New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-01-18
METAL OUTPUT OF
STATE INCREASED
TO Three MILLIONS
GOLD, SILVER, COPPER,
LEAD, ZINC PRODUCED
TO VALUE OF NEARLY
THIRTY FOUR MILLION
DOLLARS IN YEAR 1917


Mexico for II months of 1917, and
the estimated output for December
as reported by Charles w. Hender
Survey, Department of the Interior
amounted to $l0l0000 in gold, l,26S,-
200 ounces of silver, $4,000 pounds
Of lead lN,5OOOOO pounds Of copper
and 27,9000OO pounds of recoverable
zinc, valued in all at $33,70OO00, as
compared with $1,3S2,4S0 in gold, L.
766,274 ounces of silver, 92747 ,2S9
pounds of copper, 8,2l4,l89 pounds
of lead, and 36,s70649 pounds Of zinc
with a total value of $30,827 767 in
1916 These preliminary figures show
decreases of $372,4 ,480 in gold, of 49,
24 ounces in quantity and $780,
056 in value of silver, and of nearly
100000 in value of zinc; but increases
1000 600 pounds in quantity and ST.
of II 100000 pounds in quantity and
s560O0O0 in value Of copper, and of
l26OOO pounds in quantity and $780,
ZOO in value of lead.
The principal metal produced in
New Mexico is copper, which since
1910 has been obtained chiefly from
rhe Chino Copper Co.'S low-grade
copper deposits at Santa Rita. The
ore is milled at Hurley in large wet
concentration-flotation plant. In 1917
This company made its largest out
put, 81 O50853 pounds. The Burro
Mountain Copper Co.'S concentration
mill, which began operations at full
capacity June |, 1916, was operated
continuously in 1917 and increased
considerably its production. The out
put of copper from the Lordsburg
district was not equal to that of 1915.
During the later part OF 1917 flo
cation plant was being built in this
district at the Eighty-Five mine The
Santa Fe Gold & Copper Co.'S l25-
ron mating plant, at San Pedro,
was operated for only three months
m 1917. Increased shipments of cop
per ores were made from the Mag
talena district, Socorro County, and
large quantity of low-grade cop
per ore in a gangue of cacite, was
shipped from the Apache mine,
Hachita. Orogrande, Otero County,
also contributed some copper. Small
Quantities of copper ore were ship
ped from the Mora Grant, Mora
County, and from the Nacimiento
Mountains, Sandoval County. Ship
ments of copper ore were also made
from the Carocto district, near
Scholle.
Lead ores were shipped from the
Central, San Simon, and Pinos Altos
districts, Grant County, and Cooks
Peak, Tres Hermanas, and Victorio
a: ;~tc ('Nac:I III
quantities of lead carbonate and lead
zinc carbonate ores were shipped
from Kelly, Socorro County. During
the later part of the year lead ship
ments were started from the Organ
Mountains district, Dona Ana Coun-
ty. The old lead smelter at Deming
was rebuilt in April and was operat-
I'd on lead ores until the smelter
was destroyed by fire in October.
Decreased shipments of zinc car
Donate and zinc sulphide ores were
made in 1917. At Kelly, Socorro
County, the principal producing mines
were the Kelly, Graphic, and Juani-
ia. The Ozark mill was destroyed
by fire in August, 1916, but a new
mill was put in operation in the sum-
hlCl vi lII, anu lllduC tollS1uCI- b
able output for the year. The Kel-
ly magnetic mill was also in opera
ton in 1917. At Hanover, zinc car
Donate ores were shipped from the
Hanover mines and others, and zinc
sulphide concentrates were shipped
from the Hanover magnetic separa-
ton mill. The Cleveland magnetic
separation mill, at Pinos Altos, was
operated steadily. The mill erected
IN the revived Steeplerock district,
Grant County, was also operated for
time. Zinc sulphide concentrates
were also shipped from the Rocky
Mountain mill. at Los Cerriilos. Zinc
carbonate ores were shipped from
the Magdalena, Hanover, Cooks
Peak, Florida Mountains, Tres Her.
manas, Hachita. and Pinos Altos dis
tricts. The zinc ore and concen-
trates shipped from mines in New
Mexico in 1917 amounted to 58,4OO
tons of g per cent grade, as COM
pared with 74,944 tons of 2o.l6 per
cent in 1916.
The output of both gold and silver
decreased. Mills of the Mogoll IN
district, Socorro County yielded
S260.46S in gold and 725,0O0 ounces
of silver, as compared with $373.06S
in gold and l,008 483 ounces of silver
in 1916. Considerable new develop l.
ment work was done in this district
in. 1917, but the destruction by fire
of the Fancy mill on October 26,
1917, seriously curtailed the produc-
tion from the district. The output
of gold from the Aztec mine, at
Baldy, Colfax County, was not SO
large as in 1916.
The Cossak cyanidation mill, in
the Cochiti (Bland) district, Sando-
val County, a contributor of con-
siderable gold and silver in 1916, was
not operated in 1917. A very small
production was made from the gold
district at Whiteoaks, Lincoln Coun-
ty. but a new 250-ton amaIgamation
mill was completed and set in oper-
alton during the year at Parsons,
Lincoln County. The decrease in the
quantity of ore shipped from the
Lordsburg district necessarily de-
creased its production of gold and
silver q loss that was made greater
by the closing of the San Pedro
The Burro Mountain dis
tricf contributes an snrres sed os,ao. |