Anaconda Copper Mining Company (until 1915 known as the Amalgamated Copper Mining Company) was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century. The Anaconda was purchased by Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO

ARCO

Atlantic Richfield Company is an oil company with operations in the United States as well as in Indonesia, the North Sea, and the South China Sea. It has more than 1,300 gas stations in the western part of the United States. ARCO was originally formed by the merger of East Coast-based Atlantic...

) on January 12, 1977. At present (2007), Anaconda exists only as an environmental liability for BP

BP

BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...

, the current owner of ARCO.
Anaconda Copper Mining Company started in 1881 when Marcus Daly

Marcus Daly

Marcus Daly redirects here, see also Marcus Daly Marcus Daly was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States.- Early life:...

 bought a small silver mine called Anaconda near Butte, Montana

Butte, Montana

Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...

.