production of which decreased last year. For every pound of copper produced 

 there is $.0375 in silver, which makes the Butte mines the important silver producer 

 of the state. 



The rise in the price of silver within the past few years has led to an intensive 

 search for it. Several of the old mines that formerly produced heavily in Butte, 

 but were closed when the price of silver fell, have again been opened and worked. 



Copper Is Chief Metal. 



The third and greatest era of mining in the state began in Butte in 1893 with 

 the production of copper. It had been discovered in the Anaconda silver mine and so 

 valuable was it that the plans of the owners were changed and instead of a silver 

 mill they decided to build a smelter. Ore was found in seemingly inexhaustible 

 quantities. Marcus Daly built a big smelter at Anaconda. Its payroll soon reached 

 a million dollars a month and the copper produced ran up to millions of pounds. 



Copper is the state's chief metal, the output in 1917 being valued at $81,143,377. 

 The output was 274,462,574 pounds, a decrease from 1916 of nearly 75,000,000 

 pounds, due to labor troubles in the Butte mines. Only Arizona leads Montana 

 in copper production. 



The Butte mines have grown more extensive as time passed until hundreds of 

 millions of dollars worth of copper have been and are being taken from the mines 

 of that camp. Electric power is used almost exclusively in operating the plants. 

 The ores are nearly all treated at Anaconda, Butte and Great Falls. 



Zinc an Important Product. 



In 1906, with the development of the Butte and Superior properties, began the 

 fourth epoch in mining history, the zinc epoch. In a short space of time Montana 

 has risen to the rank of second among the states of the Union in the production of 

 this metal, being exceeded only by Missouri. The operation of the Butte and 

 Superior and the Elm Orlu mines, the two greatest producers, was due to the per- 

 fection of the oil flotation process for concentrating the ores. The process has 

 proven to be almost indispensible in the recovery of the zinc from the gangue. 



The output of recoverable zinc from Montana amounted to about 186,000,000 

 pounds in 1917, against 229,259,075 pounds in 1916. Prices were lower in 1917, but 

 the decrease was also due to labor troubles and to a law suit between the two main 

 zinc producers of the Butte district. 



During the first quarter of 1917 the Butte and Superior Mining Co. produced 

 over 40,000,000 pounds of gross zinc, but it did not maintain this rate of production 

 throughout the year. Elm Orlu produced some ore but considerably less than in 

 1916. The rest of the output of the state came from the mines of the Anaconda 

 company, the product of which is leached at Great Falls after being concentrated. 

 Other shipments of zinc were made from the Snowstorm mine, at Troy, and the 

 North Butte, at Butte. 



An electrolytic plant has been installed at Great Falls that reduces the zinc to 

 metallic spelter of commerce. This is the only zinc reducing plant in Montana. The 

 sheets are labled "Anaconda Zinc." 



Lead Production Jumps. 



The rise in the price of lead has led to a more extended search for that metal 

 and an increased production. It has been found profitable to work many of the 

 mines of low grade ore. 



The mine output of the metal increased from 13,595,136 pounds in 1916 to 

 21,951,220 pounds in 1917. The lead concentrate from the lead-zinc mines was 

 less, however, on account of the decrease at the large zinc mines. At Troy, in 



