Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-06-05
SALE OF
MINING CONCERN
POWER PLANT

In view OF the closing down OF MlnaS
Pedrazzini and the fairly general re-
port that the power plant and other
general equipment had been sold. the
following important information was
obtained from their consulting engi-
neer, Morton Webber, when he was
recently in Douglas.
Mr.. Webber said there was absolutely
no foundation to the report that the
power plant had been sold or that its
sale or lease was even under conSidera-
tion Such a runlor, he stated, was un-
fortunate, as IL indicated a complete
miSconception as to what the facts
were concerning the present state of
the property and also concerning the
policy of the directors, and would be,
no doubt, diSconcerUing to some of the
stockholders in the southwest.
Mr. Webber said that when the pres
ent management assumed the reSpon-
sibility of the company's operations in
Mexico more or less five years ago, the
original Las ChispaS mine was a mere
shell, it having suffered from excessive
productions and ~, - coincident eX-
ploration and dsrievelopmnet. An exhaus-
tive geological examination indicated
exhaustion owing to The above cause,
and that the mine would respond to
intelligent exploration. This, FORUM
ately, proved to be true. The. mine
was, however, Very deep fer silver
mine Of this nature, and the, erratic
nature, Of the. ore. occurrence made
exploration increasingly expensive as;
depth was reached. Notwithstanding:
this, important profits were made dur
ing the period referred to, but such
were regarded largely as redemption
of capital
A considerable time before the break!
in silver, put when the metal outlook
was under cloud in view of the pro-,
posed. British legislation in respect to-
India. which appeared to have the ear
marks OF completely upsetting the Sill
yer market, the directors decided to
avail themselves Oh an unusual oppor-
tuTlity of investing in large and import
ant lOW-cOSt mines in MoreloS, possess
sing established ore reserves that would
assure the future.
This decision was fortunate in view
of what actually happened later in re-
spect to the silver market When the
price of silver dropped to point that
meant depicting the Minas Pedrazzini
property on a changing dollar basis
or probably running at loss, it was
decided to close the mines down until
conditions improved
Mr. Webber stated that only about
20 per cent of the various viens under
the cornpany's control at Las ChiSpas
have been thoroughly prospected, and
when conditions are propitious no
doubt the other veins would receive
intelligent exploration. Practically all
the money that would be spent on the
exploration of these other veins would
go underground, as the property is al 1
ready fully equipped; an unusually at !.
tractive feature in exploration ven i
lures. Had the power plant been sold, 4
or even leased for lengthy period /
that would tie their hands, such an act
would have cut the heart out of the 4
entire business.
Mr.. Webber stated, and he believes
the stockholders will agree, that the
business of the company is to make
money without favoritiSm for any par
tlcular mine. BY the investment in
Morelos tlle company is an important
stockholder in another group of mines |
Of assured long life and capable of |
producing silver at a profit during the
periods of metal price depression, and
simultaneously continues in position
to explore the adjoining veins at Las |
ChispaS when deemed expedient. BY |
meeting the situation this way, Mr. !
Webber felt that there was much more |
behind the shares of MinaS Pedrazzini |
today than five years ago, and the flu |
ture is. also much more assured An
other feature is that all the properties
are under the same management. af- |
fording economies in overhead. and |
while the properties are operated by |
different corporations, the directors !
are largely the same, and their inter- /
est IN respect to their stockholders are |
In common. d