Nevada Nugget Hunters

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May 1, 1920 MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS
ARIZONA

Arizona’s Oldest Copper Mine
By F. Le R THURMOND

The oldest copper mine in the State of Arizona is the Planet, situated on the Bill Williams fork, of the Colorado River, about 15 miles from Swansea. It has been leased to the Consolidated Smelting Co., and a force of men is at work, preparatory to commencing actual mining. The history of the mine dates from 1865, when rich oxidized ore was mined, and hauled 12 miles to the

Pic THE COMET SMELTER IN 1884

Colorado River. Here it was loaded onto flat-boats and floated to the Gulf of California, thence in sailing vessels around ‘The Horn’ to Swansea, Wales. About a million dollars worth of copper was thus produced, before trouble with the Indians; and added to the depletion of the richer ore bodies, caused operations to be suspended.

In 1884, a smelting furnace with a capacity of 80 tons per day, was erected and operated for five months. This plant is shown in the accompanying illustrations. One thousand tons of slag that it produced, was shipped by lessees in 1917, the smelter returns from which, showed an average copper content of 5%. When examining the remains of this slag-dump, I found pieces of slag containing numerous shots of copper, varying from one to four millimeters in diameter. From 1915 to 1917, when the price of copper was high, lessees mined and shipped about half a million dollars worth of copper, hauling the ore with trucks, to Midway, a station on the Arizona-Swansea railroad. It is said that no ore was shipped that assayed less than 6% copper.

The ore mined to date has been oxidized, largely carbonate, and silicate, with the latter predominating. Hematite or specularite is the principal gangue mineral. The ore bodies occur in veins or lenses, in the pre-Cambrian complex, made up for the most part, of granite gneiss, with many patches and areas of complex metamorphosed sediments, the whole being intruded with mesozoic lavas, which seem to have given rise to the iron oxide segregations, with which the copper is associated. Hematite-limestone contacts form the loci of the workable orebodies.
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SILVER MINES NEAR PRESCOTT ARE BEING REVIVED.

Prescott —A large consolidation of mining properties has been affected by the newly organized Peak Silver Mining Co. The officers are H. H. Keays, president; Charles A. Weidler, secretary and treasurer; and J. E. Pierson, general manager. The consolidation takes in the old Emporia, Black Horse, Benedict, Yellow Jacket, Lluvia de Oro, Happy Home, Bornite, and Lost Burro properties, which are in various stages of development.

Unwatering of the Black Horse shaft, 130 ft. deep, is in progress. The last work done thirty years ago, resulted in shipping three carloads of high-grade silver ore. A gasoline hoist is being put in. The best developed property in the group is the Emporia, which has been a producer for a number of years, until just prior to the War (WW1). Two shafts each, 200 ft. deep, and considerable lateral work, constitute the development. It is estimated that 9500 tons of ore is available for immediate mining.

The new company plans to use the oil-flotation process and a stamp-mill. The company also has available nearly 4,000,000 ft. of virgin pine timber, and a 2000-hp. water-power. Ore in former years, has been mined profitably from six of the properties of the consolidation. The value of the visible assets of the company, is estimated at slightly over half a million dollars. There are 15 known parallel veins of ore, in a width of three miles, which carry gold, silver, and copper. It is expected that high-grade silver ore will be found in the Black Horse, as soon as the old workings are cleaned out. The Emporia mill is to be equipped with flotation early this spring.

The area that is being taken over, includes 62 mining claims, or about 1220 acres on the Hassayampa River, 10 miles south of Prescott. Mine owners of the Prescott district have been watching with interest, the operations at the Monte Cristo silver mine, on Groom Creek, 8 miles south of here. W. H. Worthington, and Grover Hubbel, of Wickenburg, have acquired this old mine by purchase. The shaft is 400 ft. deep, with much work done on levels above the 300-ft. point. The main orebody is from 2 to 3 ft. wide, with a rich streak of shipping ore 15 in. wide, in the center.

Recently, the owners started a 10-ft. K & K flotation machine in the old mill, which is now making a 95% recovery. A smaller sized K & K machine is to be used as a cleaner, and will increase the capacity to 40 tons per 24 hours, and is expected to raise the recovery. The success of this flotation plant in the silver district south of Prescott, which begins 4 miles from town, and extends 30 miles beyond Crown King, a distance of at least 65 miles south from Prescott, means the re-awakening of the mining spirit of the entire district. There was no process to successfully handle the sulphide silver ores, prior to the development of the flotation process. Plans are already being made by five new companies, which have taken over old, and partly developed properties of this district, to use the flotation process in old mills which have not turned a wheel for ten to forty years.

Announcement is made of the purchase of the Gladiator and War Eagle gold mines, at Crown King, by the Philadelphia Mining Co., which owns the adjoining property on the west. A tunnel on the older property, 1200 ft. long, is to be used in the development of the newly acquired properties, which will give a depth of 1200 ft. under the apex. Flotation will be used in the old mill. George Harrington, of Crown King, is the principal in the deal in Arizona.
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MAYER- The Half Moon Copper Co. has found rich copper glance ore in a drift, 170 ft. north, from the bottom of the 500-ft. shaft. The streak is 12 in. wide, and assays 49% copper. The face of the drift is in milling ore. In the west crosscut, three feet of chalcopyrite ore, averaging 4% copper, has been cut. The property is half a mile south of the Arizona Binghampton Mine, in the Copper Mountain district, five miles north-east of Mayer.
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MIAMI- It is reported that the Old Dominion Copper Co., by sinking to the 1900 and 2000-ft. levels, has increased its ore-reserves by 500,000 tons. Copper oxide occurs in the 1900-ft. level, owing to the displacement of the Pinal Creek fault; this is believed to be of great importance, as it proves a westerly extension of the ore-bodies. The depth to which the ore can be profitably worked, will depend on the amount of water to be handled, 7,000,000 gallons now being pumped. Under the present reduced operations, the mine is producing 850 tons of ore per day.
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The Iron Cap Copper Co. shipped 7300 tons of ore during March. Work on the new mill is reportedly progressing rapidly. It should be completed by the middle of May. The treatment in the new mill, comprises rod-mills, for both primary and secondary grinding; roughing tables, following initial grinding; secondary grinding; flotation; drag classifiers; and tabling of the sands. The ore to be treated is mostly bornite, and it is expected that an extraction of 95% will be obtained. The Iron Cap ore, is at present being treated in the Inspiration
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It is reported that development at the Arizona Commercial, has opened ore between the 600 and 1600-ft. levels, up to a width of 40 ft., running 5% copper. The plans for the new 1500-ton mill of the Old Dominion, which is to handle the milling ore of the Arizona Commercial, have been completed.
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Preparations are under way to renew churn-drilling at the Porphyry Consolidated. C. E. Bosworth, mining geologist of Phoenix, is making a surface examination of the property. Any new ore developed, pending negotiations for the sale of the Porphyry Consolidated property to the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., will be taken care of by increasing the purchase price, it is announced.
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Jerome.—The town where the U. V. X. smelter is situated, is hereafter to be called Clemenceau. It was decided that Verde was confusing, as there was an old post office in the same valley, by the name of Fort Verde. James S. Douglas, president of the Extension Company, is said to have selected the new name, having in mind his overseas experience in the Red Cross, at the Paris depot.
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Phoenix.—The Arizona Cave Creek Mines Co. has recently been formed by A. S. Lewis, of Phoenix. The company is backed by prominent Rochester and Buffalo capitalists. The company will take over promising prospects in the Cave Creek district and develop them.
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Pima County.—Percy Williams, general manager for the Eli Tlro Leasing Co., reports that ore is now being stoped at four places on the 200-ft. level, averaging better than 8%. Stope No. 4, with over 200 ft. of virgin ground overhead, is furnishing nearly one-half car per day of 7 % ore. Certain portions of this new stope for eight feet in width average more than 10% copper. During March, 29 cars of ore were shipped, totaling 1457 dry tons, averaging 8.04% copper, which was sold at an average price of 18.28c. per pound. Four cars of this ore were produced by sub-lessees, working at various points on the surface where there is enrichment.
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Tucson —B. Hatcher, of the assaying firm of Andrus & Hatcher, of Tucson, has taken charge of the Roadside Mine, 50 miles southwest of Tucson, for the Huntington interests of Los Angeles. A new shaft will be sunk, as the old shaft is in bad condition.
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Yavapai County —W. E. Plank is drilling some placer ground near the old Rich Hill diggings. He has a full crew at work, and so far, his returns have been encouraging.
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