Domestic
smelters and refiners produced 2,918,628 fine ounces of gold and
56,682,445 fine ounces of silver from domestic sources in 1919, also
668,161 fine ounces of gold and 57,806,123 fine ounces of silver from
foreign ores and bullion, an increase of 101,275 ounces of
f
old and 1,826,703
ounces of silver compared with the corresponding gures for 1918. The
foreign ores came mainly from Mexico, Canada, and Peru.
The
value of the new gold used in the arts and industries in the United
States in 1919 was $56,135,951, compared with $32,892,395 in 1918, and
the quantity of silver used for such purposes was 26,237,-519 fine
ounces, compared with 26,722,333 ounces. The consumption of new silver
in the arts and industries in 1919 was equal to 46 per cent of the
domestic production and that of gold to 93 per cent of the domestic
production. In addition to the gold and silver derived from foreign and
domestic ores and bullion $19,354,398 of gold and 6,463,002 fine ounces
of silver were recovered from old jewelry, dental waste, silverware,
and other old material. The value of all the new and old gold used in
the arts and industries in 1919 was more than $75,000,000, which
exceeded the value of the domestic output from mines by more than
$15,000,000.
