Domestic smelters and refiners produced 604,605 fine ounces of
g
old and 50,818,637
fine ounces of silver from foreign ores and bul-lion, a decrease of
23,821 ounces of gold and of 6,989,874 ounces of silver compared with
the corresponding figures for 1920. 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 1921 was $23,050,232, compared with $54,009,609 in 1920, and
the quantity of new silver used for such purposes was 28,843,628 fine
ounces, compared with 19,280,129 ounces, The consumption of new silver
in the arts and industries in 1921 was equal to 54 per cent of the
domestic production and that of gold to 46 per cent of the domestic
production. In addition to the gold and silver derived from foreign and
domestic ores and bullion $27,628,938 of gold and 7,024,318 fine ounces
of silver were recovered from old jewelry, dental waste, silverware,
and other old material.
PRICES OF SILVER.
The average monthly prices of foreign fine bar silver in New York in 1921 were as follows:
