Document rpQmY4Kre99GM5B9D8pvQvMMa

mmmmm t > i i pua HICPUCTTJS IS r.Z UX>aSST A?D EASTga 3TA.TS3* Prascl* Cameron, Vic* President St. Joraph Lead Company 8** Xbrk, 1.7. A* ha* b*en th* eeeo tor &ay year* peat, the Kid-Weat rad Easterr state* ftontlm* to provide approximately hot of our dcoestic min* production. 0. &. Bureau of Vines figures for 1950, recently released, shew production frea these i state* as maounting to 172,000 tons of recoverable lead, act of total 0. S. ala* production of L30.000 tons. The Southeast Missouri "laid Belt* account* for th* bulk of this total, with a 1950 production of approximately 127,000 ton* or 3CJJt at th* domestic ain* production. Th* "Lafed Balt* is practically th* only dnnstlft * acres vf *u*al*uv lewd ursa, 1.-., m this iictrlct prdUt CTO in -hich associated metals occur in such mall aaouats a* to b* ccmoercially ttnlapcrtant* It is, thersfarw, th* district which r*oct* mostquickly to change In th* l**d situation. Th* Tri-Stat* District, located store l&saourl, Kansas rad Oklahoma Join, produced approximately 37,000 tons of recoverable lead In 1950, but th* bulk of this ; production 1s * ty-product in ths mining of *ihc or*. Th* remaining 8,000 tons of production to b* accounted for, Mr* derived fro* sine aininc operations in Vlrgini*, Kew York State, Wisconsin rad Tillnolsp rad to lesser extent fro* fluorspar mining in Illinois and Northern Kentucky. This production, therefore, depend* not as aooh upon what happen* to lead, but rather, : upon th* change* that occur to sine or fluorspar market*. Southeast Missouri production largely cess froa Bine* operated by th* St. Joseph Lend Company, Vine La Uott* Corporation and th* St. Louis Smelting and Re fining Compaiy. These cccpanle* manage properties which hart a history going beak half a century or d o t *. Sinoe ths ores mined are low in load content, present dqr mining involves a high degree of mechanisation. Consequently th* capital invest ment par employee 1s very high, and every effort is made to bold asployneot, rad hence production, et a relatively stable figure. Th* variation in lead promotion from tide district mor* often than not, refleet* change* in grad* of or* rathar than in the rat* of mining. While th* railing price of lead to aoa* extent, alloa* management leewsy In determining th* grade of or* to b* mined, by far th* greeter factor is beyond it* control. (Th* good Lord In his wisdom mad* *am* orebodies rich and son* poor. TTty be did this, I do not know, unless It am* to try ths In genuity of miners.) Our Oorerment, whan it suggest* differential *ub*ldi** for sdnes, pre-suppoaes that it has (Divine prerogative*) or, at lsaat th* Wisdom et Solomon, for by subsidies and pxrlce control*, it prepoee* to make poor or* rlel% and rich or* decidedly last rich. Such program*, which trad to socialist th* mining industry, mmr b* popular with eossusers "ho ere principally concerned with th* stability of price and supply, but I doubt that in th* end, they thsmailva* could long remain untouched by th* long arm of th* advocates of th* new Utopia, tor th* step Is but short on* from subsidising high cost mines, to that at rabeidtslnc th* high cost ssruifactarox - a never ending vicious circl*. ePresented at th* 23rd Annual keeting. Lead Industries Association, May 17-<18, 1951, New fork, 8.1. at th* Panel Discussion of Lead producer*. * fwp mm m mmmmm w^'iiyiiipiiiw mw LIA162 55 \ f \ f I .n*---kqdsgM _........................... _ ........................ - 3 -............... _ shown no eatorlal varlition, oxeopt durir.j tho war yoars,ehcn exploration and dereiopoont ecro eurtailod in a patriotic desire to reintain production In tho fbo o of a s brinkir-g labor supply. In other words, onough nnr oro to replace that klnod, haa nonaally boon found oach year to as to maintain approximately tho rtatus quo. X think inaofar u load la coneorood, that such tho asao altuation will bo found to exist all ever this country, end I venture to icy, that if oro roaorro ostimatoe were compiled today on tho aaao batla end by tho saoo authors as they *oro cospilod a few years back, tho result would show only a slight change) and that thia change light be tyward rathox than downward* Thcro is little doubt but that Boat of the major orobodioa which outcroppod and hence could be easily detected, have boon found* ftowvor, X eonfldont that there exist* in aay of tho najor sinorsliied dlatrlcta of this country, other de posit# which will be found ty those with sufflciont courage and resources to cocti oi* the search* Prospooting today requires skilled personnel, largo expenditures of risk oney and infinite patianee. the now Indian Creek win* of our ccetpaxty, to which X hare Bad* reference, la a case in point. Thia deposit was located only after a wjr cstehrir; drillis; ---- criici * -r-1--* tic -- -- * * *----- ^ -**. ^ * -- -- ---7- dollars, and only after three years of constant effort, coupled with a considerable asount of luck. Finding en orebodr today, requires detect!r* aorfc of a high ordorj for lmaswrabla false trails hors to bo eliminated before the right due can be found* What will hart the outlook for future dcausatic load supplies wore then aq^ thing else, 1s s sustained period of low eetal prices, coupled with tho lock of e favorable tax climate, this oountry, I really bellsre, enjoys an adequate supply 0 of oil, and has a "hire not* fabling regarding notala, largely because the oil pro* <hicing industry for years has enjoywd s fair and fsvorable tax structure which has attractad risk aonoy, while tho position of tha slning industry In this respect, has been relatively unfavorable* It is not ey intent to suggest, by what I have sold, that tho lead resoureoe of this oountry are unlimited, for it is obvious to everyone that doom*tic protection plus scrap, cannot eoct our pcst-var roquircocnta* Bswevcr, 1 do wish to laeva with you tha thought that tha donaetie lining industry can furnish reasonable supplies of now aetal, so long as it can continue to operate profitably, and froc free oppressive tax and Oovcmeent regulations* ! 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