The Alaska daily empire., 1916-07-29
THE DEMAND FOR QUICKSILVER
(Mining and Scientific Press)

Niinng and Scientific Press)
 The domestic quicksilver industry has continued active during the first six months of 1916, and the average price for the period has been about douOie the exceptionally high figure for the entire year l9lo Figures just compiled by the U. & Geological Survey show that the total production oi quicksilver m tGe United States In 1915 1033 ilasks Of 70 To- eacn having marketed value Of Sl,S269l2, or an average Of SS6.S6 per flash or this output l4ZS5 isKs sehb for S1I74SS1 from California, and the remainder almost entirely came from Texas and Nevada. The actual average sales value Tor the whole country eN ceeded the average market value in San Francisco which SS5SO for the year. In 1914 the domestic output 165S4 asks, valued at SSll6SO and there. fore the production for 1915 showed an increase or over 2 per cent in quantity and l25 per cent m
 The increased domestic demand for quicksilver in the last IS months has been due mainly Co war re- Quirements for illuminate and drugs Early m 1915 do- mestic stocks began be drawn upon and production became more active but foreign embargoes let the field clear and domestic output was unable to the rapidly increasing call for the metal, prices continued to rise throughout the year ana hto the early months Of 1916 the high mark Of $500 per flask being passed in February. Naturally every mine and prospect became of interest The reaction setn now ever the high prices drew out quicksilver supplies in Mexico and elsewhere that had been originally purchased for amalgamation or gold and silver ores and finally the British government permitted eN ports America under certain limitations The aver age monthly domestic price in San Francisco which had climbed from S5l9O in January, 19l5 to $295 in February 1916. dropped Co S2l9 in March $l4LbO in April S9O in May. and about SIP in June The mar ket remains steady and in general highly profitable and as domestic prices have dropped below London quotations. export rather than imports of the metal may be expected There is probably no great Quan- tity of metal stored and consumption is undoubtedly abnOrmally large.
 Favorable markets have brought out great acty- ity search for prospects and discoveries near Morton, Washington and Beagle Oregon, in 1916 have led to development and construction of reduction plants. Also in the Skull Valley deposits, Arizona referred to many years ago by w. P. Blake and at Black Pine. Idaho. activity is reported Many old furnaces have been repaired or enlarged in Cali fornia Nevada and Texas old workings have been re- opened. and new discoveries have been developed
 It is likely that the exceptionally high prices of the hnrr. lad md rulh no many mines Of their best ore, and the average tenor Of the worked out by the larger mines during the first half of 1916 may prove considerably below that of previous years Moreover. some mines have un- doubtedly passed their maximum productivity. These conditions are probably offset to extent by the fact that more furnace capacity is working quicksilver ores than any previous time in the his tcry of the industry On the whole. the midyear out look IS for an output in 1916 fully equal to that of 1915