The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-01-06
MINERAL RESOURCES
OF THE UNITED STATES
PRODUCE so PER CENT OF THE
WORLDS coPPER-RlcHER
THAN oNY COUNTRY.
CONDENSED from Annual Report of
Secretary of the Interior)

y CONDENSED from Annual Report c
e Secretary of the Interior)
e Gold.
The production of gold in the Unite
: States in 1880 was $S6,OO0.0OOs while i
v 1914 the total domestic yield was $94,
: 100000 The worlds output of gold /
: approximately $460,000.000, of whicl
b the United States produces 20 pc
cent
/ 1t Is not possible to give an accurat'
. estimate OF the total reserves of golt
ore in the United States, but 1t is saft
to assume that they are sufficient fol
! a long period Of years.
Improved processes for the extrac.
ton of gold make possible the working
of great low grade deposits and thus
enlarge the visible supply of ore. ANY
invention that tends to lessen the cost
of production win increase the amount
of ore from which gold may be ex-
made In the mining and treatment OF
low grade placer gravels by the in
PRODUCTION of larger and more efficient
dredges that recover practically all of
the gold in the gravel As in years
past, the supply of gold will continue
to come from California, Alaska, Col-
orado, South Dakota, Nevada and
Montana.
The production of silver has grad
ually increased until in 1914 the total
amount produced the largest ever re-
corded, was Il, 100000 ounces. The sill
yer production of the world is about
225,O00000 ounces annually, of which
the United States produces one third.
Practically three-fourths of the worlds
silver production is derived from North
America
The United States produces SO much
more silver than the domestic arts and
sciences can assimilate that the price
is largely regulated by the foreign de-
mand. There is every reason to be-
lieve that the United States will con-
tinue to retain its position as the larg
est producer of silver and have large
surplus for exports.
Vast quantities of low grade complex
ores carrying silver with lead, copper
or zinc are now unworked in the west
ern states because of the lack of pro-
cesses by which the metals can be re-
covered at profit.
Copper.
The worlds production of copper is
2,211OOO,00O pounds. of
which the United States produces 60
per cent and consumes about Al per
cent of the worlds output of copper or
IS per cent of our own production. One |
Of the most remarkable advances in |
mining in this country has been the
of the cost of handling cop |
per ore. With the advent of the steam
shovel, improved mining methods, and
recent advances in concentrating the
copper minerals of the Ores immense 4
low grade deposits are now worked at
i profit. Under the mining and mill
ng conditions of 20 years ago many of
.hese mines would today remain I'M
productive. Whoever cheapens and
oerfects processes for recovering met
Il from low grade ores that otherwise
could not be mined at q profit not on
y increases the national wealth by |
ha af l. l
he advance toward international in
ustrial supremacy by supplying cheap
netal
The extraction of copper by hydro
ravity concentration has, up to the
resent, averaged about 70 per cent. II
his means that in the United States
bout 340,000,000 pounds of copper :
'ent out with the tailings in 1914 This
roblem of trying to save $50,000,00O !,
'orth of copper each year from tail
lgs piles is one of large importance
the people of the United States and
ct it is only a small part of the min
raj conservation question.
Lead.
The lead resources of the United r
Lates are capable of meeting con-
imption, and the production is only
nited by the ability of the market to
'sorb the output from domestic mines
I'd from ore and base bullion import "A
from Mexico for smelling and refin- e
g. The production of lead In the 81
nited States in 1880 was $4,000 tons.
compared with $4,000 tons in 1914,
about "a per cent of the worlds
oduction. The increased mine yield
$ resulted in part from larger re-
veries of metal by more efficient
Hing methods.
Zinc.
The ability to produce spelter (me- =
lie zinc) is only limited ~ the ca
city of the smelling plants and the
n price of zinc has caused the re-
nption of operations of many of the
shelters and thousands OF addi-
nal retorts are now under construc-
n. OF the worlds total production
spelter in 1913 the United States
,uucel 337 n00 tonc oY o. , -. 4 |