Mining

Title

Mining

Creator

Brimo, Henry A.

Language

English

Year

1954

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Revenue Carloadings by Class Group Commodities August—Tonnage 1954 1953 Products of agriculture...................................... 6,292 4,946 Animal products.................................................. 344 870 Products of mines............................................... 1,462 1,210 Products of forests.............................................. 8,802 14,549 Products of manufactures................................. 24,813 17,277 Merchandise less than by carloads................ 8,004 12,031 Total............................................................... 49,717 50,883 There were 42 items treated in this review, with 23 items registering increases of 11,048 tons, while 19 items registered decreases of 12,214 tons, resulting in an aggregate decrease of 1,166 tons. The principal items which accounted for the increase were: cement, 5,831 tons; copra, 1,644 tons, iron and steel products, 629 tons, and centrifugal sugar, 563 tons, or a total aggregate increase of 8,667 tons. On the other hand, the important items suffering decreases were: lumber, 4,933 tons; merchandise less than by carload, 4,027 tons; and logs, 828 tons, or a total aggregate decrease of 9,788 tons. The resulting aggregate decrease of these items was 1,111 tons. The decreased carloadings for the month of August, 1954, will continue probably in the coming month as the unfavorable business in the United States, although de finitely arrested, will react favorably only after some time. Our retail trade has also slackened not only due to weak transactions but also due to the adverse effects of the recent retail nationalization law which has already caused the quitting from business of some alien firms. However, in spite of these unfavorable factors, the intelligent and energetic efforts of the new management assures the Railroad of continued favorable business, slight declines notwithstanding. Mining By Henry A. Brimo Presiden t Philippine Gold Producers Association, Inc. SOME interesting statistics concerning gold production for past years are available. These figures show that total world production (excluding Russia) for the past four years has been virtually unchanged. In 1950, the total production reached $845,000,000, and in the following year it declined to $827,000,000. The 1952 and 1953 totals were $851,000,000 and $850,000,000, respectively. Compared to the 1941 pre-war record of $1,265,600,000, the total 1953 world output was only 67% as large. This decline should not surprise anyone familiar with the gold situation, considering that the gold price has been fixed at $35 per ounce for the past twenty years in the face of con tinually rising costs. What may be considered surprising is that world production has remained at a standstill for the past four years notwithstanding the many measures adopted by every gold producing country (excepting only the United States) to help their respective producers. Such aid includes tax relief, outright subsidies, multiple ex change, devaluation, sales in internal premium markets, etc. It is quite apparent, therefore, that no aid, short of a higher price for gold, can stimulate increased production. Just how badly world production would have fared had such relief measures not been granted can be gleaned from the record of American producers whose 1953 output of $69,600,000 was only 33% as large as their 1941 record of $209,200,000. Philippine gold mines, since 1941, have fared worse than the producers of any other nation with the sole ex ception of the United States. In 1953, our gold mines yielded a total of 480,000 ounces of gold bullion, a rate equal to 40,000 per month. This output is a fraction less than 40% of the 1941 production rate of slightly over 100,000 ounces monthly. This extraordinary poor showing, despite govern ment help, is due to many causes, but principally to the vast destruction suffered by the industry during the late war. Several mines and mills which suffered considerably through deterioration and bombing have not resumed operations and may never get back into production; others have found conditions so difficult as to limit their rehabilitation and current operation to well below their pre-war operating capacities. Other reasons exist to account for our poorer showing, as compared to world production, including a more than average increase in operating costs, a general impoverishment of known ore-reserves, and the lack of new mines or new gold fields. We may mention as an exception, in passing, the fact that the Samar Mining Company expects to begin production of its wholly owned gold mine at Masara, Davao, sometime next year. This would open a completely new territory for gold operations in the Philip pines, the first such in many years. It is noteworthy that the International Monetary Fund, in recent announcements, has specifically mentioned two formidable obstacles being encountered by gold pro ducers, namely, high operating costs and labor unrest. Canada, particularly, whose producers suffered a sharp 9% decline in gold output in the past year, blamed labor diffi culties for the temporary closing of several of its mines in 1953. It is apparent, however, that labor problems will continue to plague the industry. In a world of rising prices and wages, the gold-producing industry, faced with a pegged income, and already straining its financial resources merely to stay in production, certainly is in no position to meet further demands for higher wages. This is particularly true in the Philippines. 't’he long awaited subsidy authorized by Republic Act No. 1164 has still not materialized. Just when it will begin is problematic but it should not be long. Gold prices, meanwhile, have remained very steady throughout the past month and currently the price is at approximately Pl 10.40 per ounce bullion. Lumber By Pacifico de Ocampo Secretary-Treasurer Philippine Lumber Producers’ Association, Inc. DURING the month under review, August, 1954, the Philippines exported 38,663,011 bd. ft. of logs and lumber, 21,014,288 bd. ft. less than the preceding month. The big decrease was due to the drop in shipments of logs to Japan, from 40,324,261 bd. ft. in July, 1954, to 22,293,508 bd. ft. in August, 1954, or a decrease of 18,030,753 bd. ft. The exports to the United States and Canada decreased by 1,893,134 bd. ft., from 6,871,272 bd. ft. in July, 1954, to 4,978,138 bd. ft. in August, 1954. Ex ports to all other countries also decreased by 1,090,401 bd. ft., from 12,481,766 bd. ft. in July, 1954, to 11,391,365 bd. ft. in August, 1954. The following are logs and lumber in bd. ft. inspected for export during August, 1954, as released by the Bureau of Forestry: Shipper Destination Volume in Bd. Ft. Lumber Logs Aguinaldo Development U. S. A. 25,400 248,820 Corp..................................... .... Japan 1,075,062 Agusan Timber Corp........... .... Japan 2,000,000 American Asiatic Co............ .... U. S. A. 9,040 Anakan Lumber U. S. A. 50,000 156,922 Company............................ .... Japan 500,000 Atkins Kroll 8s Co., Inc.. . . 2,066,200 Basilan Lumber U. S. A. 560,425 315,871 Company, Hawaii 73,281 Inc..................................... .... Hongkong 137,400 384

Media