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Show s buhkau op mines rt- 9 HEAD - V. OF U. m :: CITY '- BALT LAKE. pn4 itirm (OLD ...a,, .aaaaa. LEAD, pet WESTERN' MINERAL V ALLOT BMKLTEK FKK'Kd .... MMte 811VII b ii.??5c aaaaa 8SaSB - ECBOe ZINC SILVER (per m. new miael) SILVER (per ox. upot) W.Nt tl.S9c Features Mining, Oil, Financial $2.00 Year, $1.00, 6 Mos. Salt Lake City, Utah, April 9, 1943 VOL. 14,. NO. 15 Manganese 800 Mill At 700 Utah No. 1 Gold Producer For First Month Of 43 DELIVERIES (MIUJONS OF DOLLARS) WAR PRODUCTS Butte OKd 600 CIVILIAN AND OTHER PRODUCTS A Bureau of Mines proposal to erect a custom mill at Butte, Mont, to treat 400-ton-a-d- manganese ores produced by several mines in that area and thus provide more, manganese for the nation's steel mills, has been ap' proved by the. Facility Review Committee of the War Production Board, it was revealed today by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. In announcing favorable action on another of the bureaus projects for speeding the. output of war minerals, Secretary Ickes stated that the Domestic Manganese Company, prominent in the manganese field of Montana, has applied for a $250,000 loan from the Reconstruction Finance Cor poration to construct the mill. The company proposes to utilize old milling equipment in the Butte area for the plant and to resume operation of its modern nodulizing plant at Butte to produce ferrograde manganese nodules for steel. About 12 pounds of manganese .are required for every ton of steel produced. Such a mill will erase a barrier which has hindered full utilization of the mang ganese deposits of the area of Montana," the Bureau of Mines reported. Smaller mines have not been producing "at capacity because of the insecure position of the operators regarding utilization of their product. . Carrying the proposer to' WPB, the bureau pointed out that in formulating the project, its exploratory crews had drilled more than 10,000 feet of test holes, had , taken hundreds of ore samples, and had tested the contemplated milling method. The bureau research revealed that the known reserves of carbonate manganese ore in four active mines in the area total about 175,000 tons of ore averaging 23 per cent manganese. When milled and nodulized, the ore averages from 51 to 59 per cent manganese. Under the contemplated program, the ore delivered to the mill would be purchased by the Metals Reserve Company, which has been buying ore for stockrepiling in the Domestic The Manganese gion. Company proposes to mill and ore along nodulize the stock-pile- d with the newer ore produced by long-existin- Butte-Philipsbur- . Butte-Pliilipsbu- rg Butte-Philipsbu- rg the mines. The Bureau of Mines reported that the construction of the milling plant is particularly desirable because of the availability of large quantities of idle equipment in the Butte area. A survey showed that only a small amount of new machinery will be necessary and that most of the plant can be constructed from equipment formerly mill near used in a lead-zin- c Butte. Long a producer of battery-grad- e oxide manganese ore, the Bee BUTTE On Page 4 . Utah, normally fourth ranking gold producer among the states and territories behind Alaska, California and South Dakota, leaped into first place for January, 1913, with an output that was greater than any two of the normal big three" combined. Utahs January, 1913 production was 31,929 fine ounces of the yellow metal. Gold production generally fell off, however, with the total registering 135,113 fine ounces, a drop of 57 per cent from January, 1912 and 21 per cent below December. 1912, according to official U. S. Bureau of Mines figures. The calculated daily average production for. . January of this Prepared by Charles L. Haryear was 4,358 . fine ounces. In ness, under the supervision of OlJanuary. 1942, the dally average iver Bowles, Chief, Nonmetal Ecowas 10,108 fine ounces and the daily average for the entire year nomics Division, Economics and of 1912 was 9,590 fine ounces Statistics Service. In 1911 the dally- average proSales of celestlte (crude stronduction was 13,010 fine ounces. Reason for Utahls .spectacular tium sulfate) by domestic probreak to the forefront of gold ducers declined somewhat In 1942, production was,, of course, the amounting to 1,011 short tons fact that the Beehive States gold valued at $55,529. compared with from 4,721 short tons valued at $69,-05- 1 comes as . a. the mines engaged in in 1911, according to the Buoutput of to war vital metals of Mines. Despite an active reau the strategic effort principally Utah Copper market for celestite analyzing Mine, now probably .the nations 92 per cent or more strontium leading gold producer. On the sulfate with 4 per cent maximum other hand, the real gold pro- calcium (as sulfate) and 1 percent ducing areas were . mostly de- maximum barium (as sulfate), gold no new deposits of chemical-grad- e pendent on mines, which have been closed material were worked comdown by government order. mercially in 1912, and in old deSouth Dakotas famous Home-stak- posits, reserves of chemical-grad- e Mine, the largest single celestite approached exhaustion. gold nroducer in the country, is Production of the abundant suba typical example, closing its re- chemical grade celestite 'in Texfinery in the middle of Decem- as, formerly used entirely for ll ber, 1912. and now shipping only drilling muds, declined with unrefined bars to the Denvet curtailment in drilling activity, ml nr. though some of the borderline California dropped spectacu rock was sold for the purification larly from production of 10137 of caustic soda and for conversion fine ounces of gold in January, to stontium chemicals, both with 1912 to only 29,218 fine ounces and without beneficiation. in December, 1912 and then By the end of 1912, beneficiated down to 16,421 fine ounces in Texas celestite loomed as a posJanuary, 1913. South Dakota sible answer to the problem of dropped from 51,131 fine ounces procuring adequate quantities of n January, 1912; to 19.G07 fine celestite. Research ounces in December and 16,751 conducted Bureau of the by fine ounces in January, 1913. the Interof Mines. Department Alaska, whose 'winter-mont- h Co. Mineral Foote and the im, : reduction Is naturally far be-- on methods of beneficiating crude summer figures, produced celestite found in Brown and in Nolan Counties, Texas, indicated 22,778 fine ounces of gold January, 1912, was up to 25.9G4 that the impure celestite can be fine ounce, in December of last beneficiated to a plus 92 per to cent content of strontium sulfate, year and then dropped down ' only 12.421 fine ounces iri Jan- with low calcium and barium. Touary, 1913. ward the end of the year the Comparative figures on gold Foote Mineral Co. erected a plant production by states follows. The in Pennsylvania to beneficiate 1911 figures are from the Min- crude celestite. erals. Yearbook for that year; the several As during the past 1912 figures are- the preliminary chief producer of cethe years, figures of the Bureau of Mines. lestite for chemical purposes was All production figures are in the Co., 205 First fine ounces. - See GOLD On Page See STRONTIUM On Page 4 Strontium Sales Drop During '42 . - - . - 4rfi Quarter M Quarter IR Quarter 1941 1942 1942 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter 1942 1942 . The job of conversion from peace to war production which has been performed in such miraculous fashion by America's big industries is excellently illustrated in the above chart dealing with General Motors, a typical IT. 8. business which has gone over to the national war effort lock, stock and barrel. The chart was produced as part of the companys 1942 report. Prepared by Chas W. HenderSupervising Engineer of Western Offices, Denver, Mineral Production and Economics Diviand Statistics sion, Economics Service. Silver production (in terms of recoverable metal) from domestic mines (including Alaska) was fine ounces in January 1913, a decrease of 388,758 fine ounces (9 per cent) from December, 1912 according to the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior. The average daily production of silver was 1GG284 fine ounces in January 1942, and 121,770 fine ounces in Januarv 1913, a decrease of 11,511 fine ounces (27 per cent). The Eastern and Central States out-and-o- oil-we- contract prices of such materials Of this amount $177,930i4I5"ap-plieto deliveries made: up to the end of 2912. including deliveries made prior to inauguraed the value of total sales of tion of this pricing policy. The of $183;3C8t410 will apply $2,43800,977 in 1941, the corpor- balance to be made subs'.-que-nt deliveries to ations peak year, despite the exto 1942. Under legislation authorizing traordinarily difficult problems material that had to be met during 1912 the renegotiation of warwas made an agreement in connection with the change contracts the United States Governwith over from peace to war produc- ment through the War Departtion, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., chair- ment Price Adjustment Board as man of General Motors, stated in of Oct. 1, 1942, limiting the on the sae of issuing to the more than 413,000 profits stockholders his annual report war materials, which substanat subtitled General Motors tially embodied the jxxliey volun' War." established by the corporThe dollar sales volume of war tarily ation earlier in the year. The efmaterials in 1942 was adversely fect of this was to limit the rate affected, due to the fact that the of profit, before provision for incorporation was making sub- come and excess profits taxes, for stantial price reductions during 1942 on the corporations the year as cost savings were manufacturing operations to aprealized one-hathat of through the develop ment of new methods, the sim- - proximately on substantially the same plification of designs and an volume- of business.1 of producexpanding volume Net income per share of comMr. Sloan explained. mon stock, after tion, dedueling diviWhile the indicated dollar valtie-o- dends on the S3 series sales was 8 per cent less in stock, was $355 in 1942preferred as com1912, the actual cost of goods prowith $1.11 in 1941. Net inpared duced, which Js the true measure come for the year 1912 included of the- productive effort, some- income items- of a special nature what exceeded that of 1911, he amounting to $31,129,475. These ' added. income redits consist of special Early in 1912 the corporation a- reduction of S28.90C.475 in the voluntarily adopted a policy of Corporations 1911 income and exreducing prices on individual war cess profits taxes resulting from contracts as soon as it became the write-of- f of foreign investpossible through the realization ments in enemy territories end of cost savings," Mr. Sloan said. a recovery by the Corporation fn "In line with this policy, the cor- settlement of a stockholders acporation has voluntarily effected tion. Excluding these items, net reductions of $391,288,825 in income on the common stock amounted to $251 per share in 1912. Dividends natrt on the common stock decreased from per share in 1911 to $2.00 in General Motors . total J 942 rales " of which $2,250,548,859, $1,896,195,445 represented war material products, nearly equal. d cor-poratio- ns the-yea- r lf - f - - 1D42. . See SILVER On Page 's ut e of had slight increases in January over December, but the Western States had a decrease of 389,059 fine ounces (9 per cent). Idaho the larges silver- - producing state, has fluctuated from the 1912 low of 786,550 fine ounces in September, to the high of fine ounces in April, and back to 1,020,758 fine ounces in January 1943. Utah produced 910,-13- 8 fine ounces of silver in Jan uary 1913, being virtually the same quantity as produced in December 1912. Montana produced 838,362 fine ounces, a decrease of 102, 238 fine ounces (11 per cent) from December. Most of the other Western States showed de by-produ- ct . General Motors Goes All Oat In War Effort Nine Percent In Jan. . . Silver Production Off son, Berated to tbe Mining nod oil induktriei of Utah and the WnL A mimi of the outatnoding to vclopmmta la carried each week. Imports To Increase reserves Rapid depletion of ore of lead and zinc, together with the absence of discovery of substantial new deposits, points to the probability that this country will be increasingly dependent on foreign sources after the war. Large supplies, however, are available in Canada and Latin America, and a good portion of them are closely officiated with domestic lead and zinc interests. Production here will be- partly dependent on the tariff, the direction of which is indicated to be downward, and partly on national olicy of whether domestic mines should be worked to exhaustion (or nearly so) or p policy of holding reserves against another war sltould be adopted. - high-qualit- y - w - Pan-Chemic- al Ohio Copper Report Shows '42 Good Year sales of ing operations. This accumula- ' together with the proceeds metal and services of Ohio Cop- tion, of the sale in 1937, has, in spite per Company of Utah were up of capital expenditures for the Gross .income from per cent in 1912 over 1911, it is shown in the companys annual report, so despite the fact that operational costs also increased rapidly 16.8 per cent there as an increase in profit per dollar volume of business. The years operations showed a .net profit of $51,565.91 before deductions' for depreciation and depletion an increase of approximately $10,000 over 1911. This profit was disposed of as follows: to gain in- - net. cash position, $20,50S.5S; expended for increased plant capacity, net increase in mining ventures, $1,311.18,' and increase in prepaid items, $1,87057. Provisions for depletion and depreciation were $29,88150 and respectively, totalling $54,531.10, or $2,965.25 which was added to the deficit account of the company. for depreciation Allowances and depletion are made on account of the fact that the property, In which the company s capital Is invested, is being consumed by the mining and mill18.8 $21,-836IS- $21,6-19.6- , 8; mill, placed the company in a comparatively strong financial position," Percy H. Kittle, company president, states in the report. Elsewhere ir his statement Mr. Kittle says: It would appear, from lei tors received from stockholders, that-manare not entirely familiar with the nature of the companys operations nor its properties. When the present management took over, in 1931, the company was in a desperate financial condition, current liabilities sinu;it-e- d to over $235,000, including back property taxes, past due mortgage bonds and accrued interest. There were no liquid assets. It was only by the greatest effort that the companys existence was maintained duting the next three years. In 1937, after almost s year of negotiations, the portion of the company's mining property in Bingham Canyon, Utah, above the main haulage level, was sold, with the approval of rtcckhold- - . See OHIO on Pv S |