Railroads and Mining in Utah's Bingham Canyon, Early Copper Era 1900-1914

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Early Copper Era, 1900-1914

During the early years of copper production in Bingham Canyon, several mining companies used either railroads or aerial tramways to transport their ore. In the 1895-1910 period, these included the following (in roughly chronological order):

In April 1905, the Bingham Bulletin newspaper compiled statistics of the mines of Bingham, together with the tonnage being shipped and the number of men employed across the camp. There were 14 active major mines, shipping a total of 3,410 tons of ore, employing 1,867 men in the district's mines, mills and smelter. There were also smaller mines employing 100 men, and shipping 25 tons. (Deseret News, April 17, 1905)

Porphyry Copper vs. Sulphide Copper Ore

Porphyry ore bodies typically contain between 0.4 and 2 percent copper with smaller amounts of other metals such as molybdenum, silver and gold. Porphyry copper deposits are currently the largest source of copper ore at Bingham. (Porphyry Copper at Wikipedia)

In the earlier years, the underground mines were mining sulphide copper ores, also known as copper-iron ore, or black copper ore, which were much higher percentage of copper, as high as 40 to 60 percent. (Sulphide Copper at Wikipedia)

Utah Consolidated (Highland Boy mine)

Highland Boy Gold Mining Company was organized in October 1896 as the U.S. subsidiary of Utah Consolidated Gold Mines, Ltd. of London. Between 1898 and 1900, the company shipped the majority of the copper from Bingham district, as sulfide ores. By 1901, the Highland Boy mine was the "chief" producer of copper in the Bingham District. ("Economic Geology of the Bingham Mining District, Utah", USGS Professional Paper 38, 1905, pp. 265, 268)

In November 1896, Utah Consolidated began development work in Highland Boy mine and soon discovered that the ore body contained 25 percent copper. (Hansen, p. 268)

Utah Consolidated shipped 5,000 tons of copper sulfide ore from the Highland Boy mine in December 1896. All of this ore production resulted from development work (developing access tunnels) rather than actual mining operation. ("Economic Geology of the Bingham Mining District, Utah", USGS Professional Paper 38, 1905, p. 85)

In 1897, Utah Consolidated constructed a 12,500 foot aerial tramway from its Highland Boy mine down to the Rio Grande Western station at Bingham. (Mines and Minerals, October 1907, p. 106)

In May 1897, Utah Consolidated's Highland Boy mine shipped its first copper ore. (Hansen, p. 268)

(Read more about Utah Consolidated Mining Company)

Bingham Copper and Gold Mining Company

The Bingham Copper and Gold Mining Company was the first of the mining company consolidations that would be the main force in the development of the Bingham as one of the richest and most productive mining districts in the United States.

In 1895, Bingham Gold Mining Company bought the "old" Commercial claim, near the Old Jordan claim in upper Bingham Canyon. The new owners of the Commercial mine soon found that the gold ore was playing out and that they were finding more and more of the copper ore. In late 1896, the Highland Boy mine of the Utah Consolidated Gold Mines, Ltd., in another part of Bingham canyon, had begun shipping large quantities of copper ore. The owners of the Commercial mine found that their mine was in the same geologic formation and that they had copper ore reserves equal to those of the Utah Consolidated company.

Bingham Copper and Gold Mining Company started construction on its Midvale smelter in October 1899. Construction was completed in January 1901, with test runs begun on January 15th. Full production began on January 31st, at the same time as the completion of the Copper Belt railroad. Throughout 1900, prior to full production, and to stockpile ore stocks, the mining company began shipping ore from the mine to the smelter in what was called "a steady stream of wagons". To get the smelter into full production, in addition to their own ore, the mining company used custom ores from the Grand Central and the Tesora mines in Tintic, along with reprocessing the slag dumps from the old smelters at Stockton. (Economic Geology of the Bingham Mining District, USGS Professional Paper No. 38, 1905, page 254)

(Read more about Bingham Copper and Gold Mining Company, and the later Bingham Consolidated Mining Company)

In May 1901, the Bingham Copper and Gold company purchased the Dalton and Lark Group, which was made up of several mines in Copper Center Gulch, including the Dalton and Lark, Yosemite No.2, Richmond, Lead, Sampson, Antelope, Wasatch, Miner's Dream, and Silver Gauntlet. The Dalton and Lark vein continued across Bingham Canyon to the east in Yosemite Gulch, becoming part of the Brooklyn and Yosemite claims. The entire group was known as the Yosemite-Lark vein. (Economic Geology of the Bingham Mining District, USGS Professional Paper No. 38, 1905, page 315)

(Read more about the Dalton & Lark mine, and the railroad spur that served it)

Copper Belt Railroad

Bingham Copper and Gold Mining Company built a smelter near the Jordan River as part of its expansion to exploit the copper sulphide ore found in its Commercial mine. To improve the economics of its mining operation, the mining company decided to control its own transportation facilities. This was done by leasing the horse tramway in Bingham Canyon, rebuild it as a standard gauge railroad and operate it by Shay steam locomotives. Since the new railroad was to be a common carrier railroad, an added benefit would be that the mining company would profit from the shipment of adjacent mining companies. The first car of ore moved over the Copper Belt in February 14, 1901, moving the car load of copper ore from the loading bin of the Commercial mine in Copper Center Gulch, down to the connection with Rio Grande Western at Bingham station.

(Read more about the Copper Belt Railroad, along with a roster listing of Copper Belt Shay locomotives)

(Read more about the original horse tramway in Bingham)

There had been some hope that with the Copper Belt completed as a standard gauge common carrier railroad, the United States Mining company would use it to move its ore from Galena Gulch (immediately south of Copper Center Gulch), to their smelter at Midvale. The United States company had been organized in April 1899 to consolidate the 62 mining claims that made up the Galena, Jordan and Telegraph mines. As the United States Mining company developed their properties, they decided that an aerial tramway would better suit their needs. In late 1902 the company completed their aerial 11,400-foot tramway between their mines in Galena Gulch and the Rio Grande Western's Bingham station, with operating costs that were about two-thirds those of using the new Copper Belt rail line; with the resulting loss of traffic to the railroad.

(Read more about the United States Mining company's aerial tramway)

In 1902 and 1903, Copper Belt added new spurs to serve the Boston Consolidated and Yampa mines in Carr Fork, and the Yampa smelter on the west side of the canyon at Bingham station. In 1904 a spur was built just above Bingham station on the east side to serve the old Winnamuck mill, which was reopened to process ore from the Ohio Copper mine. In 1907, after Rio Grande Western took control, a spur was built in the lower part of Carr Fork to serve the ore bins at the lower terminal of the Utah Apex aerial tramway.

Boston Consolidated

The Boston Consolidated Mining Company had been organized in November 1898 to develop a copper producing property from 51 mining claims located in the upper portion of Carr Fork, with all of the copper coming from sulfide ores found in the underground development mines as the compnay explored the extent of the ore veins on its property. Boston Con was involved in development work until late 1903 when they went into actual production. Up to that time, they had been shipping some sulfide copper ore taken as part of their development work. With the Bingham Consolidated smelting contract in 1903 they were ready for full production.

Boston Consolidated Mining Company organized in November 1898 as the U.S. subsidiary of Boston Consolidated Copper and Gold Mining Company, Ltd. of London. This new company was organized to consolidate 51 claims (350 acres) and develop them as a porphyry property. ("Economic Geology of the Bingham Mining District, Utah", USGS Professional Paper 38, 1905, p. 281)

During the year from October 1899 to October 1900 the company drove 2,811 feet of development tunnels. (Engineering and Mining Journal, December 29, 1900, p. 762)

Within two years the mine was mostly shipping sulfide copper ores, instead of the porphyry ore it was looking for. In 1897, three years before the Copper Belt was built, and to overcome the lack of cheap transportation, Utah Consolidated constructed a 12,500 foot long aerial tramway between the Highland Boy mine at the top of Carr Fork and the Rio Grande station at Bingham.

Open cut mining started in summer 1906, in the ore body directly above the Ben Hur tunnel. Expansion continued until Boston Consolidated merged with Utah Copper in 1910.

Research in newspapers of the period has found that Boston Consolidated stopped open-cut surface mining in 1907 for over a year, because after stripping waste rock, they hit ore with high iron content. They concentrated on underground mining, which resulted in the inclined tramway at the tunnel levels, feeding down to the large steel ore bin in Carr Fork. Then in late 1908 they completed an underground "upraise" from the Ben Hur tunnel to within 50 feet of the surface workings and found that the iron content was only at the surface. They then resumed open-cut mining in February 1909.

(Read more about Boston Consolidated Mining Company, from 1897 through to the merger with Utah Copper)

Utah Copper Company

May 9, 1899
Enos Wall sold a one-quarter interest in his Wall No. 2 Group to Joseph De Lamar. This group of mining claims later became the basis for the Utah Copper property. (Salt Lake Herald, May 10, 1899, "yesterday")

...for a consideration of $50.000 "and certain other valuable considerations." Enos A. Wall and Mary F. Wall, his wife, convey to J. P. De Lamar an undivided one-fourth interest in the Dick Mackintosh, the Charles Read, the Emma, Emma No. 1. Emma No. 2. Rudder, Rudder Fraction, Frank Cushing, All's Well, Elvena and May Bell lode claims, the Bush placer claim, and also those portions of the Rhora, Rochester and Metropolitan lode claims, heretofore conveyed by Samuel Newhouse to Mr. Wall, all being situated in West Mountain mining district.

The property conveyed is what is known as the Wall No. 2 group, and adjoins the Boston Consolidated property on the north.

Captain De Lamar has taken hold of the Wall property because he believes there is money in it, and he proposes to bring it to a stage of heavy production as fast as men and money can accomplish it, and that means much more than the bald statement would indicate.

(Read more about Enos Wall)

In September 1899 a study had been made of the copper producing potential some of the mining properties in Bingham Canyon. The study showed that there existed vast reserves of very low grade copper ore throughout the canyon. That low grade ore is called porphyry ore, and the study showed that the ore averaged 1.5 to 2 percent copper. This compared to the sulfide ore being processed at the time, with an average content of about 15 to 20 percent. The Boston Consolidated company, the Bingham Consolidated company, the Yampa Consolidated company, and the Utah Consolidated company were all shipping this higher grade sulfide copper ore, in addition to whatever higher value silver and lead carbonate (very high grade) ores that they could.

The mining engineer that had done the 1899 study, Daniel C. Jackling, also put into his report that this low grade ore could be processed at a profit, if the ore could be mined in quantities greater than was possible with the then current underground techniques.

(Read the Wikipedia article about Daniel C. Jackling)

The method that Jackling proposed was to use steam shovels to strip off the surface overburden, and then to also remove the actual ore itself with shovels, a process called open cut mining. The overburden would be moved in trains to other locations for disposal. The ore would then be moved by train to mills that would be designed and constructed to have the capacity to process the large amounts of ore needed to be profitable.

After shopping his proposal around to several potential investors, Jackling was finally able to organize his Utah Copper Company in July 1903, for the purpose of mining the low grade copper ore using his proposed, and as yet untried new methods. Utah Copper Company was formally incorporated on June 4, 1903, in Colorado. (Arrington and Hansen. The Richest Hole, 1963, p. 38)

In August 1903 Utah Copper began construction of an experimental concentrator mill located at the mouth of Dry Fork Gulch, about two and a half miles down canyon from their mine, and about a mile and a half down canyon from Rio Grande Western's Bingham station. The new mill would have a daily capacity of accepting 300 tons of unprocessed low grade copper ore. (Arrington and Hansen. The Richest Hole, 1963, p. 39)

The Copperton Mill, as the new mill was called, was built to test the new methods required to concentrate the low grade ore down to the 30 percent level that could be handled by the smelters.

In November, within three months of the start of construction of the experimental Copperton mill in August, Utah Copper began underground development of the mining property that was the basis for the formation of the company. (Rickard, T. A. "The Utah Copper Enterprise," 1919, p. 47; Arrington and Hansen. The Richest Hole, 1963, p. 40, says that the development work began in September) The Utah Copper mine was located very near the Copper Belt's route in Bingham Canyon, about a mile above the Rio Grande's Bingham station.

November 1903
Utah Copper commenced development of its copper mine. (Salt Lake Mining Review, July 30, 1914)

December 26, 1903
"Delays in delivery of iron for the Utah Copper company's concentrator buildings are becoming positively disgusting. According to advices roofing and side material has been over a month on the road, long enough, if Utah had iron works, for the raw material to have been dug, manufactured, delivered and put to use." (Deseret News, December 26, 1903)

March 12, 1904
Utah Copper General Manager D. C. Jackling announced that the new 500-ton mill at Bingham was to be placed in full operation, either "today" or on the following Monday [March 14, 1904]. The new mill was designed to concentrate the low-grade ore on a 15 into 1 basis, giving a 25 percent copper product, with a gold value of between $7 and $8 per ton. (Deseret News, March 12, 1904)

The new mill, placed in operation in April 1904 and located at Copperton, was an experimental mill with an initial capacity of 350 tons per day. By 1908, the capacity had been increased to 800 tons per day. (Salt Lake Mining Review, July 30, 1914)

Utah Copper completed their Copperton mill in April 1904, and commenced operations in September, shipping its low grade ore from the mine to the Copperton mill, by way of the Copper Belt and the Rio Grande Western railroads. (Arrington and Hansen. The Richest Hole, 1963, p. 39; Kennecott's own Historical Index says that operations commenced on July 1, 1904)

(Utah Copper placed their new Copperton mill into operation in April 1904. At the same time, Utah Copper was reorganized, and Enos Wall was bought out as one of the company directors.)

On April 29, 1904, Utah Copper was reorganized as a New Jersey corporation. This new company was organized to provide the finances necessary for further expansion of both mining operations, and milling operations, assuming that the experimental mill at Copperton would be successful. (Kennecott Historical Index)

April 30, 1904
Utah Copper Company was incorporated under the laws of New Jersey on April 30, 1904 as a reorganization of another company of the same name. Utah Copper owns 740 acres of mining claims in Bingham Canyon, Utah, as well as a mill site and lands of 1,240 acres at Copperton, Utah, and another mill site at Garfield, Utah, comprising 3,360 acres. In 1917, the company, in addition to the above properties, owned all of the capitol stock of the Bingham & Garfield Railway. The company also owned a majority of capital stock of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Company. (Moody's Analysis Of Investments, Part II, Public Utilities and Industrials, 1917, page 1244)

June 9, 1904
With the reorganization of Utah Copper as a much larger corporation, Enos Wall was given the opportunity to resign his position of majority shareholder of the Utah Copper company, in return for approximately $400,000, payable within 90 days. It was reported that although his financial interest in the company would be removed, he would remain as an officer of the old company. Neither Jackling nor Wall would discuss the situation with the local newspapers. As of March 1905, Wall was still a vice president of the company. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 9, 1904; July 9, 1904; Salt Lake Telegram, March 28, 1905)

(There two parallel companies during this 1904-1905 period: The Utah Copper Company of Colorado, and Utah Copper Company of New Jersey, with the apparent duplication being the result of untangling the complex finances of the old company.)

The railroad siding on the Rio Grande Western where the new mill was built was known as "Terra Cotta" at the time, located at mile post 12.8 on the RGW Bingham Branch. It was renamed to Copperton when the mill went into operation in May 1904.

June 12, 1904
Possibly the first reference to the Copperton name comes from the June 12, 1904 issue of the Salt Lake Herald newspaper, noting that Colonel Enos Wall was to visit the new Utah Copper mill at Copperton.

(This site was where Dry Fork canyon met Bingham canyon, and later became known as Old Copperton when the current town of Copperton was created as a company town in 1923.)

In September 1905, Enos Wall sued to place an injunction against Utah Copper to prevent that company from building its own mill that would use the Jackling-Janney milling process, rather than his own milling process and patents, as was apparently verbally agreed to in June 1904 when Wall's financial interest was bought out. Utah Copper's response was that the Utah courts has no jurisdiction because Utah Copper was now a New Jersey corporation. The injunction was also to prevent control (51 percent) of Utah Copper from passing to Guggenheim's American Smelter Securities. (Salt Lake Tribune, September 9, 1905; Boston Evening Transcript, September 13, 1905)

From mid to late September, and early October 1905, it became a national story, carried in numerous newspapers across the nation, that Utah Copper and American Securities had been restrained by one man, Enos A. Wall of Salt Lake City. The case went from the state Third District court, to an administrative chancellor judge in New Jersey, the finally on the docket of the New Jersey Supreme Court, to be heard on October 9th.

By late October 1905, the drama had ended, with Wall returning to Salt Lake City saying "that he had reached an understanding with the company for the settlement of their differences." The settlement meant that Utah Copper would be allowed to erect their new mill at Garfield, that they would be allowed to increase their stock to $6 million, and that 51 percent of the stock would be held by the Guggenheims, who in turn would buy the half of the bonds issued to to support the increased amount of stock. It was reported that Wall held 30,000 shares of Utah Copper stock, and that American Smelters would purchase all of his shares at $30 per share [$900,000]. (Salt Lake Telegram, October 25, 1905; Salt Lake Herald, October 25, 1905; Wall Street Journal, October 25, 1905)

(American Smelter Securities was a massive smelter trust controlled by the Guggenheims, with the actual smelters being owned and operated by American Smelting and Refining Company. -- See "Metal Magic," by Issac F. Marcosson, 1949)

Until June 1907, all of the ore came from the underground mine. The concentrates from the Copperton mill were shipped to the Bingham Consolidated smelter at Midvale, by way of the RGW. (Salt Lake Mining Review, July 30, 1914)

A photo dated in May 1904 shows Utah Copper's first ore loading bin, on the east side of the canyon, opposite the opening of the original underground mine. The tunnel shown in the photo was the Quinn Tunnel, which became the "East Tunnel" in later years. The track off to the right crossed the canyon to the original Utah Copper mine portal.

(View the 1904 photo)

A later photo dated 1907 shows the same (expanded) structure just three years later.

(View the 1907 photo)

All of this growth of mining activity in Bingham Canyon brought with it the companion growth in the canyon's population. To better serve the canyon's residents, and to gain the benefits of having its own government, the City of Bingham Canyon was incorporated in March 1904. This would allow the city to tax its citizens and make necessary improvements. With the mostly male population, having a town organization would also allow the concerned residents to have their own police force. (Kennecott Historical Index)

Utah Copper Expansion

The year 1905 was one of great expansion for the mines and mining companies in Bingham Canyon, especially for Utah Copper and Boston Consolidated. Utah Copper's experimental Copperton mill was proving Jackling's theory of economies of scale, and the copper company was looking to build a large mill at a location outside of Bingham Canyon. Several things seemed to happen at the same time, and were likely all dependent on each other. During 1905, Utah Copper announced that it would build a mill on the south shore of Great Salt Lake, and American Smelting and Refining Company announced that they would build a smelter at a nearby location. The benefits for this location were twofold; first, there was plenty of fresh water from wells and springs that flowed into the lake. Second, there was ready railroad transportation to get the finished smelter product to market.

The expansion of Utah Copper's operation came from the Guggenheims, who also held majority interest in Standard Oil. One of their investment vehicles, the Guggenheim Exploration Company, provided the funding for Utah Copper to build its new mill at Magna, and the reorganization of Utah Copper in April 1904 was the result of the influx of Guggenheim money. The Guggenheims were also the majority owners of American Smelting and Refining (ASARCO), who had bought majority interests in most of the Salt Lake Valley smelters, wanting to consolidate the smelting operations in one large location to benefit from economies of scale that such an operation would provide. To tie their two new properties together, i.e., funding the expansion of Utah Copper, and consolidating the Utah smelters into a new large smelter at Garfield, Utah Copper signed a 20-year contract with ASARCO that would both guarantee a market for Utah Copper mining operations, and through their new mill at Magna, provide copper concentrates for the new Garfield smelter. Construction on the new Utah Copper mill began in November 1905. (Engineering and Mining Journal, March 17, 1906, p. 534)

Guggenheims, Alaska, and Kennecott

Along the same lines as their developments in Utah with Utah Copper, in 1906, the same Guggenheim interests backed the organization and development of Kennecott Mines Company, in Alaska. The Kennecott company would later become the Guggenheim vehicle for all of their mineral interests. (Kennecott Historical Index)

In 1911, Kennecott Mines Company began actual copper ore mining operations at its mine in Alaska. The mine had been in development since 1906 awaiting completion of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, also owned by the same interests. The railroad was completed in 1911.

(Read the Wikipedia article about the Copper River and Northwestern Railway)

Utah Consolidated closed its smelter in January 1908. (Mining Science, January 2, 1908, p. 29)

After the settlement of the smelter suit in 1907, in which several area farmers sued the smelters at Midvale and Murray over crop damage from sulfuric acid emissions, the smelters either closed or changed their operations. United States Mining Company closed the copper portion of its Midvale smelter and Bingham Consolidated closed its Midvale smelter completely due to smoke litigation (sulfur fumes from smelting of copper sulfide ores). (Hansen, p. 274; Kennecott Historical Index)

For the United States company, the changes were so extensive that they organized a new company to fund the changes in its Midvale smelter. The new company, named United States Smelting Company, was organized on March 7, 1907 as a new subsidiary of the larger United States Smelting, Refining and Mining Company. (Utah corporation files, index 4172)

Ground was broken on Utah Copper's new Magna Mill during mid 1905, and all necessary concrete foundations were in by late in the year. Contracts for the steel structures were let in late December, and actual construction began during the first week of March 1906. (Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 81, January 6, 1906, p. 24, ground was broken "several months ago"; March 17, 1906, p. 534, item dated March 9, 1906, construction to commence "this week") Full operation began in November 1908. (Rickard, T. A. "The Utah Copper Enterprise," 1919, p. 51)

1906
In an unusual example of cooperation, ASARCO, Utah Copper, and Boston Consolidated organized the Garfield Improvement Company to build the Garfield town site for the workers at their mills and smelter. Three-fifths was owned by ASARCO, with one fifth each owned by Utah Copper and Boston Consolidated. The three companies also organized the Garfield Water Company to develop and supply water to their mills and smelter and to the new town site. (Arrington and Hansen. The Richest Hole on Earth, 1963, pages 47, 50)

January 1906
The Engineering and Mining Journal, a national mining trade publication reported that Utah Copper had ordered its first three shovels, and later that month they reported that the first shovel was shipped from the factory in mid month. It was expected to arrive in Utah by February 1st. (Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 81, January 6, 1906, p. 24; January 27, 1906, p. 198, item dated January 17)

February 1906
Open cut mining had yet to start, and all copper ore from Utah Copper's Bingham mine is being mined by underground stoping methods. Prior to November 1904 all ore was taken in development work, with the Copperton mill having been placed into operation in April 1904. (Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 81, February 10, 1906, p. 289; Rickard, on page 47, states that all ore taken previous to March 1907 was in development work.)

April 1906
During a visit with the Chief Engineer at the Arthur mill in 1983, he showed the visitor a newspaper article saying that the construction of both the Boston Consolidated and Utah Copper mills was delayed due to a shortage of steel needed to rebuild San Francisco after their earthquake in April 1906. Photos of the two mills under construction taken in early and mid 1906 show the foundations finished and a obvious lack of steel on the construction sites.

April 1906
To observe successful use of open-cut mining methods, in April 1906 Utah Copper's Jackling and Gemmell traveled to iron mines in Minnesota. Their September 1899 report showed that open-cut methods were intended from the start, but the purchase of the shovels was delayed due to costs of construction of the experimental Copperton mill. (Rickard, T. A. "The Utah Copper Enterprise," 1919, p. 47; Arrington and Hansen. The Richest Hole, 1963, pp. 40, 52)

April 1906
The Salt Lake Mining Review reported in April 1906 that Utah Copper had ordered its first shovel, a standard gauge 95-ton model from Vulcan, for open-cut mining operations. The shovel was ordered from S. G. Shaw and Company of Denver, along with three Davenport locomotives, and fifty K&J-brand dump cars. (Salt Lake Mining Review, April 30, 1906, p. 14, "Trade Notes"; June 15, 1906, p. 32)

The following comes from Parsons' "The Porphyry Coppers", published in 1933, page 76:

The first small Vulcan steam shovel started stripping in the spring of 1906 at the rate of about 100,000 tons per month. By the end of 1908, the mine equipment consisted of eight steam shovels and seventeen steam locomotives. Only two-thirds of the ore was derived from open-cut operations, but stripping was going ahead as rapidly as practicable to the end that underground mining could be abandoned.

July 1906
The Salt Lake Mining Review reported that Utah Copper had ordered an additional single locomotive from S. G. Shaw and Company. (Salt Lake Mining Review, Volume 8, Number 7 (July 15, 1906), p. 32)

In 1906, Utah Copper began constructing its steam-shovel loading tracks. It was about this time that the Rio Grande Western Railway Company began the construction of the Bingham Low-Grade Line to connect Utah Copper's mill at Magna with its mine at Bingham. Utah Copper connected the steam-shovel levels, which at that time had been constructed, with the Bingham Low-Grade Line by a system of switchbacks and yard tracks for assembling and delivering cars of ore to the Rio Grande Western Railway Company. (Utah Copper Chronology History, citing an internal "Descriptive History of Utah Copper Company and B&G Railway")

July 22, 1906
"Utah Copper will soon begin the stripping of its copper-bearing porphyry deposits in the same manner as Boston Consolidated. One huge steam shovel and a large number of cars are already on the ground and others will soon be added. With these in commission, four shovels with a combined capacity of 10,000 to 12,000 tons per day, will be moving rock within rifle shot of each other." (Salt Lake Herald, July 22, 1906)

Summer 1906
"When steam-shovel operations were started in the summer of 1906 on "C" and "D" Levels, the equipment was all second-hand and consisted of two Marion shovels, one Vulcan shovel, four small Davenport locomotives, and 6-yard wooden dump cars." (Utah Copper Chronology History, citing L. F. Pett's History of Utah Copper, completed in 1953)

August 1906
First steam shovel started on the Utah Copper surface workings. (Utah Copper Chronology History, citing the Souvenir of Bingham, published in 1909)

August 1906
"As far as copper mining in the United States is concerned, the first shovel work was done by Jackling and Gemmell, when in August, 1906, the commenced to strip overburden from the porphyry ore at Bingham Canyon." (A. B. Parsons, The Porphyry Coppers, page 371)

The records of Utah Copper's later parent company, Kennecott, show that a second shovel, a second-hand model also from Vulcan, was added in December 1906. (Kennecott Historical Index)

The first use of steam shovels for open cut mining purposes in Utah was at Samuel Newhouse's Cactus Mine in Beaver County, where one shovel was used to strip capping from the ore bodies. (Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 81, March 3, 1906, p. 436)

Open-cut operations began on the canyon slope directly above the opening to Utah Copper's underground mine. The trackage at the level of the underground mine became the ‘A-Level,' the starting point for the method of designating the 50 to 75-feet levels for open-cut operations. Utah Copper steam shovel open-cut operations begin in August 1906 on C-Level and D-Level, between 100 and 150 feet above the mine opening. Open-cut operations began with second-hand equipment, consisting of two Marion shovels, four small Davenport standard gauge locomotives, and several wooden six-yard dump cars. (Arrington and Hansen. The Richest Hole, 1963, p. 52)

A large portion of underground mining is done using the stoping method, which is the removal of ores from the ore body, and building a scaffolding of wood timbers to support mine roof and provide a working platform for the miners as they continue to remove ore from the face of the ore body. The structure of wood timbers is called a "stope."

August 1906
Construction of the smelter began at the same time, in late 1905. To formally get the new smelter organized and under construction, the Garfield Smelting Company was incorporated on November 17, 1905, as a subsidiary of the American Smelting and Refining Company. The smelter began operations in August 1906. (Utah corporation files, index 5411; Arrington and Hansen, The Richest Hole on Earth, 1963, p. 47)

September 8,1906
Utah Copper was working 165 men in both underground and open cut operations. (Engineering and Mining Journal, September 8, 1906, pp. 435, 436)

December 1906
"The Vulcan Shovel was started on "B" Level and the waste from this shovel formed the major part of the fill on which the Auxiliary Yard is located." (Utah Copper Chronology History, citing L. F. Pett's History of Utah Copper, completed in 1953)

July 19, 1906
Utah Copper was building a steam power plant just below its new Magna mill. The steam power plant would have 20 boilers producing 10,000 horsepower. The steam from the boilers would power two 1,500-horsepower Allis-Chalmers reciprocating engines direct connected to two 1,250-kilowat generators and has added to the order two 3,500 horsepower engines connected to two 2,500-kilowat generators. A total of 10,000 horsepower, producing about 7,500 kilowatts of electric power. (Salt Lake Herald, July 19, 1906)

August 19, 1906
Telluride Power signed a contract with the Boston Consolidated mining company to furnish the electric power to that company's new concentrating mill at Garfield, saving the company the expense of building its own steam power plant at a cost of $250,000. (Ogden Morning Examiner, August 14, 1906)

Magna Power Plant

1906
A steam electric generating plant was begun below the Magna mill complex. As power requirements increased, Utah Power & Light Company supplied electricity to meet demands. Additional transforming stations were added above the mill, and a power plant was added at the mill itself in 1918. The original steam plant at Magna generated 8.5 megawatts and supplied electric power to the Magna mill and the Bingham mine. (Mining Congress Journal, May 1940, Volume 26, Number 5, page 12)

December 15, 1906
The following comes from the December 15, 1906 issue of the Deseret News newspaper.

Big Power Plant. - The power plant being built will have sufficient capacity to supply power for the Garfield works, as well as for the the mine and mill at Bingham. To supply the latter, a transmission line 17 miles in length is being constructed.
The power plant will contain 2 water-tube boilers having a capacity, under the conditions in which they will be used, of about 600 horse power each, or 1,200 horse power total.

The engine plant will consist of five reciprocating engines, direct connected to high potential, alternating current, generators. Two of these sets are of 1,500 kilowatts capacity each; the other three being 2,250 kilowatts, or 13,000 horse power.

The genera! dimensions of the powerhouse building are 288 feet by 158 feet. There are two reinforced concrete stacks in connection with the steam plant, each 12 feet inside diameter and 180 feet high.

The pumping plant designed to supply water from the source of supply near the power plant to the reservoir near the mill will consist of three electrically driven, direct connected, turbine pumps, having a combined capacity of 10,500 gallons a minute.

June 4, 1907
"Now that the trial run has proved the Utah Copper plant at Garfield [Magna] a success from the start, one section of the mill was declared in actual operation June 1 and is now grinding ore in great shape." "The mill buildings, power plant and water system are completed. Two standard Corliss engines capable of creating 13,000 horse-power are installed and are now furnishing 4,000 horse-power." (Deseret News,June 4, 1907)

In January 1907, Utah Copper stopped development work on its underground mine, with enough ore having been blocked out to last for several years. (Arrington and Hansen, The Richest Hole on Earth, October 1963, p. 53)

Spring 1907
In the Spring of 1907 surveys were made for the "C" Line down the east side of Bingham Canyon. This line had a level grade and went to the waste dumps in McGuire and Tiewaukee gulches. This line as constructed had a switchback connection and a low bridge on timber trestle across the Canyon. (Utah Copper internal history, completed in 1929)

June 1907
Work on Utah Copper's new 6,000-ton capacity concentrator mill, located on the new Garfield Branch at Magna, had began in November 1905 and the mill was placed into partial operation in June 1907. (Rickard, T. A. "The Utah Copper Enterprise," 1919, p. 51) The mill was formally completed and placed into full production in November 1908.

July 30, 1907
Utah Copper was using a total of five steam shovels. (Salt Lake Mining Review, July 30, 1907, page 18, "Dips Spurs and Angles")

August 18, 1907
The following comes from the August 18, 1907 issue of the Bisbee [Arizona] Daily Review newspaper.

The Utah Copper company, says the Bingham Bulletin, is now working upon its third year. In this period a magnificent tonnage of copper ore has been placed in sight. In all a total of approximately 17 miles of openings have been accomplished an about one-fifth of the total area of the property, or about one-fourth of the total porphyry area.

Fully 40 acres of ore-bearing ground have been opened. The company has blocked out 40,000,000 tons of ore that contains 40 pounds of copper to the ton and 60,000,000 pounds of ore that averages slightly lower in grade. The actual cost of mining la close to 45 cents per ton but, counting in all expenses, such as administrative taxes and so forth, the cost is about 68 cents per ton.

The company is meeting with good results in building the railroad from the mine down the canyon, and in October this accessory is expected to be in operation to the great advantage of the company. This company road is to take care of the stripping from the ores, and will simplify greatly the transportation question as far as the waste material is concerned. This waste material will he dumped on the Tiewaukee group.

September 7, 1907
Utah Copper enlarged the openings to the main haulage tunnels of its underground mine to allow standard gauge gondolas to be moved inside loaded from the ore bins inside the mine. (Engineering and Mining Journal, September 7, 1907, p. 437)

Just a year earlier, Utah Copper had been using five-ton, 500 volt electric locomotives on 24 inch gauge track, hauling the ore in 2-1/2 ton side dump cars to the ore bins on the route of the Copper Belt railroad. (Engineering and Mining Journal, September 8, 1906, pp. 435, 436)

Utah Copper's expansion included the start of open cut mining, using steam shovels to strip waste from above the low grade copper ore. That stripping operation would produce large amounts of waste rock, which had to be disposed of. In the initial proposal, Jackling had suggested that the various side canyons and gulches would be filled with the waste material. But Utah Copper only controlled the surface rights for a small number of empty gulches in the immediate vicinity of its mine. To give itself more room, Utah Copper made arrangements for surface rights to other properties in the canyon, both above its mine, down the south side of Bingham canyon, and across Carr Fork. To gain access to the down canyon property, they made surveys for a rail line that it would build. Rio Grande Western had offered to transport the waste rock themselves, but Utah Copper objected to the RGW's price of 7 cents per ton.

September 7, 1907
Because of lack of space in the Main Canyon, Utah Copper began grading down canyon for a new dump line, to be located above Rio Grande Western's new "Low Grade Line." Rio Grande Western had offered 7 cents per ton to remove the waste over its own line. (Engineering and Mining Journal, September 7, 1907, p. 437)

Early Dump Lines

The above item from September 1907 is unclear as to which of the three dump lines was being graded, the 'C' Dump Line, the 'E' Dump Line, or the 'H' Dump Line. Photos in the Library of Congress dated in 1907 show the new 'H' Dump Line and its newly completed curving trestle that crossed the upper end of Bingham Canyon, above the Niagara Tunnel.

The elevation of these dump lines matched the corresponding levels in the open-pit mine itself as it grew from the initial 'A' level, at 6340 feet elevation. The first steam shovels began removing waste material in August 1906 at the 'B' and 'C' levels, removing waste material from above the ore-bearing 'A' Level, where the original underground entrance had been.

The 'C' Dump Line was accessed by two connections. At the true 'C' Level was the 'C' Yard at the south end of the main Utah Copper yard, and the same level as the connection to the Copper Belt railroad. About midway along the main Utah Copper yard to the north, there was also an S-curved bridge, known as the C-A Line, that crossed the canyon from the 'A' Level to the 'C' Dump Line.

The 'E' Line at first crossed the canyon by way of a curved trestle. In 1912 the curved 'E' Line bridge was replaced by the long-straight trestle that became one of the landmarks in Bingham Canyon, visible in countless photos of the Utah Copper mine in which the south rim is visible. This later 'E' Line bridge was demolished in 1940.

All three new dump lines built in 1907 were along the south side of lower Bingham Canyon, with the 'C' Line being just above the Rio Grande Western's Low Grade Line (completed in February 1907). The 'H' Line was the highest and the 'E' Line was located between the other two dump lines. All three dump lines passed across various mining claims to which Utah Copper obtained surface rights. The stated destination of all three lines was to be able to fill the gulches above the Tiewaukee and McQuire claims. These two claims were immediately above the lower part of Bingham town where the RGW depot was located. The depot was located across from Freeman Gulch, and what became known as Frogtown, the informal name for the residential and business area that surrounded the railroad depot and lower terminals of two aerial tramways at the mouth of Freeman Gulch.

January 1908
By the end of 1907, Utah Copper was taking a third of its ore from the underground mine. (Mines and Minerals, January 1908, p. 262)

1908
The following excerpts are from the 1908 Utah Copper annual report, as published in the June 12, 1909 issue of Engineering and Mining Journal.

Of the total ore mined during the fiscal period, 33.2 per cent. came from underground, and 66.8 percent from steam shovels.

During the last three months of 1908, the percentages of underground and steam shovel ore were 25 and 75 percent, respectively.

We only mined a few thousand tons by steam shovels before July 1907.

We will probably be mining fully 90 percent of our ore with steam shovel by the end of 1908 and the underground method, as applying to anything but the development and mining of isolated, and comparatively small, bodies of ore, will be gradually, and as rapidly as possible, discontinued.

Equipment - Since our last annual report, we have added to the mine equipment 2 steam shovels, making 8 in all; 2 locomotives, making 17 in all; and have extended our railroad tracks for mining and stripping purposes to a total of 9.2 miles. During the year 1909 we shall add to our present equipment at least one more shovel and two more locomotives, and shall construct about 6.8 miles of additional standard gage railway for handling capping.

Of the total tonnage treated at both mills during the period, 83 per cent. went to the Garfield mill and 17 per cent. to the Copperton mill.

January 27, 1907
Rio Grande Western's new Bingham Low Grade Line was opened for operation. Work had started in April 1906.

This was all-new construction from the mouth of Bingham Canyon, to the Utah Copper main assembly yard deep in Bingham Canyon. The line was but using modern low grades and medium curves to allow high production of ore for the Utah Copper mine.

(Read more about the Rio Grande Western Bingham Low Grade Line)

May 30, 1907
"The plant of the Utah Copper company, in Bingham canyon, Utah, is to be modernized and brought up to date. Electrical equipment is to be put in, and individual motors of 700-horsepower will replace the Corliss engine. Power will be transmitted from the company's power plant at Garfield." (Salt Lake Mining Review, May 30, 1907)

Bingham Central Railway (1907-1908)
Bingham & Garfield Railway (1908)

Almost as soon as the mining companies began shipment of their ores to their respective mills, they started having troubles with the Rio Grande Western management, and the road's ability to move the copper ore out of the canyon. The mining companies wanted to move as much ore as possible and they wanted Rio Grande Western to buy more locomotives and cars and increase the capacity of the rail lines between the mines in Bingham Canyon and the mills at Garfield.

The first solution was presented in August 1907 when Utah Copper officials organized the Bingham Central Railway to move their ore from the Bingham mine, out to the Salt Lake Valley, and because of the troubles with Rio Grande Western, to a connection with Union Pacific's Oregon Short Line subsidiary. The major portion of the project was to expand the existing Mascotte drain tunnel that exited at Lark.

The great expense of expanding the Mascotte tunnel, and to build an entirely new line from Lark to the UP subsidiary in the vicinity of Midvale or Murray was seen as too excessive. The high cost to build across the western part of the valley, as well as potential political problems of running large numbers of ore trains through the center of the Salt Lake Valley to Salt Lake City, then west to the new mill and smelter at Garfield essentially killed Utah Copper's support for the project.

(Read more about the Mascotte Tunnel)

(The new Garfield smelter opened in August 1906, and the new Magna mill opened in April 1907. The new Boston Consolidated mill, also at Garfield, opened in January 1908)

A second proposal was to build a new railroad line from the mine, skirting along the western edge of Salt Lake Valley, north on a direct line from the mine to the newly opened mill at Garfield (Magna), with a further extension to the new smelter farther to the west. This second proposal became the Bingham & Garfield Railway, incorporated in July 1908.

July 8, 1908
Bingham & Garfield Railway was incorporated in Utah by individuals who were also officers of Utah Copper Company; the company was organized on July 1, 1908.

September 14, 1911
Bingham & Garfield operated its first train, using new 0-8-8-0 Mallet number 100 and 41 new 60-ton hopper-bottom ore cars. At the beginning of operations, the Bingham & Garfield was truly a common carrier as there were approximately 25 other mines producing ore in Bingham canyon, and the Bingham & Garfield provided switching services between the mines and the Rio Grande Western at both Bingham and Cuprum, high on the south canyon wall. (Kennecott Historical Index)

(Read more about the Bingham & Garfield Railway)

1911
"It was necessary for Bingham & Garfield to construct a double-track, electrically operated, incline tramway, 554 feet long to handle passenger and express business because of a difference in elevation of 201 feet between the railway's Bingham Station (up beside the tracks) and the town of Bingham. This was placed in service in 1911." (Utah Copper Company Chronology, citing "Brief History of the B&G Rwy. Co. 1-31-39", page 13)

April 7, 1909
"To the battery of steam shovels, eight in number, being utilized by the Utah Copper company at Bingham, for eating away the overburden from the porphyry ore deposit and in mining such ores for the Garfield mill, the management Tuesday added the ninth shovel. At the present time this company is using two shovels on ore in pit A; one on waste in each of the following lines: C, E, G, H, and two in F, while the ninth shovel will be put to work directly on ore. The company has one more shovel now en route to the property, which looks very much as if steam shovel mining was going to be emphasized more and more in the future." (Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1909)

April 10, 1909
"At the present time the total output of ore is nearly 6000 tons per diem, of which a little less than 75% is won by steam-shovels, but the proportion is increasing, and in about two years all underground production from the Utah Copper Co.'s mine will cease." (Mining and Scientific Press, April 10-1909)

August 17, 1909
"The flood at Bingham was one of the most disastrous in the history of the camp, the damage exceeding that of the memorable flood of 1889. A succession of heavy cloudbursts, accompanied by an electric storm, turned Bingham creek and its branches into a raging torrent, water to a depth of two or three feet rushing down the main street of the camps of Upper Bingham, Highland Boy and Bingham. When the two torrents from Highland Boy and Upper Bingham converged, the stream became a small-sized river, which rushed with incredible swiftness through the camp." (Salt Lake Herald Republican, August 19, 1909; Salt Lake Tribune, August 21, 1909; "on Tuesday last")

During the period of 1909 to 1916 the United States Company and its subsidiary, the Niagara Mining Company, granted 29 surface tracts of land located in Bingham Canyon, on the north slope of Copper Center Gulch, and the south slope of Galena Gulch, for the extension of Utah Copper tracks A to Z all inclusive, also for dump rights upon the above cited slopes for the disposal of its overburden. (Billings, page 28)

"In 1910, 8 steam shovels, 12 standard gauge locomotives, and 80 12-yard all-steel dump cars were purchased." (Utah Copper Chronology, citing the Utah Copper Company 1910 annual report, dated December 31, 1910)

February 1910
Utah Copper stopped taking ore from its underground mine in February 1910, with all mining taking place by way of the "more modern" open-cut method. Four new shovels had been put to work on removing the overburden, bringing the total to 19 steam shovels working for the newly combined companies. (Salt Lake Herald Republican, March 11, 1910, "last month")

Merger of Utah Copper and Boston Consolidated - March 1910

The 1910 merger was the result of the intense competition between the two mining giants in Bingham Canyon. The workings of the Boston Consolidated were high above those of Utah Copper and there were continuing safety problems with the control of loose materials and slides from above. Both companies wanted to expand their operations but each was hindered by the other. Jackling was quoted as saying "I knew that either they would take us or we would have to take them".

During early 1906, preliminary talks were started, but mid March, the talks broke off because the two parties could not agree on the tonnage of ore reserves that each company had available. The talks had been between Samuel Newhouse for Boston Consolidated, and Daniel Guggenheim, president of American Smelting Securities, which held controlling interest in Utah Copper. (Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 81, March 31, 1906, p. 630, item dated March 24, 1906)

By 1909, the initial success of Boston Con's open-cut operations was dimming. The company found that the high iron content of the ore it was taking by open-cut operations made the difficult to concentrate, and the costs were too high. The company announced that they would end their open-cut operations, but continue to mine both sulfide and porphyry ores from their underground operations. (1909 Boston Consolidated annual report)

On March 1, 1910 the Boston Consolidated Mining Company was merged with the Utah Copper Company, with two and a half shares of Boston stock being traded for each share of Utah stock.

After the merger of Utah Copper and Boston Consolidated, and with the completion of the Bingham & Garfield, the traffic levels for the Rio Grande in Bingham Canyon were greatly reduced.

April 1, 1910
All of Utah Copper's mine trackage (over 25 miles) was transferred to the B&G subsidiary, then leased back to Utah Copper. (Interstate Commerce Commission Reports, Volume 106, p. 452, 106 ICC 452)

Utah Copper purchased more equipment in 1910, including eight shovels, 12 standard gauge locomotives, and 80 12-cubic yard all-steel dump cars.

August 1, 1910
Some of the Utah Copper ore continued going to their original mill at Copperton. But that mill was closed and dismantled in August 1910. (Rickard, T. A. "The Utah Copper Enterprise," 1919, p. 51; the mill was formally closed on August 1, 1910)

The Copperton mill had been built to have a 300 ton per day capacity. By the time that it was closed, the Copperton Mill had been expanded to the point that Denver and Rio Grande was delivering 1,000 tons per day. When the mill was closed, its machinery was installed in Utah Copper's Arthur Mill, formerly the Boston Consolidated mill, about a mile west of the company's Magna Mill. The 1,000 tons per day that Denver and Rio Grande had been moving to the Copperton Mill then began moving over the Bingham & Garfield to the mills at Magna.

Between 1908 and 1911, while the Bingham & Garfield was being built, the traffic patterns from the mines in the canyon were changing. The three large smelters that had been built in Salt Lake Valley, starting in 1899, were the subject of a suit brought in 1905 by farmers over crop damages from air pollution in the agricultural areas surrounding the smelters. The settlement of the suit called for the mining companies to stop processing copper sulfide ores at their Salt Lake Valley smelters.

The increased traffic on the Bingham Branch, along with the ore trains coming off the Low Grade Line was causing a bottle neck at Loline Junction. To relieve some of the congestion, the railroad added a second track from there down to Welby in 1910. Additional traffic was also coming to the Bingham Branch from the Lark Branch, which Rio Grande Western had purchased in November 1903.

July 1910
"During July all three of the concentrating plants were in operation, but at the end of that month the Copperton plant, at the mine, was closed permanently and dismantled. The equipment is being used to remodel the Arthur plant at Garfield. The improvements at the Magna plant are completed and that plant is now treating in excess of 10,000 tons per day. When the Arthur plant is remodeled on the plans corresponding to those of the Magna plant it will have a capacity of about 6000 tons. The tonnage milled for the quarter was less than that for the preceding quarter, on account of the changes being made in plants as indicated. The production was 23,194,921 lb. of copper as compared with 25,124,052 lb. for the second quarter. The average copper content of the ore was 1.5 per cent for the quarter and 1.4 per cent for the month of September." (Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering, February 1911, Volume 10, Number 2)

September 24, 1910
To allow the expansion of its dumping grounds, Utah Copper purchased the surface rights in Copper Center Gulch from the Bingham Mines company. The purchase forced Bingham Mines to move about 12 buildings in Copper Center Gulch down about one half mile, to a place near the Niagara tunnel. "According to information that reached Salt Lake yesterday, the work of dumping waste in the newly-acquired territory will take place Monday." "Arrangements have been made with the United States company and H. S. Joseph for the use of the [Niagara] tunnel." The move started on September 15th and was almost complete. With the move, Bingham Mines company abandoned its use of the Lower Commercial tunnel and would close the mine. The Niagara tunnel would be expanded and extended about 300 feet to get under the old workings of Bingham Mines company's Commercial mine. The expansion would give Bingham Mines an additional depth of 200 feet, and about 500 feet on the dip of its ore body. "Until the work is extended under the ore bodies, shipments from the property will be stopped." A spur of the Copper Belt railroad served the portal of the Lower Commercial mine, and would be put down the canyon to serve the Bingham Mines as soon as the work had been advanced to the point that shipping could resume. (Salt Lake Herald, September 24, 1910)

November 22, 1910
Utah Copper filed a condemnation suit against the still-existing Niagara Mining and Smelting company to condemn portions needed as dumping grounds. (Salt Lake Herald Republican, November 22, 1910)

1911
"Underground mining operations at the Boston Mine were continued throughout the year, and tor a portion of the time at irregular intervals, some underground mining was done in the original Utah Mine on the east side of Bingham Canyon. Of the total ore mined during the year, 74% was obtained by steam shovels from the original Utah Copper Mine 4% was mined underground in the Utah Mine, and 22% was mined underground in the Boston Mine." (Utah Copper Chronology, citing the Utah Copper Company, 1911 annual report, dated December 31, 1911)

In October 1911, Utah Copper equipment consisted of 25 steam shovels, 53 locomotives, and 408 cars. (Salt Lake Mining Review, October 30, 1911, p. 19)

1911
Utah Copper's annual report for the year ending December 31, 1911 shows the following:

February 22, 1912
The new Bingham passenger tram between the B&G depot and Bingham town, 225 feet below, went into service on or about February 22, 1912. The article in the Salt Lake Tribune states that the trains leave the Harriman (Union Pacific) Salt Lake City depot at 7:30am and 2:50pm, with the round trip from Salt Lake City to Garfield (over what are now UP tracks), then on B&G tracks from Garfield to Bingham, taking about three hours. Passengers rode a single train (likely with UP locomotive and cars), without having to change trains at Garfield. An associated photo shows a passenger train, with UP locomotive, crossing the B&G's Markham Gulch bridge, possibly showing a special train that gave officials and special guests a preview of the upcoming service. Photos show that the long and winding wooden stairs between the two points remained in place for a number of years after the tram went into service. (Salt Lake Tribune, February 22, 1912; headline reads "Tramway For Bingham; Stairs Are Abandoned")

A strike was called by the Western Federation of Miners on September 17, 1912 for all underground miners, for an increase of 50 cents per day. To replace the striking workers, on October 9, Utah Copper and Utah Consolidated brought in strikebreakers and most producers were back in reduced production by mid October. The strike resulted in Utah Copper closing the underground workings of its original mine due to costs (76 cents per ton) being much higher than open cut mining (35 cents per ton). Work resumed in November in the former Boston mine, with costs of 66 cents per ton. (Engineering and Mining Journal, May 17, 1913, p. 1008; Rickard, p. 48)

The strike ended on December 1, 1912 when Utah Copper raised wages of surface labor to $2.20 for a 10-hour shift (an increase of 20 cents), "as long as copper stays above 17 cents". (Engineering and Mining Journal, January 11, 1913, p. 87)

During 1912, Utah Copper removed 4,835,479 cubic yards of overburden, and during the same period, the company mined and shipped 28,720,234 tons of copper ore. (Wegg, p. 89)

The company was taking 78 percent of ore from the open cut mine, 18 percent from the former Boston underground mine and 4 percent from the original Utah underground mine. (Engineering and Mining Journal, May 17, 1913, p. 1008; Wegg, p. 93)

Utah Power & Light Bingham Substation

October 21, 1912
Daniel C. Jackling, general manager of Utah Copper, announced that the entire Utah Copper operation would be electrified. The date work would start was not known, as was the planned date of completion. Jackling was head of the newly organized Utah Power & Light company. Utah Power & Light took over an existing contract between Utah Copper and Telluride Power for the power company to furnish 14,000 horsepower of electric power [about 10MW], of which Utah Copper was already using "several thousand horse power." (Salt Lake Herald-Republican, October 21, 1912)

December 29, 1912
"Plans are now being worked out for the complete electrification of the Bingham & Garfield railroad and this will be followed by the complete electrification of the mills and smelters at Garfield and Magna and the electrification of all of the machinery at the Utah Copper company workings. Power for all of these plants will be furnished by the big electric company and Bingham alone will require current to furnish 15,000 horsepower in the near future. Preparing for these changes, the company started work a few days ago on a new substation at Bingham. When this is completed, the old substation will be abandoned. This new substation will have a capacity of 8000 horsepower and will reduce the voltage from 44,000 volts to 5000 volts for distribution to the smaller mines in that vicinity." (Salt Lake Herald, December 29, 1912)

1912-1914
The following comes from an unpublished history of Bingham, titled "Bingham and Mines."

In 1912 a new company to be known as the Utah Power & Light Company was organized with D.C. Jackling as its head." This new company bought the Telluride Company's interests and shortly afterwards "contracts were signed for power for all purposes by the Utah Copper Company.

By October of 1913 the Utah Power and Light Company had completed an electric substation at Bingham. Four transmission lines from Provo, Ogden, Bear Lake, and Grace, Idaho, were brought into the station. These lines were provided with automatic cut-outs so that when a line went bad it would instantly cut itself out without interrupting service. The power was brought to Bingham at 44,000 volts and stepped down to 5,000 for distribution to the various consumers of the camp.

In 1914 the Utah Power and Light Co. signed a contract to electrify the entire property of the Utah Copper at Bingham and Garfield and in that year also, the Utah-Apex mine installed a 200 horsepower compressor and doubled its mill capacity.

1912
"Power for the Magna mill was provided by the construction of an 8,500 kilowatt steam electric generating plant at Magna in 1906. Because of continuously expanding needs, in 1912 Utah Copper entered into a 25-year contract with Utah Power and Light for 27,000 horsepower of electricity, to be delivered over 44,000 volt lines to the Utah Copper Magna and Arthur mills. Shortly thereafter, the Magna steam generating plant was shut down and later dismantled." (Richest Hole on Earth, by Leonard J. Arrington and Gary B. Hansen, Department of Economics, Utah State University, page 51, 1963, citing Kennescope, August 1954, p. 12; "History of Milling to 1939," p. 126; Utah Copper Company, Annual Report, 1912, p. 15.)

January 1, 1913
The contract agreement for Utah Power & Light to furnished power to Utah Copper went into effect.

October 30, 1913
"A new sub-station is being built at Bingham by the power company, which is nearly complete. Four transmission lines are being brought into this station, these lines being provided with automatic cut-outs, so that if any one line goes bad, it will instantly cut itself out without interrupting service. As said the power will be brought in here at 44,000 volts and stepped down to 5,000-volts for distribution to the various consumers in the camp." (Salt Lake Mining Review, October 30, 1913)

November 22, 1913
"The Utah Power and Light company has contracted to electrify the entire workings and property of the Utah Copper company at Bingham." (Salt Lake Telegram, November 22, 1913)

January 15, 1914
A photo dated January 15, 1914 shows the Bingham substation to be complete, or very nearly complete. (Photo in collection of Tim Dumas)

November 1914
Based on dates given for the completion of Utah Power & Light's large open-air substation, located 6-1/2 miles west of Salt Lake City, and the mention that one of the nine transmission lines exiting the substation was for Bingham, it appears that the large substation at Bingham was completed just before November 1914, and was in operation at the time.

The 1913 Utah Copper annual report shows the following Bingham & Garfield equipment: four Mallet locomotives; eight heavy switcher locomotives; one light switcher locomotive; 375 steel hopper bottom ore cars; 75 steel concentrate cars; and 50 general service hopper bottom gondolas.

Utah Copper production for 1913 saw an increase in mill production of 41 percent, over the same period in 1912. Most of the increase came from converting the former Boston Consolidated Arthur mill to match the methods used at Utah Copper's own Magna mill. During 1913 both mills were processing 24,000 tons of ore daily, with 14,000 tons going to Magna and 10,000 tons going to Arthur. Arthur managed an 81 percent increase, from 1,860,521 tons in 1912 to 3,376,692 tons in 1913. Magna's 19 percent increase resulted in 4,142,700 tons in 1913 compared to 3,454,800 tons in 1912. Also the grade of the ore being mined was going down; 1912 saw 1.36 percent ore (18 pounds of copper per ton of ore mined) and production for 1913 was from 1.25 percent ore (16 pounds of copper per ton of ore mined). (Wegg, pp. 43,45)

Ore production for 1913 had 91 percent of the ore coming from the open cut operations at a cost of 29 cents per ton. The cost of underground mining, in the former Boston mine, was 69 cents per ton. (Engineering and Mining Journal, August 8, 1914, p. 270)

(The story continues in 1914...)

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