New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

Gold was discovered on the Original claim in July 1864 by G. O. Humphreys and William Allison. The site was chosen because a small pit had been found along with some worn elk horns used for digging by unknown miners years before. In August Humphreys and Allison located the Missoula and Buffalo claims. W. L. Farlin located the first lode claim called the Asteroid. By the end of 1864 more than one thousand men were placering for gold. The shaft in the Original mine reached 80 ft and the weathered ore was taken down to Silver Bow Creek for panning.

In 1865 a copper-silver brick was smelted in New Jersey from ore taken from Joseph Ramsdell's Parrot No. 2 mine. In 1866 copper ore from William Park's Parrot No. 3 claim was shipped to Swansea, Wales for refining but high shipping costs took most of the profit from the enterprise. In 1867 Dennis Learly, who had located the Parrot No. 1 claim, erected Butte's first smelter. However, the gold placers began to give out, and most of the miners rushed to new strikes in Idaho. By 1868 it was evident that the attempts at smelting the copper ores had failed. The population of Butte was less than one hundred men.

In 1872 W. L. Farlin returned from Idaho after having a rock from Butte assayed. Farlin relocated the Asteroid as the Travonia and this became Butte's first successful silver mine. A new rush was on. By the end of the 1870's Butte was Montana's largest city and was known as the world's leading silver producer. Among the rich silver mines of the period were the Original, Parrot Colusa, Ramsdell's Parrot, Mountain Consolidated, Leonard, Alice, Moulton, Lexington, Bluebird, Silverbow, and Acquisition.

During the 1880's the ore that was mined changed from being rich in silver minerals to rich in copper. Many mines were closed. The experience of the previous years showed that only the richest copper mines could overcome the high shipping costs to make a profit. Marcus Daly was among the few who had faith in copper. He purchased the Anaconda claim for $30,000. At the 300-ft level of this claim a crosscut disclosed a huge vein of nearly pure chalcocite. The ore assayed 45% copper and the vein was 30 to 100 ft thick. Shipments of ore from the Anaconda to Swansea began. The metallurgists in Wales wrote to Butte asking if the material came from a new metallurgical process. Daly assured them that the ore was entirely natural. The copper ore mined previously in Butte had consisted of bornite and chalcopyrite. Chalcocite had been known only as a mineralogical curiosity. Daly moved ahead and purchased the St. Lawrence and Never Sweat claims. In 1883 he constructed a smelter at what would become the town of Anaconda. He realized that if the ores could be smelted locally the profits would be greatly increased.

In 1880 Edison patented the incandescent lamp; in 1882 New York City built an electric generating plant for its street lights. Daly had anticipated that a great change would occur in the demand for copper. In 1882 the U.S. consumed 91 million pounds of copper, of which Butte supplied 9 million pounds. Soon Butte gave competition to the Michigan copper mines as the demand for the red metal grew. By 1884 Butte produced over 14 million ounces of silver and 26 million pounds of copper. In 1887 Butte's production of almost 79 million pounds surpassed that of Michigan; the total U.S. consumption of copper was 184 million pounds. A few years later Butte became known throughout the world as "The Richest Hill on Earth."

For many years to follow Butte's copper production would exceed 100 million pounds per year. In October 1978 the Anaconda Company announced that it had produced its 20 billionth pound of copper from the Butte district. The district also has produced almost 5 billion pounds of zinc, 4 billion pounds of manganese, 850 million pounds of lead, 700 million ounces of silver, 3 million ounces of gold, 300 million pounds of arsenic compounds, 4 million pounds of cadmium, 4 million pounds of bismuth, 10 million tons of sulfuric acid, 300 thousand pounds of selenium, and 250 thousand pounds of tellurium.

In 1981 Anaconda added a molybdenum circuit to its mill. Mining activity shifted from the Berkeley pit to the eastern part of the district. There was more than 20 years left for copper mining by open-pit methods and at least 20 more years of underground reserves were available. The Weed concentrator was built over the top of a recently discovered copper-molybdenum orebody. The size of this orebody is not fully known but it may well be the largest molybdenum deposit in the world. The expense of drilling exploration holes 7,000 ft deep through hard rock has discouraged a full assessment. Low metal prices coupled with higher operating costs led Anaconda to close the Berkeley pit in 1983. Many people predicted that this meant the end of mining in Butte. However, the purchase of the properties by Washington Corp. of Missoula, Montana, in 1985 has given the Butte district a brighter future.

The talk features the mines and minerals of the district. More than one hundred forty minerals have been identified. Butte is world famous for its crystals of covellite, enargite, bornite, pyrite, and rhodochrosite.