff
fcrept works. Out of the margin of 10
per cent formerly allowed the smelters
by the government. they were able TO
save per cent or Z per cent and sold'it
duty free in this country That priNi-
lego has now been abolished.
National Lead and It's subsidiaries prob
ably carry as much or more lead In stock
as do Smelters and Securities companies.
Except for the uutimely reduction In
white lead the National would have been
i'm position to benefit by the recent rise
in pig lead to even a greater degree
less tho price of the Nationals goods
was too high, il will probably restore the
margin OF profit by advancing prices TO
or possibly beyond the previous schedule.
The high price of linseed oil rs sup
posed TO have initiated considerably
against the demand. for white
lead and II may he that the reduction
in price was necessary to stimulate bust