The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-06-29

prompted by the high prices created
by war conditions. AT the beginning
of 1915 the price was five and one hall
cents per pound; last June it was 81;
now it is IS. Producers are sold sew
eral months ahead For a short time
concentrates containing even less than
40 per cent zinc could be exploited al
a profit, owing to the abnormal de-
mand; the expansion of the market
caused hundreds of new producers 10
become active, prompting the erection
of additional smelters on a liberal
scale, until the growth of production
had more than met the unusual de-
mand Several new reduction works
will shortly come into operation. The
allies were expected to buy large
quantities of spelter for the second
half of the current year, but these pur-
chases have not come through; hence
the recent collapse. Meanwhile the
Australian zinc industry is being re-
organized to meet conditions created
by war. The output from Broken Hill
in 1913 was $4,000 tons of As per cent
zinc concentrate, as compared with the
$4,000 tons of spelter produced in this
country during the same year. Most
of the Australian concentrates used to
go to Antwerp and Rotterdam, for dis
man smelters. The Belgian plants
were largely under German control
and the German smelling companies
had been aided in the expansion of
business by ship subsidies from their
government. At the outbreak of hos
tilities, therefore, the Australian zinc
industry found itself in the grip of an
enemy. All shipments ceased and
there arose talk of building reduction
works in England and Australia, but
existing contracts with the German
and Belgian smelters paralyzed action
In August, 1915, the Commonwealth
government passed a bill cancelling
contracts with enemy aliens, and
thereby cleared the way for the Asso
ciated Shelters, a consolidation of
mining interests at Broken Hill organ
lied to treat the lead and zinc out
Put from that district, starting with
the Broken Hill Proprietary works at
Port Prize as a nucleus The only COM
panies not included were the British
Broken Hill Proprietary and the Zine
Corporation, both of which were re-
gistered in England and were tied by
German contracts that were not re-
leased by the Australian enactment;
another exception was the Sulphide
Corporation, which owns the Central
mine at Broken Hill, and controls
both the Central zinc smelter near
Newcastle, England, and a lead smell
ter at Cookie creek New South Wales.
All the efforts to organize a new and
big reduction works in England were
blocked by German contracts, which
the British courts were slow to set
aside. However, in September, 1915,
a beginning was made by the trans
fer of the small smelter at Swansea
Vale, South Wales, from Aaron Hirsch
& Snhn of Halberstadt to a syndicate
headed by Messrs. H. c. Hoover and
f. A. Govett, representing a group of
financiers identified with the Zinc Cor
poration and the Burma Mines. FL
nally, ON May ~, 1916, the British
government made an order determin
ing the contracts made in 1910 and
1912 between the British Broken Hill
Proprietary company and the Zinc
Corporation on the one side and Ger
man smelters on the other. At about
the same time the Sulphide Corpora
ton made an arrangement, with the
British governments sanction, to pur-
chase the Central Zinc company's plant
in England and enlarge it to capacity
Of 10000 tons of concentrate per an
mum. Furthermore, it is announced
by the financial Times that the direct
ors of the Zinc Corporation have de-
finitely decided to erect smelter of
their own in England, at an expendi-
ture of $1O,000,00O, unless the Com
monwealth government extends it's
embargo on the export of concentrate
to companies of English register as
is not likely. Meanwhile, the interests
tributary to the Associated Shelters
have organized a Zinc Producers as
ISOLATION, making provision for the
marketing of their united output dur
ing a period of so years. Arrange
ments with the Veile Montague COM
pany, with a view to protecting the
Belgian smelling industry, are
also likely to be made as part of the
industrial alliance between England
and France. All of which is here re-
corded to make clear the fact that the
Australian zinc industry is to be plac-
ed on it's feet again and therefore in
position to contribute, say, 100000
tons of spelter per annum.
The mention of the Burma Mines is
significant, for that company has I'M
covered an ore body at Baldwin, in
the Northern Shan states, that pro-
misses to be factor in the zinc mar
ket Already 100000 tons of ore av-
eraging 22h per cent zinc, besides
q per cent lead, and rs ounces silver