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 JUNE 2016 • E&MJ; 81 www.e-mj.com f ne grinding for f otation, however, comes the problem of the greater increase in power consumption. Mining and the Great Depression In an article titled, "Metal Industry Suffers Little from Wall Street Crash" on November 2, 1929, it's clear in hindsight that the E&MJ; editorial team has not grasped the magnitude of the situation. "More persons felt the shock of the drastic decline in securities in Wall Street, which occurred late in October, than ever before in the history of the stock market... "Wall Street, observers frequently point out, has a way of curing its own ills, but unfortunately the process of restoring the market to a healthy condition is not always a painless one… "The mining industry, and more particularly the non ferrous metals division, is in position to face the future with composure. At no time in the history of the industry has more intelligence been applied to the production and marketing of metals. Some errors in judgment may have been made in carrying out the plans for placing the mining industry on a sounder economic basis, but, everything considered, the industry has made substantial progress, which should continue despite any Wall Street specu- lative crashes." Little did the editors of E&MJ; know how wrong they were; by 1933 half of the U.S. banks would fail. Fast forward to 1937 and E&MJ; Editor H.C. Parmalee opened the year with "The Trend is Upward." In it he discussed how the mining business was f nally seeing signs of recovery. "In 1936 [metal mining] en- joyed the best year since 1930. At least one must go back that far to f nd comparable prices for the common non-ferrous metals. And even the markets were declining, while now they are rising. In fact, they have more than me the prophecy of a year ago. He discussed price increases in cents per lb of about 50% and declining stocks of a similar rate, and compares it to the dark days of 1932-1933. He cautions E&MJ; readers that the increase in prices has been brought about by a speculative boom in Europe, which is becoming engulfed in what will be World War II. "World gold production in 1936 rose to 35.5 million oz and established a record for the f fth consecutive year. It showed a rise over 1935 of about 13.5%, the most important increases occurring in the U.S.S.R., the U.S., the Transvaal, and Canada. The past year was relatively uneventful for silver, ex- cept for a marked increase in production. World output of silver is estimated at 246 million oz, and increase of about 15% over 1935. "More than any other industry, metal mining is international in scope and inf uence. Pools, cartels and agreements testify to this fact, as does the investment of capital. Hence the well-be- ing of the industry depends more and more on the play of inter- national forces. The present outlook, barring the catastrophe of war, which observers are inclined to agree is not imminent, is for a prosperous year in mining throughout the world." The hardship brought about by the Great Depression eventu- ally fuels a rise of extreme political movements. FDR support- ed Britain and France as they geared up to defend themselves against the Axis Powers. The situation overshadowed E&MJ;'s 75 th anniversary in 1941. A few months later, the Japanese would bomb Pearl Harbor and drag the U.S. into the conf ict.