The Anaconda standard., 1899-03-26
From the London Financial News.

lotdl pTOuuctlon ol copper WAS oiliy
153,959 tons, and two thirds of this came
from three sources-Chili, the Peninsula
and the United States. Only one other
country showed an annual yield of over
10000 tons Of copper, that being Ger
many with 10000. Australasia had not
yet attained to the dignity of a five
figure tonnage, though she did not fall
far below that mark, being accredited
with 300 tons. In these days the lead
of Chilli seemed well assured, her pro-
duct being 42,916 tons compared with
S6,313 tons from Spain and Portugal
In the face Of statistics like these it
was not wonderful that Chilli bars fur
nished the market with it's standard of
value, and it is only within a few years
that the more comprehensive good
merchantable brand has displaced the
older conventional standard. The year
1882 was the last in which Chill boasted
a pre-eminence; but the succession did
not fall permanently to the Peninsula.
which looked like her most formidable
rival. In 1881 Spain and Portugal just
got in front, thanks to a squirt of some
with a premonitory decline of 5000 tons
in the Chilian quota. In 1882 Chilli got
momentarily to the top again, but by
this time the then territory of Montana
had entered the lists, and gave the
United States second place. A year
later Montana turned the scale once
and for all in favor of North America,
ha ,rir mol in
the United States 51,57O tons, the Pen
insula 446o7 tons, Chilli Al, ,O99 tons, Ger
many 1853 tons, Australasia 10000
tons, Japan 1900 tons, the Cape 5000
tons, Russia 4,40O tons, and Venezuela
4,01S tons.
A cursory examination of the statis-
tics of the principal copper supplies
compiled annually by Messrs. H. r.
Merton & Co. goes some distance to-
wards disproving the assumption that
a great rise in price is necessary to
bring new sources of copper production
into operation. Only two recruits were
brought in evidence for the first time in
1887. when there was a tritiing advance
in prices as a preliminary to the huge
jump engineered in 1883 by the Secretan
syndicate. These new producers were
the Boleo mines in Mexico and the Tilt
Cove in Newfoundland, which helped to
swell comparatively unimportant con-
tributions made for long time by 9TH
er mines in the same countries Going
back to 1880 again we find that, besides
the two we have mentioned, the only
districts which to-day are prolific of
COPPER, and were not known in that ca
Montana, Arizona, and the "other
states'' of the union whose production
is not specifically set out in the statis-
tics. From this it may be inferred
that any addition to the supplies of the
metal which may be called into being
by the constant growth of CONSUMPTION,
and by the advance of prices to what
promises to be a permanently higher
level. must come from regions already
known as copper-bearing. All the new
copper properties that have recently
claimed the suffrages of investors are
situated in districts previously known
favorably as producers of the much
desired mineral. 1t Is certainly signifi-
cant that the list of prominent copper-
producing countries or districts should
not have been capable of expansion
since the wear preceding the great
rig" while. on the other hand, several
then worthy of classification have eth
er disappeared altogether or have
maintained with difficulty a precari-
ous foothold in the statistics,
Taking the list alphabetically, the de-
cavine nroducers are Algeria. Areen-
tina. England. Hungary, yigsnaes in
Norway. and Sweden. With these may
he ranked Chill. whose 1880 quota of
close on 5000 tons dwindled down to
under 5000 tons last year. Algeria
never was of much Importance. the
production of 600 tons attributed to her
in the three wears immediately sue
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