United Copper

The United Copper Company was a short-lived United States copper mining business in the early 20th century that played a pivotal role in the Panic of 1907.

United Copper was incorporated in 1902 by F. Augustus Heinze, a copper magnate who had tussled for years with Amalgamated Copper for lucrative copper mines in Butte, Montana. The firm was incorporated in New Jersey with an authorized capital of US$80,000,000. United Copper combined Heinze interests in The Montana Ore Purchasing Company, The Nipper Consolidated Copper Company, The Minnie Healy Mining Company, The Corra Rock-Island Mining Company, and the The Belmont Mining Company.

Upon consolidation, United Copper was capable of producing about 42 million pounds (19 thousand metric tons) of copper a year, as compared to 143 million pounds (65 thousand metric tons) per year for Amalgamated Copper.

United Copper was literally traded "on the curb" outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). "On the curb" trading was later formalized as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX).