The copper era and Morenci leader., 1914-03-06

OOt40tiO0its
 Fred Marston, for twelve years a resident of Clifton and this section, where he was engaged in concentra- tion of copper, returned last week to Clifton after having spent five years in the copper mining regions of Asi- attic Russia, on the shores of the Black sea- the mining properties being those under the management of Jas. -Colquhoun, formerly general manager of the Arizona Copper company.
 Marston is visiting here at the home
 - Inc. Stirratt, who is in cha -.e ,.f '''. q i'd plant ot the Arizona c. el company. Mrs. Stirratt is a sister of the visitor, who will be remember ed by hundreds of present Clifton resi- dents, and by many former residents of this mining section who have left for other sections, but who remember Clifton and it's people at the time of the residence here of Marston, who was employed under Archie Morrison as foreman of the Clifton concentra- tor for nine years, leaving here to ac-
 
 concentrator of the same company at Morenci. He was employed there for about one year, leaving there to ac- -cept a. position as salesman with the Fl Paso Foundry & Machine company, with whom he was connected for two | years, during that time making regular trips in the interests of the firm to aSr,i- ifrrxr OFf I1e. Southwest. Leaving the employ of the Fl Paso firm in 1909, he went directly to the mines in Russia hay ing been summoned by Jas. Colqu- houn, who then for several years had been in management of the properties of the Caucasus Copper company. Upon reaching the mines, which are located about forty mics from Batoum, a large seaport of the Black sea, Marston erected and has since been managing one-thousand-ton capacity concentrator for the company.
 The Caucasus Copper company had been founded about six years at the time of assumption of management by Colquhoun, who became connected with the properties upon the request of a number of English friends who were stockholders of the company For the first few years of operation, this being before Cofquhoun was plac- ed in charge, the properties were operated at a great loss, this being largely caused by the lack of exper fence of the original managers, they having erected equipment that was not suitable for the character of the ores encountered. During the six years before Colquhoun took charge, the company had lost nearly the en- tire capital stock of a million pounds sterling, which is the present capital stock but which is now yielding satisfactory dividends under the pres ent management. More than sixteen millions of tons of copper ore are now in sight, and the owners are justified in their belief that greater penetra- tion will uncover fields of still greater richness.
 Marston tells entertainingly of the manner of operation of the mines. The concentration and smelting works are about forty miles from the sea- port of Batoum, and all copper made at the works is carried to this port by wagons over a splendid military highway, where the bars are carried by steamers and rail to all points in Russia, all the copper being produced at these mines, as well as the mines in Siberia, far to the north, being sold only in Russia, as it amounts to only about 75 per cent of the home con- sumption, and because of the Russian law which imposes a duty of six cents per pound on all copper imported This great mili- | tary road, built by Russia in it's plans of subduing the states of the | Caucasus mountains, leads from Ba- toum to the mines which are located | at the base of the Caucasus mountains | and from there over the high ranges of the mountains into the country of | the native tribes of Georgians, the | oldest and mst primitive of the Aryan | or European races. The distance of the road between the mines and Ba- toum is forty miles, and maintains throughout this distance a uniform | grade, falling a distance of one thous-