The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-07-10
MINING MATTERS.
MOVEMENT OF ORE SHOWS
BETTER TIMES AHEAD
TAX MATTERS BIG
FACTOR.

brings little cheer to the producers
because of the low price of the
commodity, but they see better
times ahead. Much stockpi.ed ore
that had been hanging over the
market has been sold, says Skilling's
Mining Review. While all of it
may not be shipped this season,
much of it will be, and in the mean
time it has been removed as mar
ket factor. There is an over de-
velopment of iron ore, and the high
taxes forces the ore on the market
regardless of price, as the producers
cannot afford to sit back and adj
vance these large sums against
future years and prosperity Ely high
er prices. They have to raise the
money to keep their properties in
tact and maintain their organiza-
tons. 1t is confidently expected
that much better conditions will pre-
vail as to profitable Lake Superior
iron mines the coming year.
$50
A decrease of Gel stockholders of
u. S. Steel common was noted at
the closing of the books for the
June dividend from the number re-
corded in March. There were a.
lot stockholders of common stock
in the latter month and 93,446 In
June. Preferred stockholders at
closing of books in February totaled
1898 and in May were 77,152 in
number, decrease of 78l.
$50
4La ;yJapopNan
iron mine operators of Minnesota
have withheld payment of their oc-
cupation taxes for 1924, due on
June 13, and the result will be a
legal showdown on what constitutes
proper deductions in arriving at the
amount of taxes due. The statute
is rather vague on this important
matter, and the Minnesota Tax
Commission and the mining COM
panies do not agree on many points.
For example, there is no allowance
for depreciation under the law as
interpreted by the Tax Commission.
Allowance of 5 cents ton is made
for marketing, and the mining COM
panies claim also that deduction
should be allowed for liquidated
ROYALTIES, but is denied. And there
are other items relating to costs
which are in dispute. The matter
of Deductions been considered
number of times at hearings by
the Tax Commission, at which the
mining companies were represented.
Now a number of the independents
have declined to pay these taxes
until it is definitely and decisively
settled.
The movement of iron ore from
Lake Superior during June has been
in approximately the same volume
as in May, and the movement for
the season thus far is several mil
lion tons in excess of the CORE
spending period one year ago. On
June l the increase was 3,187 1856
tons, and this will be increased by
the statistics for June.
From present prospects the season
movement will reach 50,00O,OOO
tons. Boats in the ore trade are
being given good despatch. The
vast equipment of mines, railroads,
boats and docks is operating with
wonderful efficiency and precision
at all points, and nothing except
possibly storms on the Great Lakes
can interrupt it.
The mention that 100000 tons
of iron ore may be shipped this
season from Lake Superior no long
er creates any wonder. 1t is now
taken as a matter of course, but it
was not so many years ago that a
man was considered visionary who
predicted that the time would come
when that amount would be for
warded in a single season.
$50
During the month of May there
was consumed $4,357,491 gross tons
of ore, a decrease from the 4,S12,-
997 gross tons consumed in April of
455,5 gross tons but an increase
of 527,084 over the 3,830,457 tons
consumed in May, 1928.
On June l there was on hand at
the furnaces 16,526,976 gross tons
f iron ore and at the Lake Erie
docks 4,522,184 tons, a total of 21,-
049,160 tons. This compares with
81 ,607,61 gross tons on June l,
1924.
A total of 1926 furnaces use Lake
Superior iron ore and on the last
day of May there were ITO of these
furnaces in blast. This is a de-
crease of % furnaces from the 1872
in blast on the last day of April.
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