The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-03-21
Lead and Zinc Mining in the Occur dAene District in 1917
Vaue of Production Far in Excess of Any Previous Year
Total Lead Output Was Nearly 4OO,OO0OOO Pounds

past that shows any comparison In
probable ore volume to the Last
Chance or the Mace mines now ap-
parently practically exhausted. The
likliest resource that might approach
a replacement of their tonnage cap
acity in the future is the splendid ore
shoot developed by the Federal COM
pany as an extension of the famous
Morning ore channel at its drainage
level, but now unfortunately tied up
by litigation involving apex rights.
In addition to this the Tamarack e.
Custer Consolidated ore channel on
Nine Mile creek is a quite extensively
developed shoot of splendid mineral
that has the relative magnitude in
lergth and stopping width of the two
former great producers. 1t is already
developed 1000 feet in depth, has good
stopping ground over 1000 feet in
Ter 9Th, Of excellent milling ore, with
thick bands of clean galena that af-
fords considerable crude ore selections
Of belt sorting methods. 1t is produc-
ing $50 tons of ore per day at the
present time that will average up to
the standard of the district in both
lead and silver. In it's present condi-
tion the property gives definite ear
marks of expanding capacity and of
becoming one of the important per.
manent sources of lead-silver mineral
of the district, that may rank well up
with some of the best Of the vertical
assure types of deposits.
The experience of recent mining his
tory in the Occur d'Alenes reveals the
fact that. wonderfully persistent as
some of it's noted ore bodies have pro-
ven to be, they have bottom as well
as top, and while l still believe ex-
tensive additional prosecuting for
possible parallel ore bodies is warrant
ed, the fact remains that their main
channels in two or three notable in
stances are exhausted and have re-
levels. In view of these conditions ii
seems to me that the operators would
be warranted in giving serious thought
to the future.
Lead Production and Use.
The lead production of the United
States is very largely confined to Mis-
souri,, Idaho and Utah. The produc-
ton Of lead bullion of domestic origin
in the United States, independent of
imports, according to government re-
cords, made a steady increase be-
tween 1910 and 1916; that for 1910
being $4,000 tons, and for 1916, 592,-
900 tons, with a slight decline in 1917,
in the face of high markets. 1t is
very probable that munition uses ac-
count for considerable of the increas-
ed yield and demand. On the other
hand it is more than probable that the
decreased consumption of lead paint
pigments in this country and abroad,
due to the war, offset the ratio of the
excess munition demand.
Lead used for pigment purposes is
entirely lost and destroyed for future
uses, and constitutes between 80 and
40 per cent of the total American
production at this time. Another av-
enue of lead destruction is in the form
of shot used by American sportsmen
and is said to represent many thous-
ards of tons a year. The increased
Industrial demands for lead metal of
recent years has been largely in the
dir ection of insulation uses in cleo
trical wiring in storage battery work,
soft metal alloys and corrosive chem
ical industries and with the inevitable
future expansion of this line of in
dustrial progress. this new demand is
likely to continue to increase. The
now well established ideas of SANTA
ton by modern plumbing, even on the
farm, and the intimate intercourse of
practical Americans abroad recently
will, think, after the war; demand
enormous quantities of lead, and it
would seem to be warranted move
OF national conservation to restrict
the use of lead for pigment purposes
and substitute zinc instead, in the in
terest of the inevitable future de-
mands for the metal for other import
ant Industrial uses than pigments, and
the broadening of the market for the
er ormous recent increasing zinc ore
development. Unless this is done,
flom present evidences of primary
supply, lead prices will exceed copper
prices within the next decade unless
exceptional new ore discoveries are
made which are not now in very de-
finite prospect either in this country or
abroad.
Curtailment Problems.
There are probably no mines in the
world that have been worked more
or in any more up-to date
manner since they We're discovered
than the large ore deposits of the
Occur d'Alene district in Idaho. The
difficulty with restricting production
OF a deeply developed mine, besides
natural conditions of ventilation, water
and heavy ground, is the complexity
of it's organization in mechanical
equipment and operating staff. which
involves a well trained and balanced
variety of practical and technical ex-
perts all through the crew, from nip
per and powder monkey to general