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111:, which was known to carry silver, in a gorge later known as Tombstone Canyon. Dunn told his commanding officer Lt. John Rucker and a packer named Ted Byrne of his discovery. They named the find the "Rucker" and planned to file a claim, but were delayed when their patrol was ordered to resume pursuit of a band of Apache warriors. Before departing Fort Bowie, they met a 42-year old George Warren and persuaded him to file a claim for them with the agreement that Warren would name Dunn in all notices of locations for mining claims that he located. They provided him with a
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126:. On September 27, 1877, 56 days after Dunn located the Rucker Mine, Warren filed a claim for the Mercy Mine 1 mile (1.6 km) up Mule Pass Canyon from Iron Spring. Over the next six months his name is mentioned either as the locator or witness in several other claims in the Tombstone Canyon and Mule Mountains and established what became known as the Warren Mining District. He held a one-ninth interest in the new Copper Queen mine.
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subsequently made him a fortune. The company bought the
Atlanta Mine and poured over $ 76,000 (equivalent to $ 2,065,000 in 2023) into exploration before they found the ore body. When the claims and ore bodies in the area would likely overlap, leading to potential costly litigation, they merged with their neighbor the Copper Queen mine, forming the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company in 1885.
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engineers DeWitt Bisbee, William H. Martin, and John
Ballard in San Francisco to visit the mine, and they were pleased with the prospects. On May 12, 1880, Martin and Ballard agreed to furnish the funds to mine and smelt the ore and received seven-tenths interest in the Copper Queen mine and two-thirds interest in the Copper King. Reilly retained the remainder.
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As proposed by the mayor and volunteers seeking an alternative economic base, the company agreed to allow part of the mine to be open for tours. This area was renovated by paid and volunteer workers to create a heritage tourism site. More than one million visitors have seen the mine since it reopened
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Before engines were used to transport cars of ores, mules were trained to pull ore cars out of the mines. The loaded cars weighed up to 2,800 pounds (1,300 kg). The mules lived in the mines 24/7, sleeping in stables in the mines. The mules would spend four years working in the mines, after which
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The surface pockets of cerussite were soon exhausted, but the owners found that the orebody ran 23% copper, with silver and gold as byproducts. Most mines of that era could profitably mine ore containing 8% to 10% copper, so the Copper Queen orebody was considered extraordinarily high grade. The
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to purchase the mine in 1880 for US$ 20,000. When the ore assayed at 22% copper, Reilly became enthusiastic about the mine's possibilities. He bought out others' interest in the claims in April, 1880, and went to San
Francisco to see if he could market his option on the claims. Reilly persuaded
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company of New York City to examine potential copper mines. During his research, Douglas concluded the risk was great but persuaded the company they should go forward. Offered the choice of a flat fee or a 10% interest in the property for his services, he chose the latter, a decision that
183:, and followed dangerous practices like blasting while miners were in the mine and not permitting safety operators on drills and elevators. There were also widespread claims of discrimination against non-white miners. A miners union organized in 1917, when the mine was the site of an
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In the 1950s, Phelps Dodge developed open-pit mining at the Copper Queen; this enabled mining operations to continue. Underground work was also done. By the mid-1960s, the grade of ore from the Copper Queen had declined to 4%. The mine ceased production in 1975.
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was tracking Apache
Indians and camped at what was later called Iron Springs. The men didn't like the quality of the water and they sent Scout Jack Dunn to look for better quality water. During his search he found a spring along a very large cliff of
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investors for £350,000, but the offer was not taken up. In the early 20th century, the Copper Queen ranked as the most productive copper mine in
Arizona and was viewed by many as the best run copper mine in the United States. Deposits of
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time their eyesight deteriorated. In order to adjust them to daylight, blinders were placed over the mules' eyes with small holes poked in the material. The holes were slowly widened as the mule's eyes adjusted to the light.
133:, Warren made a friendly, drunken bet that he could outrun a man on a horse, but lost the bet and his one-ninth interest in the Copper Queen Mine, later estimated to be worth US$ 20,000 (equivalent to $ 543,000 in 2023).
191:. Phelps Dodge resisted union organizing and illegally used private police to arrest more than 1300 miners. They put them on railroad cars and expelled them from the town and area in what became known as the
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Warren didn't keep his agreement with Dunn. On his way to the claims office, Warren stopped in a saloon, got drunk, and gambled away the grubstake given him by Dunn and the others. He went to
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In the early 1900s, this was the most productive copper mine in
Arizona. While copper mining declined in the area in the 1930s and 1940s, the Copper Queen continued to be mined by the
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in 1976. Phelps Dodge's former headquarters building in Bisbee has been adapted as a mining museum, which offers interpretation of the mining era and its effects in the region.
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of southeast
Arizona may have been known as early as 1876, but the first mining claim was filed on August 2, 1877. In 1877, a U.S. Cavalry patrol from
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The mining work was extremely hazardous. The Phelps Dodge mine operators routinely demanded unpaid work, subjected miners to intrusive physical
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The company was acquired by
Freeport McMoRan, which in the early 21st century was investigating new means of mining in this area.
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surface oxide ore was exhausted after three or four years, but miners explored deeper and eventually found even larger orebodies.
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Classic Bisbee
Azurite and Malachite specimen from the Copper Queen mine. This specimen was in the personal collection of
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who had invented new methods of smelting copper, learned of the Warren mining district early on. He was sent by the
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Bisbee, Arizona's
Dowager Queen of Mining Camps – A Look at Her First 50 years in History of Mining in Arizona,
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process during the years following World War II. With decreasing returns, Phelps Dodge closed it in 1985.
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499:"The Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company 1885–1917 A History of the Company and its Employees"
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Leonard P. Larson and William C. Henkes, "The Mineral Industry of Arizona", US Bureau of Mines,
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eds. J. Michael Canty and Michael N. Greeley. Publisher: Mining Club of the Southwest Foundation
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Mining Magazine: An International Monthly Review of Current Progress in Mining and Metallurgy
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in the 1880s. Its orebody ran 23% copper, an extraordinarily high grade. It was acquired by
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Heritage of Conflict: Labor Relations in the Nonferrous Metals Industry up to 1930
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55:, United States. Its development led to the growth of the surrounding town of
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U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Copper Queen Mine
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published in 1900. Fly's caption was, "Discoverer of the Copper Queen Mine."
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For a photo of the Smithsonian display case of Dr. Douglas' specimens, see
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Johnston, W.J. (1903). "Bisbee: Arizona's Premier Copper Mining Camp".
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107:, later known as Castle Rock, and on his return an outcrop containing
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The Clifton-Morenci Strike: Labor Difficulty in Arizona, 1915–1916
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Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983
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Entrepreneurs Edward Reilly and Levi Zeckendorf bought an
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Duncan, J.F. (1911) "The Very Beginning of Bisbee",
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Buildings and structures in Cochise County, Arizona
652:. International Publishers Co. pp. v. 2, 269.
649:History of the Labor Movement in the United States
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553:The Evolution of International Business, 1800–1945
629:. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1970.
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436:"History of the Warren (Bisbee) Mining District"
331:, v.8, Houghton, Mich.: Horace Stevens, p. 1457.
298:File:Minerals from Bisbee at the Smithsonian.jpg
703:"Minerals, Mining and Miners of Bisbee Arizona"
115:, provisions, and a map to mining claim site.
707:Minerals, Mining and Miners of Bisbee Arizona
616:. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1950.
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485:Independent: A Biography of Lewis W. Douglas
163:In 1884–85 the mine was offered for sale to
851:Industrial Workers of the World in Arizona
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16:Copper mine in Cochise County, Arizona, US
483:Robert Paul Browder and Thomas G. Smith,
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856:1877 establishments in Arizona Territory
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463:. Cowboy Miner Productions. p. 55.
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680:. University of Arizona. Archived from
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457:Nicholl, Boyd; Coggin, Janice (2003).
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487:New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986, p. 7
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129:While drinking with acquaintances in
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556:. Taylor & Francis. p. 89.
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841:Museums in Cochise County, Arizona
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176:were also discovered in the mine.
94:The presence of copper ore in the
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434:Briggs, David F. (June 4, 2015).
23:Copper Queen Mine Tour, Sept 2008
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185:Industrial Workers of the World
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646:Foner, Philip Sheldon (1947).
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346:History of Bisbee 1877 to 1837
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674:"The Bisbee Deportation 1917"
460:Bisbee, Arizona, Then and Now
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742:Counting Arizona's Treasures
577:Kingsolver, Barbara (1996).
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831:Economic history of Arizona
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82:C. S. Fly's image of miner
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506:Mining History Association
327:Horace J. Stevens (1909),
149:Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
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846:Mining museums in Arizona
769:Copper Queen Mine website
797:31.440655°N 109.914797°W
348:. University of Arizona.
269:Copper mining in Arizona
821:Copper mines in Arizona
727:1966 Minerals Yearbook,
53:Cochise County, Arizona
802:31.440655; -109.914797
739:Fields, Terri (2003).
344:Cox, Annie M. (1938).
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550:Casson, Mark (2000).
438:. Arizona Independent
389:on September 23, 2015
383:"Wager of A Lifetime"
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407:Graeme, R.W. (1987)
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497:Graeme, Richard W.
424:14 November 3, 1911
422:Bisbee Daily Review
329:The Copper Handbook
313:The Copper Handbook
612:Jensen, Vernon H.
601:Copper Queen Mine.
274:Courtland, Arizona
193:Bisbee Deportation
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88:Souvenir of Bisbee
86:first appeared in
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625:Kluger, James R.
45:Copper Queen Mine
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729:v.3, p. 93.
362:|work=
49:copper mine
39:by his son.
37:Smithsonian
815:Categories
785:31°26′26″N
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688:2008-02-02
659:0717806278
635:0816502676
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285:References
131:Charleston
100:Fort Bowie
364:ignored (
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124:Tombstone
113:grubstake
105:limestone
63:in 1885.
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214:See also
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68:open-pit
74:History
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189:strike
174:silver
165:London
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502:(PDF)
147:, of
747:ISBN
654:ISBN
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591:ISBN
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518:2015
465:ISBN
444:2015
395:2015
366:help
172:and
170:gold
43:The
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