The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-07-15


gineer win himself seldom desire or
permit such a thing to happen. But
the capitalist should do his part also
with the facts before him and his
knowledge of the character of the men
who have gatherd them. The final de-
cision must rest with him, he must
weigh and consider most carefully the
speculative elements free from cupid
ity, because in nine cases out Of ten 1t
Is the lure of avarice that gets the
better Of his judgment.
SivIn&asien aho mining.
II Is pertinent III TINS CONNECTION u
observe Lnat the wnole structure We
call modern civilization rests upon tue
use OF metals ana they can not De OBJ
tained except by mining. That The
earth wall continue TO yield them IN
definitely at the present rate no NM
ing engineer OF wide and mature eA-
perienee will venture to assert. Rich
deposits are becoming more and more
ldiS. Ala tuc udJo Va bAC AAoAAA@h Ga
pre- the streams and gravel beds OF
central Europe yielded considerable
gold and at the same period the allu-
vial deposits Of Cornwall produced the
tin that made Tyre famous, The first
historical fact has long since been for
gotten, the lode mines of Cornwall
many years ago eclpsed the Summaries
of the ancients and now in turn these
lodes have about been exhausted.
| cite these cases to show what we
may expect In this country, large as it
is, ever bearing in mind that the rate
of production and consequent exhaus-
ton is now vastly quicker than in Ro-
man times. 1t is true the modern me-
chanical and chemical methods of ore
treatment enable US profitably to mine
low grade ores that 20, or even 10,
years ago were of no value whatever.
But 1t Is doubtful If the limits in this
respect are not now nearly in sight,
unless the market price of most met
DIS indleEldlly increases.
The worlds production of gold be-
tween 1912 and 1918 decreased ST.
100000, and in the year following, ST.
100000
Soetbeer computes the total produc-
ton of gold in the world since the year
1893 at $14,775,llO,OO0, IN amount
about only one-third the estimated
cost of the war in Europe If it lasts a
year from> August 1914
Metal Prices Must Advance.
The consumption of the gold in the
arts is steadily increasing, and the
demand for its use in commerce as a
standard of value knows no limit. The
logical conclusion from this review of
general facts is that the price of met
ais must steadily advance; of course,
there will be fluctuations, but the av-
erage level must tend to become high
er as an inevitable result of the ever
increasing demand and the exhaustion
of rich deposits with few new discoy-
cries to take their place. The general
tendency will be--indeed, it Is already
evident--for mining of all descriptions
to segregate into the hands of large
on the principle of large
upon small margins of pro-
fit but with an aggregate sufficient to
yield a steady but relatively moder-
ate return upon great investments of
capital. The operations of such large
are usually so diversified
and distributed over a number of pro-
perties that the failure of one does not
necessarily seriously affect the general
business of the operating company as
a whole. Hence the purchase Of share
ut reaonable prices in such organiza-
lions tends to become more Of an in
vestment than speculation. There is
no doubt the segregation Of mining
operations into the hands Of large cor
porations is distinct advantage to
the conservation OF national re-
sources, A large company as rule,
Is less wasteful than small opera
tor. 1t can afford to set aside its low
grade ores until such times as they
may be worked at a profit, whereas
the individual operator or small com
pany can seldom do 1t, as he must
ook for immediate profit and pick out
he rich spots, abandoning the rest as
and often leave the mine in
such condition that 1t can not be re-
opened
Checq Individual Effort.
AS a check upon individuality, these
tendencies are unfortunate. No coun-
ry in the world has ever offered such
opportunities for the development of
he individual as has the United States
md Canada. The time was, and not |
ong ago, when the individual might |
discover an ore body, develop 1t into a |
nine and become rich thereby. Such |
possibility was obviously predicated |
Ipon the ore being rich and the oper-
tor having some small amount of |
apital; but we all know these oppor-
unities are becoming more and more
are and are largely responsible for
he cry what is the matter with pros
ecting%
The theme usggests other reflec-
Ions, but have said enough to show
~ own views concerning the specula-
we side of mining. The problems
ow presented To the vouno. po,n,po A..