The Daily Alaska empire., 1928-03-23
How Big Is the Mining Industry?
Engineering and Mining Journal,


 Without subscribing to the unkind implca- ton in the peigrammatcal sequence flies, damned lies, and statistics" may point out that sta tstica deductions frequently are misleading. Re- gently compilation prepared ranking Am erican industries in accordance With revenue oT value of products" The mining industry, ex- cluding fuels, solid and liquid, ranked far down the list in the twentyeghth place, below boots and shoes and butter and cheese Naturally somewhat jealous of the importance of the in dustry, undertook to analyze some of the data.
 In the first place value of product hardly seems equitale basis for comparing industries that produce materials with those that pro- duce finished manufactured goods For example, one dollars worth of virgin refined copper and zinc may be converted into two dollars worth of sheet brass. which in turn may be manu- factured into three dollars worth of electrical lsupplies. On the basis of value of the product, the electrical manufacturing industry is three times important the metal mining and refining industry, whereas, in fact, the two are equal.
 The fourth largest industry according to the table, is slaughtering and wholesale meat pack ing, with product valued at $3.050 000, 900. It is evident. however, that the animals delivered to the packing house on the hoof worth we'll over half the total Petroleum refining, sixth on the list is rated at S2.376 900 .000 but from this should be subtracted the value of the petrol- enm at the we'll and the cost of transportation
 the refinery. amounting to no less than $1,- 000,000|0ne. Automobile manufacturing is fourth
 n the table, with S3.l9S. 900 900, whereas rail road operation is third, with $6.3S0000 ,000. which presumably is revenue. However, the rail- roads employ almost ten times as many men as the automobile manufacturers 1,17S2, 900, against only 197,72S. A reasonable deduction from this comparison is that the cost of and semi fabricated materials, and equipment manu- factured by electrical and other industries, forms the preponderant part of the value of the motor car; and that on the basis of what it contributes directly to the factory value of it's product, the motor-vehicle industry is not as huge it gen erally is given credit for being.
 How big is the mining industry? According to Mineral Resources" published by the Depart ment of Commerce, in 1916 the United States produced metallic products worth $t,4O2, ,0OO 900 and non-metallic products, exclusive of mineral fuels worth $1,231 ,OO0 900, or a total of $2- I633,0O0,O00. The first item includes pig iron as well iron ore; but after making deduc- ton Tor the pig iron, approximately $2,O00 00O o00 remains as the value of metals and non- metallic minerals, aside from fuels
 Considering the mineral industry of the Unit ed States as a whole, the value of it's products in unmanufactured form is more than $9OOO IooO,0O0, which places it second only to agricul- ture with $12,400,00OOOO General construc- tion' incidentally Is third in the table, with I$6,3S0,000 900. Or, on the other hand consider the $2,000,000,0O0 represented by metal and non metallic mining alone It exceeds by a con siderable margin each of the following: coal in ciuuing pitumnous and anthracte electric light and power; lumber and timber products petrol- cum and natural gas. These with agriculture may be regarded as forming the roster of pri- mary industries that produce by exploitation of natural resources distinguished from those that produce manufactures from raw materials that they purchase
 Whatever view is taken "mining" in the broad sense, as covered by Engineering and Min ing Journal looms as one of the most important eiemehts In the industrial structure of the United States and of the world