Show Tintic Mining District Has Interesting Story Operations During Nearly Half a a. Century Are l Described in Geological Survey Publication aLLOWING is a portion of an article by V. V C. C Heikes giving F FOLLOWING FaLLOWING the history of mining and metallurgy in the Tintic district and which is contained in the 1919 publication of the United States v Y i ecological survey in InDe De December ember 1869 1869 the first mining 1 claim was located In the the- region that was c s 's subsequently organized Into the Tintic mining district This was the Sunbeam Sunbeams i dalm In the southern part of ot the re reo re- gion gion The district was organized early If J n in iso but little work was done until s I the fall all of that year The Black Dragon I north of the Sunbeam was discovered i I tn in January 1870 and In February the Eureka Hilt Hill and Mammoth properties 1 were staked Deposits of ot lead carbonate rich rich- richIn In silver were being discovered dally daily but it was difficult to get the ore to market In 1871 the producing camps were Eureka Silver City and Diamond City 0 The growth of ot the region was steady and most of the early producers were i still shipping ore forty years later Among the earliest prospects were the Mammoth Armstrong Martha Washington Washing ton Shoe bridge Swansea Eureka Hill Hilland and Showers Even n at t that early date many na yS kinds 3 of ore w were e et mined including j ing tag principally the carbonate and sulphide sulphide sul sul- t.- t. of lead carbonate oxide and sult sul- sul t of copper and siliceous gold goldT T- T and silver ores containing small amounts 4 j of ot copper These different kinds of ore led to complications in sale and treat treat- ment Owing to poor transportation facilities t t the he development of ot the mines In the Tintic Tintic Tin Tin- 0 tic district for the first few years was not There was however o considerable consid- consid I erable activity er in mining t in the rc e-rc richest of t the ores near the surface and shipping them to San Francisco Ca Cal to Reno I i.- i. j Nev to Baltimore Md and even to Swansea Wales Vales Later most of ot the ores were shipped to Argo and Pueblo Colo Cob I Pond Vid nd to the smelters in the Salt Lake valley 4 The lower grade ores were treated at mills and smelters In the district at first with Indifferent success as the reduction processes then In use were not fully I 1 adapted to them Ores taken from the Immediate surface were handled with some Borne success in amalgamation plants but butone A s one of ot the greatest troubles is said to have been the abundance of antimony in inthe Inthe the ores milled causing the mercury to flour This was overcome to a large ex extent ex- ex te tent by roasting I or h the ores i ret gs In 1875 the nearest a s railroad station o to r Utah the camp was Payson Pason on the Southern railroad twenty-eight twenty miles 1 a. a away but a route was being surveyed through the West Tintic country for the rr r Utah Western Vestern The output of the district dis dis- dis rj j at that time consisted of silver bullion lead bars and copper matte and the notable producers rs were the Eureka Hill Bullion Mammoth Sunbeam BowErs Bowers Bowers Bow Bow- ers Morning Glory Showers and Gold Hill During the next three years there was no great change In production OUTPUT IS DOUBLED v The The building of ot railroads had a great effect on the output of ot Tintic as the chief product of ot the camp has always been first class shipping ore In 1878 the Utah southern railroad was extended southward to Ironton five miles southwest of ot Eureka and In the i following year the output of ot the district es nearly doubled During this year 1879 the Mammoth Crismon-Mammoth o company P marketed marketed mar mar- tt t ir o worth of r sll silver bullion ar In Inthe If the the next two years the Mammoth and Tintic mills produced much bullion and the Eureka Hill was a regular shipper of f ore pre Amalgamation mills were not successful successful suc- suc as all the copper and half halt the gold and silver were lost The Tintic mill by the ores recovered In gold and ounces of ot sil silver silver sll- sll ver and the Bullion Beck mine became a notable shipper In 1883 the Salt Lake Western railroad railroad rail rall- road as It was then known handled r r tons of ot ore from the district The road 1 had been completed from Ironton to Sliver Silver Sil Sli- ver City and there was a branch to Mammoth The American Eagle Bullion I Beck Eureka Hill and Mammoth were large shippers y s. s During u l the next year I 1884 the output of the district Increased in increased increased In- In creased to tons of ot which j tons was shipped to smelters At that i 1 time the annual production reached the J million dollar mark and silver sliver represented J. J the greatest part of ot the value A large part of ot the ore shipped from the district at that time and later was oxidized and contained a large percentage of iron with a little gold and silver that made It valuable as a smelting flux Dur- Dur ng 1887 about tons of ot ore was shipped from various mines Including tons of ot Iron ore and the Eureka Hill Hill alone shipped tons averaging 50 ounces of ot silver to the ton and 12 per cent of ot lead Dividends were vere paid by the Mammoth Bullion Beck and Eureka Eurela Hill hut but little was published concerning concerning- profits either then or later In 1887 and 1888 the value of all aU products was nearly each year and In 1889 It It approached The Centennial I Eureka property which has had a larger larg-er output than any other mine in the district district dis dis- dis became an Important producer having begun shipping in 1886 at the same time as the Gemini At this time the district had four tour main producing o n areas The southernmost was f in the vicinity ic f of Silver II City oi In I the southern part of ot the district The next to the north h was t the Mammoth Basin d The t Eureka area z farther north th In Included In- In I eluded the Bullion Beck Eureka Hill Centennial Eureka and Gemini mines East of the Eureka and Mammoth groups was the area of ot the Godiva Uncle f Sam Humbug Utah and Sioux mines I In 1889 the production had Increased to tons of ot which the Eureka Hill alone pro produced tons Tailings Tailing's from the Mammoth mine were leached to ad ad- van vantage tage OUTPUT AGAIN DOUBLED In 1890 the value of the output was nearly double that of the preceding year being over from about tons of ore This was a record output at the time and in fad fact it was larger than any subsequent years year's output until 1899 As silver has been the main resource of the district fluctuations in the price of the metal have ha seriously affected mining From 1890 to 1901 the price of silver dropped from 10 to 60 cents an ounce oune The silver sliver output of ot the district was slightly decreased In 1891 and considerably bly so in the next two years The Rio Grande Grands Western Vestern railroad now Denver Rio Grande entered the district In 1891 giving It the advantage of two roads The ore output of the district in 1892 was waR about tons but production production production tion decreased In 1893 The value of ot the output remained close dose to n 1893 and 1894 In 1895 there was an in increase crease particularly in gold and silver which h C brought the I va value of the e output t up to about tO Owing to et t the operations opera r C tf t f the newly built quartz mills mill the value of the ore produced In 1896 rose roseto roseto roseto to over In 1897 1197 there was a slight decrease In total value due principally principally principally prin prin- to a decrease In the output of silver but the prO production of lead In Increased Increased increased In- In creased nearly pounds In 1898 crude ore concentrates and bullion were being hI ped over the two railroads railroad and the product was valued at over The leading producers were the Eureka Hill Hili Bullion B ck B ck Centennial Eurela Eurel a Grand Central Mammoth Star Swansea South Swansea Eagle and Bluebell Humbug Humbug humbug Hum Hum- bug Uncle Sam and Joe Bowers mines LEADER IN PRODUCTION In 1899 the Tintic district was the leadIng leadIng lead- lead Ing log mining center of the state in value of ot output which was over The fhe shipping mines were the Mammoth Bullion Bullion Bullion Bul Bul- lion Beck Centennial Eureka Grand Central Central Central Cen Cen- Gemini Eureka Hill Swansea SoutH Swansea Godiva Humbug Uncle Sam Sioux Sunbeam Ajax Max Star Consolidated Four Acres Carisa Jo Joe Bowers May Day Northern Spy Sp Eagle Treasure Hill Lower Mammoth Tesora Alaska Showers Show Show- ers Consolidated Boss Tweed Utah Rabbits Rabbit's Foot and Silver Park The Tintic Tintic Tin Tin- tic Dragon Iron mine shipped in 1899 nearly cars of iron ore to be used as flux Lead In 1899 had reached a production production production pro pro- of over mounds Bounds and andI I copper hr ha 1 I increased sed to over pounds The annual production of the camp often exceeded that of ot Bingham until that district became the largest copper copper copper cop cop- per producer and the records of ot many years showed Tintic outdoing Park City In spite of ot that fact less was written with regard reg-ard to the development of ot the region than about other equally productive productive productive tive mineral areas In 1900 an increase In gold silver slIver and copper gave e a total o v value of over v hN hf p which was a the record a at that date and was not exceeded until 1906 The following year ear 1901 the production of all the metals except copper decreased owing in great part to litigation In 1902 there was a further decrease resulting largely from the suspension of shipments from the Centennial Eureka mine It was during that year ear that the American Smelting and R Refining f company and n the sR J United States s Smelting company n completed completed com com- 0 their plants at Murray and Midvale Midvale Midvale Mid- Mid vale Utah where a large part of Tintic's ore was afterward reduced By this time practically all the output was first class shipping ore most of ot the mills having served their usefulness Great depth had been gained at many of ot the mines and this same year a rich strike was made at atthe atthe atthe the Gemini mine on the foot 1700 level then Its deepest Other mines that became became became be be- came large producers were the AJax Ca Ca- Lower Mammoth Tesora TeBora and Yankee Yankee Yan Tan kee Consolidated 31 SHIPPING LU 1904 Conditions improved slightly In 1903 so that the output was valued at nearly 5 again though the lead production was less Fire Interrupted work In the Eureka Hill and several adjoining mines including the e Centennial n Eureka e which I nevertheless ne i e ew w was the nV largest g shipper pp of the region The value of the output in ln 1904 was nearly from over 1 tons of ore and there were Increases I In all metals except lead Thirty-one Thirty mines shipped by way of the Rio Grande I and Salt Lake Lale railroads In 1906 the un unusually unusually un un- usually large production was valued at over There was a big Increase In lead a partly from the Beck Tunnel property property prop prop- g hk V eSce erty t which furnished r e the sensation a of the year This rich lead ore came from a new area I In the eastern s part lerr of et the district I t l l I In 1907 ore valued at nearly I was marketed The Colorado mine was wasa waso I a new and large I producer o of 1 lead carbonate carbonate car car- a I 1 I Ithe bonate o containing 93 ounces s of f silver e to the ton and 35 per cent of ot lead Lead I carbonate was concentrated at the May MayDay MayDay I Day mill whose capacity was enlarged to toI I sixty-five sixty tons I After Afler the panic of 1907 production was greatly reduced In 1908 Prices were low I and the smelting rate was hl high h. h Two copper smelters in Utah were closed In 1909 1009 mining had recovered and the district made a record output of lead principally principally pally from the Colorado Iron Blossom Sioux and Beck Tunnel mines At the same time a modern ore sampling mill was erected at Silver City In 1910 forty producers shipped over tons of ot ore valued at nearly of which half was lead ore The followIng year the output had nearly nearh the same value The Centennial Eureka lureka alone shipped over tons of ore I The year vear 1912 wa was notable because use the production was valued at nearly 10 the record of the district for all years During that year the district became became became be be- came a zinc producer for the first time in its history Mixed carbonate and silicate ores of zinc were shipped from the MayDay May May- MayDay MayI Day Uncle Sam Lower Mammoth Yan Tan kee Gemini and Ridge and Valley mines I In 1913 decreases amounting to about 2 were recorded in gold silver sliver copper copper copper cop cop- per and zinc |