The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-08-16
kell0gg. Idaho. Aug. %. Us

lOgg speaks for itself:
Kellogg. Idaho. Aug. Is, 1928.
Mr.. }. V. Hawkins Occur d'Alene
Idaho-Dear Mr. Hawkins: In the
Wallace Miner, issued last Thursday
August 9Th. on page five l noticed an
article under the heading Occur
People Sit Tight on Platinum" In
reading this article, l find that you re-
fer to the Kellogg smelter, which must
mean the Bunker Hill smelter. You
are quoted as saying that you
thought it would be well to inquire
of the editor whether or not he knew
that the smelter in Kellogg is enlarg
ing its facilities to save the platinum
black and whether or not platinum
black is being sold to Goldsmith Bros.
in San Francisco by this smelter" AS
this platinum boom has caused lot
of excitement in the city of Occur
d'Alene, and as it would naturally fol-
low that quite a few of the citizens of
Occur d'Alene would be investing their
money in some of the properties,
hardly think that it was fair for you
to make a statement like this at n
chamber of commerce meeting with
out checking it up first.
AS you and / have been associated
for some time on the good roads
movement, 1 think it would have been
only fair for you to have called me on
the telephone and received a state
ment as to whether we did or did not
save platinum. I do not know why
you should ask Spokane editor about
our business when / do not suppose
he has even visited our plant We
have a pretty large institution here
and we have no secret processes. We
receive ores from the Occur d'Alene
district chiefly with some shipments
from Montana, British Columbia,
Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. We
make pig lead. refined gold, refined
silver and copper sulphate. The gold
is obtained chiefly from the Alaska
Juneau concentrates. We blew our
first furnace in on July 5. 1917, and
since we started operations all our
gold bars have been shipped to the
Washington, and the refined silver
has been shipSed to three places,
namely, the United States mint at
Denver, the United States mint at
San Francisco and the Croker Ma
tional bank, San Francisco. Our lead
contains 1929 per cent lead the sill
yer bars are 999-plus parts out of 1000
parts fine; and the gold bars are 999
parts out of a thousand fine and they
contain from to parts of silver
per thousand. The gold bars are as
5ayed by the United States assay Of
ice, and settlements are made on their
own assays. We have never received |
payment for platinum in any amount !
rom anybody since we started Oper
atoms.
We are not charging our facilities |
o save platinum in any shape or form |
md we do not know Goldsmith Bros. |
If San Francisco and have never done |
my business of any kind with them.
We are not recovering platinum in |
my form in our plant and 7 do not /
Snow what platinum black" is, but
suppose il may be a residue left after
ome kind of acid treatment There
ire certain smelters and refneries in
he United States that are recovering
platinum but all the platinum recOv-
red in the United States in the diff
erent plants is reported to the United
states Geological Survey, and in turn
hese reports are tabulated and a
statement is issued yearly by the geo.
ogical survey showing the production
f platinum in the United States; this
PRODUCTION is very small.
Personally, I would be very glad to
ee Idaho enter the field as a platin-
I'M producer as it would add greatly
o the wealth of Idaho and it's citizens
nd would be a help to us all
We would be very pleased to have
our good self and any of the citizens
f Occur d'Alene visit us and we would
e very glad to show them through
ur plant AS already stated, we have
10 secret processes and are always
lad to admit visitors.
I am sending a copy of this letter to
he Wallace Miner. so as to correct
tatements made in reference to the
bunker Hill smelter, made at q meet
ng of the Occur dAlene chamber of
ommerce, which were not true.
Yours very truly,
BUNKER HILL SHELTER,
Per M. H. Sullivan, Supt.