Dr. F. H. Hatch—The World’s Copper Supplies. 35 
previously, high-grade ores had been sent to the United Kingdom 
for smelting at Swansea. The change was due to the high toll 
charged by the Swansea works, which drove the Chileans to establish 
their own local smelters. In 1870 Chile furnished half the total 
world’s production, and thus became the leading producer. The 
United Kingdom occupied the second place, being followed in order 
by Spain and Portugal, the United States, Australia, Japan, and 
Cuba. In 1863 the United States produced 9 per cent and in 1868 
10 per cent of the whole. The production of the United Kingdom 
was 15 per cent of the whole in 1863, decreasing to 9 per cent in 
1868. On the other hand, that of the British Colonies rose from 
7 per cent in 1863 to 10 per cent in 1868. This was in large measure 
due to the working of the rich oxide-ores of the Wallaroo and Moonta 
mines of South Australia, discovered in 1845; but the Great Cobar 
and other mines in New South Wales contributed, and Newfound- 
land began to ship ore from Tilt Cove in 1864. 
In consequence of the increased demands of the engineering trades, 
especially in shipbuilding and marine engineering, followed later by 
the very extensive use of copper in electric power generation and 
transmission, the world’s consumption of copper now began to rise 
more rapidly ; by 1873 1t was 122,000 tons per annum, in 1883 close 
on 200,000 tons, and in 1893, 310,000 tons. This rapid growth in 
consumption was met by large increases in the production of the 
United States and of Spain and Portugal: in Spain the Rio Tinto 
(taken over by an English company in 1876) enlarged its scale of 
operations and other pyrites mines in the Huelva district of Spain 
and the neighbouring territory of Portugal became great copper 
producers. In 1873 the order of contribution was as follows: 
South America (chiefly Chile), British Empire (17 per cent of 
the whole, Spain and Portugal (Rio Tinto and Tharsis), United 
States (13 per cent of the whole), Germany, Japan, and Russia. By 
1883 the United States had passed the British Empire (the respective 
proportions being 26 per cent and 12 per cent), and from that period 
the production of the United States went up by leaps and bounds. 
This was brought about, not only by improving the methods of 
mechanical concentration and smelting, but also by very largely 
increasing the scale of operations, notably in the rich sulphide mines 
of Montana, in the native copper mines of Michigan (Lake Superior), 
and in the large porphyry contact deposits of Arizona. 
During this period the output of the United Kingdom (one per cent 
in 1883) dwindled to insignificance, owing chiefly to the gradual 
deepening of the Cornish mines and the downward change from 
copper to tin which characterizes the lodes.!_ The contribution of the 
British Empire as a whole, however, showed a substantial increase 
in consequence of the important mining developments which then 
took place in Australasia, Canada, and South Africa. 
1 The present copper production of the United Kingdom is derived mainly 
from “‘ precipitate ’’ got by treating water from the old Parys and Mona mines 
in Anglesey. 
