The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-12-31

pacity of 10000 tons of pig lead per
annum. Estimating amortization at
10 per cent and interest at per cent
the annual fixed charge would have
been $4,000 or 0.75 cents per pound
of lead. A total cost of production Of
cents per pound. basis st. Louis, Is
probably the lowest on record for the
southeastern Missouri lead. AT pres
ent the cost Is considerably higher. 1t
is a fact that this lead has been sold
at a lower price than 3 cents, but 1t
has been at loss, all charges con
sidered.
s.In a previous chapter, 1t was estim-
ated that the cost of producing lead
in the Occur d'Alene in 1907 was in
the neighborhood of 3.3 to 3.5 cents
pound, basis New York delivery; ]. e.,
if the price of lead should be 35 cents
per pound and the price of silver SO
cents per ounce, at New York, some OF
the Occur d'Alene large producers
would realize no profit, even after dis
regarding allowances for amortization
1t would be highly difficult to general
lie the capital account in this district
but probably it would not be far out OF
the way to say that the total cost Of
producing lead in the Occur d'Alene Is
In the neighborhood of 4 cents per
pound when silver is worth only so
cents per ounce.
1.-THE Occur d'Alene and southeast
ern Missouri together furnish nearly
so per cent of all the lead now pro
duced in the United States. The ac-
tual cost of this lead has been abou'
cents per pound, under the most fav
orable conditions. The average cost
of all the lead produced in the United
States is probably considerably higher
than that.
There is no question that lead can
be produced more cheaply in Mexico,
Europe and Australia than in the
United States, inasmuch as the price
at London for long periods has been
lower than cents per pound and the
output of the mines is maintained.
The superior advantage of the foreign
countries is partly in cheaper labor,
partly higher grades of ore, which
more frequently than in America, yield
two valuable products, e. g., zinc and
lead, as in Australia, and partly to
shorter railway hauls The cost Of
smelling and refining Is as low in the
United States as anywhere in the
world; the freights on the whole are
aggregate of miles, the cost of min
ing per ton of concentrated product Is
doubtless higher on the whole"
Since the date of the last figures,
quoted above, conditions certainly
have not changed for the worse among
the lead producers In 1912 and 1918
the cost Of lead to the Bunker Hill &
Sullivan, the leading Occur d'Alene
producer, was about 2.5 cents per
pound. The cost to the Federal Min
ing & Smelling company in 1913 was
about ga cents per pound. There are
no published data respecting the Her.
cules, Hecla, Stewart and other i'm
portant producers, but their figures
probably fall between 2h and 81
cents and more nearly the former than
the latter
/ Although the average cost in Mis-
souri, is now somewhat higher than it
was 10 to Is years ago, it is not, prob
ably higher to any great extent. Such
increase as there has been is ascrlb-
able to the mining Of lower grade ore,
yielding less lead per ton and to in
creased wage scale On the other
hand, these adverse factors have been
almost offset by improvements in
mining, milling and metallurgical
methods. 1t seems to be reasonably
assured that the Missouri lead costs
little less on the average than the
Idaho lead, and that neither the Mis-
souri, nor the Idaho producers would
fail 10 meet direct operating expenses
even if they should receive only cents
per pound for their product, but they
would not have anything to make good
the wear and tear of their plants and
give them a reasonable profit on their
invested capital unless they should re-
ceive at least considerably more than
81 cents per pound, which price must
be uncomfortable to all but the very
favorably situated producers. Their
willingness to curtail when that figure
was reached supports the conclusions
herein drawn. Equally clear is 1t that
the big producers must make a great
deal of money when lead is at 4 cents.
We can therefore understand why the
lead miners maintained their enorm-
Gus production until the screws were
turned against them.
for which the right Of way is sought is