The Ketchikan miner., 1908-01-11
THE PRODUCTION OF COPPER
 IN 1906

OrQlnaflly the ore Is DOt aheHablo to any simple method of reduction and is of so low grade as to preclude very long hauls to existing reduction plants Much money must first be spent in extensive development of the ore bodies. The company must usual ly expect to build its own shelter or mill and to operate on a large scale to achieve low cost of extraction. In consequence of these conditions, most of the important copper mines of the United States are in the hands of strong companies able to advance the capital required at the start. Fully 72o, 900, GOO, GOO pounds ot the 1906 out put was produced by four operators. Operations at the principal mines aie op truly enormous scale, with ore mined and copper produced by lndl- vidual mining units reaching 1000, 0oo tons and l09, GOO, 900 pounds respective | lv, with single milling plants ot a daily capacity up to 5000 tonS' and with smelling plants turning out an nnually 90, 0o0, GOO to 175. GOO, GOO pounds of copper per each. To the magni- tude of these operations almost as much as to the abundance of her natural resources does this country owe its preeminence as copper pro- ducer, with record of over half the worlds production.
 The production of copper in the United States in 1906 was 9ll. sos, 6S2 pounds. This represents the years shelter production-th that is, the quan- tity of fine copper in the blister cop per produced during the year and the production of refined Lake copper. The production of 1905 was exceeded by b, S97, S39 pounds, and the apparent rate of increase in 1906 was according lv l. 76 DOT cent. This is an abnormally low increase, the gain in 1905 over 1904 having been II per cent. and in over 1903 nearly 16.l4 per cent. the mine production for 1906 was 916. 97l, ,3S7 pounds. Statistics for the mines were not collected for all dis tricts in 1905, and complete figures for comparison of the outputs of the two years can not therefore be given. It may be stated, however, that the mine production of 1906 exceeded that of 1905 bv a somewhat larger amount than the gain in shelter production. In other words. the smelters did not wholly keep up with the output from the mines.
 Of the total production, 2,s0l, GIT pounds in blister were produced in Canadian smelters from ore and matte exported from the United States. h addition 10 this total. 5i, 5l3, ll6 pounds were produced as blister in domestic smelters from foreign ores, concentrates, and matte. This foreign material came principally from Mexi- co and Canada, but Cuba, Germany, and Bolivia and other South Ameri- can countries were oontpiUuto, and a noteworthy quantity was recovered from Spanish pyrite cinders.
 The bulk of the copper of domestic oirgin turned out by the smeters in 1906 was derived from approximately l9, 743, GOO tons of ore This tonnage represents the quantity of ore which reached the copper smelters during the year either directly in smeltipg ore, or indirectly-for example, in the form of coucentrates-and 1t includes considerable quantity of ore which was mined expressly for its copper content. Ores in which the copper is of subordinate importance comprise dry or siliceous gold and silver ores, lead ores carrying sufficient copper to make its recovery profitable. cuprifer- ous zinc and pyrile sulphur ores the ''cinders" of which are subsequently, smelted for copper, and ores mechan- ically concentrated for values other than copper. Ores of this class can be separated sharply from distinctly copper ores, and the figures represent ing their quantity q, 100. coo tons) are only approximate.
 Of the total ore tonnage arproXi- mately ,. .02l. 0o1 tons. or about 26 per cent, were 0. sufficient richness or Of so favorable metalIurgical character as to be smelted without concentra- tion. The remaining +, 722, GOO tons were concentrating ores, from which were produced ?. 1885, GOO tons of con centrates, the average concentration being slightly under , into l. A small quantity of copper was produced with out the mining of any ore by the treatment of mine waters. and iDciud- ed with the concentrating ores is q small tonDage extracted by teaching processes h both cases the copper was recovered from solution by re- placement of scrap iron. and the re- sulting 'precipitate, or cement cop per, which may be regarded as q high grade concentrate, went into the smelters.
 Of the BIT, s05, 6s2 pounds of copper produced in 1906 by the smelters b, l32, 562 pounds were derived from the re-treatment of materials which had