| Show mining mi ni ng in in california call forni a in 1919 the outstanding feature of metal mining in california during the first half of 1919 is the closing down or the restriction of the operations of some of the principal productive deep mines A number of mines according to C G yale of the united states geological survey department of the interior have been closed by labor strikes others by the low prices of the metals produced the high cost of labor and supplies the scarcity of skilled labor and high taxes and other war conditions moreover for the last few years there has been a very manifest disinclination to invest capital in metal mining especially in the older centers of the industry the copper and lead mines have been most materially affected by these conditions but the larger deep gold mines have also had their troubles the gravel mines especially the dredge properties have not been so seriously affected as the quartz mines yet their costs have greatly increased and they have had difficulty in obtaining sufficient competent help the war surcharge cost for electric power has been the greatest burden borne by the gold dredgers who assert that the voltage has gone down while the rates have gone up during the first six months of 1919 the united states mint and the local smelters shelters sm elters and refiners finers re to which most of the newly mined gold in california is sent received from the mines in the state less gold and less silver than during the first six months of 1918 but as the annual output of gold is now to this difference in the output during the first half of the two years is insignificant in 1918 there was a falling off in the production of gold compared with 1917 of over but the small mall loss in the first half of 1919 compared with that in the first half of 1918 shows that the decline in output has been materially checked and that under normal conditions the output of gold in the state will take the upgrade up grade in this connection it should be noted i that the reduction in the quantity of gold produced may be attributed to a decrease in the output of the larger mines the number of producing mines in the state has materially teri ally increased during the last year or year and a half but the increase in number is really among the smaller mines especially MINE production OF GOLD SILVER COPPER LEAD AND ZINC IN caliri california BY COUNTIES IN 1918 advance A ivnic e figures hyCh arh s G yale e U S ge geological ologie nl survey S urvey ore total county treated golda silvera copper lead zinc value short tons pounds pounds pounds amador A Q fy 40 butte 24 2410 calaveras talaveras Cala veras 41 1460 contra costa 1 9 del norte 3 32 4 el dorado 23 1160 presno fresno 4 37 humboldt 7 72 imperial tm TOT d 1 2 62 1248 3 9 9 9 inyo 61 1 kern 94 24 68 madera 7 1246 mariposa ao T n f c a 25 1 marin 1 6 62 2 1074 merced 2 15 2064 modoc 1 20 mono 6 1903 i nevada MOTTO Q 26 9 placer plo PAT 1 1 60 62 31 plumas 39 90 riverside 2 q 88 1541 sacramento 12 34 49 6 san bernardino 41 2824 san joaquin 1 san luis obispo 1 1530 83 64 shasta 38 sierra 1 33 19 2121 siskiyou you 69 Stanisl stanislaus dus 2 trinity 38 18 A S 0 f 7 tuolumne 42 3 yuba 14 total 1918 13 5 gaj 31 total 1917 a includes placer gold or 47 per cent b includes 09 placer pis icer silver or 2 per cent c average value s of n metals gold per ounce silver per ounce c cop apper per per pound lead per pound zinc per pound t the he deep or quartz mines which after a few years of idleness are now being reopened and reworked the mammoth plant of the united states smelting smelling Sm elting and refining company the most productive mine in california all metals considered ceased operations on may 15 because of labor trouble for some time there had been a serious shortage of labor in the little backbone and other copper mining districts which compelled the mammoth to keep its smelter operating only on reserve stocks of or ore e early in may certain of the mechanics including the machinists boiler makers and operators of trains demanded an increase in wages to those paid when the government price of copper was 26 cents a pound and also a saturday half holiday the miners themselves did not join in this strike of the mechanics As the company was operating at a loss and could not obtain ore from the reserve stock piles without cra nemen and could not keep the smelter in operation without machinists and boiler makers it was forced to close the smelter for an indefinite period although development work was continued in the mammoth mine the closing of the smelter however stopped work at a number of other mines which had been shipping ore to it among others the afterthought mine the penn mining company mining copper in calaveras talaveras Cala veras county ceased operations and the output of the calaveras talaveras Cala veras copper company has been materially curtailed A number of copper haye properties in other counties s also of the stopped work owing to the low price brics metal and the scarcity of labor anine and zin C the most productive lead bounty in the state the cerro gordo in inyo of c a bor has also been closed down because argonaut I 1 t trouble A fire in the most prod P 10 jackson amador county the tive of the mother lode mines stopped work there for two months but operations were resumed june 1 fumes from the fire hampered work mate materially bially in the adjoining kennedy mine another large producer A miners strike at grass valley nevada county the region including the most productive deep gold mines of california materially teri ally curtailed for a time the gold output of the north star and other large properties the larger mines have greatly reduced their working force and will not be able to operate to advantage for some time the lower levels will have to be pumped out it is pleasant to note renewed activity at the gravel mines in california particularly at the hydraulic and drift mines in trinity and siskiyou you counties a large number of mines that have been more or less idle have good accounts of themselves this year when an abundance of water was available some of the town sites old historic places like st louis sierra county are being in these days the towns having been abandoned in the same region hydraulic mining on a large scale is contemplated also at howland flat port wine la porte and other mining camps whose history can be traced back to 1849 the liberty hill mining company is strengthening and raising its large debris dam near dutch flat preliminary to an increase in operations and the marysville marksville nevada water power company is building a very high restraining dam at colgate butte county for debris produced by hydraulic mining this dam will take tailings from gravel mines at brandy city scales depot hill horse valley and other mines in that region the mammoth spring mining company has resumed work on its drift mines in the dutch flat region in placer county work at numerous silver lead properties in inyo and san bernardino counties has been started within the last six months some of these are old mines which have been idle for twenty years or more rich silver ores have recently been discovered near randsburg brandsburg Rands burg in kern county and their discovery has stimulated active prospecting throughout that region the deposits are being mined with local capital from U S geological survey |
