The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-08-15
Closer Cooperation of Zinc Mining and
Smelling Interests Will Help Win
the War.

fcrt of nations, has opened the eve
or everybody, as nothing ever di,
before, to the necessity and benefit o
cooperation. Whereas former war
were matters of about 80 per cent di
rect lighting and 10 per cent engin
eering, the present war is about q
per cent fighting and so per cent Ell
cheering. The engineers have t,
work three months or more in orde
to let the infantry go over the top ant
night for few days In order tina
the engineers may do their work
the industries at home must suppl,
them with material. We have learn.
ed that in order to maintain the sup
ply of material our industries arr
bound to organize themselves, for il
no other way can they do what is ne.
cessary During the last year iror
and steel men, copper men, lead men
and others have entered into associa
tons among themselves such as the,
never had before. They have become
better acquainted with each other
they have learned to cooperate. and
they have found this to be beneficial
! do not believe there is anybody who
VIII say that such associations will
not endure and that they will not be
strengthened to meet not only the
problems of the war; but also those
that may be more serious, that will
come afterward. Every few days dc
we hear of some new industrial asso-
|ciation to promote the common well
fare, and by virtue of such promotion
the welfare of the country as a whole
which stands on it's industries just as
chair stands on it's legs.
The prime and immediate question
that Is before this meeting is What
can an association do for the zinc in
dustry? At once let me say that
many people can do together what no
one can do alone. The great thing
for the zinc producers, acting jointly,
to do at this juncture is to engage in
efforts to increase the use of zinc. If
there be any other salvation for the
industry, / can not think of it. You
possess mines, mining plants, and
smelling works with a great excess of
capacity over any use that there is at
present or that is in sight. Your
cpn 20
spelter per annum, and they are now
producing at the rate of about 200
tons. The change in conditions has
been so Kaleidoscope during the last
four years that I scarcely venture to
indicate the capital value of that 30O,-
600 tons of surplus capacity. Some
of it was paid for under pre-war con-
ditions; some of it at the higher
prices that subsequently prevailed
Some of it is in natural gas plants
and some of it in coal fired plants
which are more costly. But if l should
generalize the capitalization of that
capacity, not in terms Of replacement
value but rather in terms of it's brick
and steel and labor when built-if, in
other words, I should estimate its
cost at $4,000, 000-I think that my
estimate would be conservative.
The value of idle mining and mill
ing plants I hesitate even to guess
but it also must be large. In the six
state comprising the Wisconsin and
Joplin districts, including Arkansas
and Oklahoma, there was a milling
capacity in 1914 of about 100000
tons, and nearly that quantity of ore
actually milled. A record that / have
caused to be compiled shows that 12O
mills, costing about $6,000,O00, and
possessing capacity for about 49,
10000 tons of ore, were built during
1915, 1916, and 1917 and doubtless
that record is incomplete. But, any
how, the miners of these six states
actually milled upward of 100000
tons of ore or dirt, if you please, in
1917, and my estimate of 100000
tons of milling capacity of an origin
al cost of 100000 at the end of
1917 is none too shigh, except for such
portion Of it as has already been
abandoned and written off. Since
then more mills have been built, es-
pecially in Oklahoma. How much of
this milling capacity is now idle,
scarcely venture to guess. I can hard
ly say that it is the same. ratio as
smelling capacity, for the smelters
never maintained their maximum for
a whole year; and, moreover, their
use of imported ore was radically re-
duced; but, nevertheless, 1t Is obvious
that a present production at the rate
of 100000 tons of spelter per annum
as compared with 100000 tons in 1917
means the use of correspondingly
less quantity Of ore and a reduction
from the 100000 tons of milling ca
pacity in the six states. Bearing In
mind that these states accounted for
only so per cent of the country's pro-
duction of spelter in 1917, and that
am talking only Of milling capacity
not of mining plant and the mines
themselves, I may venture to say that
the capitalization Of the idle mining
and milling capacity of the American
zinc industry today is at least equal
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