OCR Text |
Show COPPER The achievements of engineering, science and industry in controlling1 rivers, harneslsing hydro-electric power and building transmission lines, together with the superiority of copper as a conductor of electricity and its widening use for other purposes has promoted an inquiry into recent developments in copper production, according to the current monthly industrial review of the National City Bank of New York. Since the beginning of this century the history of copper has been quite like that of many other individuals. Revolutionary Revolution-ary inventions; of new processes and machinery, development of large scale production of low-grade ores, and a general lowering low-ering of costs, that have been passed on in part to the consumer and in. part to a higher wage scaia-Jor employees. The development of porphyry type of open pit mining, treating large tonnages, low in copper, at first by steam and at present by the usje of electric shovels, has all occured since 1900, In the' process of milling there has been an even greater change, caused by a general adoiption of the flotation process. Smelters have many times the capacity of those of former years. The entire system of roasting ores bearsj littlft or no resemblance re-semblance to the primitive methods of thirty years ago. The Cottrell process, saving the metals formerly lost in the fumes of. a shelter, and other similar devices, have greatly reduced metal losses in the process. ... The . cost of producing copper has1 been decreased, and this on the whole; has been passed on to the consumer, and to labor. la-bor. The average.price of copper for the 10 years 1906-1915, wa9 15.53 cents a pound, and far the 10 years 1926-1935 it was 11,13, cents. The present; price is 9 cents. Wages in the industry are from 60 to 100 percent higher, averaging over 80 per cent higher than, at the beginning of the century. Working hours have been reduced from 10, and in miahy cases 12, to 8 hours per day. According to F. H. Brownell, chairman of the American Smelting and Refining Co., it would be impossible to produce the tonnage pf today by the methods of 25 years ago. Reduced costs have made ,ore bodies then unworkable now profitable. While accurate figures are not available it is a) reasonable calculation cal-culation that 'were 'we today to have a copper price of 12 cemVas compared, with i$y3 cents at the beginning of the century, not only would more men be employed at nearly double dou-ble the wag'e',' but the consuming public would buy copper for 20 per cent less, and the mines make substantially the stame profits on capital Invested. . ' - . v Western Mineral Survey |