The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-06-28

atOr Pittman as against the smelter.
in their sales of silver under the Pitt
man act and which may result in q
readjustment of purchases in favor OF
the silver producers; also the favor
able outlook for a silver association
composed of silver producers of the
western hemisphere. Mr. Parsons
article follows:
More Agreeable News.
Silver mining companies will find
the following item OF news more
agreeable than most that has come to
them recently.
1. c. f. Kelley. president of the
Anaconda Copper Mining company,
has authorized Senator Pittman to in
form the director of the mint that his
company is prepared to settle its Pitt
man act sales on the basis of deliver
ing miners affidavits for 100 ounces
of silver for every IS ounces of bullion
rendered to the government.
,. Senator Pittman declares that
he still believes that the director of
the mint will be compelled to change
his ruling regarding the revocation of
about 100000 ounces of silver used
for subsidiary coinage, thereby ex-
tending the period of 81 silver pur-
chases.
3. And most important of ALL is
the assurance that both Mr.. Kelley
and Mr.. Brownell, of the A. S. & R.
company, are definitely committed to
the opinion that the formation of some
kind of association for the advantage
eOus marketing of American silver
warrants the most serious considera-
ton. The attitude of both is chang
ed from that of a month ago.
While most of his fellow statesmen
are vacationing or junketing, Senator
Pittman is putting in better than
union hours on his campaign to help
the silver producers. He wants to
see that the government buys every
ounce of silver that the law directs,
and that the small producer is not
Disseminated against to the advan-
tage of the big fellows. Then he
wants to get the producers from Can
ada. the United States. Mexico and
meet in Nevada late in the summer
to discuss an export association of
some kind Last week he conferred
with officials of the smelling compan-
les in New York. Before returning to
Washington he was good enough to
tell me in detail of his work and his
plans.
Taking up the three matters that I
have mentioned in order: The official
reports to the mint show that the A.
s. & R. company has recovered in it's
metallurgical operations 1916 per cent
of the silver received at its smelling
and refining plants during the period
of Pittman act purchases. The Ana
cOnda company reports about 97.5 per
cent, and the other large vendors (six
companies have sold 30 per cent Of the
silver marketed under the act) show
recoveries between these limits.
Senator Pittman was aware of the
custom of paying the miner for 95 per
cent of the silver contained in the
ores sold to custom smelters. on the
theory that this represented approx
matelv the proportion of metal that
was recovered, or, at least, that it was
a safe average basis on which to set
tie for ores purchased. There ap-
peared to be a wide discrepancy. At
a hearing in Washington held on the
last three days of May he sought an
explanation from the smelter repre-
sentatives. He learned that in 1920
one of the smaller companies, and
early in 1921 all the Others altered
their contracts so that the settlement
sheets indicated payment for 100 per
cent of the silver in the ore instead
of the usual 95 per cent; at the same
time an additional treatment charge
was imposed to exactly offset the pay
ment for the additional per cent of
silver So far as the miner was con-
cerned he got neither more nor less
for his ore that he had been getting
before. At the same time this change
in bookkeeping permitted the smelter
to sell at the Pittman act price, on his
own account, whatever silver he re-
covered in excess of IS per cent This
arrangement was made with the
knowledge and approval of the treas
ury officials Naturally it was ad-
vantageous to the smelter to get a
high recovery. The senator then in
quired into the method used to arrive
at the percentage recovery. The fig
ures in the right hand column of the
following table illustrate the method
that is used-the only method that
can be used:
1.-Stock at plant in ore, by-pro-
ducts. and in process. January. 1920
Actual silver 1,125,OOO; estimated
ounces, 10000
2.-Intake. January. 1920, to May,
1s2s-Actual silver, 100000; estim-
ated ounces. 100000.
S.-Total stock and intake-Actual
silver. 6,125. 900; estimated ounces. g.