Arizona republican., 1915-01-17
Mines Recover from War and Enter
 on New Era


 on New Era
 In mining. 1914 was a year of ups and downs, copper coming in for the biggest share of the downs. During the last four months of the year copper production was cut to about 60 per cent of normal, but even at that it was barely possible to offset the drop in consumption. In the first half of the year the output ran well ahead of 1913 and the decrease for the full year was only about 10 per cent Had this country been able to deliver copper to all who wanted it there would have been little need to curtail and prices would have been held up. Zinc, or spelter, also was badly hit in the beginning of the war, but it's position now is particularly strong and producers are
 barely able to supply domestic needs.
 Silver also is picking up all over the
 country as result of the improved
 price for the white metal.
 1 Just how much the mining busi-
 ness of the United States was hurt
 by the war it is not possible to do
 more than guess at this point. Pre- liminary estimates have been made by various authorities, but each in
 dividual metal was affected different ny by the European outbreak. That
 the total value of the yield for the year will show a decrease when the final figures are compiled is evident the copper situation also will insure that the refined copper production for the last four months having been
 about 390,OO0,O00 pounds. as against
 550,0OO,OOO pounds for the same peri cd of 1913 and 575,000,000 in 1912
 The low price for copper-at one
 time reaching the lowest since 1907-
 cuts still further value of the copper
 outturn of the country.
 Colorado, for instance, is counted
 upon to have produced $20.00O.00( gold in 1914, and increase of s1,S00,- 900 over 1913. Its silver yield on the other hand will decrease from 10,- O0O, 900 ounces to 9,500,00O. Lead ant copper also will show declines, tht lead production when general capa- city operations in 1913 to S7S97, ,OOt pounds in 1914. Colorado is men, tioned merely as being a typica state. producing all of the major metals in fair volume.
 One of the factors which aided tht copper situation was that during tn, year no new sources of production were opened up, but improvement: were made in metal extraction en abling a greater percentage of re covery. There are no new facilitie: in sources of construction and a! two or three years would be re quired for the erection and comple tion of large-scale plants the coppe trade is on a very firm basis. tn ore, matte, blister and refined prod cction possibilities being known t' the last pound and with the trad working in harmony it is possible t' hold down. production when genera capacity operations would tend t bring about prices situation tha ! would lead to demoraliZation.
 Copper producers enter 1915 witt an outlook that is 100 per cent bet ! ter than was expected even tw, months ago. Prices have firmed ul ! and production has been reduced t { a 50 per cent point which is sui l ficient to take care of the market ] Consumption Is now ahead of prod ! uction, but during the five months o ! warfare the surplus stocks increase' { from lOG,000,000 pounds to betweel I 200, 100000 and 250,00O.00O pounds { Consumption in December was abou { 14O, 1000, ,O0O pounds of which 75,O0O, ,O0 { pounds represented deliveries to do { mestic consumers. The production ! for the month was about 75,O00,00
 pounds.
 While the copper producers wer badly hit by the war, the lead pro
 ducers were also hurt though thei
 Comeback" has been more encOurag g
 ing. The lead situation was onl.
 slightly attributable to the war how
 ever, and the improvement has beel
 in great measure due to the reap tpearance of large export deman,
 which had been cut off before tn
 war began through the operations o
 the new tariff. Lead went down t.
 3R cents a pound, but is now clos
 to cents. price improvement of 1
 per cent. which contrasts with
 drop in copper from 12k cents t III cents and a recovery to 12h cents the copper price having advance,