Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-01-08
TUNGSTEN VERY
CHEAP IN CHINA
Enormous Deposits in Many
Districts Going to Waste,
Is Report to U. S.

WASHINGTON, Jan. S-Ambitious
Americans desiring to become owners Of
tungsten mines without paying anything
for them may do so by going to China,
according to advices received by the de-
partment of commerce from vice CohsuI
Charles E. Kline, at Shanghai. Accord
ing to his report, at the present time,
with few exceptions, the mines are not
owned by private companies or by the
government and any one may employ
men to work one.
The discovery of tungsten mines In
China has been recent. The principal
districts in which the mineral is found
are the provinces Of Human, in the south
ern part of China, in Hangchow and It's
vicinity, Nankanghsien, Taiyu, haiyuhS'
Heifung, Lukfung and Chukiang districts
The districts mentioned above are only
those in which operations are now being
carried on, there being other large areas
in which tungsten deposits are found
which have not as yet been opened.
OCCURS IN STREAMS
LIKE SAND OR PEBBLES.
Chinese tungsten In the form OF VOL
frantic occurs either as sands or pebbles
in the streams or in small veins In the
granite rocks. The former deposits are
sometimes accompanied by casiterite or
magnetic, or both, usually mixed with
quartz sands, the latter In the form or
veins ranging in thickness from frac-
ton of an inch to two or three Inches.
Although both kinds of deposits are
found in many widely scattered regions,
they are never found IN large quantities
in any particular area. For this reason
and also because this industry is Of very
recent origin In China, no modern sys-
tematic methods have been inaugurated to
explore this field.
The principal method Of mining is the
use of rakes, toms and pans, which are
used for washing the stream ores, and
sometime black powder is used for ex-
tracing the valuable content Of the ore.
Willis the exception of a few places In
Human and Kwangtung, nearly all Of the
mining is carried on by farmers who
work during their spare time after their
farming work is completed. But during
the early part of 1918 the industry had
grown to such an extent that many OF
the farmers suspended their farm work
and devoted themselves entirely to
tungsten mining.
The concentrates offered on the market
are rather impure and usually have to be
reconstructed for export purposes. The
farmers take their concentrates to the
local market, where they dispose Of them
to local dealers at the best prices obtain
able. The local dealers, IN turn, sell them
to licensed collectors from the ports.
The port dealer has to pay a tax TO the
government, and, after shipping the con-
centrates to his own port, he is under OBJ
legation to expottthem within a certain
period, usually three months.
TOTAL EXPORTS
10 1856 SHORT TONS.
According 20 the statistical abstracts
Of the year 1918. as prepared by the
Chinese maritime customs, the total ex-
ports of tungsten ore amounted to 1896
short tons. However, the total produc-
ton for the year 1913 exceeded this fig
ure, there being large quantities left In
the mining districts which could not be
sold owing to cessation of hostillties in
Europe. The working Of the deposits
continued until February, 1919, when the
operators saw that the returns would not
even pay their workmen. 1t is stated
that the mining operations can not be
resumed unless the market price is high
enough to enable operators to pay each
workman 20 tael cents per day for his
labor.
The market prices since the outbrea k
Of the war were as follows: War-time
prices, 500 to 1000 tael per ton; Novem-
Der, 1913 to January, 1919, 800 taels per
ton from January, 1919, to August, 1919,
there was no market in Shanghai or
Hongkong, only few transactions hav-
ing taken place in Canton and Swallow
at prices varying from $50 to $50 taels
per ton.