Copper Mining in the United States
Copper Mining in the United States
In the United States copper was mined and worked in 1709 in Simsbury, Connecticut. Westward expansion of European settlement expanded the copper industry as well. The copper deposits of Michigan's Upper Peninsula were mined starting in the 1850's near Native American copper workings. Two companies, Calumet and Hecla, developed the mines guided by copper nuggets and outcrops found on the surface. Calumet was named after a Native American peace pipe.
The Butte, Montana, copper vein deposits were worked starting in 1866, adjacent to placer gold mines. The Butte deposits, later called "the richest hill on earth," became the chief copper supplier for the nation by 1886. The principal company in Butte was Anaconda, controlled by Marcus Daly, an Irish immigrant who had learned about mining in the Comstock District of Nevada. The veins were silver-rich at the surface, but as Daly predicted, they became rich in copper deeper in the earth. Anaconda Mining Company dominated world copper production for a while. Daly's rival in Butte was W. A. Clark, who used his mining expertise to gain wealth and political power.
As the Industrial Revolution intensified in the 19th Century, new uses for copper were developed. New sources of copper were developed as well. Copper wire is vital in the use of electricity. The telegraph was patented by Samuel F. B. Morese in 1840. The telephone was demonstrated by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875. Thomas Edison applied for a patent on the incandescent lamp in 1879. A blue and green copper mineral deposit near Santa Rita, New Mexico, had been mined by Native Americans for dyes and pigments. Mexicans took native copper from it in 1804 and carried it on pack mules all the way to Mexico City to be used in coins.
In 1854, surface outcrops of copper in the Papago Indian country were mined by Colonel Charles D. Poston. Copper ore was carried in ox carts from the mine at Ajo to the Colorado River at Yuma. The ore was carried on barges on the Colorado to the sea, then to a smelter overseas.
Arizona became a territory of the United States in 1863, due to its richness in metals. The mountain stained blue and green by copper in the Clifton-Morenci district was discovered by soldiers in 1871. The mountain, near Superstition Mountain next to Superior, Arizona, became the Silver Queen Mine belonging to Magma Copper Company.
At Mule Canyon, south of Tombstone, Arizona, in 1877, a soldier chasing Apache Indians found copper at Bisbee. The Copper Queen Mine and neighboring Atlanta Claim became the fabulous Warren District. With the great contribution of the Warren District, Arizona lead the nation and still leads it in copper production.
Overlooking the Verde River, the United Verde copper mine at Jerome, Arizona, was financed by eastern capitalists. The Jerome family included the mother of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. However, the rich surface ore soon played out. W. A. Clark, who had obtained his fortune at Butte, purchased 99% of the stock of the United Verde Mine. Ultimately it yielded copper, silver, and gold totaling $410,000,000. W. A. Clark was the owner of the richest, individually owned copper mine in the world!
Soldiers found gold nuggets in Bingham Canyon in Utah, near Salt Lake City, in 1862. By 1870, 2 million dollars had been mined in gold. In 1873, silver-lead veins were discovered in the canyon walls. The Highland Boy was one of the several mines begun to exploit these veins. It discovered ore that ran 15% copper. The first copper was shipped in 1896. The Highland Boy and nearby claims were acquired by the Utah Consolidated Copper Company in 1899. An experienced miner, Enos A. Wall, observed blue and green colors above the mine in the canyon walls. The copper had been tested and made up only 2.4% of the rock, or 48 pounds of copper per ton of rock. This amount was believed to be too small for a profitable mine. However, Wall realized that the low-grade deposit in the mountain above the canyon was enormous. He bought up 200 acres. Then he hired two young mining engineers, Robert C. Gemmel and Daniel C. Jackling. They tested the mountain and reported evidence of over 12 thousand tons of ore, with a probably 25 million more tons. Since it was low grade, that is, there was a low proportion of copper in the rock, it would have to be mined with new methods. Jackling suggested a new mining technique, in large open pits, using huge mechanical shovels and ore cars in trains to carry the ore to the mill. Wall became a director of the new Utah Copper Company. In 10 years, the new company mined 67 million tons of ore with 1.4% copper. The mine was named Bingham Canyon. It continues to produce copper from one of the largest human-made pits on earth.
This new type of copper ore was found in a type of rock called a "porphyry", a sort of granite with a fine-grained groundmass with large crystals embedded in it. The copper minerals are spread thinly but evenly through the porphyritic rock, in a style of mineralization called "disseminated." Accordingly, similar deposits were called "Porphyry Coppers." Prospectors went looking for more Porphyry deposits, and found them at Santa Rita, New Mexico, Miami and Morenci, Arizona, Ely and Yerington, Nevada, and in several places in Chile.
Kennecott Copper Corporation got its start in a deposit under glaciers on a peak in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska. Gold prospectors passed the copper on the way to the Klondike, but did not see it. Finally someone noticed an outcrop of the black copper sulfide mineral, chalcocite, in 1906. This rich deposit became the Jumbo Mine. It produced two hundred million dollars in copper and gold.
The story of Nevada's great copper deposits will be told below. We will explore the history of the deposits of Ely, Yerington, Mountain City, and Battle Mountain.
As you have seen, the history of copper mining and metal working is the history of civilization. Mining led to advances in civilization from technology to trade, to art, and to warfare. People developed their civilization to develop mining that allowed their culture to further evolve. Now, we can consider the modern copper industry.
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