The Anaconda Copper Mine was a large copper mine in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

that closed operations in 1947 and was eventually consumed by the Berkeley Pit, a vast open-pit mine. Originally a silver mine, it was bought for $30,000 in 1881 by an Irish immigrant named

Marcus Daly Marcus Daly (December 5, 1841 – November 12, 1900) was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three " Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States. Early life Daly emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland, to the United States ...

from Michael Hickey, a Civil War veteran, and co-owner Charles X. Larabie. From this beginning Daly, along with partners George Hearst, James Ben Ali Haggin and Lloyd Tevis, created the

Anaconda Copper Mining Company The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, known as the Amalgamated Copper Company between 1899 to 1915, was an American mining company headquartered in Butte, Montana. It was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century and one of the largest mi ...

, which ultimately became a global mining enterprise that would go on to mine 18 billion pounds of copper over 100 years. At the height of The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, it consisted of the Anaconda and other Butte mines, a

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including Silver mining#Ore processing, silver, iron-making, iron, copper extracti ...

at Anaconda, Montana, processing plants in Great Falls, Montana, the American Brass Company, and many other properties spanning multiple countries. The Anaconda Copper Mining Company was acquired by

ARCO ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...

in 1977.

F. Augustus Heinze Frederick "Fritz" Augustus Heinze () (December 5, 1869 – November 4, 1914) was an American businessman, known as one of the three Copper Kings of Butte, Montana, along with William Andrews Clark and Marcus Daly. He was an intelligent, charis ...

, an investor who had come to Montana to capitalize on the mining industry, used the

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theory in several lawsuits to lay claim to ore from the Anaconda Mines. Heinze purchased a small parcel of unclaimed land on top of Butte Hill. In actions upheld by several Butte judges, he was able to take copper ore that was in the Anaconda company's shafts. After years of losing lawsuits to Heinze, the company shut down all operations in the state. They put nearly 80% of the state workforce out of work in order to force the state legislature to adopt a "change of venue" provision for lawsuits. Eventually the company bought out all of Heinze's properties and claims.

References

* Malone, Michael P. ''The Battle for Butte: Mining and Politics on the Northern Frontier, 1864-1906'' (1981), the most detailed scholarly history

External links

Carleton Watkins, ''Interior Views of Anaconda Mines'' (Butte, MT)

"Montana Mosaic: The Rise and Fall of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company" (2006)
Documentary produced by

Montana PBS Montana PBS is the PBS member public television network for the U.S. state of Montana. It is a joint venture between Montana State University (MSU) and the University of Montana (UM). The network is headquartered in the Visual Communications B ...

All of the following are filed under Butte, Silver Bow County, MT: * * * * * * * * * * {{Coord, 46.017324, N, 112.510167, W, source:dewiki_region:US-MT_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Mines in Montana Copper mines in the United States Anaconda Copper Buildings and structures in Silver Bow County, Montana Historic American Engineering Record in Montana Underground mines in the United States 1881 establishments in Montana Territory

See also

References

Further reading

External links