UTAH.

By V. C. HEIKES.

PRODUCTION.

There were 179 producing mining properties in Utah in 1909 against 182 in 1908. The number of reports received in 1909 included those for 5 placers, of which there were 6 in 1908. These mining operations carried on in 39 districts, distributed in 16 counties out of 27 in the State, aggregated a production of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc valued at $31,380,092. Copper production again showed a large increase, from 86,843,812 pounds in 1908 to 108,947,811 pounds in 1909, valued in 1909, at its average commercial value, at $14,163,215, which was 45 per cent of the total value of the metals. Lead was second in value, amounting to 148,486,463 pounds, valued at $6,384,918; silver was third, aggregating 11,717,172 ounces, valued at $6,092,929; and gold was fourth, valued at $4,206,548. The greatest quantity of gold was produced from deep mines in Juab, Salt Lake, and Tooele counties. Juab and Summit County deep mines were first in yield of lead and silver; and Salt Lake County made the chief production in copper. Wasatch County, or that

of it embraced by the Park City region, was credited with the largest part of the zinc yield; Tooele County was next in importance. The total production of crude ore aggregated 5,122,589 tons, of which 287,659 tons were treated in milling plants using principally the cyanide process; 3,771,960 tons were treated at concentration mills, producing 262,401 tons of concentrates; and the remainder, 1,003,575 tons, was shipped directly to smelting establishments. Tooele County continued to be the greatest field in the State for the treatment of the low-grade siliceous gold ores by the cyanide process. Salt Lake County has become famous for its great concentration mills, which treated three-fourths of the total ore mined in the State. Its mines also yield the largest quantity of ore of shipping grade, which goes directly from the mines to the smelters. Juab County mines hold second place in this respect.

Placer mining along Colorado and Green rivers attracted some attention during 1909, but the production of gold from this source was of little importance.

The variation in the metallic production of Utah during 1908 and 1909 is shown in the table which follows:

Mine production of gold, silver, and associated metals in Utah in 1908 and 1909.

Total tons of ore sold or treated in Utah in 1904-1909, and total content of gold, silver, and associated metals.

Of the nine smelting plants in Utah five were in operation in 1909. Four of them operated during the entire year-the Garfield and Yampa copper plants and the Murray and Midvale lead plants. The Tintic lead plant operated during a part of 1909. All the plants carried on a custom business, except the Yampa, which bought custom ores only for fluxing. Nearly all the ores produced in 1909 were smelted by the Utah smelters; a small percentage of lead ore and zinc ore and concentrate went to Colorado smelters, a car of rich siliceous gold ore to an eastern smelting establishment, and the zinc ores and concentrates to Oklahoma, Kansas, and Ohio. Lessees sorted a shipping product aggregating 1,692 tons from the old slag dumps at Frisco, in Beaver County, and from around the old smelter sites and dumps near Murray. The metallic content of the relatively small amount of slag produced and old tailings treated in various mining camps is included in the total figures.

ORE PRODUCTION IN 1909.

The production of ore in Utah in 1909 was 5,122,589 short tons, including 1,692 tons of old slag sortings and the re-treatment of 57,703 tons of old tailings, one-fifth of them producing concentrate, the remainder gold bullion from treatment by the cyanide process. Compared with the production of 1908, the total production of ore mined and treated increased 1,463,632 short tons in quantity, but in value per ton decreased from $6.40 in 1908 to $6.12 in 1909, mainly due to the largely increased production of low-grade copper porphyries. Production of siliceous ores increased from 352,274 tons in 1908 to 358,116 tons in 1909. The greatest quantity of this kind of ore was produced in Tooele County. Copper ore increased from 2,976,433 tons in 1908 to 4,216,226 tons in 1909. Salt Lake County had the greatest output of copper ore, Juab County following. The production of lead ore increased from 321,417 tons in 1908 to 480,248 tons in 1909, Salt Lake County leading in production, with Summit County following. Zinc ore increased from 99 tons in 1908 to 3,264 tons in 1909. The ore is a zinc silicate and is mined principally in Tooele County, though some has been produced from mines in Beaver County. Copper-lead ore decreased from 6,734 tons in 1908 to 4,460 tons in 1909, the decrease being largely due to reduced shipments of this class of ore from Bingham. Lead-zinc ore increased from 2,000 tons in 1908 to 60,275 tons in 1909. In this classification are included old tailings of the Park City region, from which a leadzinc concentrate was produced. The average value per ton of gold

and silver in siliceous ore in 1909 was $3.41 as against $3.03 in 1908; in copper ore, 88 cents as against $1.24 in 1908; in lead ore, $10.55 in 1909 as against $10.47 in 1908. The gold and silver content of zinc ore averaged $5.86 in 1908 and was contained in a small output from a Beaver County mine; there was no zinc ore shipped from Beaver County in 1909, and the zinc ore of Tooele County contains no values in gold or silver. Copper-lead ore averaged $12.13 per ton in 1909 against $7.05 in 1908, and lead-zinc ore $3.86 in 1909 against $2.65 in 1908.

Subdivision of tonnage, by kinds, of ore sold or treated from Utah in 1909, by counties, in

Relative production in Utah in 1908 and 1909, by classes of ore deposits.

The gold output of Utah for 1909, as reported by the producers, aggregated 203,491.76 fine ounces, valued at $4,206,548, an increase of $505,161. The gold was principally produced from deep mines located in the Tintic district of Juab and Utah counties, West Mountain or Bingham district of Salt Lake County, and Camp Floyd district of Tooele County. Increases are to be noted in all the districts, except Camp Floyd, where the gold output has been on the decline

for the last six years. The placer production is very small, but developments on Green River give promise of increasing the yield of gold from this source during the next year. Over half of the gold produced in Utah was from copper ores, about a fourth was credited to siliceous ores, and a fifth to lead ores. Milling plants, using principally the cyanide process, treated 287,659 tons of ore, which yielded $824,009, or 19.5 per cent of the total value of the gold produced in Utah, an average of $2.86 per ton. Tooele County is credited with. the greatest yield from gold ores. From 3,771,960 tons of ore treated at concentration mills in 9 mining districts 262,401 tons of concentrates were saved, containing $630,619, or about 15 per cent of the total gold production, and an average value per ton of $2.36. In 1908 there were 2,522,734 tons treated, which yielded 184,052 tons of concentrate, containing $437,851 in gold, an average of $2.38 per ton. There were shipped to smelters in 1909, 1,003,575 tons of crude ore, containing $2,747,898 in gold, an average value per ton of $2.74, as against 786,038 tons of crude ore shipped, containing $2,300,674 in gold, averaging $2.93 per ton in 1908. The gold yield from placer mining in 1909 amounted to $2,525, a decrease of $6,585 from that reported in 1908. Most of the placer gold came from San Juan County and surface placers in Grand County.

Source of gold production of Utah, by kinds of ore, in 1909, by counties, in fine ounces.

Utah ranked second to Montana as a silver producer in 1909, the output aggregating 11,717,172 fine ounces, valued at $6,092,929, at the average value of silver of 52 cents per fine ounce in 1909. This indicated an increase in output of 3,265,834 ounces in quantity and $1,613,720 in value. The output of silver comes mainly from the lead ores, from which source were derived 8,314,766 ounces. Tintic district in Juab and Utah counties produced 6,404,857 ounces, the Park City region in Summit and Wasatch counties, 2,825,385 ounces, and the Bingham or West Mountain district, 1,615,394 ounces. The quantity of crude ore shipped to smelters increased from 786,038 tons in 1908 to 1,003,575 tons in 1909. The silver from this ore increased from 7,148,583 ounces, averaging 9.09 ounces

per ton in 1908 to 9,956,271 ounces, averaging 9.92 ounces per ton in 1909. At concentration mills 262,401 tons of concentrates were made in 1909, yielding 1,748,861 ounces of silver, an average of 6.66 ounces per ton, as against 184,052 tons of concentrate containing 1,273,583 ounces of silver, an average of 6.92 ounces per ton, in 1908. The silver extracted from ore at cyanide and amalgamation mills, at which 287,659 tons were treated, yielded 5,153 ounces, averaging 0.018 of an ounce per ton in 1909. This decided decrease in silver from this source was caused by the closing of the mills in the Gold Mountain district in Piute County. In 1908 there were 313,845 tons of ore treated by cyanidation and amalgamation, yielding 18,662 ounces of silver, averaging 0.059 ounce per ton.

Source of silver production of Utah, by kinds of ore, in 1909, by counties, in fine ounces.

In 1909 the output of copper amounted to 108,947,811 pounds, valued at $14,163,215 at the average price for the year of 13 cents per pound, an increase of 22,103,999 pounds, which was credited. almost entirely to West Mountain or Bingham district in Salt Lake County. Tintic district in Juab County, and Lucin district in Boxelder County supplied the next largest quantities. Seven counties showed decrease in copper output, the largest being that of Beaver. Nearly all the copper was produced at the Garfield smelter and the Yampa plant near Bingham. About two-thirds of the copper produced in 1909 was from the low-grade porphyry ores at Bingham in Salt Lake County and Newhouse in Beaver County. The quantity of porphyry ore mined in those districts aggregated 3,420,288 tons, and yielded concentrates consisting principally of chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and some bornite. The average recovery per ton from these concentrates was 0.16 ounce of gold, 1.54 ounces of silver, and 23.27 per cent of copper. The ores classed as copper ore yielded 95.4 per cent of the total copper; lead ore was credited with 3.67 per cent of the total copper, and copper-lead ore with 0.5 per cent. Siliceous and lead-zinc ores produced minor amounts of copper. Copper ores aggregating 4,216,226 tons yielded an average per ton of 24.65 pounds of copper; lead ores, 480,248 tons in quantity, yielded 8.34 pounds of copper per ton; lead-zinc ores and tailings yielded from 60,275 tons 2.88 pounds of copper per ton; siliceous ores, aggregating 358,116 tons, carried 0.83 pound of copper per