The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-01-08
MINING IN THE coEuR D'ALENEs.

That was wonderful record o.
mineral production made by the Coeul
dAlene district during the year just
closed. The best feature of the min
ing industry is that increased output
means increased wealth added to the
nation, opening up avenues of prof,
to countless thousands in addition to
those who draw the dividends direct
Too often in other lines OF business
an increased volume means the
squeezing out Of smaller establish
ments, and signifies little or nothing
so far as the general prosperity is con-
cerned This comparative view Of
mining is one that Is too often over
looked by those who are prone to con-
slider the big dividends only, and are
disposed to regard mine owners as
men who are growing Unfortunately
ricn at the expense Of the people. This
view is wrong both in theory and in
fact In the first place, many mine
owners go broke trying to find pay ore
where mono exists. Not many are
found in this class in the Occur
d'Alene district, because mining here
is on an exceptionally safe basis But
IN most cases when the mine owner
fails. It Is not until he has generally
added to the worlds wealth and dis
tributed many thousands of dollars
among wage earners and business men.
But the successful mine owner, the
naam who actually does draw large
dividends from the mine. what Is his
actual position? After all the ad-
vancement that has been made in the
knowledge Of ores and formations, the
fact still remains that no man knows
what day will bring forth in the ex-
.ploration Of an ore body. Neither the
mine owner nor his most expert adj
wiser tan see ore foot beyond the face
OF his tunnel or the bottom of his
shaft. A round of holes may mark the
end Of a bonanza ore shoot or 1t may
show 1t up bigger than ever Therein
lies the chief r isk in mining.
On the other hand. suppose 1t were
possible FOR I he mine owner to know
the exact ey tent Of his ore reserves,
ne is still situated altogether differ
entity from the man in other lines of
business. He can not replenish his
stock. and every ton of ore he re-
moves reduces his resources to that
extent He gets the profit from the
ore. but he also shortens the life If
the mine. These conditions, the I'M
avoidable risk and the inevitable de-
crease in resources, necessarily places
biliiho piOhAo vi oiiANASAt puoiS
from that of any other line of business
and makes it plain that without the
Involvement of large profits the capita.
required for the opening, equippins
and operating of mine would not be
But as stated above, the mine own
ers are not the only ones who share +
In the benefits Of mining operations. |
In fact, with rare exceptions. the div
ldends are the small end Of the gross
value Of the ore mined. Take for ex-
ample the operation of the mines OF
his district for the last ~ years The
let profits to the owners during that
period were something over 100000
100. That sounds big. and 1t is just as
liz as 1t sounds. But there are other
lgures to 90 with these. The gross
,alue Of the ore shipped during those
ears was approximately $16o,OoO,00o. {
the net profits there is left
100000 that was paid out for min
g and milling the ore. improvements .
nd betterments Of plants freight and
nelter charges. Thus II Will be seen {
lat thousands Of men, from the mine t
the Aneltsr directly shared in the
'nefits OF the operations Of these
Ines. TO say nothing Of the large G
mmunifiss which derive their sup
u indirectly from tie same source. q