Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-01
w. A. CLARK ON COPPER.

United States Senator w. A. Clark of
Montana arrived last night from the
north and is a guest at the knutsford
for a few days, says the Salt Lake Tri-
bune. The senator is here to consult with
his Ophir mine superintendent, L. w
Clark. relative to the progress and re-
quirenaentS of the work there. Although
the ores in that section are comparatively
low grade. concentration has made their
handling profitable, and at the senator's
properties a plant is being completed
which will handle 100 tons of ore per day.
In referring to this last evening Senator
Clark remarked:
" have been delayed by inability of
manufacturers of machinery to supply
orders. The demand everywhere is so
great that orders must be given four to
six months ahead in order to insure at
ttntion at a certain time. Our plant at
Ophir will be all in complete and running
order by Jan. ], and conditions there are
such that we can duplicate the plant at
any time. But as l ave just arrived, and
AVE not yet seen my superintendent, I
can not give any detailed information
When asked as to his opinion of the
status of the copper market, Senator
Clark remarked: There has been, it is
true, a slump in copper, but that is only
temporary. But for the wal in the Trans
vaal that country would have yielded
500, 600, coo in gold this year to the worlds
circulation. and the shortage due to the
war has had a tightening effect on the
money market. This in turn has exerted
a depression on the metal markets. Cop
pei. did fall one cent, and this has had
ce1tains effects. noticeably IN the values
of the 100. eco, 600 pounds annual output of
the alurlet & Iecla, which Would be
thus affected to the extent of 81 ,000. 900 if
the decline continued. However, the pro-
duction of copper in this country for the
current year was 10 per cent above that
for 1898, and it is fair to assume that the
production for 1900 will be an additional
10 per cent. The consumption, however,
has more than kept pace with the produce
ton, which has resulted in a diminution
of the worlds visible supply of copper.
An illustration of the is as
follows: There is an increased demand
for munitions of war into which copper
largely enters. Then the German emperor
wants a larger navy. This will notice.
ably increase the demand for the metal
as it is so marked a factor in warship
construction. The German enlargement
will inspire a corresponding development
in the French navy, and that will stimu-
late copper production to meet this de-
mand. Moreover. the electric plants are
mighty consumers of "copper", although
lliiS great illunSllS Is dS YET III us liz
fancy. Why, do you know that London
and Paris are as yet without electric all
ways?'
Senator Clark takes a very hopeful
view of the general industrial outlook
of the country. to whose status he has
given an intelligent attention which has
given him a critical insight into varied
commercial conditions. That he is thor
oughly identified With, and an effective
n rrnmnter IF the va riOl1S hr1 nchpc of tho
mining industries of the west, is evident
from the fact that he owns the great
United Verde mines at Jerome, Ariz.,
which are producing 800. 600 pounds of
fine copper per month He also owns and
operates the extensive coal mines at
Clarkville. N. NJ. where the output Will
shortly be 1000 tons per day. 1t is here,
as we'll as at the Montana coal proper
ties of the senator, that the most complete
coal mining machinery in the world is
being operated. The Santa Fed road de-
rives a large share of it's coal from
Clarkville. The Montana property will
also be producing 900 tons daily ere long.
Senator Clark has a million invested in
a fine sugar beet plant and beet land
near Los Angeles which is doing well.
M then to turn again this way he has
secured a promising silver-lead mining
property at Sunset peak in the Occur
: d'Alenes, where he is about to drive a
2.000-foot tunnel into the mountain, tap
ping the mine at $50 feet in depth. This
will completely drain it to that depth
and enable a tralmway to be built into
the heart of the mine. The Northern Pa
cific road will build a spur to the tunnel,
thus greatly facilitating operations.
Senator Clark has numerous valuable
properties besides his vast Montana hold
ings, so that his hands are full. How
ever. he has secured trained and capable
superintendent to administer these prop
critics. so that his attention will be left
free for his senatorial duties. He goes to
Washington some time next month.
Senator Clark began as a Colorado
miner in 1862, and has acquired not only
a splendid mastery of the practical oper-
atoms of mining, but also of the techni-
calities of metallurgy and mining engin-
eering, which are acquired generally only
by protracted study in schools of mines
and institutes of technology.