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Show I Mining and Financial Hi ! , By Murray Schick I" XHEN Co1' D' C Jackline designated the VV Utah Copper as "a finished mine" in Bos- "i ton the other day he used an adjective susceptible to several interpretations. In Boston, of all places, one should bo precise in the choice of words. Out hero in Utah wo know, of course, that the Colonel meant to say the development of the mine was completed. But suppose one of thoso naturally suspicious K Yankees should bo told that Colonel Jackling B said the mine was "finished," and nothing more! B Ills mind would revert at once to the New Haven fll railroad and he would jump to the conclusion K that an investment in a copper mine was as Bj perilous as speculation in railroads. Bj "Finished" would be a perfectly good word B1 to describe the Utah Copper if it were not for H its ambiguity. The large expenditures 'or im- H! provements are completed, the property has all H the milling facilities it is likely to need, surface H; stripping has been carried far in advance of the H' work and ample transportation equipment has H' been provided. Such expenses as may be in- H curred hereafter will be, so far as we can fore- H, see, chargeable to operating expense and main H tonancc. R The practical significance of the announce- H made by Colonel Jackling is this: That the H necessity for a great cash reserve exists no H longer and that a larger proportion of the net H earnings may bo distributed as profits to stock- H holders without endangering the future welfare M of the enterprise. B M Utah Copper A Real "Finished" Mine. H There are very few mines in the world that H can hope to be "finished" in tho sense that the fl Utah Copper is "finished." An underground B mine, unless it be operating on a reef like some 1 of tho Hand mines, is subject to mutations in the B character and value of its ore, calling for alter- B ations in methods of treatment, and the hoisting M machinery must bo replaced periodically as new B lifts are created. It is because of the exposure B of its resources in the light of day that the Utah H Coper is ablo to speak with so much confidence fl of the future. B The uniformity of the production from the B mine for the second, third and fourth quarters B of 1913 demonstrates the subordination of nature B to human control. Note the average monthly B output of copper. For April, May and June it B was 10,595,141) pounds; for July, August and Sep- B tember, 10,702,484; for October, November and B December, 10.GG0.814. The extreme difference in H tho averages for the quarters was less than B 200,000 pounds. H This uniformity of production was obtained Bj by tho adjustment of the tonnage of ore to com- H pensate for the iluctuations of its grade. Ab the B variations of value were extreme, because of the fH intrusion of capping in the apex of the ore, the H ability of the management to regulate its output H under less trying conditions seems unquestlon- Hk Something Not to "Copper." B Figured down to pounds the total quantity of B" copper produced by the Utah Copper company M in 1913 was 119,939,809. Tho report for tho last BB quarter indicates that tho mixture of capping Bl was not cleared up in September as anticipated, flH for the average metal content of the ore was a Hi shade under the average for the third quarter. HBi To be precise, it was 1.21G5 per cent for the Bf fourth as against 1.2459 per cent for the third. BbT Production costs advanced in similar proportion H , from 9.068 cents a pound to 9.987 cents. Strip- IH pmg continued to the end of the year. In the B'j last quarter 1,305, GOG cubic yards of waste were removed, within 57,000 yards of the total for the previous three months. During the year the capping cap-ping removed equalled 4,835,489 cubic yards, which ought to expose a prodigious quantity of the clean copper ore. The Hammer Again. Col. E. A. Wall, in resisting the suit of the Uingham & Garfield railroad for condemnation or right-of-way across his claims, has put in a counterclaim for about $12,000,000. Concerning tho Isbuo as between Colonel Wall and the copper cop-per company no comment Ib called for, but the public does not, and cannot be expected to ignore the benefit to the community of an enterprise thatJhas caused ?GO,000,OOhO to be expended in wagerTnd fail to compare it with the large and -valuable1 holdings of Colonel Wall at Binglia'na which, so far as the benefit they nave, been to tho Btate, might as well have been non-existent. Colonel" Wall may have sufficient reasons for neglecting the constructive work that his great "wealth and extensive properties would" make possible, pos-sible, but the people are Ignorant of such reasons' rea-sons' and "naturally side with the interests that do things in preference to those that are merely obstructive. If the public should remember Colonel Wall with a valentine it would bear the admonition: "Trade your hammer for a horn." Mammoth uames Back. The Mammoth, after being temporarily ousted from its place as the heaviest snipping mine at Tlntic, has come back and, with the great output of thirty-four carloads, distanced all competitors, Including the Centennlal-Eurek a mine of the United States company. There is no immediate prospect that the Centennial will regain its former prolificacy. The decrease in its production must be a serious matter for the smelting department of the United States company. The smelter at MIdvale is restricted by the decree of the courts to certain classes of ore which have been largely supplied by the Centennial and the Knight mines. With the tonnage from the former reduced by three cars a day and the consignments of the latter limited to a superior grade of ore through the provision of milling facilities at home, It is evident there will be considerable furnace room to spare. Under such circumstances it will not be strange if tho smelting department of the'UI S. calls the exploration department up on the carpet for rejecting .so merrily the two thousand prospects pros-pects brought to its attention in the last year or two. Failing to get the sort of mines it wants the United StateB cannot very well keep out of the scramble for custom oros. In that case the term "monopoly" which has been applied to the American Ameri-can Smelting & Refining company will be even more of a misnomer than it has been since the International came into the field. Better Times. Trading and prices on the local stock market have Increased just enough in the last week to assure the brokers that they were not dreaming when they thought they saw better times at hand. The Silver King Consolidated of Park and the Victoria of Tintic have been the sustaining factors. According to all accounts the King Con. strike Ib looming larger with every day's development develop-ment on the 1,550-level and the prospects of a fair sized dividend In March are improving in the same ratio. |
