Socorro County in 1909 ranked first in total value of output, making a production in all five metals. There was a small decrease in gold and silver output, but a marked increase in the yield of copper, lead, and zinc. The zinc production was 12,878,241 pounds, valued at $695,425, an increase of 9,552,795 pounds in quantity and of $539,129 in value. Cooney (or Mogollon) district.-In 1909 there was a slight decrease in gold and silver production from this district, which is the source of the greater part of the precious metal output for the county. As in 1908, there was no copper from this district. The Ernestine Mining Company, operating the Last Chance mine, was (as it has been for years) the largest producer of precious metals in New Mexico. The reduction plant at the mine consists of a 20-stamp plate-amalgamation mill, with concentrators and cyanide plant, with a total capacity of 60 tons per day. The workings consist of an incline shaft 725 feet deep and a tunnel 2,350 feet long. The Socorro Mines Company ran its 120-ton concentration and cyanide plant on ore from its mines, chief of which are the Little Fannie and the Champion. The Enterprise Mining Company operated its 100-ton cyanide plant built in 1908. Magdalena district. This district is in the central-western part of Socorro County. The chief metal of the district was zinc, but considerable lead was produced, and also some copper, silver, and a little gold. The production of zinc in 1909 was 12,878,241 pounds, valued at $695,425, as compared with 3,325,446 pounds, valued at $156,296, in 1908, and with 676,356 pounds, valued at $39,905, in 1907. There were 7 producing mines in this camp in 1909. The Ozark Smelting and Mining Company, owning the Graphic, and the TriBullion Smelting and Development Company, which, in conjunction with lessees, operated the Kelly mine, were the principal operators. There was an output also from the Hardscrabble group, the Germany group, the Key group, and the Old Soldier mine. Rosedale district. This camp is 30 miles south of Magdalena. The Rosedale Mining and Milling Company made an increased output in bullion and cyanide precipitates. There is a 50-ton mill on this property. TAOS COUNTY. Development work only was reported by mines in the Red River district and at Twining. OREGON. BY CHARLES G. YALE. PRODUCTION. For the calendar year 1909 operators of 162 mines, of which 66 were deep and 96 were placers, reported production from Oregon. The number of deep mines is the same as in 1908, but there was a decrease of 77 productive placers in 1909. The aggregate output of these mines was valued at $827,001. Of the total output the gold yield was 37,827.51 fine ounces, valued at $781,964; the silver yield was 27,827 ounces, valued at $14,470; the copper, 235,000 pounds, valued at $30,550; and the lead, 400 pounds, valued at $17. In 1908 the total value of all the metals produced in Oregon was $926,737, so that the decrease in value of output for 1909 was $99,736. The total quantity of ore mined and treated in 1909 was 59,251 short tons, an increase of 8,567 tons. The siliceous ores amounted to 57,634 tons in 1909, an increase of 9,083 tons as compared with the production of 1908; the copper ores, amounting to 1,647 tons, decreased 486 tons. The average value of siliceous ore per ton in gold and silver in 1909 was $9.87, as compared with $12.49 in 1908, which in part accounts for the falling off in total gold yield. The copper ore smelted in 1909 yielded an average value of $2.92 per ton in gold or silver. The average recovered value per ton of all metals was $9.87 in the siliceous ores in 1909, as compared with $12.50 in 1908. There were treated in 1909 at gold and silver mills 55,160 tons of ore, containing $498,964 in gold and $5,026 in silver. In milling the ore, $331,144 in gold and $3,317 in silver were recovered by ordinary plate amalgamation, the average being $6 in gold and 6 cents in silver per ton. The concentrates saved from all concentrating ore were 1,975 tons in quantity, valued at $167,820 in gold and $1,709 in silver, or an average of $84.97 in gold and 86 cents in silver per ton. The average total extraction per ton of crude ore in gold and silver mills, both by amalgamation and in the concentrates, was $9.04 in gold and 9 cents in silver. Crude siliceous ore shipped to smelters amounted to 474 tons, valued at $54,999 in gold and $7,733 in silver, an average per ton of $116 in gold and $16.31 in silver. This also yielded 400 pounds of lead, valued at $17. In addition there were 1,647 tons of copper ore smelted, which yielded $4,700 in gold, 227 ounces of silver, and 235,000 pounds of copper, valued at $30,550. Crude ore shipped to concentrating mills yielded $1,000 in gold and $1 in silver. With the siliceous ore is included 1,900 tons of tailings. The statement of production of 1908 and 1909, showing increase and decrease of gold, silver, and associated metals in Oregon, valued at each year's commercial prices, is as follows: Mine production of gold, silver, and associated metals in Oregon in 1908 and 1909. The total output of gold in Oregon in 1909 was 37,827.51 fine ounces, valued at $781,964, a decrease of 4,020.54 fine ounces in quantity and of $83,112 in value, as compared with the output of 1908. The largest yield of gold from one county, valued at $417,538 in 1909, came, as usual, from Baker County, although it was $90,391 less than that in 1908. The next county in rank of gold production was Josephine, followed by Jackson, Malheur, Grant, Lane, and Curry, in the order named. The largest production from deep mines was from Baker County, and of placer mines from Josephine County. The most productive quartz mine in the State was in Baker County, and the most productive placer (dredge) was in Jackson County. Sixty-five quartz mines produced gold in 1909, 1 more than in 1908. Productive placers numbered 96 in 1909, as compared with 173 in 1908. The placers in 1909 yielded $221,318 in gold, as compared with $272,593 in 1908, a decrease of $51,275. The hydraulic mines in 1909 yielded $157,363 in gold, which is $23,619 less than in 1908; and the surface placers, dredges, and drift mines combined yielded $63,955, which is $27,656 less than in 1908. There were in the State 62 productive hydraulic mines, 10 drift mines, 2 dredges, and 22 surface placers or sluicing mines. The gold production from different kinds of mines, by counties, for 1909 is given in the following table: Source of gold product in Oregon, by kinds of ore, in 1909, by counties, in fine ounces. The following table shows the source of placer gold in Oregon, by counties, in 1909: SILVER. The yield in silver in Oregon in 1909 aggregated 27,600 fine ounces, valued at $14,352, a decrease of 16,002 ounces in quantity and of $8,757 in value, as compared with the production of 1908. Baker County made the largest silver output, 19,514 fine ounces, valued at $10,147, which was more than tenfold that of any other county in the State, only one of the others having reached as high in product as 1,900 fine ounces. The placer mines of the State yielded 2,054 ounces of silver in 1909, which is 3,797 less than was shown for 1908. The quartz mines yielded 25,546 ounces, all from siliceous ores, which is 11,918 ounces less than was derived from the siliceous ores in 1908. Only 227 fine ounces of silver was reported from the copper ores smelted. The source of silver, by kinds of ore and by counties, in 1909, is shown in the following table: Source of silver product in Oregon, by kinds of ore, in 1909, by counties, in fine ounces. The copper output of Oregon in 1909 was 235,000 pounds, valued at $30,550, a decrease in quantity of 56,377 pounds and in value of $7,912. This copper was entirely derived from Josephine County, and $4,700 in gold and 227 fine ounces of silver were recovered with it. A merely nominal quantity of lead was obtained from Jackson County. MINING INDUSTRY IN OREGON IN 1909. Southwestern and northeastern Oregon form two distinct mining regions, which differ in character of deposits and ores. The mines in southwestern Oregon form an extension of the California gold belt. The counties in this region are Benton, Coas, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, and Lane. Benton County made no production in 1909, but the others named made a combined gold production of $274,245, which is an increase of $23,601 over the output of 1908. The production of placer gold from this region in 1909 was valued at $185,252, or a decrease of $8,232 as compared with the output of 1908. The gold production from the deep mines was $88,993, which was an increase of $31,833 over the output of 1908. The silver production in southwestern Oregon in 1909 was 5,017 fine ounces. Northeastern Oregon comprises Baker, Crook, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, and Wheeler counties, among which is the most productive county in the the State. The combined gold yield of these counties in 1909, omitting Wallowa and Umatilla, with no output, was $507,719, a decrease of $106,713. The placer gold yield was $36,066 in 1909, or $43,043 less than in 1908. The lode mines yielded $471,653 in gold, a decrease of $63,670. The silver product of northeastern Oregon was 22,810 fine ounces in 1909. The following table shows the production of gold, silver, copper, and lead in Oregon in 1909, by counties: Mine production of gold, silver, copper, and lead in Oregon in 1909, by counties. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Total value. The following table shows, by counties, the tonnage of ore, concentrates, and tailings in Oregon in 1909: Tonnage of ore, concentrates, and old tailings in Oregon in 1909, by counties, in short tons. |