The Prescott daily news., 1915-09-07
NORTH ARKANSAS CON-
 ING INTO ITS OWN
About 100 Zinc Producing Pro- perties-FOrtunes Have Been Sunk in Development-Euro- pean War Creates Demand.
By Clio Harper.

| '"iS i'oIhj oepI. i.-NOfJn Ark- ansas 1t at last coming into it's own. It Is estimated that 100 car loads of zlnc ore per month are being pro- duced in the Yellville district. That It worth in the market as quotations run now, about $225OOO. Besides this, there are smaller amounts being produced in the Harrison and other districts.
 There are about 100 producing pro- perties now, and between 800 and 1000 men are actually employed in digging ore.
 For thirty years it has been known that Arkansas above the Ozarks es pecially in the counties of Marion, Boone, Newton, and Searcy, are under lad with great beds of valuable zinc ore. But there was comparatively small demand for it, and the mines were remote from railroad connection. The promoter and land speculator were the ones who profited chiefly from the presence of the great fields of jack" and carbonates.
 Fortunes were sunk in develop ment, but still the faithful held on against the time when their faith was sure to be rewarded. Great quan- titles of ore were piled upon the sur face from tunnels, drifts, shafts, and open cuts. Great faces of the rich est ore were uncovered so near the surface that it could be quarried out like so much stone.
 Then the railroads came, the White River branch and the M. & N. A., but still the prices were so low that only relatively small shipments were made.
 It was the demand for zinc created by the European war which gave the industry it's first impetus. Other fields could not supply the demand, and prices jumped to $130 where they had been less than $20.
 Long neglected mines were reopen ed, and everywhere activity ruled in the mining district.
 No more are there heard many re- ports of sales. The period of eX- ploitation has been succeeded by the period of realization. Mining lands are not being sold, but are being leased for actual operation. From one-man propositions, to mines em- ploying scores of men, there comes a constant stream of ore that is quoted as high on the market as that of Webb City, or higher.
 Concentrating mills are being erect ed at Markle, Bear Hill, and other mines, and at number of the old, well-developed properties large, mod Tern mills have been in operation for some time.
 Up to the present time, there has been sufficient local labor to take care of all demands, but so rapid is the de- velopment that in a short time the in dustry will have become the greatest source of revenue in the -Four Zinc States of North Arkansas"
 Levi Storthz, a Little Rock capital ist, who owns 4,500 acres of mineral land in the four counties, values his properties at $1,000,000.
 The Consolidated Zinc and Rock Company of Lawrence county has floated $60,000 worth of bonds, to se- cure funds for operation.
 Zine ore that has lain on the dump for a generation, in Newton county, is being hauled 24 miles to Harrison and shipped at big profit.
 A body of ore which is reported to assay 221a per cent pure silver has been uncovered on the property of the Buffalo Mining Co.,, near Penoa City, Newton County.
 From other points come frequent reports of gratifying finds that pro- mise to yield heavy returns when they are developed-and now there is nc doubt about the developmet.
 The price of zinc ore fluctuateS greatly. It is now quoted at from SAC to 800 according to grade, with a gen eral average of $75 for the most com mon qualities of high grade ore.
 Thirty tons is a carload, and eacf car load is therefore worth about S225O, and the monthly output of the Melville district is $225,000, or tho annual product more than S2,500,000