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122
MINERAL RESOURCES.
mines
at Butte, as well as to the reduced yield of the cyaniding ores in
Fergus County. Gains in other counties offset a part of this loss. A
totalof about $349,000 was recovered from placers, against $522,000 in
1906. Most of the loss was experienced in Madison County (Alder Gulch).
Silverbow County (Butte) still leads with an output of $710,500 in
gold. The output from Fergus County is diminished, but still amounts to
$647,000 from deep mines and placers. The output for 1908 is riot
likely greatly to exceed that of 1907.
The
production of silver was 9,317,605 ounces, a decrease of 2,663,100
ounces from 1906. This decrease was almost entirely due to the
curtailing of the copper production of Butte. The production of
Silverbow County (Butte) was 7,516,659 ounces. Jefferson County added
775,159 ounces, chiefly from silver-lead ores. The output of Granite
County was somewhat larger than in 1906 and amounted to 456,096 ounces.
No increase in the production of the State is to be expected in 1908.
Nevada.—Nevada
mines yielded $12,099,455 in gold, an increase of $1,628,751 over 1906.
The larger part of this was derived from the Goldfield district, the
amount being $8,408,396, or 70 per cent of the total. This was obtained
from 101,136 short tons of ore. The Tonopah district produced
$1,183,628, a decrease of a little over $100,000 from 1906. This was
obtained from 214,608 tons of ore. A little over $10,000,000 in gold
was produced in Esmeralda and Nye counties, which contain these two
districts. Lincoln County was third, with an output of $929,775,
largely from the Delamar district. The Comstock mines contributed about
$250,000. The output of Eureka and Lander counties was considerably
increased. The State suffered from scarcity of labor in the first part
of the year, and during the last three months many mines were closed
down. The year is marked by the beginning of milling operations on a
large scale both at Goldfield and at Tonopah.
It
remains to explain in a few words the differences between the
statements of the mint report and of the mines report in case of Nevada
gold. In 1906 the mint report had $9,278,600 and the mines report
$10,470,704. The figures of the mines production were too large for
1906 by the sum of $1,730,000, the contents of a shipment of ore that
had not actually been made until January. The correct amount should,
therefore, have been $8,740,704, representing the output of the mines
in 1906. In 1907 the mint report has $15,411,000, and the mines report
$12,099,455; to the latter should, therefore, be added $1,730,000 as an
amount erroneously credited to 1906, and, moreover, not less than
$1,000,000 from "high grade," or stolen ore, which, as asserted in the
mines report for 1906 was taken from the Goldfield mines, and which
found its way to mints, assay offices, and refineries during 1907.
These corrections would give a total of $14,829,455, which closely
corresponds with the figures of the mint report. The gold production of
Nevada will probably be maintained for 1908 at figures similar to those
of 1907.
The
silver output was 7,083,603 fine ounces, an increase of 312,992 ounces.
To this amount Tonopah contributed 5,370,891 ounces, a decrease of
327,037 ounces. The output was derived from 214,608 tons of ore.
Churchill County was next in rank, with 655,500 ounces, chiefly
obtained from the Fairview and Wonder districts. The Comstock mines in
Storey County yielded approximately 163,000
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