Mexico — The Treasure House 



5^5 



in 1906 of over $12,000,000 (Mexican), 

 of which 80 per cent is gold. 



Some of the Mexican mines pay re- 

 markable dividends. The Dos Estrellas, 

 in the El Oro district, has recently been 

 paying over a million dollars a year on a 

 capital of $300,000, and it is claimed that 

 the Penoles mine has paid nearly 4 mil- 

 lions on $125,000 capitalization. The 

 Real del Monte, near Pachuca, has dis- 

 tributed over 3 millions to holders of 

 2,554 shares. The total dividends of 22 

 prominent paying mines of silver, gold, 

 and copper in 1905-1906 were more than 

 31 million dollars. The Department of 

 Fomento has estimated that up to 1881 

 the total production of precious metals 

 in Mexico had a coinage value of 



$4,553,859. II 3- 



Copper mining in Mexico is rapidly 

 growing in importance, as the figures 

 given on a previous page will show. In 

 1906 she produced about one-twelfth of 

 the copper of the world, or nearly one- 

 seventh as much as the United States. 

 The mines are mainly in the states of 

 Sonora and Lower California, a south- 

 ward continuation of the great copper- 

 bearing zone of the southwestern United 

 States. About 1 1 mines are reputed to 

 produce over a million pounds each a 

 year. It is claimed that the Cananea 

 camp will increase its production this 

 year to six million pounds a month, as a 

 result of a combination of several mines 

 and increased facilities for mining. In- 

 creased developments in Guerrero, at 

 Boleo, at Jimulco, at Panuco, and in 

 Zacatecas, Coahuila, Puebla, and Micho- 

 acan will add greatly to the future out- 

 put. The mines at Cananea rank seventh 

 among the leading copper mines in the 

 world. Most of the copper ores range 

 from 3 to 40 per cent of copper and they 

 often carry gold and silver. Many of the 

 deposits, especially those of moderate 

 richness, are thick, numerous,, and have 

 great length. 



ABUNDANCE OF IRON 



The iron industry is growing steadily, 

 and eventually can supply all Mexican 

 needs and probably furnish products for 



export. At the famous "Iron Moun- 

 tain" in Durango, the ore body is over a 

 mile long, one-third of a mile wide, and 

 rises 200- to 400 feet above the surround- 

 ing plain. The ore body is split by a 

 great intrusive dike, but there are over 

 360 million tons in sight and much of it 

 reaches 60 per cent in iron content. The 

 two great deposits operated for the fur- 

 naces at Monterey are 79 and 120 feet 

 wide and rise in a ridge several hundred 

 feet high. Steel rails and structural iron 

 are now being produced at this place. 

 There are many other large deposits in 

 the Republic, but some of them are too 

 remote from fuel to be valuable under 

 present conditions. 



Lead from Mexico has a value of 

 $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 a year and 

 much of it is a by-product of silver 

 smelting. 



Zinc is constantly gaining in impor- 

 tance as a mineral resource, and this 

 metal and graphite, antimony, and mer- 

 cury have an aggregate value of several 

 million dollars a year. 



The mining laws of Mexico have been 

 improved from time to time, until now, 

 with some recent changes, the conditions 

 are even more favorable and encour- 

 aging than they are in the United States. 

 Foreign investments are amply pro- 

 .tected, especially if they are legitimate 

 ones. There are various taxes on mining 

 properties and output and an export 

 duty on silver. The taxes are thought 

 to be too heavy by some of the compa- 

 nies, but it is believed that probably they 

 will be reduced eventually, so that they 

 will not be burdensome. 



Labor is somewhat scarce in parts of 

 Mexico, which is a serious handicap to 

 the development of mines and other 

 resources. In order to better this 

 condition,- the government is encourag- 

 ing immigration, and it is expected 

 that soon more laborers will be available. 

 Most labor in Mexico is furnished by the 

 half-breeds and Indians, many of whom 

 are not very efficient, according to north- 

 ern standards. They work for long 

 hours and low pay, but require many 

 holidays and other vacations. They 



