The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-08-06
340,000,Oo0 TONS ORE
UTAH COPPER Co.
WONDERFUL PROFITS DERIVED
FROM MINING LOW GRADE
PORPHYRY ORES.

Some interesting data has been
compiled relative to the immense
mineral deposits of the Utah Copper
company at Bingham. This mine,
with it's 34O.0OO,O0O tons of porphyry
ores developed, has. share value for
its ores alone amounting to $241.4
net (without amortization) for each
Of the 1,625,O00 shares issued. These
figures are computed on Accent cop
per metal from ore of Ia per cent
grade and 81 per cent cost of produc-
ton on 100,0O0,O00 tons of the pro-
duct and 7-cent cost on 24O,O0O,00O
tons. This estimate was carefully
rompiled by representative Of the
News Bureau Who has been visiting
the camp and made a careful invest
igation of the company's operations.
AS to the ore grade taken, namely,
IA per cent, the figure actually given
report was LAT per cent. The aver
age net smelter recovery in the past
four years has been GA per cent, with
81 per cent as a minimum. A 81 per
cent recovery on Ia per cent ore nets
1908 pounds copper per ton, or, say,
II pounds.
Costs during the second quarter of
1914 were reduced to around cents
Garfield railway bonds are practically
out of the way, all the net earnings Of
this railway subsidiary become avail
able as credit against the cost N
operation at Utah Cooper.
Cost of Mining.
The actual cost of steam shovel
mining Gneluding taxes, administra-
ton, etc. but exclusive of stripping
charge and exploratory, is q cert
per ton; net transportation cost Or
carrying ore to mill, under Is cents
milling, 81 cents, against which
gold silver credit of 10 cents per ton,
leaving net mining-milling cost of
60 cents per ton. or 1853 cents per
pound Of copper produced, to which
should be added some 3 cents per
pound for smelling, refining and SELL
ing. Thus the physical cost Of pro-
ducing copper is Sc cents per pound,
but stripping, exploration, deprecia-
ton and interest charges bring the
actual cost of production up TO IA
cents. The figure of ga cents for
the first 100.000,Oo0 tons is therefore
a liberal one.
After that, the stripping charge of
~ cents per ton mined is expected
to terminate, and with the carriage
Of all ores over the Bingham & Gar
field railway Gnstead Of about one
third over the Rio Grande, as at pres
ent, there will be an additional saw
ing of over 6 cents per ton in costs
This should bring the cost of produc-
ton ultimately down to 6@6R cents
per pound. Hence the figure of cents
operating costs per pound on the en-
suing 24O,OOOO0O tons of ore blocked
out is also considered a rather liberal
one.
With accent copper metal, the in
dicated profits amount to $1.06A per
ton on 100. 100000 tons, and $119 per
ton on 240.000,000 tons, or $391,S50,-
600 in all Divided among the ap-
proximately 1650,000 shares outstand-
ing since the conversion of the Bing-
ham & Garfield railways bonds, July
l, the blocked out ore reserves foot
up to a value of $241.14 net per shara.
Nor does this value Of $241.14 per
share allow penny for the 1,00G,500
shares of Nevada Consolidated Copper
company stock of the Bingham &
Garfield railway, constructed and
equipped at cost of over s6,5OO0oo
to date, nor the $10,626 1913 of undi-
vided profits as of January l. 1914.
nor the value Of the mammoth Magma
and Arthur mills, having a capacity
of $4,000 tons of ore per day.