mportant enterprise, formed
with an outlay of millions of dollars upon its appliances and workings,
and having a daily capacity of 250 tons of ore, belonging to American
capitalists. The Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, a remarkable
enterprise instituted by American capitalists. Cananea is considered to
be one of the most important copper regions in the world, and a
considerable preliminary outlay made has been justified in the results;
the works exporting several thousand tons of copper monthly. It forms
one of the most complete installations of its nature. The Yaqui River
Smelting and Railway Company is a custom smelter, and affords a market
for much local copper ore. There are other copper-producing enterprises
under development, and the State of Sonora is thus a most productive
source of the red metal.

In Chihuahua active development upon copper mines is being carried on,
and the production stimulated by the establishing of smelting works.
There is also an important copper foundry at Monterrey, in the State of
Nuevo Leon.

In Lower California are the large copper mines and smelting works of
Boleo, owned by a French company. This is an important enterprise,
supporting a population of 8,000 souls, and its eight smelters are of a
capacity of 150 tons daily, giving an output of copper of 11,500 tons
per annum. With its own railways, harbour, and town, the enterprise is
a self-centred community of much prosperity.

The State of Guerrero affords some copper ore deposits probably of
great extent, and among these are several mines which are being
developed.

In the State of Zacatecas is the important British enterprise of the
Mazapil Copper Company, with an extensive property, smelting furnaces,
and railway line, with also a long overhead cable system of
ore-carriage.

_Iron_.--Deposits of iron ores are found in several of the states. In
Durango is the much described _Cerro de Mercado_, a hill of iron ore
calculated as containing 460,000,000 tons of iron ore, assaying 70 to
75 percent. pure iron. This remarkable hill was discovered in 1552.

The city of Monterrey, in the State of Nuevo Leon, contains a large
ironfoundry and steel-producing plant, and two iron and brassfoundries,
establishments which are of much importance to the country. Guerrero
has valuable deposits of iron ore near Chilpancingo.

_Quicksilver_.--In the State of Guerrero are the quicksilver mines of
Ahuitzuco, which have produced quantities