El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-14
IS NOW SINKING
CAPOTE PROPERTY
.GREENLEE COUNTY
Has BIC OUTPUT
Work Is Being Rushed on a
$2,OO0,00Q Smelter
at Clifton.


Clifton, Ariz, Aug 14.-Although the
vast mineral resources of the state of
Arizona have been exploited at length
in a general way. but little has been
said of the richness and magnitude of
the copper and gold deposits of Green
lee county.
The mountains of GreenIee county
are rich in mineral wealth and the
Clifton orenci district is the center of
the mining activity. This is the home
of three Of the largest copper mining
companies in the southwest, the Ari-
iona Copper company, the Shannon
Copper company, both of Clifton, and
the Detroit Copper company, OF No
several smaller companies which are be-
ing developed. Among these are the
New York-Arizona Gold and Copper
company, the Gold Belt company, the
Acknowledgement company, the Messabi
and the Copper Plate company, all OF
which are situated in close proximity
to Morenci. The Standard Mines and
the New England company are con-
tiguous to Clifton and although devel-
Opment work has been temporarily
suspended upon some of these proper
ties, thousands Of tons Of rich ore have
been uncovered in the past.
July Output Is Heavy.
The output of copper for the three
large producing companies for the
month of July totaled 6S4S, geo pounds.
The amount of production for each
company was: Arizona Copper company,
5000, 600 pounds; Detroit Copper COM
pany, 1890 pounds, and the Shan
non Copper company, 1,456,000 pounds |
These companies are the Drawn and |
sinew of the mining industry in Green |
lee county.
CSraer1ea county
Vers1ty of pursuits as any county in the |
state. In the northern part of the /
county are situated some of the largest !
cattle ranches to be found while in /
rich agricultural land, second to none |
in the state, dotted with beautiful 1
homes and ranches and producing crops !
which cannot be eQualed. And in the |
center of these two rich assets is stu !
ated the mining industry which has |
made this district famous in the min |
ing world,
New SmeIter Near Clifton.
One of the largest construction en- !,
terprlses now being carried on in the |
state is the erection of the new smelter
smelter site is situated about two /
miles south of Clifton on the line of |
the A & \. NJ railroad TIL cOnstruc-
ton of this plant will entail the eX- |
penditure of more than $2,000.0O0 and /
its completion is expected about the /
middle of October This is an immense /
4
heart of the mountains with hills to /
be leveled and deep gulches to be |
filled the magnitude of the task can {
only be cOnjectured by one who has I
not visited the site. At present there
are about 500 men employed at Smelter,
the name given to the new station, and.
the structural steel for several of the
largest buildings is completed.
Rapid work will henceforth be made
as the preliminary grading is nearly
completed Every freight train ar |
n Clifton { !
for the buildings and the work from
now on will be rushed to completion
Work has commenced on the large
smeIter stack which viii be built of
brick and will be 300 feet high and 20
feet in diameter, the largest stack of
its kind in the southwest The machin-
cry TO be used in the new smelter will
be Of the latest labOrSaTing type and
when completed viii be one of the
largest and most uptodate shelters in
the country.
Surveyors are now at work between
the new smelter site and N1orenci and
Metcalf with the purpose in view, it is
understood, OF transmitting power
from the new power plant at Shelter |
to the plants in Morenci and Metcalf, |
thus eliminating the individual plants
at these two camps. Upon the COM
pletion Of the new smelter it is an
tlcipated that renewed impetus will
be given the mining industry in the
Clifton-AfOrenci district.
Work In Other Mines.
The New York-AriZona and the
Gold Belt Is working a small force of
men, while the Missabi company locat-
ed in Gold Gulch about three miles
from Morenci and from which in the
past thousands of dollars worth of
rich gold ore have been taken, is show
ing a great deal of activity. The
Standard Mines company and the New
England company are at present at a
standstill, although they have been eX-
tensiYely worked in the past The af-
fairs Of these companies are in the
hands Of J. K Erskine, jr. It is gen
orally supposed that negotiations are !
pending with the holders of the New /
England company bonds and with the
debtedness development work will be
resumed
One Of the companies which is rap
idly expanding is the Twin Peaks
mines. consisting of 50 claims, about
50 miles from Clifton on the New Next
co line. This can hardly be classed as
a Greenlee county mine, as half of the
property is in Arizona and half in New
Mexico, yet as the business of the COM
pany is transacted in Arizona, Clifton
has a just claim upon it. This proper
ty is one of the richest in this section
of the state and at this time mill is
in the process of construction for the
treatment of the ore.
The mineral resources of Greenlee
county have been but slightly penetrat-
ed and the mining industry is prac-
tically in its infancy. Information
from mining experts reveals the fact
that ore has been blocked out for
hundreds of years to come and that the
supply is inexhaustible.