[144] Increased to 10,000 flasks in 1919.
The Konia mine, in Asia Minor, reverted to the Turkish government in 1912, but its output, as previously noted, is inconsiderable.
The quicksilver mines of the Monte Amiata district, Italy, although less obviously illustrative of political control than those just mentioned, should perhaps be referred to in the present connection. German capital has been dominant in their development in the late years before the war, and the most productive mines are credibly reported to have been owned wholly or in part by the German Emperor. With the entry of Italy into the war they were seized by the Italian government. The Italian mines produced about 28,000 flasks, of which from 12,000 to 15,000 flasks were purchased by the British Admiralty.
COMMERCIAL CONTROL
Under present practice the reduction of quicksilver ores is almost invariably at the mine, both mine and reduction works being under the same ownership. They must therefore be considered together for the purpose of the present inquiry.
The most conspicuous example of commercial control is that exercised by the Rothschilds of London, who do not own the resources that give them this pre-eminence. The yield of the remarkably rich Almaden mine, whose annual output surpasses that of any other mine and in 1916 exceeded that of any country except Spain (whose ore, even when carelessly worked, yields quicksilver at low cost, and whose known reserves are large), enables the Rothschilds, in time of peace and subject to the minimum fixed price in their contract, to determine the price at which quicksilver shall be sold in the world’s markets. Another but much smaller factor in making London the leading quicksilver mart of the world is the control by British capital of the principal mines in the Oviedo district, in northern Spain.
In the United States, the country which ranks next to Spain as a producer of quicksilver, the mines are all owned by corporations or individuals, and so far as known, there is at present no formal combination or understanding between these owners to control output or sales. Some years ago most of the leading producers in California formed the Eureka company, which acted as selling agent and to some extent was able to control prices. Often referred to by those outside of it as the “quicksilver trust,” this organization was abandoned after a brief existence. The firm of Haas Brothers, of San Francisco (distinct from Haas Brothers, of New York), took a leading part in the Eureka company, and since its dissolution has fulfilled many of the functions that the company was to perform. The firm owns stock in the leading mine on the Pacific Coast and acts as selling agents for the New Idria Quicksilver Mining Co., whom it charges 1 per cent.[145], whereas it charges others 2¹⁄₂ per cent. It also buys the metal for itself, usually from the smaller producers, at prices generally much below the current market quotation, and is to supply operators with empty flasks, but only on condition that Haas Brothers shall buy the product or sell it on commission. Other brokers who handle important quantities of quicksilver on the Pacific Coast are Atkins, Kroll & Co., and the Braun-Knecht-Hiemann Co., both of San Francisco. So far as known these two firms have no ownership in quicksilver mines and sell only on commission.
[145] This connection is reported to have been broken in 1919.
The quicksilver mines in Texas are owned by American citizens or American corporations. The ore from each is independently worked and the quicksilver is sold by the individual producers.
The mercury deposits of Mexico are owned, as far as is known, by native Mexicans. British capital is probably interested in some of the larger mines. The formerly productive quicksilver mines at Huancavelica, Peru, have been purchased by E. E. Fernandini, of Lima, and may again contribute to the world’s supply.