New-York tribune., 1902-06-22
COPPER IN PERU.
BIG INVESTMENT IN MINES AND EN-
TENSION OF MEIGGS RAIL
WAY To REACH THEM
-z-ron7 sr4r-7I ,-7r-a-1ondeut Of The Tribunel

~ q
Lima. Peru. May -. 1902
7-t,. ..--sa1,s 90 q marty Of engineers arrived
here from the United states TO lay out line
FOR rho 4zte~sion Of the famous Croya railway.
which is to he made to Cerro De Paseo. pre-
r,aratorv 10 the development by American cap
fraI If what IS said by some engineers TO De the
largest single deposit OF copper in the world
The money for this great enterprise Is pelhs
furnished by James B. Haggin, Of New YORK
City. and a few associates Three millions oA
dollars already has been expended in buying
I'd claims. and the American syndicate no"
owns four-ffths Of the entire region. The rail-
road from Oroya to the mines Will cover dis-
rsnr4 Of eighty miles and will cost about
$-O0p0Ul.
Tho r-i7es or C,erro de Pasco have been ia
nous as silver but not rs copper. producers
for more than two centuries and a half IN all
Of the books on Peru which make any refer
ence to Cerro de Pasco the story is told that
the mines were discovered accidentally in 1880
b,- an Indian shepherd. who, feeling cold one
night While watching his sheep. built a hre
under the lee Of some stones which he had
piled together In the morning he noticed that
owing to the heat the stones had become COW
cred with silver threads. The news of his dls-
covarv. according TO the story. he communl-
Gated to a miner named Cgarte. who HVed III
the neighboring town Of Pasco- Jgarte at once
began work and secured such wonder1uI re-
suits that in less than year thriving mining
town had arisen on what had been little more
than a barren waste
This is an interesting story, but more trust
worthy research reveals the fact that the silver
mines Of Cerro de Pasco were worked by the
Tncas before the Spaniards ever gained d foot
hold in South America. Some Of the claims
taken up two or three centuries ago were
handed down from generation to generation
and did not pass out Of the hands OF these
families until they passed into the possession
Of Mr. HaEgin and his associates p 70 the
time when Peru rebeIed against the rule or
Spain many OF the miners n the Cerro o.
Pasco region we're Spaniards. Those VINO kept
c,fa+ during the struggle for independence were
permitted TO remain unmolested in the posses
sion Of their properties. but the mines Of those
who fought for a continuance Of Spanish SOW
ereignty were seized by the government when
the freedom Of Peru was assured. and given as
rewards to men who had fought valIanty for
the creation OF the new republic
The official records account for an annual
average output Of 100000 ounces. making the
quantity OF pure silver extracted from the
r7iras I'M n the present time 40 100000 ounces
Even this enormous yield is regarded by some
as little more than half the real production
because large quantity always succeeded IN
eludinE the heavy tax Of 20 per cent collected
for the Spanish crown. These hundreds OF mill
ions we're secured under the most primitive
methods Of extracting and reducing the ore,
very little Improvement having been made over
the processes employed in the seventeenth
century.
For years copper had been known to exist IN
the Cerro de Pasco district The miners we're
continually coming across it in the course Of
their extensive wor and II was considered
~, them as the on. Z drawback 10 the re-
zion. They suce@raa .rSiderable expense and
loss of time in working through these obstacles.
and when the copper ores were removed they
were thrown aside and left behind as worthless
Peru was blessed" or cursed with free coin
age when the great fall in silver took place.
and consequently the prosperity Of the miners
Of Cerro d. Pasco remained und.sturbed- About
rve years ago. however she followed the exam
pie Of one other Latin-American country in
adopting gold standard of currency. The coin
age If silver was stopped bringing dsmay 70
th- Peruvian miners Many actually closed
their mines and sought other occupations.
others continued TO peg along in halt-hearted
way. vanIy hoping for a return Of silver coin
age But one miner. with more enterprise than
his uelEhbors for the first time in the history OF
Cerro de Passo turned his attention 70 copper.
which everybody for Two centuries had 'Teh
casting aside MS debris. He took out some cop
per ores and shipped them to England. With
him il was merely an experiment The ruling
price of bar copper at that time was t72 a ton
The experiment was a success. and in less than
a year activity was renewed.
Work was begun on mines that had been shut
down and practically abandoned. and prosperity
succeeded depression as from fifty To sixty min
ers following the lead Of the pioneer. engaged
in the extraction Of copper ores. Many were
compelled TO abstain from working their prop
critics because of the impossibiIity of forward
ing their ores TO the market From the mines
TO Oroya the only means Of transportation was
by mules and Iamas Those who had beasts
Of their own could work their mines at profir.
but to those who had none a prohjbitve freight
was charged In July Of 1895. 1,N31 tons of coy
per ores were shipped from Cerro de Pasco 10
Oroya. paying IN average freight OF - a ton.
The necessity for the extension of the road
built by Henry Meiggs from the terminus
Oroya to the mining district apparent to
every one, and the government decided to offer
the concession to the highest bidder at public
auction It was secured by Ernest ThOrndike.
a citizen OF the United States, and a son of