858 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1985 
 
WORLD REVIEW 
 
 Despite the decline in U.S. silver production, world mine production of
silver was essentially unchanged, owing in part to production from new mines,
especially gold mines that produce byproduct silver, to the continued need
by some developing countries to earn foreign exchange for debt repayment,
and to the strong U.S. dollar, which moderated the impact of the declining
silver price on foreign earnings. Exploration continued to be very active
for gold deposits; however, exploration for other sources of byproduct silver,
such as copper, lead, or zinc deposits, or for primary silver deposits was
limited. Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Peru continued to be the countries
where most of the silver-bearing discoveries were reported, although there
appeared to be increasing interest in exploring the islands of the Pacific
Basin for precious metals deposits. 
 Total consumption of silver by market economy countries was estimated at
382.6 million ounces, an increase of 11 million ounces over the revised figures
for 1984. Of the 382.6 million ounces consumed, 373.9 million was used in
industrial applications, an increase of 11 million ounces over the 1984 level.
The quantity of silver used for coinage, 8.7 million ounces in 1985, was
the same as the revised estimate for 1984.24 
 The total silver required by all market economy countries including the
United States for industrial use and coinage, for bullion stocks, and for
net exports to centrally planned economy countries exceeded their primary
production by 106.3 million ounces. The shortfall was met with silver obtained
from the following sources: old scrap, 72.2 million ounces; outflow from
stocks held in India, 25.7 million ounces; demonetized coin, 3.0 million
ounces; and withdrawals from government stocks, 5.4 million ounces. Estimated
net exports to centrally planned economy countries was 1 million ounces.25

 Australia..—Aberfoyle Ltd. reported that over 260,000 tons of
ore
was produced at the Que River Mine in Tasmania, a 19% increase from that
of 1984.26 Ore grades at the zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold mine were 14.2%
zinc, 8.1% lead, 0.4% copper, 7.4 ounces of silver, and 0.1 ounce of gold
per ton. During 1985, additional equipment was purchased to expand the mine's
capacity to over 330,000 tons per year. Employment at the mine increased
to 333 from 315 at yearend 1984. 
 Development work at Aberfoyle's Hellyer 
deposit continued. Cozistruction of a 4,000foot adit for underground exploration
of the ore body reached the midpoint by yearend and was expected to reach
the ore body in mid-1986. Laboratory testing on drill core samples indicated
that flotation would probably be the most practical and economic process
for treating the fme-grained polymetallic ore even though achieving any significant
gold recovery from the ore would be difficult given the refractory nature
of the gold content. Conversion of the nearby Cleveland tin mill to a trial
milling facility for Hellyer ore continued and was expected to be completed
by mid-1986. The mill was to have a nominal capacity of 11 tons per hour.

 The British Petroleum Co. PLC reported that the Teutonic Bore Mine was closed
owing to exhaustion of reserves. Silver production increased to nearly 1.14
million ounces from 1.06 million ounces in 1984. 
 At its Zinc Corporation Mine and New Broken Hill Consolidated Mine, CRA
Ltd. reported that 2.46 million tons of ore was produced in 1985, compared
with 2.06 million tons in 1984. Both mines were at Broken Hill in New South
Wales. CRA decided to close the 47-year-old Zinc Corporation concentrator,
and to upgrade the New Broken Hill concentrator so that it could treat the
ore from both mines. An agreement was reached with the New South Wales government
that would allow the mines to be connected to the New South Wales electricity
grid, subsequently allowing the closure of CRA's oil-fired power generating
station. The closure of the concentrator and the power station were expected
to significantly reduce future operating costs. 
 Following agreements near yearend 1984, which allowed CRA to buy the interests
of its two partners in the Woodlawn Mine, CRA completed the acquisition in
early 1985. An exploration program to test the feasibility of extending the
mine's life as an underground operation following exhaustion of strippable
reserves was begun during 1985. Ore production was 1.03 million tons in 1985.27

 Production began at the Kidston Mine, a gold operation with byproduct silver,
on March 1. The Kidston Mine was operated by Kidston Gold Mines Ltd., a 70%-owned
subsidiary of Placer Development Ltd. The mine was operating at design capacity
by midyear, and at yearend, mill throughput was averaging 15,300 tons per
day. During the first 10 months of operation, 4.16 mu