When American Resources declared October “Copper Month,” this is not at all what we had in mind.  A story out of San Francisco, headline above, reports that thieves have made off with a 122-year-old copper church bell, weighing in at 5,300 pounds.  Given that copper is currently valued at about $3.34/lb, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that the bell is headed for the smelter.

While we hope the bell is found and returned to its rightful place, we can’t help but consider it a bellwether of the current lack of domestic resource development.