Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-11-09 | Page 42 | North Butte Cost Decreases

NORTH BUTTE COST DECREASES Expense of Production Is Seven Cents Less Than During Year of 1918. From present indications tho North Butto will close tho current month with ft production of l.SOO.OOCi'piuinds of copper, cop-per, says the Boston News Bureau. This is 330,000 pounds more than in the preceding pre-ceding month, and Is a considerable Increase In-crease over May of this year, when curtailed cur-tailed output amounted to but 686,000 pounds. With increased production and higher efficiency has come a very decided re- j duction In operating e.xpenses. We under- j stand that North Butte will show a cost , I for October of 16Uj cents rcr pound. This Includes the whole cost of the extensive Aevelopcnent program being carried on In both tho East i'lde property and the original North Butte mine. The company Is today producing Its copper 7 cents per pound cheaper than In 1P1S. The campaign of development is bearing bear-ing fruit. On the 3200-foot level of the Edith May vein operations have uncovered uncov-ered twenty-two feet of ore which has been averaging over 8 per cent copper and the present face of which avorages Q'tt per cent copper, with only one wall of thveln exposed. This development ; Is dlrcTtlv under ths old bonanza stopes I which North Butte nad In the Edith May vein on the sixteenth and eighteenth levels. Since the pressure for production of copper tho world over was lessened the first of this year. North Butte's concentration concen-tration on development operations has reeulted In the addition" of at least 100,000 tons of oro to developed reserves. There I has been a considerable lightening of the i labor burden In the Butte camp during rcufcnt weeks. Miners and mining workmen work-men have been returning from their' summer sum-mer occupations and North Butto has been able to bring up both the efficiency and persunnel of its working forces. In union with other American producers, the company has stBcat'le unsold copper account, hut on a cost of 15V? cents per pound It Is able to make a profit on even Its settlement price with the smelter, ' leaving large potential earnings when the metal is sold. Its treasury position is veSfc' i comfortable.