Mohave County miner., 1913-08-09
Big Mines Vs. Prospects.


 the fact that thls coin of the realm is likely to stay under lock and key for a long tune to come: or most of it, and for the reason that the owners of this wealth want to let it out of hook under one condition only, and this is for the purchase of big and producing mines. In order to expedite this investment the capitalistc holders of the money in question have had m ny experts out in the hills examining mtning proper ties which have been placed upon the bargain counter. Thousands upon thousands have been expended in examining properties claimed to be just what the investor wanted, and hundreds upon hundreds of mines have been visited and inspected; and all to no purpose for, as a general rule, a big and producing mine, if at all at tractive, is not for sale, unless at a fabulous price; and, if offered at a figure supposed to be reasonable, it is
 
 represented And so the months ana years roll by, and it is only at rare intervals that the sale of really big and producing mine is recorded. And the money stays in the vaults, and is likely to remain there until the really big and productive mines are exhaust ed. Then and possibly not until then, the thousands of promising and meri- torious prospects will receive the recognition they deserve.
 It used to be that good prospects were In active demand. Such is not the case now, however, and it must be rare and rich find that will be able to cause any excitement in mining circles at the present time. And yet it is to the prospects of today that we must look for the big and producing mines of tomorrow The good pros- pecu. as a matter O. fact, should be more attractive than an old producer, and for the reason that its assets are intact and have not been dissipated by production. If it has million or more in ore within its environments, practically untouched or undlminished, it certainly is worth more than proposition that was once in possession of million or more, but from whose resources possibly half million has been taken during the process of mine development and operation. And yet the tendency of the times is to buy de- veloped mines and ignore the pros- poets; a peculiar phase of this con- dition being that, in making exhaus. tive examlnation of mines already de- veloped. the expense incurred would. in many instances, develop a prospect, which could be bought at a nominal figure, into producer fully as valu- able as the one under inspection, and which is held at a figure a thousand times greater than that at which the prospect could be purchased.
 It is pity that investing capital is not paying more attention to valuable and meritorious prospects, prospects which are generally held by needy claimholders who can develop them only in spasmodic manner, and who may hold them for many years before they can be listed as even occasional producers. The hills are full of propositions of this kind which need only small amount of money, con- paratively, and few hundred feet of intelligent and systematic develop ment, in order that they may take rank as regular producers and regular dividend payers. The claimowner, after years of toll and hardships, may eventually develop his prospect into a bonanza mine. Why should he sell it then? He is on easy street and can take out his "velvet" as we'll as could the capitalist who is out after just such propositions but who is not willing to pay the price.
 It is the development of the pros. poets, and not the sale of producing mines. that means prosperity to this western country. and we may look for more activity in mining when capital realizes the fact that. after all. more money can be made in the acquisition and development of the prospect than