Augustus Heinze, one of the three “Copper Kings” of Butte, incited the long and violent “Apex War” that permanently altered the history of mining.​

In 1895, Heinze hit upon a scheme. The huge Amalgamated Copper Company, backed by Standard Oil, had absorbed the richest mines in the world in Butte. His plan was to put the “depraved trust” out of business. He bought the Rarus Mine, which sat next to one of theirs. He then set forth to battle the mighty trust, both in the courts and underground. He flooded them with over 100 lawsuits, and while the trust appealed, Heinze’s miners raided their properties and stole over a million dollars worth of high grade ore. But Amalgamated fought back: intruding spearheads were destroyed by blasts, corridors were flooded. Heinze twisted the Apex Laws and, with his friend, Judge Clancey, the trust was brought down, for the prejudiced court ruled the Amalgamated was an illegal combine.​

Now, William Scallon, head of Amalgamated, made his move. He shut down every piece of industry controlled by the trust. The mines, the huge smelter at Anaconda, the refineries, sawmills, logging camps…all were closed. Railroads, banks, and stores began shutting down. 20,000 people had no jobs and demanded that Heinze undo the horrible blight he had brought to the state. Scallon kept the properties closed and called for the Governor to promote a “fair trial bill.” The bill passed and the trust reopened. Montana celebrated! The copper trust had won the war. In 1906, Amalgamated absorbed Heinze’s properties, but for over seven years he had fought the War of the Apex and the resulting empire of Anaconda was formed.​

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