The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1922-02-06
OF THE MINES
OF NEW MEXICO
By JAMES R. FlNLAY
Section 8 Other Coal Mines.

n surplus of 80 cents Unfortunately
we have mo- detail % these rNpendi-
ture. although DO b. probable that in
purI they nI. explained by the great
Ct charges fnr ,nr depreciation ot
plant.
sin further this company own %
small railroad 90" operation Of
which is NOT included be the coal
mining statements Oni Is prnhahiN
profitable
Thcse figures are Tor the yp,rs
iq1G-182u IL We gD hurk iu The pre-
yious five years we find thHt 'nru"r-
nI expense" ls only IS cents 90 ton, SEQ
that thinE w may u--uW" tnnt iu
the second period the additions con
sisted OF depletion aud depreciation
N We ignore these and n--um" thnt
the profits calculated for l"ll-lHlH
were normal. We find them 60 aver
age t5 cents. Applying this figure
tn the reserve ~ 400 600 tons thor"
should remain profits of So. 500 tn b"
earned In 4 years. This would give
L present value OF $4,000.
{ am disposed 90 believe that tlif
amount a. sufnclen. Tor the coal
mines. bur that. in an probability
the company has a i've asset boo lts
railroad which has not been apprais-
ed.
4 glance over the statements SUBJ
mittad withtthis report. viii show that
this D. only one example of many
small coal mines. which pay lu oc-
casionai dividend only to he forced
later TO borrow money whose prof
. In % period Of. years ~ such d irit-
ling figure that one holds his treath
al The way they are, financially
speaking. skating on thin ico, 90
feather weight Of adversely would
secm 10 plunge thcm in'n bankrupt
~. But this state of affairs Is nCt
The whole hituminoua coal ministry ~
the United S.ntes The reason WHY
more Of these concerns do MOI nu
bantrupi. uo doubt b.. that there are
So many In The same boat they nll
live ON "a delicate valance Of suuulf
and demand IA soon as o. Few are
forced to uult IA" pressure ON 'hp
others Ir relieved q slight Improve
mpui iu demand allow SOME Co Nt
sumr such operators nre ll.e farm
ar.. they get 20 living. but cannot
support market securities like farm.
or4 thov generally o hncf the nom
ev they borrow. hut seldom are abb"
tp pay dividends on stock; their prof
it, are their salaries. which are usual
we'll earned by hard work.
smaller Coal Mines of Gallup
Defiance Goal Co.
II il dlfficult to form a just esti-
mate OF the average earning Of this
cCncern because ~ operations are
reported only since 1915 for years
when coal was nj the highest price ON
record. In 1915 and 1919 combined Is
production was only $4,000 tons hut
in 1890 II rose 20 1881 from which
It reported profits NJ S3N.u4l n SHADE
80 cents % ton. The mine, a.
described by Air Mat=Du, ST. probably
me very best I'm the Gallup field with
q seam averaging az least l-2 feet
uf clean Goa. nearly level and work.
ed from the outcrOp These ndvan-
tnues are reflected by the largest out
nut per man per day that We found
in tho state. 5.2s IONS There Is
some uncertainty however whether
those advantage viii persist IN full
measure for the working out of The
"nflre property
The price received for coal In 1920
was x4.12 per ton for run uf milne.
This compares with St67 per ton IN
the years before the war NeVertho-
less we have found that during these
high prices 'see in|troductionl the
percentage of profit was less than
during the low ones. From this nrgu-
ment I think We may assume that the
| percentage OF 1890 will boz perman-
ent. II was 10 II the price q conl
tturns 10 pre-war figures. the prot
% on this mine should be- az least iG-7
cent?. In fact % Is more likely 10 De
% cents. ~ We settle upon 20 cents
49, an average the annual net income
would he some Sl6.000 for 20 years.
giving the min O. present value Of
fi30 900.
Tn" plant and equipment Is Siig-
$50. The value Of the property will
| not satisfy, this Investment. therefore
am compelled a. put down the value
~ the coal acreage al zero. although
IL IL the hest land in the district
Diamond Coal Company
The result Of this company's OPP
erations FOR 10 years was the pay
mont OF ti07.5G0 IN dividends,
In the same period Il was COMPEL
cd 10 borrow Si20. 000 which it still
owes. This amount "a off-hct, by an
Increase Of cash, supplies and mer.
| chnndise Of S2i1,544. leaving a sur
plus OF s91.bii. by this calculation
then. the company seems Ia have
| gained from l.Sf5.g39 tom The sun
of fl99.0fi, o little over 10 cents q
ton.
It's plant and equipment, after de-
/ probation stands at approximately
100000, something over $3.50 per
annual ton.
The outlook Is gloomy; the outpu,
ner man per day FOR the entire period
b. onl 81 tona There Is NO prospect
ur improvement because the tnickos'