A. Royce Wolfe papers, 1900-1968

A. Royce Wolfe (d. 1978) was an executive with the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO). ASARCO was founded in 1899 by Henry H. Rogers, William Rockefeller, Adolph Lewisohn, Robert S. Town, Anton Eilers, and Leonard Lewisohn. At its creation ASARCO consisted of 23 different smelting companies. The metals industry-rich Guggenheim family gained control of ASARCO through aggressive business means and ASARCO would be headed by a member of the Guggenheim family until 1957.

ASARCO’s expansion and acquisition continued during the years prior to World War I. The outbreak of World War I created a huge need for metals, such as copper, and ASARCO benefited since Europe was largely dependent on the United States for its copper supply. By 1929 ASARCO was the largest refiner of nonferrous metals in the world. ASARCO did not benefit as much during World War II as Europe's reliance on U.S. copper was not as great. After World War II, secondary products became increasingly important for ASARCO, including bismuth, antimony, indium, arsenic, and tellurium.

By the 1950s, ASARCO's expansion focused on mining, particularly copper mining. By the early 1970s copper was accounting for nearly two-thirds of ASARCO's earnings. In 1975, it officially changed its name to Asarco, Inc. By the early 1980s the price of copper was dropping so ASARCO continued to diversify, becoming a major force in specialty chemicals, metal finishing, and electronics.

The American Smelters Securities Company (ASSC) was organized in 1905 as a public company but was controlled by ASARCO officers and director. Since expansion further into mining would cost much more than ASARCO possessed in cash resources, ASSC offered securities guaranteed by ASARCO to finance new and expensive projects.