The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-02-26

hausted. In and around the large min
ing centers new ore bodies are con
! tinually being opened in the exten
n sions Of the workings of the olde
mines as well as in new properties
and the improvements in mining, mill.
, ing and metallurgical practice are con.
tinually making available millions Of
tons of ore which was improbable
, heretofore. With increasing scarcity
of any metal 1t Is thought that rising
prices will so increase the potentia
reward that active search will bring
out ample supplies.
Expert Prospectors Are Not Extinct.
Mining, no more than any other in
dustry. can continue unless money
goes into development. More ore mus.
continually be found, and more ore Will
be found, but just whefe and how %
spend most wisely in search Of more
ore, Is problem that remains unset
tied, and which, we believe, is not cap
able of universal and sure solution. We
approach the question with certain
prejudices growing out of the history
of the industry. 1t is a tradition that
an ore body Is a treasure trove, ana,
just as every man thinks that with
sufficient paper and pencils, he could
write best seller, so he thinks that If
he really wanted to and had a pick
and comfortable camp outfit, he
could find mine. From time to time
the inexpert do make discoveries, and
thereby further establish the dictum
that in finding mines expert knowledge
is unnecessary. A few of the mex
perts stay in the business long enough
to become expert-and real prospec-
tor is expert, indeed. The picturesque
vagabond who depended on whisky
and luck, and the new style claim
stalker who depends on the printing
press and the mails, die hard. Forum
ately, the well informed really expert
prospector is also far from extinct. We
anticipate that our discussion depart
ment In the weeks to come will bear
evidence of the fact. Equally FORUM
ately, he has, as the letters printed
show, the confidence of moneyed men
quite as much as ever. There is plenty
of money for sending him to any vir-
gin territory where his methods offer
a reasonable chance of success The
practical problem is to develop a new
system for the finding of lodes in the
combed over territory.
New Veins in Old Districts.
In the meantime the mining COM
panies are furnishing metal as fast as
the market demands it, as is shown by
any careful study of prices. Despite
the increased cost of living which
has affected mining as we'll as other
industries, there has been no consist
ent or general increase in metal prices
in the last quarter century; except in
the case of tin, where there is an adj
mtted shortage. The increased de-
mand has so far been met by finding
new veins in old districts, by develop.
ment of extensions of known ore bod
les, and by lowering production costs
and increasing extraction so as to con-
vert into ore what was formerly waste
rock. Presumably there will some day
be an end to this. No extraction can
be more than perfect, all ore bodies d.
have limits, and there is a minimum
cost below which ton of material
can not be handled, whether it be
gold ore, coal or clay.
Work for the Geological Survey.
The world is not coming to an end
and people are not going to cease u.s.
ing metals New deposits will he
found and the open field is in the
search for blind lodes. That requires
skill and money. The OLD prospectors
as class do not have that skill and
new order of prospectors must be de-
veloped. 1t is insight, not numbers,
that is needed. The geologist has some
of that, but he falls far short of hav-
ing all that is needed. Some time ago
we suggested that the United States
geological survey had large respon-
sibility and a magnificent opportunity
in this connection. Our suggestion has
been partly misunderstood. Mr.. AL
bert Burch believes that the govern
ment should prospect its own lands,
and we believe that something along
that line can be done to advantage.
but it Is much more important that the
organization that has the largest fund
of information and at the same time
the entire confidence of mining men.
should do its share in developing the
new methods that we must have Whe-
ther the geological survey found "A
mine or not would be relatively unim- |
portant if it pointed the way to tha
finding of mines. The suggestion that |
young technical graduates be put with |
o11 Nn,tr no., -