556 



CEMENTS, LIMES, AND PLASTERS. 



it is difficult to make a closer general estimate. Two plants recently 

 built cost as follows: 



4-kiln plant, total cost . . . $287,000 Cost per kiln $71,750 



6-" " " "... 373,000 " " " 62,167 



For small plants of 2 to 6 kilns each such costs would not be excep- 

 tional. For larger plants it is to be remembered that cost per kiln 

 decreases with increase in the number of kilns. The following table 

 of average costs will serve to exemplify this and may be of use as a basis 

 for general estimates: 



2-kiln plant $70,000 to $80,000 per kiln 



4-" " 60,000" 70,000 " " 



6-" " 50,000" 60,000 " " 



8-" " or over 45,000" 50,000 " " 



The distribution of this total throughout the plant may be shown 

 by the following estimate for cost of construction of a 6-kiln dry- 

 process plant: 



Quarry, track, and trestle $15,000 



Crusher and mixing 22,100 



Raw and clinker mills 63,640 



Kiln mill 53,080 



Coal mill 15,920 



Power-plant 63,000 



Stock-house 25,000 



Office, laboratory, etc 10,000 



$267,740 



Total capital required. The amount of capital required to prop- 

 erly float a cement proposition is considerably in excess of the costs 

 of land, construction, etc. The principal causes of this condition are: 



(a) It is within bounds to say that the average cement-plant will 

 not produce a normal cement at a normal cost for a considerable period 

 (varying from 3 to 6 months or even longer) after the plant is first put 

 in operation. Both the machinery and the personnel of the plant 

 will require numberless (though individually small) alterations before 

 good work can be accomplished. The plant must be carried through 

 this profitless and expensive period entirely on its reserve capital. 



(6) It is becoming more and more the fashion among engineers to 

 judge a cement by its past record, and to refuse bids from a plant not 

 possessing a record of success in actual work. Even after the plant 

 is working normally, therefore, steady sales cannot be counted on for 

 some time. The intervening time can, of course, be devoted to filling 

 large stock-houses, but this brings in no ready money to the plant. 



(c) Cement is sold on comparatively long time, while many of the 



