Mohave County miner., 1917-01-06
ZINC INDUSTRY IN 1916

The zinc mining and zinc smelting industries experienced year Of pros perity in 1916. According to the best information available at this time the recoverable zinc content of ore mined in the United States was about -C3,000 tons, compared with 605,915 tons IT 1915 and 406,959 tons in 1914. The largest district gain was made by the Joplin region, which had an increase of over 10000 tons. Montana made c Wnotable gain and from the returns aavilable seems to have taken second place, but it will require complete fig ures to decide. Good gains weer also made by the upper Mississippi valley sregion, Colorado, Tennessee, Idaho. Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ar kansas and Washington. The eastern states produced 148,OOC tons, or q per cent, the central states 274,O00 tons, or 39 per cent, and the western states 2S6,OOO tons, or 40 per cent, of the total output of zinc in ore.
 The following figures have been compiled without change by c. E. Sic benthal, of the United States geologi- cal survey, Department of the Inter for, from reports furnished by all op- eratingsmelter of zinc ores except one small plant, showing their output for the first II months of the year and their estimated output for December. The production of the shelter not re- porting, winch operated intermittent ly, has been estimated on the basis of its output for the first half of the year. Figures showing the imports and eX- ports for 10 or Il months were ob- tained from the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, and to these figures have been added estimates for the remainder of the year.
 There was much activity in the con struction of retort zinc smelters dur ing 1916, and considerable additions are under construction or planned for 1917. The number of retorts at the beginning of 1916 was 156,56S, on July 1 it was 196,64O, and at the end of the year it was 213,84O, besides 13,- GAS additional retorts being built or planned. The Athletic Mining and Smelling company is building a smell ter of 2400 rotorts at Fort Smith, Ark, to be completed in March, 1917. The United Zinc Smelling corporation is Luilding a sp7eiter to have 6912 re torts at Moun'.sville, W. Va, which will he completed early m the yeac. Additions are under way at Pueblo, Colo; Peru and East St. oLuis, H.; and Blackwell, Quinton and Sand Springs, Okla. The Berger Manufac- turing company of Canton, Ohio, com pleted plans for shelter at Fort Smith, Ark, but the construction is yet in abeyance.
 The full retort capacity was not utilized in smelting ore at any time during the year. A large number of retorts were occupied in redistilling prime western spelter. Many retorts were idle during parts of the third and fourth quarters of the year, but started up again late in the year, though a considerable number were still idle in December.
 Two new smelters using large gra- phite retorts were built during 1916. These were the plants of the Eastern Zinc Refining company, at Brooklyn, N. r., with eight large retorts and 16 more under construction or planned, and of the M. Mooshowitz 6 Son Metal company, at Trenton, N. J., with q retorts. There are now five such plants, with 153 retorts.
 Six electrolytic zinc plants were in operation in 1916 Four units of the large Anaconda plant a Great Falls, Mont, went into operation, and it is thought that the last unit will be com pleted about the first of 1917. The small Anaconda electrolytic plant at Anaconda, Mont, has been dismantled. The plant of the River Smelling and Refining company, at KeoBuk, Iowa, was active, and experiments were con- tinued at the Bully Hill plant in Cali fornia. The electrolytic zinc plant of the Judge Mining and Smelling com pany, at Park City, Utah, and that of the Mammoth Copper company at Kennett, Cal, will be ready for opera ton by the middle of 1917. The Mur- ray experimental plant of the Ameri- can Smelling and Refining company is closed, and plans for larger plant gre aabndoned for the present at least
 Record Production
 The production of spelter from do- mestic ore in 1916 is estimated al 553,000 short tons, worth, at the aver CH o11ic c1 6O OOO