Mohave County miner., 1912-11-09
Twelve Most lm-
 portant Minerals.

portant Minerals.
 The great volume of the mineral pro- ductiOn of the United States, it's tre- mendous increase during the last few years, and the wide distribution of the important minerals were indicated in a recent address by George Otis Smith, Director of the United States Geologi- cal Survey. The twelve most import ant mineral products in the United States, in the order of value of annual output. were stated by Mir. Smith to be coal, iron, clay products. copper, petroleum, gold, stone, natural gas, cement, lead, silver and zinc. "For certain of these minerals" he said "the Geological Survey presents es- inmates of the supply from which the nations needs are to be met. For others, especially clay products and cement. the question of the supply of raw material from which they are pro- duced is of little moment compared with that of the availability of the fuels necessary for the processes of manufacture.
 ''Of nearly equal importance with the factor of abundance of these mineral resources is that of distribu- tion. In the first place, the wide spread distribution of the raw ma terial makes possible an industrial nation in which every State has some share in the mineral production. Only four States had a mineral output last year valued at less than l,O0O, ,O00$, and ten States had production valued at over 50,O00,O ,O00$ each. Again, no State or section appears to have monopoly of the mineral industry. While Penn- sylvania, with it's total mineral product more than one fourth that of the whole country, leads in coal, cement, and stone by large margins, another State, Minnesota, leads in ron ore; another Arizona, in copper; another, Ohio, in clay products; California in petroleum: California in gold; Missouri in both lead and zinc; and Nevada in silver. Furthermore, the centers of produc. tion are ever shifting.
 ''For instance, up to 1891 Penn, sylvania was the leading State in the production of petroleum. In 1895 It was succeeded by Ohio. Ohio gave way to California in 1903. California gave way to Oklahoma in 1907 and re- sumed premiership in 1909, retaining it since that time. Both Illinois and Oklahoma exceeded the production of any of the Eastern States in 1907 and and have continued to do so. For many years up to 1906 Montana was the principal producer of copper. In 1907 it gave way to Arizona, and in 1909 Arizona gave place to Montana. In 1910 and 1911 Arizona again held first place. In 1906 Idaho was the chief producer of lead. It gave way to Missouri in 1907, and the latter State now contributes 45 per cent of the country's total. Nevada, in the glory days of the Comstock lode, from 1873 to 1878, was the greatest silver pro- ducer in the world. When the Com. stock declined, in the latter part of the last century, Nevada give way as silver producer, first to Colorado, and then to Montana, but became again the principal producer of silver in 1910. Ten years ago Colorado, the leading gold-producing State. pro- duced over 50 per cent more than California, then second in rank. California's proportion has been steadily increasing for ten years, and In 1911 the largest production of gold was from that state."