New-York tribune., 1907-09-13
TO CLOSE BUTTE MINES?
AmaigamQfcd Copper Report Causes
SHARP Price Break.

There vas rNpo-: in Wall Street yesterday that
tie AnlalsaInated Copper Company had decided TO
rlase down 81 mines in the Butte camp in Mon
,sra - pr:ncipal producing district The rl-loT,
which was thought be well founded caused a
,rsrn break IN prices the Stock Exchange, and
TIC copper shares. especially. lost heavily Anal
rar-7ted fell - points to e9&. which was l.
points un6er the price week ago. and 81 points
Iov-sr than the nigh price Of the year. Anaconda
e-o,-ed +, 90 compared with 4Gia the closing
Price on tho preceding day
A. osscisl cc the Amalgamated said that while
,,c orao-s had been issued from the East which
p-,7,ls result in the shutdown Of the Butte mines.
still if ,aero were sales Of copper 90 be made
.Aor-Iv rhc vice thing Ia DO would be 10 curtal
,,-o7gc-ior which could be done only by shutting
don - mines OF the country Such action in
p,.--a was not improbable lie added that while
80 Ar7alear1la5ed company vas employing the nor
MI number OF at present about seven thou
sand there would he 4 reduction in the September
out.,It compared with that Of August. Of between
.ov- million and SIX million pounds This decreased
--,7,,c1fo1 was dre the official tho closing
~, this month Of the furnaces in the rever-
feratorv plant Great Falls. and 20 tho fact that
rases were escaping from the Minnie He2iey mine
Aho... the most serious problem in Butte at the
moment. he continued Was the lack OF fuel re
srl,ag from the shortage Of cars
other leading producing interests said that the
outlook vas uncertain. and that il was almost I'M
rossibie to forecast correctly what IT would finally
b. Well Informed copper interests declared that
~ conditions continued as they We're. many mines
,.-o-,75 1s,-e 10 close down II simply bust
moss fov 10 continue taking out of the ground
and srneltirc il when it impossible 10 dispose
az -l7s refined copper. They said that, in their
orf-ior q shutdown certain. and that il would
rc- ha fn~ less than Two or three months
.d,fces from Boston stated that the Amalga-
mated managers there had been confeTring with
barking interests in regard 10 how much more
cash accommodation they could expect under pres
ont conditions. and thai the bankers were united
IN declaring that they would carry no more cop
Der in Their loans beyond the present stock II IS
said that the banks in this city viii refuse 70
make any further loans with copper as the basis
az credit.
TIE head Of one of the large producing conpa-
MES expressed his opinion Of the situation fol-
lows:
There can he no doubt whatever that the mar
ke1 at the moment is oversupplied with copper
Present stocks IN this country aggregate fully @'-
0nooo pounds. as against practically nothing Al
this time last year. Il is all question Of con-
sumption There may he some free buying again
bv October Is but the orders AT present are on q
hand-to-mouth basis. Should copper decline 10 10
cerrs which seems improbable. there would
be heavier buying within range Of one cent
from that figure than there has been during the
course II the Decent decline that has already
CURED"
An interest identified with the Amalgamated
company attributed the present stagnation in the
copper trade in part the governments action
against corporations He said:
Railroad improvements. which contemplated
electrhcation large volume. necessarily calling
for large tonnages Of copper. have been held up
pending government action against corporations
well a in financial conditions. The agree
ment between the Amalgamated company and its
miners. which would call fer a reduction in the
latters wages TO So 30 after copper market had
been sold a price under IS cents for period of
thirty days. has not been considered as the United
Metals Selling Company has sold anything
under that level. I believe that in next ten
years viii have the greatest demand for copper
that the world has ever known. EIectuncation Of
railroads al the United States and other coun-
tries viii taken up, which viii consume quantI-
ties the metal
There a reduction OF half a cent in both the
bio and asking prices Of all grades Of copper YES
1eTday al the Metal Exchange. Lake was Is bid
1sls asked eectroytc. I5i2 bid IS asked and cast
on the Metal Exchange was quoted al ia and
eiectrolyuc At Ia, but prices have been declining
steadily since ;hen.
Boston. Sept. l2.-Boston copper stocks suffered
another decline today. and several reached The
lowest figures for number OF wears. The market
opened firm ard dealings during the FIRST few
minutes Tere heavy. with numerous supporting
orders. Later. however. heavy selling started an
oi'-r slump. and yesterdays low figures were
passed. North Butte reaching 81 Copper Range
z md Hr-H-