More Anaconda Stuff

摘要

Anaconda, one of the world's great mining companies for over 100 years began falling on hard time in the early 1970's. In 1971, Chile's socialist government, under Allende, confiscated their huge Chuquicamata mine. Allende was overthrown in 1973 by the military, and Anaconda was paid $250 for their property, but the damage to the company was already done. Also in 1971, Mexico nationalized their Cananea mine in Sonora, Mexico. Anaconda also made a bad investment in Arizona's Twin Buttes Mine south of Tucson that further damaged the company, and in 1977, Anaconda was sold to Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). A short six years later, 1983, ARCO shut everything down. The falling copper price at the time (as low as $0.66/lb.) was the final nail in the coffin for ARCO's mining venture. The end had finally come. Later in the 1980's, a Montana contractor, Dennis Washington, took an option on the property and operated the Berkeley Pit for a few years, but that too was shut down after a short run.