The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-06-28
George L. Walker Advocates Cut
in Production of Only
Ten Per Cent.
WOULD HELP CLEAR
PRESENT SITUATION
Theory of N. L. Amster as to
Profits in Mining the
Red Metal.

Advance copies OF tho weekly copper
letter of George L. Walker are being re-
celved out west, and a perusal OF the
same discloses the fact that his voice has
been added to the chorus heard so fire.
quently now all over the land. the chorus
advocating q curtailment Of copper pro-
duction. Mr.. Walker says that even a
reduction in output OF 10 per cent would
have a beneficial effect on the situation.
and he quotes with evident favor the
words Of n. L. Amster that "the all-im-
portant asset OF a copper mIne is It's
ore
A portion OF Mr.. Amster's recent inter
view follows:
Take, for example, Anaconda, which
is one of our great vein mines and Utah
Copper, which Is one Of the great. II not
the greatest, and most valuable OF the
so called 'porphyry mines. Anaconda
last year showed net earnings OF about
$2,000O00. of which some 100000 was
derived from subsidiary companies. leav-
Ing S1.6o0.0oo to represent profits derived
from mining. Anaconda mined and
treated during the year about 100000
tons OF ore and the profits therefore were
equal 10 about s1.20 per ton. Now the
fact OF the matter is that sl.20 per ton
would not begin to pay even for the value
of the ore. much less profit. And then
what about the wear and tear OF its ex-
pensiVe plants. to say nothing of inter
est on the Investment
81 am quite sure that the Anaconda
could be sold for cash on the basis OF
more than twice the SO called profit Of
last year. l. e., Sl.20 per ton OF ore
I'm the mine. the mineral assets would
not figure anywhere near the present
selling price OF the companys property
based on $40 per share for its 100000
shares Would IL be legitimate for the
new purchaser to figure the cost of pro-
ducing without adding the 81 cents per
pound OF copper, representing the value
or cost OF ore? Certainly not! The real
per pound as the original cost OF the
ore. and the present cost of 10 cents for
mining, smelling, refining and marketing
Add TO this the interest on the invest
and a manufacturers profit of, say 10
per cent. or l.3 cents per pound of cop
per and we can see that 10 cents is as
low as copper should SELL
n,;,So Now take take The so SO called porphyry
put most economical system OF mining
and treating, apparently shows a profit OF
cents per pound on the present price
of copper. II the ore yields twenty to
twenty-five pounds OF copper to the ton
profit Of cents per pound is equal 10
80 cents TO SS cents per ton of ore. AL
lowing its Bingham mines an available
ore oody or ia,OUU.oUO tons. and ISuring
the value OF the companys stock at $50
per share, that being the price at which
the stockholders recently took a new is
sue, it means that the ore really cost
these stockholders above so cents per
ton. Therefore. what they term a profit
is really nothing more nor less than
liquidation Of assets. IT, therefore, the
ore, which is the asset back OF the stock,
should be figured at cost, 1t would mean
an additional cents per pound to the
cost, or say, 123 cents. Adding thereto
the wear and tear OF machinery, and in
terest on the investment. the cost is
brought UP TO about 13l cents per pound
and should copper sell at Is cents the
would in reality make about
10 per cent profit"