Mohave County miner. [volume] (Mineral Park, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1882-1918, 1917-03-03
Copyright 1917, by Dukelow & Wal
ker co..
THE METAL MARKET

Copper continues to grow stronger
and the market has become quite ac-
tive. For March delivery lake is 35%
to Sc cents and electrolytic is 361a to
96% cents a pound. It is estimated
that between 25,OOO,OOO and 100000
pounds of copper was sold last week.
About 20 per cent of this was for Feb
ruary and March delivery, so per cent
for second quarter and the remainder
for delivery throughout the last half
of this year. Some of the copper sold
was for delivery as late as December,
and the price on this is understood to
have been about 80 cents a pound.
There is now every indication that
the buying movement will continue
and that during the coming two or
three months an immense tonnage will
be purchased by domestic consumers
and the European governments for
delivery throughout the last half Of
1917. Producers are showing a dis
position to make contracts for July
and later months at prices four or
five cents lower than those for which
spot metal can be sold.
Although there is every indication
that the average price of copper dur
ing the closing six months of this year
will be somewhat between 80 and SO
cents it does not seem wise for con-
sumers to make purchases for distant
future delivery in excess of their reas-
onably assured requirements. While
the metal undoubtedly will continue to
sell at relatively high prices for two
or three years after the European war
ends it is altogether unlikely that the
average will be nearly as high as 30
cents pound.
Notwithstanding submarine warfare
and freight embargoes exports of cop
per so far this month have been ma
terially larger, and there is every in
dication that the February outgo will
exceed 65,0O0,000 pounds, comparing
with 6O,386,OOO pounds in January,
which contained three more days. A
by no means unimportant percentage
of the copper exported during the past
year never will come back to the mar
kets as old metal, it having gone down
in torpedoed ships.
The copper requirements. of the
United States government for NUM-
tons purposes must and will be sup
piled. If Uncle Sam is obliged to pay
abnormally high prices for it the bene-
ficiaries will be the same class of peo-
pie who pay the taxes. 1t seems to
me that those who are agitating the
idea that corporations equipped to-
build warships, make munitions and
supply the various raw materials re-
quired by the government in its pre-
paredness campaign should be forced
to accept very much less than the pre-
vailing rate of profits have no con-
ception of economic justice and fair
dealing. Is there any reason why such
corporations should be forced to make
special sacrifices at a time when all
other lines of business will reap maxi
mum profits as a result of the pros
perity generated by this same war de-
mand? For instance, if the govern
ment's engineers were to decide upon
a given brand of lake or electrolytic
copper and fix the price at 16 cents,
would it be fair to the companies pro-
ducing it, when all their competitors
were receiving II or Is cents more for
no better, and even for inferior
grades? Would it be good policy for
the government thus to penalize man
ufacturers who have developed the
ability to turn out materials that meet
its specifications?
1t is altogether improbable that the /
few shallow-brained advocates of the
theory set forth will be able to exer.
any important influence to shape the
plans and policies. High
prices for copper are the result of ex-
cessive demands. Production has been
far beyond the amount
which the most careful students of the
situation had believed to be possible.
High prices for the metal and greatly
profits for the smelters and
'efiners have led to the production and
hipment of ores which, under normal
possessed no commercial
7alue, and it is from these ores that