The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-03-17
FOR A CUSTOM SMtLTER.
An Eloquent Plea for the Copper
Miners by Prot. o. {.
Morrison.
One of the Finest Openings Ever
Offered to Enterprising
Capital.

Ject of a custom copper smelter here,
Prof. o. G.. Morrison said to a TRIBUNE
reporter:
at is remarkable that though Mon
tana leads all other states in the copper
product-from smeltcrs land soon to be-
from ~retineries only a fraction of / per
cent of the copper properties are now
worked and developed. The cause is
not far to seek. 1t is in the scientific
methods and costly plants now used for
the production of copper. which involve
so vast an outlay for smelters and re-
i%ineries. This sum is not always at the
command Of the average mine wner or
mining company. Thus mining prop
critics almost innumerable lie idle year
by year. some patented, some having an
nual assessment work done, but all un-
productive, because why? Because there
is no custom copper smelter in Montana,
and the majority of claims will not yield
a profit if long and costly transportation
has to be used.
'In Colorado this is obviated by a GUS
tom smelter at Denver, which | have
visited, and there ] found the identical
character Of ores were treated which are
here laying idle and unproductive; and
yet at Denver | saw ores which had been
transported for treatment all the way
from New Mexico and Arizona.
ION the other hand Montana with in
Vulnerable copper properties lying idle.
has not within her boundaries a single
custom smclter to supply a long felt
want, and which if in existence would
find it imperative to constantly enlarge
its works year by year to treat the ores
offered.
Taking Butte and vicinity, can it be
said that the Anaconda, Boston IL Mon
tana, Butte IL Boston, and the Parrot
companies comprise the sum total of the
copper mines of Butte? Most emphat-
ically no! There are plenty of copper
mines there, which, with a liberal rail
way rate, would gladly ship to a home
market opened up to them by a custom
smelter.
In the question of a home market,
however, the first question arising with
the miners would be: where can we
get the highest price for our ores!" The
answer is: Wherever your ores can be
treated the cheapest" This can only be
J done where there is abundance of water
for concentration, the cost of power for
crushing and electricity reduced to a
minimum, and the site of such smelter
to be at or near some railroad center.
This question is easily solved, for there
is only one such place in Montana, and
that is Great Falls.
AT Great Falls is unlimited room for
expansion Of any works to be erected, L
water power of such unlimited vastness.
.bat it is only a question of development
to supply any amount of power required,
coal of the best quality for smelling pur-
poses within a few miles, and abundance
of the best tluXing materials close at
hand.
Nov, the foregoing is not theory nor
is it supposition, the gigantic copper
plant Of the Boston d Montana company
the cost of which is in the millions) was
not built here, and now in running order,
on supposition. 1t was built after an
exhaustive examination of the merits of
various localities, and the site wds chosen
because at this point copper ore can be
treated at the minimum cost. This dem
onstratcs the fact that Great Falls fills
lllo DiIl tS bclDS tlt bDy'CllNt punt III
treating copper ores. Otherwise those
works would never have been built.
| consider that Ut Great Falls pur"
copper can be produced from the raw
material at Il reduction of Il, to > cents
per pound at least over any other point
in the state of Montana.
But Butte is not the only copper camp
in Montana. Let us look around at
cAy,n ~ h arS p1DpN nf ,,hiph url nnurnr
home. some only being two hours ride
by railroad from Great Falls, and we
shall find that the amount Of available
production is not known because Of non
development.
On the Montana Central railway at
Wo.f creek. in the Prickly Pear canyon.
are numerous veins of copper ore, con
sisting Of glance, oxides, pvIite. etc,
SOME Of these are Owned 10y tie Great
Falls Mining company aud uasay from -
to 10 per cent copper and carrying silver.
At the head OF the South fork of sun
river large copper deposits have been
long known to exist.
In the East butte Of the Sweet Grass
hills Is IA copper property consisting of
glance which assays GS per cent copper
and from l2J TO 1000 ounces Of silver to
the ton.
In the North Moccassiu mountains
gigantic veins of copper pyrite are found
carrying gold.
In the Belt mountains Barker Is pre-
eminently the copper camp. can name
six mining properties which without fur
thcr Development will yield from l. TO
b per cent in copper and carrying sill
yer. One vein at least is of gigantic size.
e. at two different places half Il mite
apart ! ubseryei it was over thirty feet
in diane er. being ore from wall tn wall.
Dry Wolf creek has numerous proper
ties showing copper, and at n place |
observed that even the porphyry con-
tanned veins carrying copper. South Of
Wolf butte are the properties OF the
Wolf Butte Mining company, which are
essentially copper. carrying glance, car
Donates, and oxides. with silver.
Running Wolf creek has at least two
copper properties, with others in view
with development.
l'ogo is well known for its copper ores
carrying gold. They occur in the form
of pyritc, carbonates and oxides. This