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Show TINA Precious Metal By. A. Spencer Cragoe, A. M. M. I. Lixkeurd, Cornwall, England The following article on Tin, written writ-ten by a native and a resident of Cornwall, England will be read with interest by many in mining circles. Mr. A. Spencer Cragoe, A. I M. M. has had a great career not only in his native land but also in this country. Tin occupies a position midway between be-tween the base and precious metals. It has been so referred to and so esteemed es-teemed from the earliest ages from thousands of years before the Christian Christ-ian Era for there is no known substitute sub-stitute lor it. No substitute ever is likely to be on the market at a commercial price.. The world output lor the last five years averages 120,000 ''long" tons (of 2,240 pounds) in round figures. The great "slump" of 1920-21 carried down the price, but prices and output during the last two and a half years have again recovered, and in both cases are now normal. Output Declining Nevertheless, whereas this output lor the year 1920 was 137,000 "long" tons, for the year 1924 it was but 132,400 "long" tons. A decline, there- lore, in five years of 6,200 "long" tons. In this five-year period, the falling fall-ing off in the supply from the rich alluvial deposits of the Federated Malay Mal-ay States tfhd the Dutch East Indies, the joint production from which during dur-ing the last generation has supplied anywhere from 60 to 70 per cent ol the world's total tonnage, has become accentuated, whichever way the figures figur-es are "wangled." The decline set in before the war, the richer gravels being for the most part exhausted. The slightly increased output from the next largest producer Bolivia responsible for 15-20 per cent of the world supply, does not begin to offset off-set the falling-off in the East. Potential Area Limited Geologically tin is associated with the older if not the oldest granities; and perhaps barring gold it is the most "deep-seated," presistent at depth of the metallic minerals. The potential area of supply is, therefore, exceedingly limited. No nev mines or fields of any consequence conse-quence whatsoever have been discovered discov-ered since the Nigerian "boom" of 13-19 years ago. And Nigeria upon the whole has been disappointingly most disappointing, if the truth be told. Over its whole vast area it does not yet supply, is scarcely likely to supply ten per cent of the world demand de-mand for this most requisite unetal. U. S. A. Chief Consumer This demand principally, is from America: for the great canning and other allied industries; for the making of bronze, etc. For the year 1924 just past, the world production was thus disposed of in round figures: U. S. A 64,000 "long" tons Europe, etc 04,000 "long" tons Far East 10,000 "long" tons 138,000 "long" tons America there fore the U. S. A. took no less than 60 per cent of the total, after deducing the small Eastern East-ern requirements; and her demand steadily increases. So, also, does the demand from Europe and from the East, upon balance. In all three markets mark-ets there are, of course, seasonal "ups and downs." Stock Also Declining The-tin market is so "managed" that it is .most difficult, at times to grasp .the true position from week to week, or even from month to month. The year-end figures, however the then "visible stocks" of all descriptions descrip-tions give the true and the exact statistics. ' . As at the end of December, 1920, these stocks were 44,000 "long" tons. Four years later the end of 1924 they had shrunk to 23,000 "long" tons. The likelihood seems to be that they will shrink still further. - Price Climbing Always The price consequent upon the above facts moves steadily upwards. For the last two or three decades of the nineteenth century, it averaged, say, 90 sterling per "long" ton; from 1900 until the World War, 140 sterling ster-ling per "long" ton; present day, over 250 sterling per "long" ton. Among those who know, a price, it -is considered, of nearer 300 per ton will rule, for several years to come.' At any figure however above 180-200 . (less than four-fifths its present price) according to circumstances circum-stances and local conditions, tin mining, min-ing, almost anywhere, is highly profitable. prof-itable. A quite astonishingly larger ratio or proportion of tin mines are steady dividend-payers, as compared with other ' metal mines. And, furthermore, furth-ermore, the average rate or percentage percent-age of the tin mine dividend exceeds that derived from any other classes of (Continued on page four). TIN A PRECIOUS METAL I , (Continued from page 1) mining. These two fact3 are of very great significance, ( Cornwall Still Potential Territory Cornwall, the extreme south-western county of Great Britian, embracing embra-cing a total area of barely 1500 square miles (1500, not 15,000) supplied a- 1 bout 100 per cent of the demand for tin not only of the ancient world and of the middle ages, but well down into the past century; and still might supply (despite the enormous- " . ly increased demand) at least 25 per , cent of it. No area of the world's sur- i , face has (1) such an amazing, almost incredible number of mineral lodes tin, copper, uranium, silver-lead bearing, bear-ing, etc. or, (2) lodes so persistently persistent-ly and so richly mineralized both in f their shallow workings and at depth. i f These are statements of fact, only. , f One need but turn to the one-inch f : i scale maps (colored) of the Geolo- J ' gical Survey, to be almost dumb- , i I founded at the number of lodes j 1 many thousands thereon shown. Lod-1 es from which over 300,000,000 sterlingsay sterl-ingsay one and a half billion dollars dol-lars worth of tin only, has been taken excluding an almost equal value of copper, silver-lead, etc. AH this from a strip of land 81 miles in length, by about 18 miles average width! The above figures, however, as regards re-gards tin, relate not only to the large number of lode mines, but to the prior production up to about 200 years since from the moorland alluv-ials. alluv-ials. Tin oxide (cassiterite) was shed through countless ages, from the almost al-most innumerable lodes which traverse trav-erse this small area, and then concentrated con-centrated by process of nature in the aforesaid moorland valleys, to be recovered, re-covered, finally, for man's requirements, require-ments, by "streaming:" ground-sluicing, that it to say, as in the East at present. With the advent anout 200 years ago of the steam engine, pumping and therefore shaft-sinking was made possible, and lode-mining became general. At one period from about 50 to perhaps 90 years ago over 800 mines, big and small, were working work-ing at the same time. (To be Continued Next Week) |