Records of El Potosí Mining Company

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. The records were described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in April 1995.

The collection's physical extent is ten inches. Its materials are in English; their bulk dates are 1931-1939.

The suggested citation is "Records of El Potosí Mining Company, 1929-1952, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

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.

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 Records of El Potosí Mining Company were arranged into three series by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed the processing of the collection in April 1995. The series are:

1. Reports, 1942, 1952, and undated; 7 inches (20 folders).
   
2. Correspondence, 1929-1952, 6 folders.
   
3. Blueprints and drawings, 1929-1942, 7 oversized folders.
   

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Box No.	Folder No.	Folder Title	Dates
1	1-2	Annual Report	1931
	3-4	Annual Report	1932
	5-6	Annual Report	1933
	7-8	Annual Report	1934
	9-10	Annual Report	1935
	11-12	Annual Report	1936
2	1-2	Annual Report	1938
	3-5	Annual Report	1939
	6	Information Circular 6804, Department of the Interior, United States Bureau of Mines. Mining methods and costs at El Potosí Mine, El Potosi Mining Co., Chihuahua, Mexico (Harlan A. Walker)	Nov. 1934
	7	Brief Report of Carmen Mine / La Bufa - Batopilas River / Chihuahua, Mexico / by Frank Ebbutt (includes 21 photographs; see also oversized)	Dec. 1942
	8	Reports on the Palvo d'Oro and Mundo Nuevo properties, Amacuro River, Eastern Venezuela	Feb. 16, 1952 and undated
	9	Correspondence	1929-1930
	10	Correspondence	1932
	11	Correspondence (see also oversized)	1936
	12-13	Correspondence (2 photographs; see also oversized)	1937
	14	Correspondence	1948-1952
Oversized		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.
Oversized		Flow of supply purchases and transportation. 1 l.	Apr. 16, 1937
Oversized		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
Oversized		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
Oversized		Shaft diagram. 1 l.	5-10-32
Oversized		Blueprints Nos. 3210-3221 by D. V. Fennessy for semi-underground ore bins at No. 1 shaft. 12 l.	May 15, 1932
Oversized		Contour map from Reports : John E. James' "Notes on conversations with Mr. Barat and others"

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, Department of Commerce, United States Bureau of Mines. July 1931.

Livingston, A. Mining methods and costs at Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico. Information Circular 6661, Department of Commerce, United States Bureau of Mines. Nov. 1932.

Herivel, Ernest Ph. Mining methods and costs at the Tezuitlan copper mine of the Mexican Corporation, S.A., Tezuitlan, Puebla, Mexico. Information Circular 6736, Department of Commerce, United States Bureau of Mines. June 1933.

Affiliated companies of El Potosí Mining Company:

Howe Sound Company
New York

Britannia Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.
Britannia Beach, B.C.
Canada

Chelan Copper Mining Co.
Lucerne, Washington
U.S.A.

Compañía Industrial "El Potosí, S.A.
Apartado 13
Chihuahua, Mexico

Affiliated companies of the El Paso Agency of Minerales de Chihuahua, S.A.
(a subsidiary of Howe Sound Company, New York City):

Howe Sound Company
Chelan Division
Holden, Washington

Britannia Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd.
Britannia Beach, B.C.

Cía. Industrial "El Potosí", S.A.
Chihuahua, Mexico

El Potosí Mining Co.,
Chihuahua, Mexico

Individuals

C. V. Brennan Chief Engineer, Exploration Dept. (1929) Britannia Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.

C. V. Brennan
Asst. General Manager (1932-)
Howe Sound Company

E. P. Ryan
General Manager
El Potosí Mining Company
Chihuahua

F. C. Kilpatrick
Agent
El Potosí Mining Company
El Paso, Texas

H. H. Sharp
El Potosí Mining Company
Chihuahua

H. H. Sharp (1936) Vice-President Howe Sound Company

H. [Harlan] A. Walker
Superintendent
El Potosí Mine

Wm. J. Quigley
President (1929-1930)
El Potosí Mining Company
Chihuahua

Wm. J. Quigley
President (1932)
Howe Sound Company
New York City

J. F. Findlay
Minerales de Chihuahua, S.A.
El Paso, Texas

G. C. Lipsey
General Superintendent
Howe Sound Company
Chelan Division
Lucerne, Washington

J. L. Muñoz
Chihuahua

Mr. Mehring
Dr. Juan Carlos Alzaibar
R. S. Beaupre
William I. Zoch

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