Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1922-01-13

countries nave feCelVeQ paper-mOney and some silver coins 800 rather than 900 fine, in exchange.
 Britain's imports from this country are double in value and triple in vol ume as compared with those of 1920. Imports from France are not equal to those of the previous year, but they are still large part of the total. Con- signment from Holland are under stood to represent silver from Ger many.
 Production for 1921 is smaller be- cause of the decline in output of this country and Australia and, to a much mode modified extent, by Mexico. AL though purchases of domestic silver under the Pittman law will amount to around 5S,0OO,00O ounces, production will be less than 4O,OOO,OOO ounces. This decrease is chiefly due to the cur tailed operations of the copper com panies. These companies. in 1920, contributed 25 per cent of the total e'''rer ou+nut of this country, or about 16 O5O.OOO ounces. This year this out nut will be about 55OO.000 ounces. Silver ores produced bv silver com panies amounted to 16,050,000 ounces in 1920 and should be as large if not larger for 1921. About 21,400.000 ounces of silver is produced as by product in lead and complex ores.
 The difference of about 1S,600,000 between purchases by the American government and domestic production is supposed to represent delayed reali- zation by copper. lead and other min ing companies and also a smaller amount held as speculative account. The Government will, no doubt, ex- plain this discrepancy later on.
 Production of Mexico. the largest source of silver production. is esti- mated hv us at 62.OOO000 ounces. or 4.662.253 ounces less than in 1920.
 Output of Australia is again likely to be around the low figures of 1920. It was less than 1.50O.O00 ounces in 1920, compared with 7,430.770 in 1919.
 Canadian production is likely to be around 1O,00O,000 ounces, compared with 13,33O,357 ounces in 1920.
 That production held in this country even, at the lower volume was due chiefly to larger operations in the new and old camps of Nevada. For the same reasons we may expect con- tinuance of this record this year, es- pecially at Tonopah, Cortez, DlVloe j and Candelaria.
 In attempting to determine future trend in the silver situation, it IS well to remember that silver is both a commodity and a monetary medium I Sensational developments are likely at any time and especially if any effort is made to approach stability m Europe. This is equally true of gold:
 These facts should also be borne m mind: that world production is con 2. stantly decreasing and '. consumption increasing. That considerable amount of silver coinage has dlsap, peared in the past several years, ana that even a debased silver coin' II authorized, would; produce a shortage so acute that silver prices would ln- evitablv advance to the 15-to-1 or 1S-to-I ratio. At present the world price is about 31k-to-1. ', .l
 Japan. has about 309,OO0,0oo yen Tn naper notes outstanding and has 1ouna that it is rather difficult to do bus'- ness with this kind of money, espee- ialJv in China. Against this issue Its silver requirements are around loo'- 100000 ounces. .- | The United States government Is | e+;u in the domestic market for l2l,- GOO ,OOO ounces at the fixed price ol s1 0O an ounce, net. It would only retire as buyer, if and when silver sells above this price. Just what Europe may do in 1922 in trying to create a currency medium that will possess less elasticity remains in great doubt at this time.
 It is known that British representa- tives approached the Washington ac- ministration on two or three Occasions during the past year for the purpose of ascertaining it's attitude on pro posal to partially remonetize silver This included the Goshen plan.
 Silver holdings by the principal banks of Europe, exclusive of Russia, at the end of the year were about $9,T ] 900 ,O00 larger than at the end of 1920. The "gains" were by France, Ger many, Belgium and Denmark and the "decreases" by Italy, Holland, Swift zerland and Sweden. E ,, It was reported that thes Russian Soviet government had coined silver rubles, during the year but the statis-@