The History of Cuba, vol. 5

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

In 1580, some mining was done, but the find soon proved to be a pocket and not a true vein, and the cost of transportation to Havana was declared prohibitive, in spite of the fact that it showed a “fifth part good copper.” Other copper mines were afterwards reported in the neighborhood of Bayamo, near the southeastern center of the Province of Oriente.

In May, 1587, although comparatively little copper had been taken from “El Cobre” mine, due largely to lack of food crops in the vicinity with which to supply the slaves, the Governor reported that “There is so much metal, and the mines are so numerous that they could supply the world with copper, and only lately there is news of a new mine of even better metal than the rest.”

Effective work in these mines began in 1599. The much needed protection from the incursion of pirates and privateers, that had long preyed on Spain’s possessions in the West Indies, revived industries of all kinds in Cuba, especially copper mining and ship-building. Juan de Texeda, who had been commissioned by the King to go to Havana and do what he could towards protecting the rich shipments of gold that were being sent from Mexico to Spain against the attacks of the English Admiral, Drake, sampled Cuban copper and pronounced it excellent. On the site of the present Maestranza Building, now devoted to the Department of Public Works and the Public Library, Texeda soon established a foundry, where he “cast the copper into both cannon and kettles.”

The mining of copper with profit depends on the price of the metal in the market and on the cost of extracting and transporting the ore to the smelter. This, of course, is true with all metals, hence it frequently happens that mines containing abundant ore are not worked, owing to the fact that the cost of production, when taken into consideration with the market price, eliminates the possibility of profit. During the past century the mines of “El Cobre” and vicinity, the extent of whose deposits seem to be almost unlimited, have been worked at such times and to such an extent as the market price of the ore would seem to justify.

Indications, such as boulders that through seismic disturbances or erosion seem to have rolled down from their original beds, and occasional outcroppings of copper-bearing ore, are found in every Province of the Island, although up to 1790 but few explorations worthy of mention were made outside of the Province of Oriente. The demands for metals of all kinds, especially chrome, manganese and copper, have resulted in more or less desultory prospecting since 1915, which has resulted in finding outcroppings of copper scattered throughout the mountains of Pinar del Rio. Claims have been located near Mantua, Vinales, Las Acostas, Santa Lucia, Pinar del Rio, and at various places between La Esperenza and Bahia Honda along the north coast.

Reports of copper or “claims,” resulting from traces found, have been made also in the Isle of Pines and at Minas, only a short distance east of the city of Havana, in that province. Copper claims have been registered near Pueblo Nuevo, too, in the Province of Matanzas. In the province of Santa Clara, claims have been recorded in the districts of Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Sancti Spiritus. Several very promising copper mines have been opened up in this province that will undoubtedly yield a profit if worked under intelligent management and with the judicious employment of capital. In the Province of Camaguey, copper has been discovered near Minas, and as several different places along the line of the Sierra de Cubitas. In Oriente, copper claims have been registered near Holguin and Bayamo, while “El Cobre,” of course, has been famous for its yield of ore since the days of the Spanish conquerors.

The excessive demand for copper resulting from the War in Europe, together with the high prices offered for that metal, recalled the fact that many years ago Spanish engineers and prospectors, among the hills of Pinar del Rio, frequently found small outcroppings of copper ore, and in some cases sank shafts for short distances, where the ore had been removed and carried to the coast on mule back. The low price of copper at that time, however, and the scarcity of labor following the abolition of slavery at the conclusion of the Ten Years’ War, discouraged serious work on the part of the old timers, traces of whose efforts still remain at various points along the northern slope of the Organos Mountains.

The first record we have of the exploration of the mineral zone in which the famous copper mine of this Province was discovered, dates back to 1790, but it resulted in no definite or profitable work. An English company of which General Narciso Lopez was president, during the early part of the 19th century, made some explorations in the district of El Brujo and Cacarajicara, located in the mountains back of Bahia Honda; but the defeat of Lopez’s revolutionary forces, and his subsequent execution in 1851, put an end to the effort.

Shortly after the Spanish American War, Col. John Jacob Astor, the American millionaire, became interested in the copper deposits of Pinar del Rio, which resulted in the establishment of several claims, none of which, however, were developed. Shortly after this a Mr. Argudin located claims known as Regelia and Jesus Sacramento, the former only two kilometers from that of the mine Matahambre. A small amount of preliminary work was done, but apparently proved unpromising.

In 1912 Alfredo Porta, a well-known citizen and politician of Pinar del Rio, interested Mr. Luciano Diaz, a former Secretary of the Treasury and a man of some means, in a claim which he had denounced some eight kilometers back from La Esperanza, on the north coast of the province. Messrs. Porta and Diaz secured the services of an experienced mining engineer, Mr. Morse, who visited the district, made a careful survey of the claim, and informed the owners that in his estimate Matahambre was worthy of the investment of any amount of capital, since the grade of the ore, and the amount exposed through Mr. Morse’s preliminary work, was sufficient to place it in the list of paying mineral properties.