Arizona citizen., 1878-04-05
The Future Or Copper MIntn,, and
 Smelling on the Pacific Coast.

ing to the Mining and Scientific Press
 am surprised to find that SO little
 progress has been made on the Pacific
 coast in thIs most important branch oi
 mining. In 1872 I visited Calavera.
 county and the mines about Copperop
 oils, and saw there all the elements
 necessary for carrying on successful
 operations, both as to mining and
 smelling; at the same time did not
 find that the requisite practical expe-
 rience existed in all the branches oi
 this business. The mines certainly
 were well worked, according to gener
 al practical experience, and one of the
 important departments in the reduc.
 ton of copper ores, had been attempt.
 ec, namely, the mechanical concentra-
 ton Of ores to a higher percentage.
 But this operation had not been plan
 ted according to the most improved
 systems. Especially, I noticed an ab-
 sence of automatic cOntrivancies, so
 important in carrying this operation
 on in an economical manner. The
 next defect that struck me was the ab- sence of furnaces, which, according 10
 long experience in Chile, is considered
 the corner stone of success in the cop
 per business. The concentration of copper ores by mechanical means very seldom raises the percentage thereof over 22 per cent. The consequence is, four and half 10 five tons, instead of one ton, have to be freighted to San Francisco and thence to Europe.
 The great profit of copper mining is made, first, by mechanical concentra- ton to D or 20 per cent, and then smelling this ore to 75 per cent, where
 by freight is ecOnomized on four tons. This alone would constitute a great profit. This operation is carried on in Chile in reverberatory furnaces with wood fuel; very often of a most infe- rior kind; the writer having had to smelt copper ores Tn some localities with a species Of sage brush which ex- ists in the deserts of northern Chile. 1 The great advantage of this class of smeltIng, is the small outlay in plant, not exceeding, at most, $1500, and | with that amount the daily smelling of 15 10 20 tons of ore per day is carried thus concentrated to about four tons or matter of 70 per cent, a daily economy in freight of 15 tons. It has been found in Chile, the great est copper producing country of the world, that copper mining, in itself, is seldOA remuneratIve, although there are exceptional cases. When copper ln England was sold for $40 ton, profits were made on ores of 20 per cent. shipped to England. However, those times are gone by, and for years past few shipments of ore have been made from Chile to that country, even when concentrated. Copper mining and smelling in Chile is looked upon by merchants and bankers as the saf- est kind of mining, ranking in this re- ;pect with ordinary commercial trans actions. This business, however, is here so thoroughly and practically understood by most copper miners, hat capitalists do not consider that it involves much risk, provided they are lealing with honest miners.
 It is well known in Europe, that the yreatest fortunes have there been real zed both by natives and foreigners en- ,aged in the copper business.
 CHILEAN COPPER SIILLIoNAIREs.
 Last week We heard through the I press of the death of a Chilean mil ; ionaire, Don Augustin Edwards, who ' caves fortune of $25, ,000, having f leld the monopoly of copper for years. s Don Jose Thomas Urmeneta has a $ ortune of about S16,OOO,OOO, acquired l trough his copper mines in the Dis ricl of Tamaya, Province of CoquimbO, i where he has splendid smelling works a nd about forty furnaces MT. Charles | lambert, another copper millionaire, C rrived in Chile in 1850, poor man. c Ie died last year leaving $5, 5,000,000, in 1 iard cash, besides his mines and smelt- S ng works in Chile and Swansea; these ' 'eing but few of the many successful U operators in the copper mines of that i ountry that might be mentioned. By ray of illustrating the richness of the res there, I give you the following acts touching the production of the sosario mine, in the district of Ia laya, CoquimbO, for nine years - aaching from 1866 to 1875 inclusive, + The average percentage of metal con- V lined in the ores during this time, f. -as nineteen; tons raised, 1000; value, 4 f ,393, 12S, or, in round numbers e650,- q %. When I was on this mine in il .ugust, 1876, the production for that h louth was 940 tons, average assay 21 O CT cent. MT. Urmeneta's mine, close n ,i this and on the same vein, has pro- n uced thrice the above amount-1S0,- n % tons, of an average of g per cent. q uring fifteen years. I could give you f
 great many more examples of like il urport were it necessary.