The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-05-29
Money Mlk n COPPER.


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/. Mines asa he wealth TAsv usvs
MaAs s.A Arc nskiaG &C. ownsss
NEW YORK. May q - The Tribune
says. The rfse Ia the price Of cor
. pound TO y cents. coupled With
the avowed attampt to fierce II W to -
cents, has drawn attention - the sources
from which the worlds supply OF the
metal is derived. Twenty years age the
total annual product was about l51eeo
long tons. of which Chile furnished near
~ one-fhird t4s4eW. Spain ana Portugal
together . plump afth (sa1al. aaA the
United States less than onousixth CA3e
tcns). After 1873 the output 81 ChHe de.
cisned. and the United States soon paused
her. Spain and Portugal slowly increased
their yield, but this country easily cut
stripped them. 20 that Ia 1SS3 the United
States led the processisn and produced
sne4ourth 81 the total. Two years later
her share was one third, and BY ioe the
proportion had been raised TO one half.
Since that time there has been but lite
tie change. The American percentage Is
slightly and slowly gaining, however. In
deed. there have bean years when the
only observed increase In the total amount
OF copper mined was that OF the United
States, the gains In one foreign country
being offset by losses in another. At pres
ent the principal producers, aside from
the United States. are Spain. Portugal.
Chile twhose remaining ores are all OF
low grade). Japan. Germany and Austria
liza.
In this country copper ID fairly well
- 10 - nj
duction are Michigan. Montana and Ari-
zona. Moreover. In each OF the three the
region that Ia most productive Is very
limited. Along the southern shore OF
Lake Superior there Ia narrow belt not
over . hundred miles long. In Montana
tho most noted mines are confined to
single township. Arisona's copper u aps
parentiy more scattered than Nontana's.
but not 80 much 20 as Michigan's.
The Lake Region First Worked.
The Lake Superior region was the first to
b. worked. Copper mining In Northern
Michigan dates frSm lste-a tribe over
cades that district monopolised the indus
try That 10 to say. from seven -elghths to
nine-tenths Of the whole American output
came from Michigan. The moet famous OF
the mines there was the Calumet and
Aecia, owned almost exclusively In Bosr
ton. It has produced from one-haif to
two-thirds Of the copper Of the lake re-
eion for long time. The company orig
inaily controlled the richest ore deposits In
that part Of the country. But the mining
laws o6 Michigan grant ownership straight
downward from surface boundaries. and
are paramount to the Federal law, which
Mould have authorized the Calumet and
Heeia Company to follow Its vein slant
wise under ground. Hence certain new
comers. notably the sTaA.arack Company.
were able to invade the older corporations
treasure and share IT, The Atlantic,
Franklin and Kearsarge are among the
other principal producers In Michigan.
Twenty years ago Arizona began 10 forge
20 the front and for time she held the
second place In 1859 she furnished one
Attn of the whole output Of the United
States and a third as much an Michigan.
Montana passed her the following year.
The most noted Arizona producers are the
Copper Queen. United Verde and Old Dor
niniou companies.
The Montana mines are situated at
Butte. That accurate and much-auoted
authority In mining matters. Charles
Kirchhoff. editor OF The Iron Age says
that the veins are located within a rect
angie tive and half miles long and one
mile wide. The largest producers here are
the Anaconda. owned for many years by
MsSSTs. naGStI- bdAy, lSsfs q AiedISt. Ihc
Hoston T. Montana, tho Butte & Boston.
Ciark's Coiusa and the Parrot. Montana
passed Michigan In the race for supremacy
In 1857 BY 1852 she WAS able 10 furnish
cne-haR the amount mined In the United
States and one-quarter OF the whole supply
OF the world.
This proportion has not been fully MAIN
tanned for the last two or three years. but
Montana stili holds the palm. Last year
r-4AA
tens OF copper. Of which Montana contrib
u.ed 81 400. Michigan 7o.sS2, ana Arizona
is.eSs AL, az the rest Of the country com.
bined produced only 1900 tons. The Ana
conda mines Yield from cne-half 20 three.
fifths Of the whole amount obtained In
Montana. They arc The largest producers
OF copper I'm the world In 1890. when the
output Of the Anaconda system reached
100, 90. go pounds, Calumet and Hecia min
ed only about SIS eao.ooe pounds. OF late
the disprcpersion has diminished. but the
Michigan company still remains In the
rear.
Metal In Different Combinations.
It is somewhat curious fact that the
three principal regions hero mentioned as
yielding the American supply Of copper
find that metal I'm different combinations.
In Michigan the mixture with other metait
il mechanical. not chemical: and when tho
rock 10 ground and washed. the residue is
a high grade OF metallic copper For a
ieng time lake copper was the best In
the werla ana set the price fer other pro.
ducevs. In Arizona the ores are oxides
that II. the metal ss combined with oxy-
gen. which can be driven eff by smelling
with coke. very rich product IL obtained
By this operation. Tire Montana ores are
suiphursls. ana thu separating and smeit-
ing methods employed herewith leave a
mass 81 matte" only 50 or s. per cent
fire. This Is then sent 20 renneries for
pasraiisation- For many years the Amer.-
can matte vent 20 Europe fer this rur-
pose. Bas the deveiorrren, ~ cheap ~y~-
terms az aieesroiytts refining five or SIX
years ago. together xith American enter.
prise. made Il possible 10 conduct the work
on tais side of the Atlantic For a time
the principal rsfnsytes here were in the
East. beat Montana now rsfsnes a large
A.