Anaconda Copper Mining Co. - Butte, Montana - American Bank Note Company Specimen Check

Specimen Purchasing Department Check printed by American Bank Note Company. Butte, Montana.

The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, a major American mining firm, was part of the Amalgamated Copper Company from 1899 to 1915. It was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century and maintained its position as one of the world's largest mining companies for much of the century. Founded in 1881 by Marcus Daly, who acquired a silver mine and discovered significant copper deposits, the company rapidly expanded. Daly established a smelter in Anaconda to process copper from Butte, Montana. In 1899, Daly sold his assets to H.H. Rogers and William Rockefeller.

By 1910, Amalgamated had grown its operations by acquiring assets from two other Montana copper companies. In 1922, Anaconda expanded further by acquiring mining operations in Mexico and Chile, with the latter becoming the largest mine globally and contributing two-thirds of the company’s profits. In 1955, the company diversified into aluminum reduction and transitioned from underground to open-pit mining during the 1950s.