Mexico — The Treasure House 



497 



Metal Production of Mexico 



1SS3 



1 887 



1893 

 1S94 



1897 



1900 

 1901 

 1902 

 1903 

 1904 

 1905 

 1906 



Gold. 



1989,160 



858,909 



936,223 



956,000 



1,183,000 



867,000 



614,000 



824,000 



974,000 



700,000 



767,000 



1,000,000 



1,147,500 



1,305,000 



4,500,000 



5,600,000 



6,075,108 



7,121,189 



8,236,720 



9.277,351 



9,409,063 



10,329,316 



10,153,100 



10,677,500 



12,605,300 



15,261,200 



16,250,000 



Fi'ie ozs. 

 19.334,707 

 21,265,052 



22,465,430 

 22.720,004 

 20,944,185 

 24,674,011 

 25,356,196 

 28,867,830 

 31,789.739 

 42,657,583 

 39,127,481 

 40,723,598 

 45,333,786 

 44,071,851 

 46,730,151 

 50,890,267 

 41,373.835 

 54,052,647 

 56,859,076 

 55,032,838 

 55,804,420 

 55,152,340 

 60,176,604 

 70,499,942 

 60,808,978 

 54,652,893 

 54,500,000 



Copper. 



Met. tons 



407 



339 



408 



497 



295 



378 



254 



2,083 



2,811 



3,841 



4.396 



5,209 



7,916 



9.607 



".959 



".958 



11.338 



11,553 



15,919 



19,310 



22,473 



33,943 



36,357 



46,040 



51,760 



70,010 



61,706 



for several j'ears. They are often widely 



separated by lean ore, a condition which 



Lead. has caused the failure of many compa^ 



nies lacking means to continue working: 



Mel tons. Under disadvantageous circumstances. 



Water has often caused failure or great 



expense, especially when old-fashioned' 



pumps were in use. 



At present the most productive silvef 



and gold mines in Mexico are at Guan- 



■•|_'.og ajuato, El Oro, Pachuca, Santa Eulalia, 



28^636 Parral, and Zacatecas. At the first- 



25.570 named place there has been rapid devel- 



22,399 opment; about 2,000 tons of ore a day 



|°'J,, are now produced and 650 stamps are 



60J525 dropping in the various mills. The 



57,000 crude, wasteful methods of the past have 



68,000 given place to modern ones. Ores 



„j'g°° carrying 20 dollars a ton, which formerly 



71*442 yielded only a small margin of profit, 



84,656 are now mined and milled for 10 dollars 



63,827 2i ^Qjj pQj. many ores plate amalgama- 



106*805 ^'^'^ ^"^"^ cyaniding are taking the place 



95,134 of the old patio process, with great in- 



101,131 crease in yield and saving of time and 



^s'^^e expense. The patio process was in- 



' vented in Mexico over three centuries 

 ago and has been used for the greater 



The silver mines of Mexico have been part of Mexico's silver output. In this 



the principal source of her income from process the ore is ground fine in mills, 



mining for over a century, and they are mixed with water, and, after the addi- 



likely to continue their large and grad- tion of salt, sulphate of copper, and 



ually increasing production for a long mercury, it is spread about a foot 



time to come. Some of the old mines deep in paved courts, or "patios," 30 to 



have had phenomenal production, nota- 100 feet square. Here it is stirred for 



bly the group in Zacatecas, which has several weeks by the tramping of horses 



yielded about one billion dollars ; the or mules, so that the silver will combine 



Santa Eulalia mines, 15 miles east of with the quicksilver. When this combi- 



Chihuahua, 400 millions, while several nation is effected the dirt is washed off 



scores of others have many millions to and the heavy amalgam remains. The 



their credit. Some of the' mineral de- latter is collected and the silver and mer- 



posits are over 100 feet in width and are cury are easily separated, 



traceable for long distances across the Gold occurs under various conditions, 



country. They occur mostly in volcanic The principal source has been in connec- 



rocks or in limestones associated with tion with the silver ores, but placer de- 



them. The minerals present consider- posits are worked in the states of Sonora 



able variety and usually are very irreg- and Guerrero. Large veins of gold- 



ularly disseminated. Many large masses bearing quartz exist, and although they 



of rich ore occur, and these "bonanzas," are mostly of low value, eventually they 



as they are termed, have added greatly will add greatly to the output. The 



to the profit and excitement of the min- group of mines in and near El Oro, in 



ing operations. Some of them have the State of Mexico, is one of the largest 



yielded over a million dollars a month gold camps in America, with an output 



