New-York daily tribune., 1846-01-15
Copper.

Copper.
The recent movements or the shores OF Lake Su-
perior among the rich veins OF Copper which are
found there indicate intention on the part OF GER
tain companies TO p1sh their advantages 10 the ut
most Already the lake itself, hitherto remote and
secluded sea- has been reached by number OF sail
ing and steam vessels carried over land by Yankee
ingenuity around the falls of the Sauit Ste Marie,
where, but for the miserable delays OF Congress q
ship canal would long ere this have been constructed
And here we take the opportunity OF saying. tina,
our Representatives at w ashington have on this
subject, shown themselves most insensible TO the
public welfare. y short canal that would cost but
little, has been asked for again and again nation
al work of commercial and military Importance,
that would add vastly 10 the wealth and power OF
this country, has again and again been allowed TO
fail in the halls of the National Assembly, while
hours, and days, and weeks could be devoted 10
most pitiful and absurd questions, and demagoguism
rail itself of breath phantons designed TO be
raised and magnitied upon the screens exhibited to
the amazed constituency residing in Buncombe.
What the general good could not induce Congress
10 DO we presume private iaterest will now accom-.
plish Spectators, with pockets full OF ROCKS,
are already crowding TO Washington, and we hope
,hev will aim their missiles with such dexterity as 10
knock over all objections TO the proposed canal
The Copper Mines Of Lake Superior distance
those of any other portion OF the globe. Ihey con-
tain boundess treasures they will OF necessity be
outlet from the lake.
Copper is mineral of extensive use and of great
value and though we see it every day, and carry II
in our pockets, when the goddess OF Liberty Is
stamped on its surface. we are not all aware OF Its
Importance Indeed, the simplest things, and those
with which We are outwardiy most familiar, are not
always the best understood
What is Copperf The mineralogists tell US it is
metal of beautiful red color. Qnd much luster.
1t is malleable and ductilc, and when rubbed and
warm has peculiar smell. Its tenacity is so great
that wire one tenth OF inch in diameterwll sup
port nearly three hundred pounds weight. Its spe-
cifc gravity is ss and fuses at 1885, Fahrenheit
Its uses are various and important 1t is made into
coin; covers the bottoms of our stately ships; 1t
is manufactured into steam boilers, into domestic
utensils and tubes of every size; it is employed in
the making of coors, and the composition OF medi
cines.
It's allows are familiar to in bronze, bell-metal,
brass, German silver, speculum metal, and pinch
beck Ii is commodity which enters largely into
the fabrics sold by license of the Corporation at
the renowned auction shops of Peter Funk d Co.
and its is as extensive as the wants ana the EN-
ploynents of mankind.
Where is this valuable article chiefly found
In almost every part of the world. and particular
y in combination with sulphur We IND It In Eng
land, Germany, Sweden, Siberia, France, Spain,
Hungary, Norway. Ireland, Chill, Cuba Brazil and
the United States.
and secondary formations and sometimes it is OBJ
tanned in native masses of great purity and large di
mensions. One mass, weighing 1865 pounds, has
been found in Brazil; and another, famous In our
own history, was discovered in the bed OF the On
tonagan river, and has been carried to Washington,
where it has been safely deposited In the Patent
Office.
The supplies obtained for our own consumption
have hitherto come principally from South America
and England, furnishing the material for an active
and valuable trade.
The mines of England were not much worked
before the last century. and their location is princi
pally iu Cornwall, where the ores excavated are
combined in nearly equal proportions of Copper,
Iron and Sulphur, called Copper Pyrites. We
told by an authority before US, that mines also
exist in Devon, Anglesey aud Stafford. In conse.
uuence however of the want of fuel in Devon and
Cornwall, it is said the ores are carried up the
Swansea and Meath, in South Wales, to be smelted
there.
The proportion of Copper yielded by these ores is
small in comparison to what is obtained at the Lake
Superior mines, being but or per cent We learn
of the progress OF the business from the
following facts:
In l775. Cornwall produced about 1886 tons in
sOO 5l57 tons in 1920 1864 TONS and in 1888 IL 527
TONS The total quantity of Copper made in la40
throughout the United Kingdom, was l6.50O tons
The annual value of this product, estimating each
ION to be worth from four hundred to five hundred
dollars, is 81, SOC, 600.
The quantity produced has been sufficient for the
wants of Great Britain, and has allowed a small eS-
portation besides, although the quantity SO exported
is said to be annually decreasing In 1889 the guam
,ity sent abroad was estimated at 1918 hundred
weights in the following forms
Unwrought in Pig. l6555I!n Wire. ..;;.------: 80
In shee;, Nails &c. -12a 9s7 Wrought Copper in
In Coin -...... 762l other shapes ..-.-..I4l0
The countries to which these articles were ship
ped, were China, the Eas, Indies and the United
States; Germany, Holland, Canada, West Indies
and Brazil.
or late years much ore has been taken from other
countries 10 be smelted in England In 1889 the
total was 6O3 eo2 cwt, of which 346,o4s came from
Cuba and ls2, ,664 from Chill. Of the Copper thus
smeted from foreign ore, s4,567 cwt went TO France,
and the residue to the Netherlands and the United
States.
That en- entire change in the Copper business is to
follow the workings of the rich mines Of Lake Su-
perior we do not doubt Some of the localities are
valuable beyond 1.-The dreams Of avarice y others
will prove to be of little worth. NY. Telegraph.