ut, together with details of ore
disclosed in development work, and the working costs, give the
ground data upon which any stockholder who takes interest in his
investment may judge for himself. Failure to provide such data
will some day be understood by the investing public as a _prima
facie_ index of either incapacity or villainy. By the insistence of
the many engineers in administration of mines upon the publication
of such data, and by the insistence of other engineers upon such
data for their clients before investment, and by the exposure of
the delinquents in the press, a more practicable "protection of
investors" can be reached than by years of academic discussion.

CHAPTER XIX.

The Amount of Risk in Mining Investments.

RISK IN VALUATION OF MINES; IN MINES AS COMPARED WITH OTHER COMMERCIAL
ENTERPRISES.

From the constant reiteration of the risks and difficulties involved
in every step of mining enterprise from the valuation of the mine
to its administration as a going concern, the impression may be
gained that the whole business is one great gamble; in other words,
that the point whereat certainties stop and conjecture steps in
is so vital as to render the whole highly speculative.

Far from denying that mining is, in comparison with better-class
government bonds, a speculative type of investment, it is desirable
to avow and emphasize the fact. But it is none the less well to
inquire what degree of hazard enters in and how it compares with
that in other forms of industrial enterprise.

Mining business, from an investment view, is of two sorts,--prospecting
ventures and developed mines; that is, mines where little or no ore is
exposed, and mines where a definite quantity of ore is measurable or can
be reasonably anticipated. The great hazards and likewise the Aladdin
caves of mining are mainly confined to the first class. Although all
mines must pass through the prospecting stage, the great industry
of metal production is based on developed mines, and it is these
which should come into the purview of the non-professional investor.
The first class should be reserved invariably for speculators, and
a speculator may be defined as one who hazards all to gain much.
It is with mining as an investment, however, that this discussion
is concerned.

RISK IN VALUATION OF MINES.--Assuming a competent collection of
data and efficient management of the property, the risks in valuing
are from step to step:--