Bisbee daily review., 1917-10-07
IS LOOKING INTO
 PROBLEMS OF
 STATEPLANTS
Legislative Committee Inves- tigating the Feasibility of a State Reduction Plant for Many Ores.

Niany tres.
 PHOENIX, Ariz.. Oct. 6.-The com
 mittee appointed by the last legisla-
 ture to look into the various ques-
 tions attending the proposal to build
 state smelter and report thereupon.
 has established its working organi
 zation and is now engaged upon the
 gathering of data to place before the
 next legislature. Mir. Deyine. the
 member of the committee from Mari
 copa county, has been made chairman
 of the Investigating organization and
 has established headquarters in his
 Phoenix offices.
 Discussion of the proposed relief
 for small operators of mining proper
 ties in the state has developed con
 siderable difference of opinion Those
 are not lacking who believe that a
 state smelter would fall short of pro
 viding the advantage which it is de-
 sired to bring about. There are ad.
 vocates of mills, crushers, sampling
 works and teaching plants among
 those who fail to see in the shelter
 proposal the relief that is sought. A
 particularly clear argument setting
 forth the disadvantage Of a shelter
 in comparison with other available methods is provided in the following
 letter to the Arizona Chapter A. N. C. by A c. Rowsey. a Tucson mining writer:
 "TheOriZeti as a source of enor- nous returns now lost in some way dependent smelter. a metal making plant which theoretically will return to its customer e5 per cent of the recoverable assets of his mine. is lurking somewhere in the mind Of every independent miner in the state. To some it is dream. 10 others an energizing force. to others a demand that will not be stayed by any argu- ment short of such a plant-and of such a failure as it of necessity will be unless there is a great change in the methods of the miners themselves.
 'I have heard. and so has every one else. earnest men preach as gOs- pei that the Arizona smelters will not take ore when the price is high. They will not accept small, irregu- lar consignments. low grade ores and so on indefinitely with variations cor to the individual expert know the shelter business. l do not know the Arizona mining methods. I do know that no miner in Colorado. where l hail from. would not think of sending the kind of stuff to smelters I have seen shipped through Tucson. The Colorado smelters would not take it, or if they took it they would promptly affix penalties that would prevent a like shipment reaching the loading cars. For most of it was plain, simple or complex rock gangue. which in the ordinary course of events would result simply in loading the smelter with bulk without value. ar with bulk with detriment to the rest of the charge.
 "To my mind. and any Colorado miner may correct me if he chooses. your Arizona smelters are barring con- signments of the little men and re- fusing low grade because every one is so greedy to get into the shelter that they work against each others interests. shutting out possibility of equalization of shelter space with plain rock. gangue. which pays no- body and costs high
 ITO my mind. it is not state shelter. or more smelters that is the prime need of Arizona. but custom plants that will handle the ores of the various districts where the companies are unable to equip The state needs more plants, where the concentra- ton can be carried on to a high value. These plants. these concentration mills are not expensive. not difficult 10 run with the non-complex minerals ot Arizona. And they are plants that would give to the miner or the min Ing company a yield of hundreds of dollars through the concentration of by-products that Is loa now ia the