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III. Mining

The following are the statistics of the metallic products of the United States in 1890 (long tons, 2 240 lbs.; short tons, 2,000 lbs.) :- Metallic Products.

Quantity.

Value.

Dollars Pig iron, spot value, long tons 9,202,703 151,200,410 Silver, coining value ($1.2929 per oz.), troy oz. 54,500,000 70,464,645 Gold, coining value ($20.6718 66 ), " 1,588,880 32,845,000 Copper, ¹ value at New York City, pounds 265,115,133 30,848,797 Lead, " " " short tons • 161,754 14,266,703 Zinc, " " " " 63,683 6,266,407 Quicksilver, value at San Francisco, flasks 22,926 1,203,615 Nickel, value at Philadelphia, pounds 223,488 134,093 Aluminium³, 66 “ " 61,281 Antimony, value at San Francisco, short tons • • 129 40,756 Platinum, value (crude) at New York, troy oz. 600 2,500 Total value 1890, .

Total value 1889, - 307,334,207 -- 269,391,487 1 Including copper made from imported pyrites. 2 Including nickel in copper-nickel alloy, and in exported ore and metal. 3 Including aluminium alloys.

The following are statistics of non-metallic minerals for 1890 :- Non-Metallic Products.

Quantity.

Value.

Dollars. long tons 99,392,871 110,420,801 " Bituminous coal, Pennsylvania anthracite, Building stone, Lime, Petroleum (crude value), Natural gas, Cement, Salt, Limestone for iron flux, S. Carolina phosphate rock, Zinc-white, Mineral waters,.

All others, • Total, 1890.

Total, 1889. • 41,489,858 61,445,683 - 54,000,000 barrels¹ " 60,000,000 28,000,000 45,000,000 35,000,000 - 20,000,000 barrels 8,000,000 6,000,000 " 3 3 8,776,991 4,752,286 . long tons " short tons gallons sold 5,521,622 2,760,811 510,499 3,213,795 - 1,600,000 11,321,878 2,338,140 5,477,674 - 335,009,190 --- 307,882,575 3 Of 280 lbs. net. 1 Of 200 lbs, 2 Of 300 lbs. for natural cement, and 400 lbs. for artificial Portland. The total value of the specified mineral products in 1890 was thus 642,343,397 dollars, the corresponding value for 1889 being 587,474,069 dollars. To each of these sums the official statement adds 10,000,000 dollars as the estimated value of unspecified mineral products. The following statement, taken from a census bulletin, shows the condition of the iron ore mining industry in 1889, as compared with that in 1880 :- - Value at mines. Capital employed. Persons employed. 1880, 1889, Production.

Long tons. 7,120,362 14,518,041 Dollars.

Dollars. 23,156,957 33,351,978 61,782,287¹ 109,766,199 31,6681 38,227 In regular establishments.

Of the iron ore produced in 1889, 5,856,169 long tons were from Michigan; 1,570,319 long tons from Alabama; 1,560,234 long tons from Pennsylvania. In the same year 853,573 long tons of iron ore were imported, and the total consumption was 15,733,465 long tons.

The total production of gold and silver (coining value) in the country was as follows during each of the years from 1887 to 1891 :- Year.

Gold.

Silver.

Total.

Dollars.

Dollars.

Dollars. 1887 33,100,000 53.441,300 86,541,300 1888 33,175,000 59,195,000 92,370,000 1889 32,886,744 66,396,988 99,283,732 1890 32,845,000 70,464,645 103,309,645 1891 33,250,000 74,820,000 108,450,000 The precious metals are raised mainly in California for gold, and Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Montana for silver. The total value of gold deposited at the mints and assay offices from 1793 to 1887 is estimated at 1,334,609,150 dollars, and the silver at 423,655,811 dollars.