Arizona republican., 1894-01-07
Southwestern Arizona
 Without a Rival.
The Extensive Works at Clifton and Morenci.
Description of the Arizona
 CopperCo.'s Leaching Plant
The Only One in the World and
 the Business of Copper Mining

Special correspondence of THE REPUBLICAN.
 CLIFTON, Ariz., Jan. 5.-Seventy- miles southwest of Lordsburg, N. M., is Clifton, one of the great copper camps of Arizona, and in many respects a place of peculiar interest aside from the immense mineral wealth of the aG Gjacent mountains.
 The town is located on the San Fran cisco river, fair sized stream of con- stant water and tributary of the Gila river.
 The first location in the camp was the Longfellow mine, in 1873, and during the past twenty years the out put of the great mines has been nearly 200,000,0 ,000 pounds of copper. The mines are owned and operated principally by two great companies, viz, The Arizona Copper company and The Detroit Mining com pany.
 Of these the interests of The Arlzona Copper company are much the greater, as they own eighty claims, and at pres- ent are operating thirty mines. Their mines are divided into two great groups, the Longfellow and the Met calf, the former of which is SIX miles from Clifton, and their system of works is interwoven with those of the Detroit company at Morenci. at which place both companies have large stores and extensive hoisting and mining works and machinery. Three miles above Morenci is the Metcalf group of mines, where from 200 to 400 men are kept em- ployed in mining Here they all work by contract and they receive as remu- neration certain percentage of the out put, according to the value of the ore taken out.
 A pony railway with 8 twenty-inch gauge connects all these mines with the reduction works at Clifton. This road is wonderful piece of engineering and the grade throughout is three per cent, while at the foot of the Longfellow m1ne is an incline where everything runs by cable. This incline is 220O feet and runs up at the grade of 2800 feet to the mile, while near the Metcalf is another in- cline that rises 3300 feet with about the same slant.
 The Detroit company produ last month 300 tons of copper, which was smelted in the camp. Their output is about 4,000, ,000 pounds 8 year, and ur to date they have produced 50,OO0, ,OOO pounds.
 The Arizona Copper company has in the same period produced a much larger amount, as previous to 1883 theil output had reached 30,000,000 pounds and since that time 62,0OO,OOO pounds more. Their heaviest output was last years. when they produced 8,200, ,OOO pounds.
 Two hundred and fifty tons of ore are treated daily at Clifton by the smeltel and concentrator, while the teaching plant treats 100 tons of tailings that carry AZ per cent. copper from the refuse of the concentrator, thus using up the old dumps of waste matter.
 The teaching works is the only one ot the kind in the world and has only beer in operation since October 23, 1893, but it has been paying since the first day o its running, and thus marks the begin ming of a new era in copper mining, at lower grade can be treated than by any other process.
 Through the kindness of James Col ouhoun, the superintendent of botf mines and reduction works as well as o