The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-12-26

the Year Estimated ut Forty Million
pIy-Developmemt in the Lake Region
Work In New Mines and Old.
The year 1900 has been one or the
most prosperous ever enjoyed by the
copper mining industry, Trade has
been on an enormous scale month after
month, and since the sound money vic
tory in November orders have been
pouring in from consumers In great
volume. The avenues of distribution
have become SO expanded and so nu-
merous that it is now possible for the
American producer to select his mar
ket on either side of the Atlantic with
the absolute certainty of finding plen-
ty of customers. Both foreign and do
nestle buyers are in competition for
the article mined here on account OF it's
superior quality, and the transatlantic
demand is extremely advantageous to
the American copper producer.
Market conditions for copper at pres
ent are decidedly in the sellers favor,
and in fact this has been true for the
past two years. Since December, 1898,
the copper mining companies have had
a period of uninterrupted success.
During the greater part of this time
Lake copper has sold above 16 cents
pound and for months together at over
IS cents. Under the stimulus of an ur-
gent demand for cash copper the mar
ket rose to 10 and 10 Ia, but these val
ues held for few weeks only in April
and May of last year. Recent sales
have been made at II cents pound,
and this price represents the current
market for Lake ingot. For the past
five months the pendulum of prices has
swung between 16 1-2 and II cents, and
on this basis during the last half of
1900 the estimated sales by the domes-
tic trade to home and foreign buyers
are put at from one hundred and fifty
to two hundred million pounds
| Copper mining for the established d.
vidend paying companies is great
success, and the past two years are
without precedent. The mining of cop
per is no longer conducted on the mar
gin of profits prevalent a few years ago
when a great mine like the Calumet
and Hecla only paid twenty dollars
|
of five dollars, against one hundred dol
lars a share for the year 1899, and sew
enty dollars a share in 1900. Mines are
now sending their copper to market at
large profits, and the Improvement Is
| largely due to the increased demand for
copper arising from the rapid introduce
ton of electrical enterprises both the
new and old worlds. Net earnings by
| the copper companies of this country
for the year 1900 are estimated at close
to forty million dollars, while the cop
per dividends during the past twelve
months aggregate over thirty million
dollars.
The production of the United States
for the year 1900 will be about 60S,000,-
900 pounds of fine copper, as compared
with 440 pounds In 1892 showing
the small increase of 262 per cent.
This country is now producing twice as
much copper as 1t did in 1891, and four
times as much as in 1887 Copper min
ing was begun in this country in very
primitive way in the eighteenth 1entu-
ry 1t was not until 1S4S that the Uni
ted States were BILE to show copper
output of a little over one million
pounds. In 1916 Lake Superior sent It's
first shipment of copper to market, and
1t consisted of twelve tons. During
that year the entire United States cop
per production was only 1900 pounds.
Five years later is rose to 1,456,000
pounds in 1855 to 6,720000 pounds.
Just before the civil war in 1860 1t
amounted to 18,12So00 pounds, a guam
tity less than two weeks output at the
present time. In 1870 2S, 224, 900 pounds
of domestic copper were produced, and
in 1880 the annual production reached
60430,oO0 pounds. Up to 1880 Michigan
furnished about SO per cent. of the to-
tai domestic production, but shortly af-
forward Arizona and Montana came
into prominence as centers of copper |
production In seven years the copper
mines of Montana We're so rapidly de- |
veloped that the state returned a cop |
per output in 1887 of ST. pounds, |
or considerably more than the entire |
United States production in 1880 and |
1881
In 1890 the total copper production Of |
this country amounted to 265,115,133 |
pounds, and every year since has wit
messed a large increase until the pres
ent year, when the increase is barely |
one-third of the normal quantity. At |
the beginning of the present century |
the worlds production of copper was
only about Is, 900, 900 pounds year, and |
by the middle of the century it had in
creased to about 45,000,000 pounds annu-
ally. In 1880 it was estimated at 344,
SOS 100 pounds; In 1890 it rose to 603579,- /
200 pounds, and for the year 1900 it is
expected to reach nearly 100000, 900 |
pounds, of which the United States I
will furnish more than one-half. This
country will produce for 1900 an output
equal to about the aggregate produce
ton of the world ten years ago.
The growth of copper production I
throughout the world has, however, |
reached a stage where it is not advan-
cling so rapidly as few years ago, not
withstanding the stimulus of high mar
ket values and consequent large profits.
There are several new copper proper
ties In the course of development, and
these may be expected to enter the list
of copper producers in 1901 and 1902 but
they are not of sufficient capacity to
create great addition to the existing
copper supplies.