THERE'S COPPER IN THEM THAR HILLS

Copper:  Arizona’s Gold Rush

We can’t live without it.  Every person will use approximately 1500 pounds of copper in their lifetime.   There are 50 pounds of copper in the average car, and about 400 pounds of copper in a standard house.  There is copper in your microwave, refrigerator, computer, and telephone.  Copper is used in plumbing, fiber optics, solar and wind power, generators, electronics, and medical technology. 

In fact, we, the state of Arizona, wouldn’t even be here without copper.  Many prospectors came to Arizona looking for silver and gold, but the majority of them moved on to California and did not settle here.  It was the early copper miners who settled and founded the towns, like Ajo, which was founded by a prospector named John Greenway.  The towns of Ehrenberg, Poston, and Wickenburg were also originally founded and established as copper mining communities. 

Copper has been mined here since the 1500s.  The native peoples mined copper to use for tools and weapons.  In the late 1700’s missionaries came to Arizona to establish missions and to mine and prospect in this area.   Arizona Mining and Trading Company, our state’s first mining company, was established in August 1854. 

Large scale production copper mining began in 1872, by the Longfellow Copper Company near Morenci.   In 1876, the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad opened the door for Arizona’s copper wealth to be transported to markets all over the world.  While in other parts of the country, the railroads brought industry with them, here, the need to transport copper brought railroads to Arizona.  Since 1910, Arizona has been the nation’s top producer of copper, producing more than all the other 49 states combined.   Copper mining on this scale helped the Arizona territory to achieve statehood in 1912.

Here is a really cool video on how copper ore is mined and turned into usable copper (Note:  No whales were harmed in the filming of this video...whales you say?)

Gold, silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum are important minerals that are by-products of copper mining.  Arizona is the 2^nd largest producer of molybdenum in the US.  Arizona is also famous for beautiful gemstones like turquoise, chrysacolla, azurite, and malachite which are secondary minerals that form in copper ore bodies. 

There are two great day trips that can be taken from Quartzsite to copper mining areas.   One is to Planet Ranch and the other is to the ghost town of Swansea.  The Planet Ranch area has over 100 copper mines.  The area is rich in Chrysacolla, and in several areas the chrysacolla deposits are on the surface, creating beautiful swirls of color in the red/brown rhyolite.  We found nice malachite and azurite specimens as well when we were there.  Planet Ranch itself has recently been purchased by Freeport McMoran and is no longer open to the public, but there are several mines located on public land outside Planet Ranch boundaries that are accessible.


PLANET RANCH 

Inside a Mine Shaft at Planet Ranch.

Planet's post office was established March 28, 1902 and discontinued March 31, 1921. The Planet copper mine, the mainstay of Planet and the second copper mine in Arizona to be worked by Americans, was discovered in 1863. Slowly a town grew around the mine and finally got a post office in 1902. When the mines played out in 1921, Planet succumbed to financial ruin as miners went elsewhere for work.

DIRECTIONS TO PLANET RANCH:

To get to Planet take Osborne Well Road, just before mile 143, before you reach Parker from Quartzsite, or take Swansea Rd from Bouse (on SR72) and drive to Four Corners. Here continue straight on Swansea  Rd. and take Planet Ranch Rd on the right.  Drive until you reach gate. On the right side are remains of Planet and Planet mine. Not a problem for 2WD, though the road narrows and gets a little rough in places, and at times travels through narrow canyons.  Have fun!!

For lots of photos of Planet Ranch, go to my Blog Post  "Stop Signs, Canyons, and Pretty Rocks" about my trip to Planet Ranch  or click this link Stop Signs, Canyons, and Pretty Rocks


SWANSEA

Smelter at Swansea

Swansea is the site of a former mining town.  This ghost town boasts the remains of a railroad depot, a smelter, several mine shafts, two cemeteries, some restored miner’s quarters, many stone foundations, and interesting tailings piles.  Swansea is open to the public. Originally this mining camp was known as Signal, the name was changed to Swansea when a smelter was built in approx 1909. The ore was sent to Swansea, South Wales, for smelting. At it's peak, in approx 1911, Swansea is said to have had a population of over 700 people. The town was settled and the post office was established in 1909.   It served as a mining town as well as a location for processing and smelting the copper ore taken from the nearby mines.

Ruins of buildings at Swansea

Prospecting and mining in the area first began around 1862, but the remote location and lack of transportation kept activity to a minimum. By 1904, the railroad was coming to nearby Parker, and local miners Newton Evans and Thomas Jefferson Carrigan saw an opportunity to develop the area. Within a few years, the two miners had built a 350 ton furnace, a water pipeline to the Bill Williams River, and hoists for five mine shafts. They called the new town Signal (not to be confused with the other Arizona ghost town of Signal).  By 1908, the claims in the area had been consolidated by the Clara Gold and Copper Mining Company, which setup its headquarters in the mining camp that would become Swansea.  That same year, what was to become the Arizona and Swansea Railroad connected Signal to Bouse some 25 miles (40 km) away. These two factors spurred the growth of the town, and its population quickly grew to about 300 residents. 

Smelter and ruins

When mining operations first began, the lack of smelting facilities meant that the copper ore had to be sent away for smelting. The destination for most of the ore was Swansea, South Wales, United Kingdom and it was sent by way of railroad to the Colorado River, and was then shipped from the Gulf of California around Cape Horn to the United Kingdom. Once a smelter was constructed in 1909, Signal took its new name from the previous location of the smelter they had used in Wales. As such, the destination of the ore sent for smelting remained the same. When the post office was established on March 25, 1909, it was under the name of Swansea. 

Smelter

Restored miners cabins

At its peak, Swansea boasted an electric light company, an auto dealer, a lumber company, two cemeteries, a saloon, theaters, restaurants, barbershops, an insurance agent, a physician, and of course the local mining and smelting facilities.

DIRECTIONS TO SWANSEA:

From Bouse, take Plomosa Road.  Plomosa Road will turn into a dirt road and eventually will become Swansea Rd.  Continue on Swansea Rd.  You will cross the Central Arizona Project Canal  Continue on Swansea Road, passing the ghost town of Midway, BLM camping areas, and a fork in the road that goes to Planet Ranch.

Swansea ruins

There's Copper In Them Thar Hills by Jenn Jedidiah Free & RocksInMyHead is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://jedidiahfree.blogspot.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://DesertMessenger.com.

Visit Rocks In My Head at Space A37 in Rice Ranch, 605-376-8754, or go toRocks In My Head website  We have a great selection of Chrysacolla in Rhyolite from Planet Ranch, azurite and chrysacolla silicate cabochons, turquoise, and really cool copper nuggets.

Beautiful Azurite/Gem Silica Cabochon  from Rocks In My Head
Buy It Now