Abstract
The Nevada Consolidated Copper Company Photograph Albums (1906-1907) contain two photograph albums from the mining company's chief engineer's office. The photograph albums include cyanotype and black-and-white photographs depicting the construction of the smelting plant, equipment, railroad, and landscape of Ruth, Nevada.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The Nevada Consolidated Copper Company Photograph Albums (1906-1907) contain two photograph albums from the mining company's chief engineer's office. The photograph albums include cyanotype and black-and-white photographs depicting the construction of the smelting plant, equipment, railroad, and landscape of Ruth, Nevada.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
The Nevada Consolidated Copper Company was established in November 1904 when the Boston & Nevada Copper Company and the White Pine Copper Company merged. The Nevada Consolidated Copper Company began mining in the Veteran Mine of the Robinson Mining District located near Ruth, Nevada in White Pine County. The first copper claim (the Ruth claim) was filed in 1900 and in 1902 the property was sold to Mark Requa, the manager of the Eureka & Palisade Railroad. Requa eventually became the general manager of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company.
In May 1906, the Guggenheim family took control of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company. The family attempted to merge the company with the Cumberland Ely-Company, but the merger was blocked and a joint company was formed instead. The two companies formed the Steptoe Valley Smelting & Mining Company and half of the Nevada Northern Railway. In December 1906 construction of the smelter and mill in McGill, Nevada began. Three hundred men were employed and the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company completed construction on cottages, barracks, dining hall, and an electric lighting plant. By mid-August 1906, the joint companies had shipped 600,000 pounds of copper to eastern markets.
By 1933, the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company was acquired by Kennecott Copper Corporation. The company name was changed to the Nevada Consolidated Copper Corporation and in 1943 changed names again to become the Nevada Mines Division of Kennecott Copper Corporation. The company would become the world's leading copper producer. However, copper production declined at the end of the 20th century due to copper prices and environmental laws. The company closed its mines in Nevada in 1978.
Sources:
"Kennecott Nevada Mines Division," UtahRails.net, July 20, 2018. https://utahrails.net/bingham/kcc-nevada.php.
McGlory, Ian, Katie Rierson, and Kaitlyn McKenna, "Guide to the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company Records," University of Nevada, Reno. Special Collections Department Repository, 2019. https://archive.library.unr.edu/public/repositories/2/resources/4009.
Preferred Citation
Nevada Consolidated Copper Company Photograph, 1906-1907. PH-00441. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were purchased from Vigilante Rare Documents in 2021; accession number 2021-130.
Processing Note
In 2021, Tammi Kim minimally processed the collection during accessioning and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace.