The new concentrating plants are equipped with more tables than formerly. The concentrates from the tables have a very high iron content, but this can be remedied by roasting. The higher prices in 1923 enabled holders of stored sphalerite concentrates to resume shipment, and more zinc carbonate was mined and shipped from Highland than in 1922, although the quantity was small compared with former years. Only one of the mines owned by the Mineral Point Zinc Co. (the Hoskins) and one of the Wisconsin Zinc Co. (the Champion) were operated in 1923, but shipments of raw and roasted concentrates were made from ore stored in bins at the Penna-Benton, Middi Coker, Rodham, Imperial, and Ida Blende mines. The larger mines and mills operated in 1923 were the Fields Meloy, Nightingale Hoskins, and Champion, at New Diggings; the Connecting Link, at Cuba City; the Dale Rundell, at Mifflin; the Monmouth, at Hazel Green; the Blockhouse, at Platteville; and the Northern Mines Co., at Shullsburg. The Vinegar Hill Zinc Co. was the only one that operated several mines throughout 1923. The concentrates from its mines and most of the raw concentrates made at other plants were shipped to the National Zinc Separating Co.'s plant at Cuba City and the Mineral Point Zinc Co.'s plant at Mineral Point. Exclusive of shipments of concentrates recovered in 1920 and 1921 the mines in Wisconsin produced and shipped about 41,000 tons of zinc concentrates in 1923. The tailings mills operated in 1923 were those of Stadel & Lightcap, at the Cleveland mine; Scott, Cherry & Co., at the Lucky Twelve mine; F. E. Liddle, at the Field Thompson mine; the Domestic Mining Co., at the Champion mine; and the Burr Milling Co., at the Burr mine. One mill at the Connecting Link mine, near Cuba City, was destroyed by fire in June, 1923. It was rebuilt, but the owners operated only one of the two mills for five months in 1923. The Dale Rundell mine, at Mifflin, was operated for five months in 1923 by the Vinegar Hill Zinc Co. and was acquired by Billings & Coward, who operated it the remainder of the year. The roasting plant of the Northern Mines Co., at Shullsburg, erected in 1923, has a capacity of 30 tons a day. For descriptions of the old mines, concentrating plants, and roasting plants on which no essential changes were made during 1923 the reader is referred to Mineral Resources for recent years. ZINC1 By C. E. SIEBENTHAL and A. STOLL SUMMARY Zinc produced and consumed in the United States, 1922-23, in short tons "Primary zinc," which is produced directly from ore, is here distinguished from "secondary zinc," which is obtained by refining zinc ashes, skimmings, drosses, and old metals. The statistics of secondary zine are given on page 82. Wherever in this report the word "zinc" is used without qualification it means primary zinc. Owing to necessary economies in Government printing it has been deemed advisable to omit the notes explaining the tables in these reports. The reader will find the full notes in the chapter on zinc in Mineral Resources for 1918. For the same reason the period covered by the tables has generally been limited to the years 1918-1923, and some tables have been omitted. PRODUCTION PRIMARY ZINC Primary zinc produced in the United States, 1918–1923, in short tons 1 Chapters on zine that were more than ordinarily detailed were issued in Mineral Resources for 1908, dealing largely with metallurgy; for 1915, dealing with the zinc deposits of the United States and foreign countries; and for 1918, dealing with the zinc industry in relation to the World War. Primary zinc produced in the United States, 1918-1923, in short tons-Contd. Apportioned according to locality at which reduced DISTILLED AND ELECTROLYTIC ZINC Selected secondary zinc materials, such as zinc ashes and scrap, carefully redistilled, yield zinc of all grades, which enters the market for practically all purposes. Considerable secondary_material is mixed with ore and used by some regular ore smelters. The quantity of metal so derived can be calculated by the smelters and thus eliminated from the output of primary zinc, but it is practically impossible to segregate the redistilled secondary zinc by grades or in smelter stocks. Hence the smelter stocks as given contain some secondary zinc, and the statistics of production of zinc by grades as given in the table below likewise include secondary zinc. The quantity of secondary zinc included in the graded zinc is given in the first part of the table, which gives the source of the graded zinc by the methods of reduction. Distilled and electrolytic zinc, primary and secondary, produced in the United States, 1918-1923, in short tons • Prime western zinc refined by electrolysis in addition: In 1918, 753 tons. For total production of secondary zinc, see p. 82. ROLLED ZINC The table below includes the exports as shown by the records of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. If the figures showing the exports are deducted from those showing the production plus the imports, the result will approximate the quantity available for domestic consumption. The slab zinc rolled is included in the domestic output as given on a preceding page. The average price of the grades of zinc which are commonly rolled is given for comparison with the average price of rolled zinc. The difference, or "spread," between the average price per pound of grades B and C zinc, which are those used in rolled zinc, and the average price per pound of zinc sheets is given in the foregoing table. During the later part of the World War the great demand for zinc sheets for packing munitions sent the price to a high figure, with a resulting wide difference between the price of sheets and of the metal, reaching over 6 cents a pound. During 1922 and 1923, however, the spread has been 2.2 and 2.3 cents, respectively. ZINC DUST The following table includes zinc dust made from both ores and secondary materials, as well as from slab zinc. To avoid duplication in the column giving "primary zinc recovered in zinc dust," all zinc in zinc dust made from slab zinc already counted in slab-zinc production is excluded. Statistics of the quantity of secondary zinc recovered as zinc dust are given in the table below headed "Secondary zinc." The output of "atomized" zinc dust as given in the table has been revised from previous years to take in a product not heretofore reported. Zinc dust sold by producers in the United States, 1916-1923 The average price of zinc dust, "blue powder," as calculated from sales during the year, was 8.8 cents a pound; "atomized" zinc dust brought 8 cents a pound. "Blue powder" brought a higher average price than "atomized" dust, because much of it was sold in the far West, where higher prices prevailed. The weekly fluctuation in the quoted price of zinc dust is shown in Figure 2 (p. 99). The following operators reported the production of zinc dust in 1923: Bartlesville Zinc Co., Bartlesville, Okla. John Finn Metal Works, San Francisco, Calif. United States Zinc Co., Sand Springs, Okla. ZINC PIGMENTS AND SALTS Zinc forms the base, either in whole or in part, of four white pigments-zinc oxide, leaded zinc oxide, zinc-lead oxide, and lithopone. Two zinc salts, the chloride and the sulphate, are likewise made in part from ore and in part from secondary zinc. Details of the production of zinc pigments and salts and of market conditions are given in the chapter on lead and zinc pigments and salts. The zinc content of the pigments and salts made in the United States from ore, both domestic and foreign, for the period 1918-1923, is given in the table below. Statistics of the secondary zinc recovered in the form of pigments and salts are given under the next heading. Primary zinc content of zinc pigments and salts made in the United States, 1918–1923, in short tons Secondary zinc recovered in the United States, 1920–1923, in short tons |