El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-10
THE COPPER INDUSTRY
Our Country Produces More Than
Half of the Copper of the World

hall OF the copper OF Tie WoTIo
From Public Opinion
The rapid growth of the copper in
dustry in the United States and the
large proper tion which this country
supplies of the worlds copper cousump
| ton Is illustrated by some figures
presented by German pu blicatiOn en-.
titled "a Century of "copper"" a trans
lation Of which has just reached the
| treasury bureau Of statistics. 1t shows
that the United States has during the
decade, 1S91-19O0 produced more than
half of the copper of the world, while
| in the preceding decade 1t snDDiied
| but about one-third of the worlds pro-
duction, and in the decade 1871 80 the
proportion supplied by the United
STATES was only about one-sixth of the
total.
The growth OF copper production In
the century has, according to this
statement, been very rapid, being in
the fret decade 81, 900 tons, in the fifth
decade POI, O00 tons, and in the tenth
decade which ends with 1900. 3,643, 600
tons of which l. 963, 900 tons is supplied
by North Anerics. the large proper
ton Of this being from the United
States.
The greatly increased demand for
this material is further ILLUSTRATED by
the fact that, although the production
has increased from sos, 900 tons in the
decade l85l'60 to 1858 600 in the
decade 1891 1900, the average price, &C.
cording to the publication q question,
has only fallen from fill per ton to
ESP per ton, production having during
that time increased more than six-fold,
while the price fell but about one half.
While the worlds prod uctiOn has in
creased with startling rapidity during
the century, that of North America
hss by far outgrown all other parts of
the world, and it Is apparently throush
the enormous supplies of North Anne
rica-ohiefiy the Uai,ed St.tes-thst
the worlds production has so gressly
Increased. A table contained IN this
pu blicasiOn, which gives the prOduc-
tion of each decade by principal count
ries, shows no record of production in
North America ear Ter than the
decade 184l- so, in which period the
total prod ucti"n is given at 2, 400 tons.
while in 1S51-'6O 1t was $1,000 tons:
in 1861 10, 81 600 tons: 10 lS71-'sO, 1885,
600 tons; in 1SSl-'9O 73O,O tons: and
in 1891 1900. l, 1863, 900 tons. the copper
production of North America n the
decade 1891 1900 being thus two 40 d
half times as great as in the prece d.
ing decade, aod ten times as great as
in the decade 1S71-'SO.
In soc matter OF cOnSum OGlOn L0 @
figures are equally interesting. A tab g
showing the consumption of England,
France. Germ any, and North America
gives the total consumption in those
four cou tries at 400 5S3 tons in 1899,
against 26S, 447 tons in 1898, being an
increase of about SO per cent during
the period under consideration; While |
in North America alone the produc-
tion il given st II, 433 tons in 1893 and |
1872 600 ton in 1899, the growth being |
over 100 per cent during the period.
The rapid increase in the share of |
the worlds copper consumption sup
piled by the United States is illustras-
I'd by the export figures of the decade |
just ended, which show that the ex-
porsation of copper ineots, bars, and |
plates. which in 1880 amounted tn 90 |
237, 400 pounds. was 10 1899 254 9S7 l64 |
POI nds, while the total value of copp. |
exported, Exclusive of ore, increase d |
from 81 $40 392 in 1890 to S35, 9S3 81 |
in 1850