Descriptive Summary
El Potosí Mining Company
Records of El Potosí Mining Company
1929-1952
1931-1939
33399703
10 inches.
Benson Latin American Collection,
General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin
Annual reports, correspondence and other documents of the El Potosí Mining Company in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
English.
Historical Note
El Potosí Mining Company conducted mining operations at Santo Domingo, located in the Santa Eulalia district of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Forerunners of the company established a presence in the area in 1881; by 1901 the company was known as El Potosí Mining Co. It maintained offices in Chihuahua and in El Paso, Texas. El Potosí Mining Co. and its affiliate, the Compañía Industrial “El Potosí”, S.A., were subsidiaries of the Howe Sound Company and were affiliated with the Britannia Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd., of British Columbia, Canada.
Scope and Contents
Reports, correspondence, blueprints and drawings, and photographs reflecting the business operations in Mexico (1929-1942) of El Potosí Mining Company. Annual reports cover both El Potosí Mining Company and Cía. Industrial “El Potosí”, S.A. for the years 1931-1939, with the exception of 1937. These form the bulk of the records. Other reports include a 1934 U.S. Bureau of Mines publication by Harlan A. Walker, mine superintendent, entitled Mining methods and costs at El Potosí Mine; a report on the Carmen Mine in Chihuahua (includes 21 photographs); and reports (1952 and undated) pertaining to properties in Venezuela. The latter describe prospects for gold mining in the Amacuro Delta of Venezuela and contain descriptions of the area's geology and geography.
Correspondence (bulk dates 1929-1937) relates largely to the activities of C. V. Brennan, who was Chief Engineer for the Exploration Department of Britannia Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd. and later became Assistant General Manager of the Howe Sound Company. Letters from F. C. Kilpatrick, Agent in El Paso, Texas, for El Potosí Mining Co., explain company procedures and are accompanied by many of the company's business forms. Other officials or employees of the company and its affiliates who are represented in the correspondence include E. P. Ryan, general manager of the Howe subsidiaries in Mexico; H. H. Sharp, Vice-president, Howe Sound Co.; and Harlan A. Walker. Two items from 1951 and 1952 concern the prospects of gold mining operations in Venezuela. Blueprints and drawings primarily depict facilities of El Potosí Mining Company and the Carmen Mine.
The materials are in English.
Organization
The papers are organized in three series:
- 1. Reports
- 2. Correspondence
- 3. Blueprints and drawings
Acquisitions Information
The Records of El Potosí Mining Company were purchased by the Benson Latin American Collection on April 11, 1985, from Maggie Lambeth Books of San Antonio, Texas.
Processing Information
Prepared by the Mexican Archives Project, April 1995.
Preferred Citation
Records of El Potosí Mining Company, 1929-1952, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin
Items Removed for Cataloging
Savage, John P.
Tunnel driving methods used at the Ojuela Unit of the Companía Minera de Peñoles, S.A., Ojuela, Durango, Mexico.
Information Circular 6480.
Washington, D.C. :
United States Bureau of Mines,
July 1931.
Livingston, A.
Mining methods and costs at Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico.
Information Circular 6661.
Washington, D.C. :
United States Bureau of Mines,
Nov. 1932.
Herivel, Ernest P.
Mining methods and costs at the Tezuitlan copper mine of the Mexican Corporation, S.A., Tezuitlan, Puebla, Mexico.
Information Circular 6736.
Washington, D. C. :
United States Bureau of Mines,
June 1933.
Index Terms
Subjects (Corporations)
El Potosí Mining Company
J. F. Findlay
Minerales de Chihuahua, S.A.
Howe Sound Mining Company
Howe Sound Mining Company.Chelan Division
Britannia Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.
Chelan Copper Mining Company
Compañía Industrial “El Potosí", S.A.
Subjects
Mines and mineral resources--Mexico--20th century.
Silver mines and mining--Mexico--Chihuahua--20th century.
Gold mines and mining--Venezuela--Delta Amacuro--20th century.
Places
Santo Domingo (Chihuahua, Mexico)
Delta Amacuro (Venezuela)
Potosi Mine (Chihuahua, Mexico)
Carmen Mine (Chihuahua, Mexico)
Other Authors
Brennan, C. V.
Kilpatrick, F. C.
Quigley, William J.
Ryan, E. P.
Sharp, H. H.
Walker, Harlan A.
Lipsey, G. C.
Muñoz, J. L.
Alzaibar, Juan Carlos
Beaupre, R. S.
Zoch, William I.
Subgroups and Series
1. Reports, 1942, 1952, and undated
7 inches (20 folders).
1
1-2
Annual Report
1931
1
3-4
Annual Report
1932
1
5-6
Annual Report
1933
1
7-8
Annual Report
1934
1
9-10
Annual Report
1935
1
11-12
Annual Report
1936
2
1-2
Annual Report
1938
2
3-5
Annual Report
1939
2
6
Walker, Harlan A.
Mining methods and costs at El Potosí Mine, El Potosi Mining Co., Chihuahua, Mexico
Information Circular 6804
Washington, D.C. :
United States Bureau of Mines,
Nov. 1934.
2
7
Ebbutt, Frank.
Brief Report of Carmen Mine, La Bufa - Batopilas River, Chihuahua, Mexico
Dec. 1942.
(includes 21 photographs; see also oversized)
2
8
Reports on the Palvo d'Oro and Mundo Nuevo properties, Amacuro River, Eastern Venezuela
Feb. 16, 1952 and undated
2. Correspondence, 1929-1952
6 folders.
2
9
Correspondence
1929-1930
2
10
Correspondence
1932
2
11
Correspondence (see also oversized)
1936
2
12-13
Correspondence (2 photographs; see also oversized)
1937
2
14
Correspondence
1948-1952
3. Blueprints and drawings, 1929-1942
7 oversized folders.
1
Blueprints: Fig. 35, No. 1241, Warehouse; Fig. 36, No. 1242, Standard material rack; Fig. 37, No. 1244, Standard hose and shovel rack; Fig. 38, No. 1243, Standard belting rack.
4 l.
2
Flow of supply purchases and transportation.
1 l.
Apr. 16, 1937
3
Blueprints: Small scale plan of Carmen Mine workings... to accompany report of Frank Ebbutt; Carmen Mine... Longitudinal section showing ore estimated by F. Ebbutt.
2 l.
Dec. 1942
4
Blueprints: 2.115-A, Hand gate for skiploading device (2copies); 2.115-B, Detail to hand gate for skip loading device (2 copies).
4 l.
Jan. 25, 1929 Jan. 24 1929
5
Shaft diagram.
1 l.
5-10-32
6
Blueprints Nos. 3210-3221 by D. V. Fennessy for semi-underground ore bins at No. 1 shaft.
12 l.
May 15, 1932
7
Contour map from Reports: John E. James' “Notes on conversations with Mr. Barat and others”