Smoke and Tailings

Smoke and Tailings explores the environmental history of copper-smelting industry in Butte and Anaconda, Montana. Situating within the emerging “Envirotech” field, Smoke and Tailings blends environmental history and the history of technology. Author and historian Fredric L. Quivik integrates these disciplines with political, legal, and business history to provide a comprehensive analysis of the industry’s environmental legacy.

Butte’s history, a long-standing subject of historical inquiry, gains new depth as Quivik examines the technological developments pioneered by local mining companies. He challenges the simplistic narrative of a powerful corporation imposing its will on helpless agricultural communities. Local communities mounted strong opposition to the industry’s polluting methods; Quivik acknowledges this dynamic while also revealing efforts by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company to address environmental issues. The company developed and implemented technical solutions to minimize resource waste and mitigate damage, driven by both economic interests and litigation pressures. While these advancements lessened some of the environmental harm, they were insufficient to prevent long-term consequences. The operations in Butte and Anaconda ultimately created the largest Superfund complex in the United States, requiring billions of dollars in remediation.

Quivik’s nuanced approach opens the “black box” of technology, showing how innovations both alleviated and exacerbated the environmental challenges of mining, milling, and smelting. In addition to contributing to the rich literature on smelter smoke, this book breaks new ground by examining the underexplored environmental impacts of tailings, offering a fresh perspective on the intersection of industry, technology, and environmental change. The cultural landscapes of Butte and Anaconda retain many features of the region’s history of both environmental degradation and remediation. Smoke and Tailings is an essential addition to the study of Butte’s industrial and ecological history.