Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-29
A COPPER YEAR.

Inc present year VIII MAKE HhSH va
ter mark for the copper industry, the
closing five months showing ar average
Of a trifle over 49, cents.
The New York sun says the estimated
sales for the last half of, the year, by
the domestic trade to home and foreign
buyers will foot up from 10000 900 to
eco. 900, 900 pounds, while copper mining
for the established dividend payers, has
proven successful beyond precedent. The
net earnings of the copper companies OF
this country for 1900 are estimated at
about $40, 600, 600. While the copper divi-
bends for the same period will aggre-
gate $50, 900, 900.
The production of the United States for
the year 1900 will be about sos. 900. 900
pounds of fine copper, as compared with
5S1 ,34l.440 pounds in 1899. showing the
small increase of 81 per cent This
country is now producing twice as much
copper as it did in 1891, and four times as
much as in 1887. Copper mining was be-
gun in this country in a very primitive
way in the eighteenth entury. 1t was
rot until 1S4S that the United States We're
able to show a copper output of a little
over 1000, 600 pounds. In 1915 Lake Super
ior sent its first shipment of copper to
market, and it consisted of twelve tons.
During hat year the entire United States
copper production was only 224 200
pounds. Five years later it rose to 1.456.-
eco pounds: in 1855, to 6,720,0 900 pounds.
Just before the civil war in 1860 it
ao1p,lnta1 10 1k % 0nD ,p,1n1s a nlIartifN
less than two weeks output at the pres
ent time. Tn 1870 1924, 900 pounds of
domestic copper were produced. and in
1880 the annual production reached So
ABo, 0G0 pounds. Up to 1880 Michigan fur
niShed about 50 per cent. of the total do
nestle production. but shortly afterWard
Arizona and Montana came into promi-
rnence as centers of copper production.
In seven years the copper mines of Mon
tana were so rapidly developed that the
state returned a copper output in 1887 of
IS. $685. II 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 present
year, when the increase is barely one
nl1 VI IL ZIG SH>
beginning of the present century the
worlds production of copper was only
about $4,000, 900 pounds a year., and ~
the middle of the century it had increas-
ed to about As, 900, 900 pounds annually.
In 1880 it was estimated at 344, S6S, 100
hounds: in 1890 it rose to 6O3, $40, 200
pounds. and for the year 1900 it is ex-
pected to reach nearly 100, 10000 pounds,
OF which the United States will furnish
more than one-half. This country will
produce for 1900 an output equal to about
the aggregate production of the world
ten years ago.
Consumption of copper is now on an
enormous scale and in recent years has
increased with leaps and bound until
the problem of future adequate supplies
is a vital one to the large consumers
everywhere. 1t is plain that the tremen-
dous requirements of the next few
years must be met from the present
known sources of copper supply, and
with the prospect of active and expand
ing trade in copper consuming circles the
Industries using this metal are deeply
interested in the close race pro-
duction and consumption. The develop
ments in the past dozen years may be
better appreciated when the fact is con
sidered that although the worlds pro
duction of copper has increased abou
a22, COO tons since 1888, the foreign visible
supplies of copper have decreased since
tha year from 104,091 tons oc Dec. 81
1883, to Is, $50 tons on Dec. Is, 1900. At thu
present time European consumers ar
said to be very bare of stock, and blu.
from hand to mouth as they need, Will,
those in close touch with the trad
abroad report a scarcity of the highe
qua ity of copper for electrical purposes
With such facts in evidence the question
of q sufficient copper output for tn
worlds needs is apparent. While the to
tai copper production of the world dur
ing the nineteenth century is estimate,
at being twenty billion pounds it is
remarkable fact that the process of alb
sorption has left but a comparativel
small proportion of this vast quantit
available in it's original state.