Copper and Molybdenum Deposits in the United States
Copper and molybdenum resources were not recognized as valuable commodities until economic needs demanded the collection and processing of these minerals in large amounts. The most expansive deposits of copper and molybdenum occur in massive low grade ores and are found in intrusive porphyry formations, although many smaller sized but higher grade ores are located in non-porphyry areas. The nation has abundant domestic copper ore reserves but because of many detrimental economic factors much of the copper used by the U.S. industry is imported. Molybdenum ore is profuse and exports of it are high to fulfill the needs of foreign demand.
Copper was first used by people around 4000 B.C. in the manufacture of tools because of its malleability and later became an important additive in harder, more useful metals such as bronze (copper+tin; 2500 B.C.) and brass
(copper+zinc; 0 A.D.). The growth of copper production in the United States has been a relatively recent occurrence. North American French explorers knew of sources of native copper in the region of Lake Superior and the area natives had copper jewelry and ornamentation. Earnest copper mining began in Simsbury,
Connecticut about 1709 and copper was actually exported to England after a source was discovered in New Jersey around 1719. In later times domestic copper resources did not satisfy national needs until the discovery of gold in
California shifted the focus of mineral exploration westward and strikes of rich copper ores occurred in Tennessee and the Cordilleran base regions. The Civil
War caused copper demand to increase greatly in order to manufacture cartridges and canned goods, this resulted in the openings of numerous copper mines of which more than 90% were in the Lake Superior area giving an important advantage to the Union armies. Major copper production districts then shifted to Montana and Arizona in the early 1890's. Production increased to reach peak levels of
900,000 tons a year during World War I and in 1970 1,600,000 tons of copper were produced but recent levels are lower, fluctuating between 1-1.5 million tons a year. Technology has aided in increasing production efficiency wich resulted in spectacular resource development in the U.S. and around the world.
Molybdenum has been a major mineral since 1898 when it was discovered to harden steel as an additive and useful in compounding chemicals and dyes.
Substantial mining began in 1900 in the southwest but the demand was so low that activity ceased in 1900. In 1906 the molybdenum industry boomed and with the dawn of WWI the need for quality steel further increased the necessity for this
Eller, Ronald D. Miners, Millhands, and Mountaineers: Industrialization of the Appalachian South, 1880-1930. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 1982. Print.
The American West was the land of opportunity for many groups of people from 1865 to 1890. For farmers and ranchers, the American west was a land of opportunity due to low cost of land as a result of the Homestead Act and the a chance for Americans, including immigrants and blacks, to achieve the American dream and make a profit by growing crops such as cotton for the thriving textile industry and raising cattle for the upcoming cattle industry. For the miners, the American West was seen as an opportunity to get rich through the gold and silver rush and was even popular in other parts of the world where immigrants responded to the rush as well; although most were not successful. The America West offered opportunities for Americans, both rich and poor, to establish a new life and achieve economic independence.
How Did The Environment Affect The Native American Indians With Particular Reference To The Woodland Indians?
The creation of societies in the West resulted in the blossoming of three new industries: mining, ranching, and farming. Mining began at large with the discovery of gold in California in 1849 and continued with other discoveries and “rushes” later on; these rus...
Regulations are created to protect the health and welfare of the public. The United States EPA develops the regulations at a federal level and each state’s EPA has the ability to make regulations pertaining to their state. The criteria for a state’s individual regulation are that it must be at least as strict as the federal regulation. The purpose of this paper is to examine the general requirements of the Lead and Copper Rule (with attention on the lead aspect) mandated to protect drinking water on the federal and state level.
The original Huron settlement was located between Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe in the southern part of Ontario (1). The tribe was discovered by the French in the year 1610 and the French described the group as the most prosperous native group they had discovered along the St. Lawrence River (1). As it turns out, The Huron actually called themselves Wendat, which means “Dwellers on a Peninsula” (12). The word Huron was given to the group by the French and because the word meant a boar or a hillbilly, the group was offended and did not adopt the name (12). Eventually the Huron were forced to sell their land by the US government in the 1800s. Today, the Huron have reserves in Kansas and Oklahoma as well as Quebec, Canada (Internet Research). Numerous connections could be made between the Huron and the topics we have talked about throughout the semester. The five connections that were talked about most in the book include: horticulture, religion and rituals, kinship and marriage practices, gender role ideol...
Upper Missouri River area. Eastern Sioux, 19th century. Wooden board, buckskin, porcupine quill, length 31″ (78.8 cm). Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington, D.C. Catalogue No. 7311
Loew, P. (2001). Indian Nations of Wisconsin: histories of endurance and renewal. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
Smith-Baranzini, Marlene, Richard J. Orsi, and James J. Rawls. A Golden State: Mining And Economic Development In Gold Rush California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1999. eBook (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Quinn, David B. North America From Earliest Discovery to First Settlements. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977.
From 1865 to 1900, production of crops increased, and prices dropped. Document A. These crops were shipped east, where they were eaten and exported to other countries. This was due to technology, but government policy caused economic conditions in the west to barely improve as a result. In fact, despite the success many farmers experienced, many in the West still struggled to put food on the table.
With the mining came the railroads. In December of 1878 the first train came to New Mexico, the Atchison, Topeka, and S...
The Roaring Twenties approached and the citizens in Colorado were facing rough times. In 1920, many people such as farm owners, manufacturers, and even miners were having a hard time making a living due to an economic downfall. The farmers especially, where facing the toughest of times. The price of various farm-grown goods like wheat, sugar beets, and even cattle was dropping because their goods were no longer needed by the public. Wheat had dropped in price from $2.02 in 1918 to $0.76 by the time 1921 came around. Sadly, the land that they were using to grow wheat became dry and many farmers had to learn to grow through “dryland farming” which became very popular in the eastern plains from 1910 to 1930 (Hard Times: 1920 - 1940). Apple trees began to die due to the lack of desire for apples, poor land, and decreased prices. Over the course of World War I, the prices of farm goods began to increase slowly. Farmers were not the only one facing this economic hardship while others in big cities were enjoying the Roaring Twenties.
..., Edward J. Kowrach, and Thomas E. Connolly. Saga of the Coeur D'Alene Indians: an Account of Chief Joseph Seltice. Fairfield, WA: Ye Galleon, 1990. Print.
Though it has had many negative impacts on the environment in the past, mining is a vital industry completely necessary to our economy and lives. Nearly every item we use or encounter in our day to day lives is mined or contains mined products. Without the excavation of such materials things like computers, televisions, large building structures, electricity, and cars would not be possible. Virtually every technological and medical advance uses minded materials, without which millions would suffer. Some examples of minerals in the home include the telephone which is made from as many as 42 different minerals, including aluminum, beryllium, coal, copper, gold, iron, silver, and talc. A television requires over 35 different minerals, and more than 30 minerals are needed to make a single personal computer. Without boron, copper, gold and quartz, your digital alarm clock would not work. Every American uses an average 47,000 pounds of newly mined materials each year, which is higher than all other countries with the exception of Japan, which is a staggering figure representative of our dependence and need for mined minerals. Coal makes up more than half of nation’s electricity, and will continue to be the largest electrical supplier into 2020 & accounting for some 95 percent of the nation's fossil energy reserves – nine of every ten short-tons of coal mined in the United States is used for electricity generation. As the population of the world grows more mineral resources must be exploited through mining in order to support the rising demand for such products. Though it may present a hazard to the environment and those physically located nears the mines, the materials extracted from mines...