The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-05-23
HNE0UTLOOKFORS
SAYS A HIGH AUTHORITY.
WAR HAS CREATED DEMAND FOR
WHITE METAL BEYOND THE
PRESENT SUPPLY.

|
Probably no man living has exam
ined as many mining properties in al
parts of the world as Major Henry G
Catlin. From the days of the Com.
stock lode and Eureka, the largest
producers Of silver ana gold in their
time, till now he has been constantly
investigating mining properties and
has acquired wealth of information
from practical experience regarding
precious metal deposits which makes
his opinion on silver at this time OF
great value. In a recent interview he
said, says the Denver Mining Record
1.-THE growing and insistent demand
for silver is shown by the official quo
tations, and deliveries of the metal
made only at prices above these quo
tations. The world wide conditions
responsible for this promise to be sim
ilarly operative for years. Where is
the supply to meet this demand to
come from? 1t is evident that to
measurably meet the worlds needs
other sources than those we now have
must be brought into use.
Mexican Output Stopped.
"The revolution in Mexico, normally
the largest producer Of silver, have
paralyzed mining and smelling and
deceminated labor to such an extent
that she cannot be depended upon to
produce a surplus over her own re-
quirements for some time and even
after normal conditions shall have
been restored it will probably be years
before half her former production can
be depended upon.
Canada is decreasing it's production
and all other countries except our own.
barely hold their small percentage of
the total output. The United States
alone has increased it's product To
summarize the situation: the world is
producing something less than rs per
cent of the silver that it did. So far
as we can now use any considerable
increase must come from the United
States.
"Silver is now a byproduct from
ores, the predominating metals of
which are either copper or lead. We
no longer mine for silver. The old
silver mines have long been quiescent
| bap NJ fnr ho
are now silver ore bodies atSall COM
parable in value with those of a gener-
alton ago, they are yet to be found
The new districts do not even hold out
reasonable hope of them. Probably
exploration in the tried old silver pro-
ducing districts would uncover some
of such bodies
"These old districts mainly, one
might almost say entirely, lie in Ne
vada, and in parts of Utah, Colorado
Idaho and Montana, occupying a com
paratively limited territory.
This area made it's great output
under such close conditions of both
mining and treatment as precluded
using any but the very best parts OF
the ore.S In many of these districts
to every ton of ore a value sufficient
to be then profitably mined and work
ed ten tons of ore of less Importance
but now, under modern ways Of hand
ling and methods of treatment capable
of good profits. have been left in
dumps on the surface, in the filing OF
old slopes and still standing in place
with a much less per ton silver
value than was in the ores worked to
make up the former silver production
the quantities of these ores are SO
great, If the individual ton value is
smaller, as to equal the past product
With the extraction OF those in place
will come also the chance Of their
leading to some such highe rgrade ores
as the mines have heretofore ahd.
Source Of New Supply.
SILVER is as much an article OF
manufacture as iron. The low grade
ores of the old silver districts furnish
the raw material and but await the
machinery and process of manufacture
to deliver the manufactured product
These ores answer, in part at least
the question of increased silver sup
ply, directly by the extraction from
them of the great quantities of silver
they are known to contain, indirectly
by the extraction Of those in place:
leading to ore bodies now unknown, {
probability in all cases, certainty IL
some.
"Such of the great old silver camps
as Virginia City, at one time the larg
est producer Of silver in the world
Eureka, at the same period the secont
largest producer. Hamilton, Typo ant
Piocho in Nevada, with others Of les
importance elsewhere, afford certain
ties of increasing our silver output AM
probabilities of that increase bein
somewhat commensurate with de
mand which we know now to be YER
great and is increasing"
He l nAAnnAl