Butte, Montana : the greatest copper mining district in the world
24 p. ; 17 x 22 cm
Public-domain full text preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library. Original source: archive.org.
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Jnvestme-Mt Co
Butter
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Butte, Montana
The Grcstst Copper Mining
District In The World . .
Issued By
The Thompson Investment Company Outte, Montana
NEW YORE OEEICES t Uacler maiTagemervf of Wm. B. Thon'ipsoa,
1214 aiT(] 1215 Coii'in'iercial Cable Buil(lia()> 20 Broad Street
NOTES. — Butte has oever had a book failure.
nootaoa’s metal output for 1695 is estimated at $55,000,000. Butte produces 36% of the copper of the world.
Copier Pi’oclLicecI in
Butte
During 1595
Anaconda .
♦ ♦
122,000,000 lbs.
Boston And Montana
♦
60,000,000 ,.
Parrot
♦
15,000,000 ,.
Clark Properties .
♦
10,000,000
Colorado Company
♦ ♦
7,000,000
IT is the purpose of this little booklet to show briefly and concisely the indisputable evidence that Butte City, in Silver Bow County, Montana, is the great copper storehouse and precious metal producer of the world. No other place can show equal results, more extensive mineral resources, greater mining enterprises, or a more wonderful record than this famous locality.
The copper mining industry of Butte is not yet twenty years old. The history of copper mining in this vicinity only dates back to 1883. From 1880 to 1895 Butte produced in gold, silver, and copper, $226,698,600.
The output since then has increased about $3,000,000 in value each year. During 1889 Butte’s yield of metals reached $40,000,000. At least 75 per cent, of the amount will come from the copper mines.
The future of copper mining in Butte is assured. As depth has been attained on the great copper lodes, the permanency and value of ore bodies has justified expansion in every department of the various reduction plants. It should be borne in mind that the present day copper mining operations of Butte are confined to only a small area of the Butte mineral belt, and but seven companies are operating copper mines at this time. These are the Boston and Montana, Butte and Boston, Anaconda Company, Montana Ore Purchasing Company, the Parrot, Colorado Company, and the Clark properties. A new concern, the Washoe Copper Company, has completed arrangements to build new smelting works, which will have a capac ity for treating fifteen hundred tons of copper ore per day.
No better evidence of the confidence in the permanency of Butte copper mines is needed than the statement that the Anaconda and the Boston properties have been equipped with hoist ing machinery capable of sinking to a depth of five thousand feet. The mines have been
From painting by C. M. Russell.
Pioneer Prospectors.
developed on a most liberal scale. The many three-compartment shafts are equipped with mighty hoisting, pumping, and ventilating machinery. Conscious of the demands of the future, the most expensive and powerful engines, pumps, drills, and air compressors have been secured. Certainly these vast investments indicate the faith of capital in the future of mining in Butte, and inspire confidence among all classes of people in the stabilit} of its min eral resources.
A Glimpse of Butte.
Butte has for the past decade been designated “ the greatest mining camp on earth.” Butte is no longer a mining camp in the accepted version of the term. It is the greatest min ing district known and one of the most prosperous and progressive communities in the United States. The days of log cabins have passed. Where these once stood are now seen substan tial and commodious structures, many being;), six stories in height. During the last year, Marcus Daly, the copper king of the Anaconda mine, constructed the Hennessy building at a cost of half a million dollars. This is a steel struc ture, the equal of any to be found in our big cities. W. A. Clark, the mining mil lionaire, will put up a building during 1899 that will eclipse the Hennessy.
Butte now has paved streets, twenty- ' ’’ five miles of electric street railroads, a
$100,000 public library, with $40,000
BLACK EAGLE FALLS OF THE MISSOURI, AT GREAT -r r J 'tt
FALLS MONTANA woi'th of books, chuTches of all leading
The New Hennessy Department Store.
Steel structure, costing upwards of 500,000. Erected by Marcus Daly, 1898.
denominations, fourteen school buildings, ex cellent water supply and distributing system, gas and electric light, six banking houses ; in fact all the requirements of a well regulated and progressive community. The mining pay roll now reaches $1,000,000 per month. The latest city directory census credits Butte with fifty thousand population. This is beyond the dream of the most fanciful prediction of ten years ago, but now Butte is looking forward to the one hundred thousand mark. That she will reach the goal of her ambition within the next decade, no one who has watched her marvelous growth will venture to deny.
As a place for the profitable investment of capital, whether in mining, industrial, or build ing enterprises, no locality anywhere presents more favorable opportunities.
Permanence of Copper Mines.
History does not record an instance of the exhaustion of any of the great copper deposits of the world. The copper mines of Spain have been producing for several centuries. The mines of Chili have been working beyond the recollection of generations. The copper mines of Michigan have been worked continuously for forty years. Germany’s copper mines have been steady producers for more than one hundred years. Who, then, shall question the pros pects of Butte, whose mines are now easily tlie richest and most productive of the world? The copper lodes of this district occur in great fissures, from ten to one hundred feet in width, in granite formation, and cover an area so vast and so laced with veins of silver and copper ore,
MINES OF THE BOSTON AND MONTANA CONSOLIDATED COPPER AND SILVER MINING COMPAN\ .
that all the development and exploration accom plished these few years past may be likened to mere prospecting or scratching of the surface to ascertain the character and possibility of the ledges.
Of the four thousand mineral locations in this district, 50 per cent, of them are located in the copper zone, yet less than one hundred of them have been explored. No ledge yet explored in the copper zone has shown any sign of weakness with depth, and in no known instance has the bottom of an ore shoot been found. It is the belief of all the practical men who develop the copper mines of Butte, as well as the most eminent scientists, that copper mining in Butte will only cease when the sinking limit of mining machinery has been reached.
Boston and Montana.
To repeat the story of the Boston and Montana Company of Butte is to tell of only a part of the, greatness of Butte copper mines. Capitalized at $3,750,000, with shares at the par value of $25 each, these shares are now quoted at $375. This indicates an increase in the value of the property of over $50,000,000. The Boston and Montana has to its credit the proud record of $9,125,000 paid in dividends to stockholders.
When the Boston owners paid $1,000,000 to C. X. Larrabee for the Mountain View mine, they got a bargain. This property, together with the Colusa or Leonard, Penn sylvania, West Colusa, Comanche and Liquidator, are the chief producers. The Mountain View and West Colusa are developed to a depth of fourteen hundred feet, and the fact that last year the mines paid $16 per share in dividends speaks louder than words of the continuity and richness of the ore bodies. The ores of this company are treated in Great Falls, where
MjJXkBiifttS
SMELTER OF THE BOSTON AND MONTANA CONSOLIDATED COPPER AND SILVER MINING COMPANY
At Great Falls, Montana.
over $2,000,000 was invested in a smelting and refining works on the banks of the Missouri River. It is the perfection of a modern ore reduction plant. It requires extraordinary execu tive ability and intelligence to successfully conduct the affairs of such a mammoth enterprise, and the Boston people have been most fortunate in securing tbe services of such men as Mr. Frank Klepetko, superintendent; Mr. Joseph H. Vivian, general agent; and Mr. C. S. Batterman, superintendent of mines. The company last year produced about sixty million pounds of copper, and will increase the amount this year. The net earnings this year will not be far from $6,000,000, or $40 per share.
Butte and Boston.
The piopeities of this company have recently been managed by the same officers that have so successfully handled the affairs of the Boston and Montana, although it is a sepa- 1 ate and distinct coipoiation. The possessions of this company are among the most valuable in the Butte distiict, and cover about seven hundred acres. Its copper mines are in the same belt as those of the Boston and Montana, and are taking rank among the important producers under the present management. This is amply shown from the fact that the shares which in 1894 were quoted at only $8.75 have recently jumped to $90. The Butte and Boston prop erties will soon be numbered among the heavy dividend payers of the district.
Parrot Silver and Copper Company.
The Parrot properties, now nineteen in number, have been steady producers for the last sixteen years. Aside from purchasing new mines, building two new smelters and refinery, the company has declared $2,207,898 in dividends, and at the close of the year had over $1,620- 000 in the treasury. The Parrot in 1898 earned over $800,000 and paid $414,000 in divi dends ; produced over fifteen million pounds of copper. Had the Parrot sold this copper at the piesent pi ice of copper, the earnings would have been increased about $900,000. This
year the ore is a much better grade tlian heretofore worked. All facts considered, the Par rot is now earning about $130,000 per month, and when the new works at Parrot, Mon tana, are completed Parrot should be in a position to earn on eleven-cent copper not less than $3,000,000 per annum, aud copper at present price of over seventeen cents, an earning of over $6,000,000 might be expected. This property is under the able management of Mr. R. D. Grant, and its present prosperity owes much to his individual push and en ergy. The Parrot Company is mostly owned in and about Bridgeport,
Conn., at which place the compaii} own a large refinery.
Montana Ore Purchasing Company.
From an unpretentious beginning this company has become one of the important concerns of Montana. Last year it paid $80,000 in dividends, and has paid all told $800,000. It is in splendid condition and is now a regular dividend payer. The com pany, besides producing about two hundred tons of ore per day from its own mines, buys heavily of custom ores. During the last year a great deal of sinking has been done, and the company is now producing ore on a larger scale than ever. It is the same story with all the Butte copper mines : each experi ences an increased production each succeeding year, unless prevented by accident.
800 Foot, Level Parrot Mine.
Boston And Montana.
The Anaconda Company’S Mines.
The Colorado Company’S Mines.
Boston And Montana.
The Anaconda Mine. Parrot Mines.
Butte And Boston.
Colorado Company.
The Colorado Company operates the Gagnon group of mines, which are among the im portant producers of copper ore. The Gagnon shaft is now sixteen hundred feet deep, from which four hundred tons of ore are daily brought to the surface. No sinking has been done on this mine since 1897. During 1898 this company produced seven million pounds of cop per and earned $400,000 for its stockholders. This company is reported to have been recently sold to a large Eastern syndicate.
The Anaconda.
The properties of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company are known the world over. Their purchase, equipment, and development represent an expenditure of $72,000,000, and every dollar of this was taken from the mines. It is one of the gigantic enterprises of the world, and produces nearly one fifth of the world’s annual copper product. The company employs five thousand men and owns ninety-nine mining claims. Its great smelters and re finery at Anaconda, twenty-six miles from Butte, cost $9,000,000. Two hundred cars, or six thousand tons of ore, are taken from the mines daily and shipped to Anaconda. The veins of the Anaconda mine vary from ten to one hundred feet in width, and are practically inexhaustible. Hamilton Smith, the noted London expert, when he recommended to the Lon don Exploration Company the purchase of a half interest in the Anaconda mines, said there was sufficient ore then exposed to insure a continuous output for fifty years. The Anaconda Company has paid in dividends since it became a public corporation in 1896, $8,250,000. It produces annually about $22,000,000 in copper, gold, and silver. During 1898 its copper product, in round numbers, was one hundred and twenty-two million pounds.
Parrot Mine. Clark’S Parrot.
(Parrot Silver and Copper Company.) (W. A. Clark.)
Never Sweat. Anaconda Mine.
(Anaconda Company.)
Engineering and Mining Journal.
Copper in IS95.
The production of copper in the United States in 1898 reached the great total of 546,367 ,793 pounds (243,914 long tons), an increase of 16,177,074 tons, or 3.2 per cent, over 1897. The figures given in the accompanying table have been furnished by Mr. John Stanton, who acts as statistician for the companies, the month of December being partly estimated ; and we have added to his totals an estimated amount of 15,000,000 pounds for the copper used in making
sulphates. The latter product shows a very considerable increase during the year.
Copper Production of the United Stales.
1897, Pounds.
Montana . 237,158,540
Lake Superior. . . . 145,839,749
Arizona . 81,019,022
Other sources ... . 33,170,172
Copper used in sul phates . 13,003,236
i8g8, Pounds. 219,249,102
IS9ri47,492
111,183,199
40,788,000
1 5,000,000
Totals . 510,190,719 546,367,793
Decrease
Increase.
Increase.
Increase.
Increase.
Changes, Pounds.
17,909438
13,307,743
30,164,177
7,617,828
1,996,764
600 Foot Level, Parrot Mine.
Increase
15,177,074
The table shows that, as in 1897,
Montana, Michigan, and Arizona were the three leading producers, but there was a difference in the course of their production. The Montana output showed a decrease of 7.5 per cent., due chiefly to the fall ing off in the Anaconda shipments, which was the result in part of a lessened extraction of ore and in part of a somewhat lower tenor in copper.
The other Butte mines maintained their production well. The Anaconda promises increased returns in 1899.
Enineei'ing and Aiming Journal.
With an output valued at $55,- 000,000 in gold, silver, lead, and coal for the year 1897, Montana presents a worthy record.
The exports of copper for the year reached a total of 138,100 long tons, or 56 per cent, of our product. The demand for copper, both at home and in Europe, continued very heavy during the 3mar and prices increased steadily.
Rising Copper Values.
The world’s production of copper for 1898 (exclusive of the American output) was approximately 195,000 tons, while the production of the United States for 1898 was ap-
Interior Anaconda Shaft House.
proximately 240,000 tons. In the last five years the United States has gained in cop per production nearly 80,000 tons, while the world’s gain for the same time has been barely 26,000 tons. Exports of cop per from the United States in 1894 were
75.700 tons, and in 1898 approximately 132,000 tons, a gain in four years of 57,000 tons. The copper production of Montana, Michigan, and Arizona for 1894 was
152.700 tons, and for 1898, 216,000 tons, a gain of 64,000 tons.
These figures do not show the change which gives the closing price for the
Continental Divide, Near Butte.
in copper values as clearly as does the following table.
following stocks on Jan. i, 1894, and the high value which they reached during 1898 : —
i8gg.
Boston and Montana..
$26.00
$288.00
$375.00
Butte and Boston .
Co
Cn
Parrot .
$10.00
Old Dominion .
Atlantic .
Wolverine .
Calumet and Hecla
Centennial .
Franklin .
Osceola .
Quincy .
Tamarack .
The par value of a share
of stock
of Boston and Montana
is $25 ; of
Parrot, $io ; of Calumet and Hecla, 25 ; of Centennial, 25 ; Franklin, 25 ; and Osceola, Quincy, and Tamarack the same.
Rainbow Falls, Great Falls.
Dividends and Assessments.
The following is the record of dividends paid by listed Montana mining companies for
eight years up to January, 1899 : —
Alice . $[,075,000
Anier. Devel. and Mining Co . 76,422
Anaconda Copper Mining Company . 8,250,000
Bald Butte . 642,148
Bimetallic . 1,630,000
Boston and Montana . 9,125,000
Elkhorn . 1,265,000
Florence. . 162,530
Granite Mountain . 12,120,000
Hecla Consolidated . $2,1 75,000
Hope . 762,252
Iron Mountain . 507,500
Jay Hawk . 33,375
Montana, Limited . 2,925,640
Montana Ore Purchasing Company . 800,000
Moulton . 460,000
Pandora . 6,000
Parrot . 2,207,898
Another good showing is that in the past levied assessments in that time,
This makes a good showing for eight years, seven years only six Montana companies are listed as having and the total amount for which these assessments were levied was only to raise $31,683.
Rock Creek.
Montana's Metal Production.
Production of gold, silver, copper, and lead in the State of Montana from the year 1862 to 1897, inclusive: —
Years.
Gold.
Silver.
Copper.
Lead.
Totals.
1 862 to 1 88 1 , inclusive . .
188 . . .
$200,000,000
2,550,000
1,800,000
$I 1,000,000 4,370,000
$1,539,860
$2 I 1 ,000,000
8,459,860
188- . .
6,000,000
3,452,960
$326,424
11,479,384
J .
2,1 70,000
3,400,000
4,422,000
7,000,000
5,386,500
246,326
14,802,826
1 1 ,500,000
6,779,800
274,350
21,954,150
13,849,000
5,761,200
494,132
24,526,332
5,978,536
4,200,253
17,817,548
6,853,750
607,662
33,257,496
15,790,736
15,103,946
569,160
35,664,095
3,500,000
3,300,000
2,890,000
2,891,386
3,576,000
3,651,410
4,327,040
4,380,671
4,496,431
19,393,939
20,363,636
13,334,970
16,656,437
456,975
675,392
36,685,884
40,995,465
.
20,139,384
22,432,323
14,377,336
16,630,958
1,229,027
964,089
38,635,757
43,029,827
21,858,780
19,105,464
99,035
45,419,208
.
r Rn . . .
16,575,458
17,233,718
730,551
38, 191, ‘37
.
I Rq c .
22,886,992
2 1, 1 14,869
754,360
49,083,261
y RqiS .
20,324,877
25,356,541
670,010
50,732,099
tRq7 .
21,730,710
26,798,915
928,619
53,954,675
Totals .
$257,533,727
$273,033,393
$217,487,224
$9,817,112
$757,871,456
Silver is quoted at coinage value.
Mining Progress in I59S.
Prof. F. D. Smith, reviewing the mining operations in Montana during 1898, wiites to the Enginee7'ing mid Mining Journal as follows : —
“ Everything in the operation and development of the year 1898 in Montana points to a material increase in the production of at least three staple products of Montana mines, — cop per, gold, and silver. The highest grade of activity has been manifested, and the operations have been entirely free from the disturbances of strikes, etc., and practically free from fail ures and insolvencies.
“The copper industry of Montana centers in Butte and Anaconda, since the Butte mines produce the major part of the State’s copper. A review of the year’s work shows remark able activity. Though the actual amount of ore lifted cannot be stated now, there has been upward of 8,500 feet of sinking done and a total of 6,550 men employed in the mines around Butte. With a total of 50,000 feet of shafts, it is plain that 8,500 feet for one year means
much development. The Green Mountain reached 2,100 feet depth, the deepest in the State, and there are several now rang ing from 1,500 to 1,800 feet. A new era in Butte’s mining history will soon be opened up, particularly as concerns hoist ing from deeper levels, as well as the question of drain age from levels below that of the drainage basin of the val ley. Several of the more im portant companies have, dur ing the past year, made arrangements to hoist from as deep as 5,000 feet, which means that as far as mining knowledge goes the safe and sure prosperous future of the Butte mines is assured.”
Parrot Mine.
Smelter Of The Parrot Silver And Copper Company, At Butte.
Depth of Butte Mines and Number of Men Employed.
Mine.
Depth in Feet.
Sunk in
No. Men Employed.
Mine.
Depth in Feet.
Sunk in
No. Men Employed.
Rarus No. i .
Bellona .
Rarus No. 2 .
25s
Speculator . .
Nipper .
Ella .
Parnell .
West Modoc .
Cora .
Alex Scott .
Moonlight .
1,300
Original No. 5 .
Gagnon .
1,625
Dead Man .
Otesco .
Minnie Healey .
Moose .
Silver Hill .
Leonard .
1 ,000
Ramsdell Parrot .
Pennsylvania .
1,025
Original .
1,100
roo
Mountain View .
1 ,400
Stewart .
East Colusa .
Colusa Parrot .
r ,400
West Colusa .
1,400
Silver King .
75
Michael Davitt .
Anaconda .
1,600
Berkeley .
Never Sweat .
2,100
Silver Bow No. i .
T ,020
St. Lawrence No. 1 .
Silver Bow No. 3 .
St. Lawrence No. 3 .
1,677
West Gray Rock .
Buffalo .
1 ,600
East Gray Rock .
1 ,600
Mountain Con. No. i .
2,000
Blue Jay .
',075
Mountain Con. No. 2. . . . .
t ,600
Alice .
1,500
Green Mountain .
2,100
Blue Wing .
Diamond .
1,700
Magna Charta .
Bell . .
1 ,6 Co
Valdemere . .
High Ore .
1,600
Parrot . .
Little Minah .
Total .
55,075
8,512
6,548
This booh has beea conApiled bv oad is presented with tlAC con\plinAeRts of the
Thompson Investment Company
Mines, Loans, Investments
Butte, - - Montana
We will be pleased to have vou write or call on us for anv inforn’iation
Our New York Office to offer to the public several flattering iNontana Mines
New York Offices
WIIA. B. THOMPSON, 1214 and 1215 Commercial Cable Building 20 Broad St., New York