What was mined in anaconda montana

By , the prosperity had spread; in a report to British investors, mining expert Hamilton Smith stated that the mine could produce more copper than any other company, at a fraction of the cost. Much of the surrounding landscape and population of Butte, Montana was shaped by the incredible success of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company in the late s and into the early s. Timber proved critical to the success of the mining business, and Daly bought and utilized the Montana forests in order to run his mine.

Historian David M. Thus, 25 percent of the residents. The mines were incredibly prosperous for both owner and workers, and with the promise of employers who respected their people, the Irish had clear incentives to flood to Butte.

Although not much remains of the Anaconda Copper Mine beyond abandoned mine shafts and railroad tracks, it is worth the trip through Butte to see the residue of a true American dream that played such a heavy role in shaping Montana economy, environment, and population in the late s. For full functionality please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. With the agreement, Arco will continue to pay for cleanup costs, remediation efforts and fund community-development projects in the town of Anaconda.

Although the Anaconda smelter closed in , smelting operations left behind dispersed contaminants, including arsenic, over more than square miles, according to the U. Environmental Protection Agency. Butte and nearby Anaconda were declared federal Superfund sites in Approximately 20, acres of soil were severely impacted by airborne emissions and millions of gallons of groundwater were polluted, according to the EPA.

A newspaper article describes the construction of the smokestack:. There are some smokestacks that are unbelievably big—too big to be true —but the one recently completed for the reduction works of the Anaconda Copper Mining company, at Anaconda, Montana, sets up a new world record.

The concrete base on which this gigantic structure stands required cars of crushed rock, 50 cars of sand and 20, sacks of cement to complete and weighs approximately 9, tons. The stack proper Is constructed of specially shaped blocks or bricks about two and one-half times the size of the ordinary brick and it took 2,, of these larger units to complete the job.

Washoe smelter smokestack at Anaconda, Montana. To make the mortar necessary to lay these brick required 77 cars of sand, 37 cars of fire clay and 41, sacks of cement. The estimated weight of the brick work is 23, tons. The exterior diameter of this smoke-and-gas elevator is 80 feet at the base, while the interior diameter at the top tapers down to 60 feet. The wall is 22 inches thick at the top.