it does not require a long time to obtain it from the ore; but in smelting,
and especially in custom work, several months may pass before the
refined metals come on the market. Sampling, shipping, mixing,
roasting, smelting, shipment to refinery, and refining—all these
operations take time to perform.
The
figures obtained by the two methods will agree, within certain limits
of error, if the mining and smelting industries are carried on
uniformly and at the same rate. But important disturbing factors may
result in marked discrepancies between the two sets of figures, each
one being a correct statement in itself. Especially is this so when
abnormal conditions appear near the beginning or close of the calendar
year. In time the discrepancies will balance if the reports are
intrinsically correct.
In
1904 and 1905 the two reports agreed closely. In 1905 the refinery
report gave $88,180,700 in gold and 56,101,600 ounces of silver, while
the mines report recorded $88,159,881 in gold and 56,272,496 ounces of
silver. In the latter half of 1906 the extremely rich ore bodies of the
Goldfield camp were worked, and in the last month of the year gold-ore
production from the Mohawk mine was rushed to an extraordinary degree,
owing to the expiring of certain leases. At the same time, in the last
months of 1906, the whole country experienced a great car shortage,
resulting in a corresponding delay in ore shipment and scarcity of fuel
for the smelters. This meant that smelting and refining of ore shipped
in the last months of the year to custom works would take much longer
than usual, and consequent!}' that much of the gold from ores mined in
1906 would be credited to the refinery output of 1907. In a less
degree these conditions obtained at all smelting centers and applied to
silver as well as gold, although there was no such special cause for
disturbance as in the case of the Goldfield ores.
The
total of gold given by the mint report in 1906 is $94,373,800. The
mines report has $97,219,645, an excess of $2,845,845. In Alaska, where
there are special difficulties in collecting statistics, the mines
report is about $700,000 higher than the mint report, a condition
repeated from 1905. In the other States, where mill and placer bullion
predominate, there is close agreement. In California the mines report
has $18,732,452 against $18,832,900 of the mint report; in Oregon,
$1,366,900 against $1,320,100; in Montana, $4,469,014 against
$4,-522,000. In the smelting States, such as Arizona, Colorado, and
Utah, the mines report shows slight excesses over the mint report. The
greatest difference exists in Nevada, -where the mines report gives
$10,470,704 against $9,278,600 of the mint report, a difference of
$1,-192,104. Undoubtedly the mines shipped ore corresponding to the
higher figures, but as explained above and as confirmed by direct
evidence, a large part of the gold in this ore was not refined in 1906.
The
total or silver given by the mint report is 56,517,900 ounces. The
mines report has 57,362,455 ounces, an excess of 844,555 ounces. In
Arizona and Utah the figures correspond closely. The principal
difficulty is again in Nevada, which is credited in the mint report
with 5,207,600 ounces against 6,770,612 ounces in the mines report, an
excess in the latter of 1,563,012 ounces. Delay in treatment of
Tono-pah ores is chiefly responsible for this difference. In Idaho the
silver in the mint report is less than in the mines report by nearly
200,000 ounces, while in Montana the excess in the mint report is over
500,000 ounces.
