Ch. 1: Gold and Silver in 1920

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	512	MINERAL RESOURCES, 1920----PART I.

	vey directly from the producing mines, and tabulated for the mines reports later discussed. The data for the total production and in part for the distribution are obtained from records of (1) the unrefined domestic gold and silver deposited in United States mints and assay offices, (2) the domestic gold and silver in fine bars reported by private refineries, and (3) the unrefined domestic gold and silver contained in ores and matte exported for reduction. The last item is relatively small. Increase or decrease in production of gold and silver in the United States in 1920.



	Domestic smelters and refiners produced 628,426 fine ounces of gold and 57,808,511 fine ounces of silver from foreign ores and bullion, a decrease of 39,735 ounces of gold, but an increase of 2,388 ounces of silver compared with the corresponding figures for 1919. 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 1920 was $54,009,609, compared with $56,135,951 in 1919, and the quantity of silver used for such purposes was 19,280,129 fine ounces, compared with 26,237,519 ounces. The consumption of new silver in the arts and industries in 1920 was equal to 35 per cent of the domestic production and that of gold to 106 per cent of the domestic production. In addition to the gold and silver derived from foreign and domestic ores and bullion $28,205,478 of gold and 8,694,392 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 1920 was more than $82,200,000, which exceeded the value of the domestic output from mines by more than $31,000,000.

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