The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-01-16
COST Of EXPLOSIVES
FOR USE IN MINING
MANUFACTURERS EXPLAIN
WAR EXPLOSIVES NO coNNEc.
TON WITH INDUSTRIAL
Engineering and Mining Journal)

Engineering and Mining JournaD
Under the above title there appear.
| ed in the Journal of December ID 6
complaint from gold miner" regard
ing the rising cost of explosives dur
ing the last three or four years, in the
face of reputed fall in the price OF
powder for military purposes. Sew
eral communications from the explo
sives manufacturing companies have
been received which give reasons for
the advance in the cost of mine ex-
plosives. These are of sufficient in
terest to warrant publication, and
some OF the important paragraphs are
quoted below:
From E. |. du Pont de Nemours G.
Company:
las you know, prior to the war, the
high explosives industry was develop
&c to high degree, as a result of our
activities in the business since the
year 1902. On the other hand, the
of military smokeless
had been conducted on a limited scale,
affording no opportunity for the in
vention of cost saving machinery or
in process of manufacture.
with the tremendous volume of
business coming to us after
the beginning Of the European war,
we were afforded an opportunity to
work out economies previously I'M
thought Of. This resulted in reduce
ton in cost that more than overcame
he increasing costs of raw materials
abor, etc.
Il believe this explains why there is
no connection between the two con-
but it may be well to
state that industrial explosives and
explosives are two separate
Ind distinct manufacturing undertake
ngs. Industrial explosives cannot be
in military explosives
plants, nor can military explosives be
in industrial explosives
olants.'
From the Atlas Powder Company:
ut is quite true that as compared
With prices existing before the be-
thinning of the European war, prices
or dynamite have practically doubled,
md the greater part Of the advance
has been in the last two years. The
advances in prices for such explosives
we're compelled by advances in their
costs, the increased cost
being due to increased price we have
lad to pay for the material entering
INTO their manufacture, the increased
abor costs, increased freight rates on
10Th raw materials and finished prod
its, and numerous other items that
rave affected the great bulk Of COM
produced in this country. We
hink that reference to prices for such
materials as enter into the manufac-
ure of explosives, which have been |
published in the Journal from time
o time, will show that practically |
very oneN of these materials has in
creased in price from $50 to 300 per
,ent, and in some cases even more
You are, Of course, familiar with the
Increase in wages of labor, which has
lpplied to our industry the same as 1t
las to all other industries. To our
minds the increase in the price of blast
ne explosives of about 100 per cent,
II the face of increase in the costs OF
materials from which such explosives
ire made, which is from $50 to 3oO per
,ent. indicates that the explosive man.
,facturers have in no way taken ad-
,antage of conditions which have
existed, but, on the contrary nave
,ept down the prices of blasting ex-
,losives to the lowest possible figures
This has certainly been our policy ann
We will welcome return in prices Oh
hese explosives to levels more nearly |