About 11 miles from Clarkdale, at no great distance from the Copper Chief mine, is the Monarch mine, an old gold producer, which, with the Sunshine group of claims, was operated by the Verde Mines & Milling Co. The new mill on this property has 10 stamps and plates for amalgamation and 2 vanners. It was run in 1923 on ore for a day or so and produced about $400 in gold bullion, which was not sold. The older 5-stamp mill, which worked the richer gold ore of the Monarch mine, is a part of the new mill and is equipped with a 30-ton plant for cyanidation of the tailing. Water is supplied from springs for mill and domestic use by a 5,500-foot pipe line owned by the company. The mine is opened by a vertical shaft 210 feet deep, an adit 1,600 feet long, and 800 feet of drifts. More than 450 feet of this work was done in 1923. The ore reserve reported by the company is estimated at 43,000 tons, containing from $10 to $30 a ton in gold, of which an average mill test gave $12.50

a ton.

The United Verde Copper Co. produced about 8,000,000 pounds of copper a month, a rate to which it was limited by the quantity of ore that could be crushed for delivery to the smelter. Construction of a new crushing plant 22 was started in 1921 and completed in December, 1923. At the same time the old Hopewall crushing plant, built in 1915 at the mine-tunnel portal, was remodeled. With these new crushing facilities in operation and other surface equipment improved, the underground production of 3,000 tons to a possible 4,500 tons a day will be easily handled. The steam-shovel operations promised a maximum of 2,000 tons of ore a day in 1924. According to the superintendent of the United Verde mine,23 the actual and probable ore is estimated at 11,000,000 tons, including 5,000,000 tons of ore in the shovel and fire areas, with a probable average content of 48 pounds of copper to the ton of ore. From 1888 to the end of 1922 the mine has produced, according to Superintendent Smith, 1,111,971,696 pounds of copper, 563,375 ounces of gold, and 18,406,232 ounces of silver. The cost of making a pound of copper from United Verde ore is distributed as follows: Labor, 3.67 cents; fuel and power, 2.03 cents; supplies, 2.64 cents; freight on bullion, 0.7 cent; refining, 1.15 cents; taxes, 1.98 cents; and depreciation, 0.5 cent.

The United Verde Extension Mining Co.,24 believing that the advance in the price of copper in March and April to more than 17 cents was only temporary, increased its output to a total of 41,855,959 pounds of copper, 257,602 ounces of silver, and 8,992 ounces of gold, recovered from the smelting of 172,629 dry tons of ore. Development in the United Verde Extension and Jerome Verde ground was continued to the 1,700-foot level, where the appearances toward the southeast in the Jerome Verde ground were particularly encouraging. Ore reserves so far developed by the company are above the 1,600-foot level and are estimated at 940,786 tons, averaging 9.97 per cent of copper and 2.05 ounces of silver and 0.031 ounce of gold to the ton. The cost of mining was 2.72 cents a pound of copper

Described fully in Arizona Min. Jour., Phoenix, Dec. 15, 1923.

23 Smith, De Witt, lecture before employees of the United Verde Copper Co.: Arizona Min. Jour., Phoenix, Mar. 1, 1923.

24 United Verde Extension Mining Co. Ann. Rept. for 1923.

produced; smelting, 2.31 cents; freight on ore, 0.08 cent; freight on bullion, refining, and selling, 2.08 cents; and other expenses, 0.08 cent-a total of 7.27 cents a pound. Dividends paid to stockholders amounted to $3,675,000.

At the Verde Central mines 25 development was discontinued in the No. 3 and No. 4 tunnel adits, owing to the discovery of greater mineralization of the greenstone on the 800-foot level, which led to sinking the shaft to the 1,000-foot level. A drift run southward along the contact for more than 800 feet demonstrated the extent of mineralization and revealed larger areas of black schist, nearly all of which carried disseminated chalcopyrite.

Walker district (Lynx Creek). The output of ore from five operators in the Walker district was 9,155 tons, and the bullion from " the operations of five placer producers amounted to $2,356. Most of the ore was milled and amounted to 5,044 tons, which yielded 1,284 tons of concentrates, containing 1,212.21 ounces of gold, 38,014 ounces of silver, 239,087 pounds of copper, and 10,341 pounds of lead. The ore of shipping grade amounted to 3,905 tons, containing 1,114.49 ounces of gold, 39,121 ounces of silver, 199,211 pounds of copper, and 3,179 pounds of lead. Gold and silver bullion was recovered from 206 tons of milling ore. The Sheldon property was the largest producer of concentrating ore and crude copper ore containing silver and gold, which was shipped directly to the reduction works at Humboldt. The mine is opened by a shaft 650 feet deep and has about 4,000 feet of drifts and crosscuts. The Blue John property was worked intermittently, and ore was treated in the amalgamation and concentration mill on the property, yielding gold bullion and lead-silver concentrates. Lead ore was shipped to the smelter from the Express mine, and a small lot of ore of milling grade from the Farnum property produced gold bullion and concentrate at the Blue John mill. More placer gold is annually credited to this district than to any other district in the county. The gold is sent in small lots to the merchants and bankers in the vicinity or shipped directly to the mint at San Francisco. The gold from the different tributaries of the main gulches varies in fineness.

Walnut Grove district.-Several small lots of placer gold were shipped to the mint at San Francisco from the Walnut Grove district and vicinity. Some of the gold had a fineness of 0.905.

Weaver district (Octave).-The St. Elmo and Red Metal claims were operated, and some concentrate containing gold was produced in the 10-stamp amalgamation and concentration plant on the property. In recent years the output of placer gold has been small, but placers are constantly operated by miners who sell the product to local merchants. One operator reported that he averaged about 50 cents a day in gold during 1923. The placer product shipped from the district had a fineness of 0.918 in gold and 0.077 in silver, and most of it was sold to the mint at San Francisco or to travelers for pocket pieces.

Calumet & Arizona Mining Co. Ann. Rept. for 1923.

YUMA COUNTY

The total value of the gold, silver, copper, and lead produced in Yuma County was $989,996, against $514,048 in 1922. The placer production was valued at $1,132.

Castle Dome district.-The Lady Edith and Sonora claims produced lead-silver ore, which was hand sorted and jigged for shipment to a smelter near San Francisco.

Cienega district.-Lessees shipped a small lot of copper ore containing gold from the Carnation property.

Ellsworth district.-Six producers of ore in the Ellsworth district reported the production of 169 tons, all of which, with the exception of 32 tons that was milled, was shipped to the smelter at Hayden. The total ore output of the district contained $1,192 in gold, 2,354 ounces of silver, and 32,344 pounds of copper, valued in all at $7,877. Most of the milling ore was amalgamated, and gold bullion was produced. Ore of shipping grade came from the Apache Chief, Desert, and Congress No. 1 lode, and the ore milled from the operations of lessees on several prospects.

Planet district (Swansea).-The Swansea lease on the Signal property continued to be active, and considerable ore was produced. The greater part of the ore was milled on the property, and the remainder, with the concentrates, was shipped to the smelter at Humboldt. The mine is opened by a vertical shaft 750 feet deep and has about 1,500 feet of drifts and crosscuts. A 400-ton concentration mill is equipped for flotation only.

Plomosa district. The Dutchman property, 5 miles west of Bouse, was worked, and a small quantity of gold ore was treated in an experimental mill equipped for amalgamation. Near Quartzsite a little placer gold was recovered by dry methods. The resulting bullion had a fineness of more than 0.900 in gold and was sold to merchants in the vicinity or shipped directly to the mint at San Francisco.

GOLD AND SILVER

(GENERAL REPORT)

By J. P. DUNLOP

PRODUCTION

DOMESTIC PRODUCTION

Approximate distribution, by producing States and Territories, of the production of gold and silver in the United States in 1923

a Gold valued at $20.67+ a fine ounce. Silver valued at 82 cents an ounce the average of the Pittman Act price ($1 an ounce) January to June and of the New York price July to December.

The figures in this table were obtained through cooperation between the United States Bureau of the Mint and the United States Geological Survey and were agreed upon after conference and adjustment between the two bureaus. They are therefore final for both.

The totals are based on bullion deposits in the United States mints and assay offices and on returns to the Bureau of the Mint from the smelting and refining companies. The distribution is adjusted by means of information collected by the United States Geological Sur

vey directly from the producing mines and tabulated for the mine 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 ore and matte exported for reduction. The last item is small.

Increase or decrease in production of gold and silver in the United States in 1923

Domestic smelters and refiners produced 798,202 fine ounces of gold and 74,448,854 fine ounces of silver from foreign ore and bullion, an increase of 72,921 ounces of gold and of 10,267,927 ounces of silver compared with the corresponding figures for 1922. The foreign ore came mainly from Mexico, Canada, and Peru.

The value of the new gold used in the arts and industries in the United States in 1923 was $40,013,175, compared with $36,321,649 in 1922, and the quantity of new silver used for such purposes was 28,355,171 fine ounces, compared with 31,286,531 ounces. The consumption of new silver in the arts and industries in 1923 was equal to 39 per cent of the domestic production, and that of gold to 77 per cent of the domestic production. In addition to the gold and silver derived from foreign and domestic ore and bullion, $29,279,070 in gold and 8,469,806 fine ounces of silver were recovered from old jewelry, dental waste, silverware, and other old material.