The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1921-03-17
Lead Now Classed
as a Byproduct
of Silver
CONDITIONS COMPARED
Belief That Mines of the Dis
trict VIII Generally Con
tinue Operations
7UHE QUESTION in which the

TOHE QUESTION in which the
people of the Occur d'Alene
district are most concerned at
this time is the effect the low
/ price of lead is going to have upon
the operating mines of the district.
| Reports emanatng from the myth
cal "muckers' convention" persist
that some of the mines now produc-
| ing viii be closed down tight before
the month is out There may be
some basis of fact Cor these reports.
but if there is the Miner is unable
to locate it, on the contrary we
believe that the mines generally viii
continue in operation for the reason
that it is very expensive to maintain
them in idleness, that to close down
would break mp the organization, and
finally, and this is a big factor with
most companies, to close down
would impose a heavy hardship up
on their employees and the people of
the district generally The low
price of lead and how it affects pro-
duction in the far west and in the
mississippi valley is discussed in the
current issue of the Engineering and
Mining journal. The article is in
structive and especially interesting
az this time. 1t is for that reason re-
produced below:
Four Cent Lead and Its Significance.
The record of lead i'm the beginning
of 1921 is disappointing. Lead below
4c per pound New York can only be
visualized i'm company with unusual
times. such as the beginning of the
war, the panic of 1907 and similar
periods. During only one year in the
last fifteen years has lead dipped for
any length of time below 4c. and
that was i'm 1914
What is happening today to lead is
Identical with what has already oc-
CURED TO other metals. such as cop
per zinc, and tin, with the important
difference that the decline in lead
follows am extended period of trad
ing and production at abnormally
high prices, so that the depression in
lead has not been OF the same dura-
ton as that in the other metals Lead
producers must now solve some of
the problems faced by the copper
companies Fortunately for them.
they have no unwieldy surplus stocks
comparable to those of the copper
producers. and have already taken
steps to cut production heavily In
fact, one of the largest lead produc-
ers in the country has taken the bull
by the horns and decided as present
prices are below his cost of produc-
ton to purchase lead I'm the open
market. it being far cheaper to fol-
low this procedure than to mine and
market lead at a loss besides depict
ing valuable asset
The controlling factor in the lead
situation is the almost continual inn
portation of foreign lead into the
United States at prices below the
market level at New York Ever
since lead first began to drop last
summer domestic producers have
tried to prevent importations by low
ering the domestic prices, but the at
tompts have been practically inef-
fectual Until the quantities that are
available i'm Europe and elsewhere
are consumed i'm the United States or
by European manufacturers, this
market depressant will continue.
Position of Leading States Under the
Present Conditions.
The most important lead producing
states are, in order Missouri Idaho.
Utah Colorado and Montana. Each
or these states has a difficult prob
lem to face in producing lead with
4c market This is because of the
varying quality of ore (the common
association of lead with other met
ais. particularly with silver), and the
of the Pittman act.
These conditions have imposed GER
tain restrictions upon different oper-
ating companies in meeting the pres
ent market that are bound to have
effect Thus Missouri,
the leading lead producing state re-
covers an insignificant amount of
silver from local lead ores Idaho,
Utah Colorado and Montana. on the
contrary produce large amounts of
silver from local lead mines.
Ryproduct Lead Rather Than By
Product Silver.
CHANGING at these figures. it is not
difficult to see why domestic lead can