Clyde Weed tirelessly dedicated his life to making the Anaconda Copper Mining Company a powerful and respected organization.
Following graduation from Michigan College of Mining and Technology, he began his career in the industry as a surveyor, mucker and miner. He joined the Victoria Copper Mining Co. as Mine Superintendent two years later, and was the first college graduate to be given a supervisory position right away. He was watched very closely by mine operators of the Lake Superior copper region. In 1917, he joined Hancock Consolidate Copper Co., where he came to the notice of John D. Ryan, President of Anaconda Copper Mining Co. (Anaconda Co.). Ryan was instantly impressed with Weed's capabilities and, when the Hancock Mine closed in 1920, recommended him for Foreman of Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company’s property in Arizona. He was promoted to Assistant Manager in 1924 and, in 1929, was transferred to Mexico as General Manager of Anaconda's affiliate, Cananea Consolidated Copper Co. There, he developed a process for taking molybdenum out of copper ores. In 1935, he was promoted to President of this company and, three years later, was sent to New York as General Manager of all Anaconda mines. He advanced to Vice President of Anaconda in 1942; Director in 1949; and President in 1956. He was the first engineer to serve as President of the company since 1915. Weed was elected Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1958, but relinquished the title of CEO.in 1964, in order to devote more time to researching long range plans for the company.
Clyde Weed's illustrious career brought many awards, including honorary degrees by Michigan College of Mining and Technology, Michigan State University, the University of Arizona, and Montana School of Mines. The concentrator at the former Anaconda's Butte, Montana property bore his name, as did the town site at the Yerrington Mine in Nevada. In 1951, he received the prestigious William Lawrence Saunders Medal from the AIME, and the Government of Chile bestowed upon him the highest award given to a foreigner, “The Order of Merit Bernardo O'Higgins” (1957). He was the first Copper Man of the Year (1962) and received the first ANKH Award of The Copper Club in New York, for his contributions to the copper industry and his efforts in organizing the International Copper Research Association. He was President of the American Mining Congress in 1965-1968.
