Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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E&MJ; 150 YEARS 78 E&MJ; • JUNE 2016 www.e-mj.com Similar to the mining industry, Engineering & Mining Journal (E&MJ;) survived the market swings of the Roaring '20s and the Great Depression. There was a huge sigh of relief as the world recovered from World War I. Germany and Britain had monopolized much of the minerals they imported for the war effort. As the rest of Europe, mainly France and Belgium, began rebuilding smelters and factories, the search for new sources of minerals extended into Africa, Canada and Latin America. During this period, the mining sector witnessed signifcant growth and mechanization. In the U.S., for the frst time, more Americans were living in the city than rural areas where farming and mining were tak- ing place. A huge disconnect grew between these two societies, which resulted in the gain and loss of some freedoms related to a wide-spread anti-immigrant movement. By the end of the 1920s, 12 million American households had radios. Fashion swept the nation with the fappers and it and the Red Scare found its way into the pages of E&MJ.; During the 1920s, the world witnessed a mining engineer and self-made mining magnate, Herbert C. Hoover, make the leap from industrial titan to humanitarian to U.S. president. The Guggenheims sold the Chile Exploration Co., which operated the Chuquicamata mine, to Anaconda Copper. Newmont became a publicly traded company. A major copper deposit was discov- ered in Rhodesia (Zambia) just to the south of the border with the Belgian Congo, which set off an epic battle between copper cartels. Dr. Hans Merensky discovered the platinum reef in the Transvaal (the Republic of South Africa). Harnischfeger made its frst mining shovel and Bucyrus merged with Erie Steam Shovel to form Bucyrus-Erie. The excitement that had been building through the 1920s would wane as the U.S. stock market crashed in October 1929 and banks begin to fail. Similar to the recent global fnancial crisis, the mining industry thought it was insulated from the loss of paper wealth. As the economic depression set in, the mining business discovered it was a lagging indicator. Copper consump- tion declined precipitously, causing market shifts. Kennecott Copper acquired Utah Copper. De Beers idled its diamond mines as demand dried up. Hoover couldn't save the economy and he was replaced by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who put in place several programs to restart the U.S. economy, one of which was fxing the price of gold at $35/oz up from $20/oz. Shortly after E&MJ; celebrated its 50th anniversary (1916), John Hill died and the remaining Hill Publishing Co. properties, which included E&MJ;, merged with McGraw Publishing Co., to form McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. E&MJ; would remain with McGraw-Hill until 1988. Rossiter Raymond saw E&MJ; celebrate its 50 th before he passed in 1919; the journal was his life's work. That same year, J.E. Spurr took over as editor from Walter R. Ingalls. Following World War I, he sensed the importance of the international aspects of the mining industry and refected that conviction in the pages of E&MJ.; He expanded the mar- ket reporting service of E&MJ;, and publicized the marketing of metals and minerals. In 1927, A.W. Allen was appointed edi- tor. He launched a series of special issues of E&MJ; devoted to great mining enterprises and important mining regions. During his tenure, the frequency of the publication changed from weekly to monthly and he launched E&MJ; Metal and Mineral Markets as a weekly market information and metal price service. In 1933, H.C. Parmelee was appointed editor and he was still managing E&MJ; when the title celebrated its 75 th anniversary in 1941. A Historical Year E&MJ; January 17, 1920—NINETEEN-NINETEEN was the "Year of the Armistice" following the Great War. In the United States, superfcial war prosperity has continued, with rising prices and a rush for luxuries on the part of those people able to buy, and re- acting from war thoughts and duties. In Europe, there has been the exhaustion, which is the aftermath of war fever, industrial paralysis threatening bankruptcy, and starvation. The swing of the pendulum from German and Russian militarism, and from Miners Persevere During Good Times and Bad E&MJ; reports on advances between the two world wars By Steve Fiscor, Editor-in-Chief During the 1920s, the size of open-pit mining equipment grows appreciably.