SETTING UP A FORGE.--SELLING PRICE OF THE IRON.
To set up a forge like the one we have described, it is necessary to count upon a first cost of about 10,000 francs. Add to this the cost of 50 hectares of forest to furnish the charcoal that the workmen have to make every day. The cost of this is very variable, and floats between 2,500 and 5,000 francs per 100 hectares. The cost the ore is only that connected with getting it but and hauling it.
Manual Labor.--The charcoal burners receive 1.25 francs per load of 90 kilos, thus bringing the price of the product (including cost price of forest) at 2.4 francs per 100 kilos. The workmen in the furnace are paid at the rate of from 2.50 to 3.75 francs per day. Those that work the hammers receive 3.75 francs, and the assistants 1.25 francs.
Carriage of the Forged Iron.--The iron is carried from the forge to the places of consumption on the backs of mules, and the cost of carriage is, on an average, 0.25 franc per 100 kilos and per kilometer.
Selling Price.--The selling price is very variable, and depends principally upon the distance of the place where sold from the different forges that surround it. At Ouro Preto the price varies between 45 and 50 francs per 100 kilos.
The following is a resume of the data which precede:
Cost of first establishment.................. 10,000 fr.
Charcoal per kilogramme...................... 2.40
{ Furnace men.... 2.50 to 3.75
Manual labor per day { Hammer men............. 3.75
{ Assistants............. 1.25
Carriage of forged iron per kilometric ton..... 2.50
Selling price per 100 kilos................ 45 to 50
--Le Genie Civil.