The copper era and Morenci leader., 1919-01-03
COPPER QUEEN IN
 MARKET FOR ORE

The. Copper Queen shelter has sent out the following letter bearing on ore purchases which is of interest to all persons having copper ore to sell. The circular follows:
 As the New York Engineering and Mining Journal, whose quotations have always been used as a basis for payments, have suspended quotations for copper we now have no quotations upon which to base our settlements.
 In the Journals issue of December 14th on page 1O57 they make the following explanation:
 COPPER In making our report last week we indicated change in the situation in copper and reserved the right to correct our representation of the market from the end of Novem- Der onward. The facts of the situ- never fixed the price of copper in the sense of establishing it. What it did by the pronuncimento of Sept. 21, 1917, was to fix a maximum price be- yond which sellers might not go and, sellers being unwilling to take any less, the price was substantially fixed, first at g 1-2 cents, and then at 26 cents, and these prices were unques- tionably the market prices, all of the copper being sold at them. The price of 26 cents, first made on July ?, 1918, was to prevail to August 15, 71niV cr1lc Ad IN1- agreement to Nov. l, and then to Jan. 1. On Nov. 15, after the armis- tice, when it appeared that govern ment orders would soon terminate, the producers entered into a new agreement with the War Industries Beard, whereby they promised to maintain poduction and wages until Jan. 1, and in return they received assurances respecting government con- rol of the market which amounted to pay 26 cents for any further copper it might order and would sanction the producers asking that price from other buyers and acting unitedly. Since that time such copper as has been sold has been booked at 26 cents, but the quantity has been trif ling (ohly a few thousand tons) and since the end of November there has been none sold, and there have been no buyers, and there has been no transaction or bids, we can do nothing but report mo market and give no other representation of the situation than "26c asked by all producers with government sanction, and gov ernment control against any more.'' We carry this revised representation back to Dec in accordance with the reservation that we published in our report of last week. This is still tentative correction, for in the event that significant sales of copper should be made at 26c (nothing higher per missable while the control of the War Industries Board continues), after a period of reporting mo market" we should consider that for statistical purposes that figure should be re- corded as the daily price in the inter val. But if market develops at lower price, there will be statisti- cal gap, which cannot be reasonably filled in.
 With view of enabling our ship pers to continue operations and thus prevent disorganization of thelr forces during the period of readjust- ment, we will continue purchases of copper ores and make provisional set dement's on the basis of an arbitrary quotation of sixteen cents per pound from which the usual deductions will be made or treatment, freight, refin- ing etc.
 While we feel that sixteen cents is a conservative oasis for provisional settlement it is not to be understood that we are venturing any predictions as to the trend cf future prices.
 Should weekly quotations be re vised hv tbe Engineering and Mining JourDa1 we will settle on a basis of succee"in" quotations fer copper due to settlement that week. if no quota ticns a~e rrh!ished for any week in which e~+t'ement is due, final settle ment will be made on the basis of the price which we receive for your cop per when finally sold.
 We will keep you advised of any new developments in the situation and desire to ask that you notify us promptly whether you expect to con- tinue shipments under present con ditnons and if so approximately what monthly tonnage you will have for