Flagstaff Mine, Little Cottonwood

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Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah (Limited)

(The original Flagstaff Smelter was located at mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, on the north side of Little Cottonwood Creek.)

(The Flagstaff mine in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and the Last Chance mine in Bingham Canyon, were under common ownership of the same English directors, investors and superintendent right from each company's beginning in November 1871 and April 1872, respectively. - London Pall Mall Gazette, November 30, 1871; April 27, 1872)

"On the north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon, Buel and Bateman built a plant in 1870 for treating ore from the Flagstaff mine." (Early History of Lead Smelting in the West, AX-I-DENT-AX, Volume 14, Number 5, May 1929, page 8)

The Flagstaff mine is situated a quarter of a mile north of Alta, half way up the southern slope of a high ridge which separates Big from Little Cottonwood canyon, from 700 to 800 foot above the valley. It was located in 1869 by Grosbeck, Schneider, and others, who worked it under the name of the Salt Lake Mining Company until February, 1872, when it was bonded to Erwin Davis for $300,000, who sold it to English capitalists for $1,000,000. They organized the Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah (limited), and worked the mine in a very expensive manner until December, 1873, when the ore bodies in sight gave out." (D. B. Huntley, Mining Industries of Utah, Appendix I, Reports of the Tenth Census, 1880, page 423)

(The Flagstaff Silver Mining company began paying a monthly dividend in February 1872, which continued through August 1873.)

After the ore in sight gave out the company was then found to be in debt to Davis, for money advanced for the purchase of the mine in November 1871. The company had been paying dividends between paying its debt to Davis. The dividends paid to the English company amounted to about $350,000. Davis took the mine and worked it under agreement with the company until December 24, 1876, when he was dispossessed by the United States marshal under orders from the English directors. Heavy lawsuits with small results followed. Since 1876 the mine has been leased and subleased many times, but has been idle since the summer of 1880. At the time of examination [in 1880] it was owned by Seligman Brothers, of New York, who took it for debt. They had lately bought the Nabob, an adjacent property, and the new owners expected to begin work soon. (D. B. Huntley, Mining Industries of Utah, Appendix I, Reports of the Tenth Census, 1880, page 423)

The following excerpts about the Flagstaff mine come from "Geology And Ore Deposits Of The Cottonwood-American Fork Area, Utah" USGS Professional Paper 201, published in 1943, page 120.

What is commonly known as the Flagstaff mine consists of the Flagstaff tunnel, about half a mile northwest of Alta, the 900-foot Flagstaff shaft, which heads underground at the tunnel level, and drifts that extend from the shaft at several levels below the tunnel. Later developments for the purpose of mining the Flagstaff ores include the Tom Moore tunnel, and the Burnswood tunnel. All these workings are [in 1943] the property of the Mineral Veins Coalition Mining Co.

The early operations of the Flagstaff mine were interestingly described by Raymond. (Raymond, R. W., Statistics of mines and mining in the States and Territories west of the Rocky Mountains for 1872, p. 246, 1873)

The mine, according to Raymond, was served in the 1870s by furnaces situated at the mouth of the canyon and at Sandy. In 1872 these furnaces, using charcoal as fuel, were treating 20 tons of ore a day. During three months ending September 15, 1872, ore amounting to 1,467 tons was reduced, producing 619 tons of bullion. Water power for operating the blowers to the furnaces was supplied by a ditch from Little Cottonwood Creek. The bullion was hauled seven miles from the furnaces at the mouth of the canyon to the railway station at Sandy. The total product of the furnaces in 1872 amounted to 3,000 tons of metal, containing an average of $130 in silver, $40 in gold, and $80 in lead, valued in all at $750,000.

In 1873 the Flagstaff smelter was idle, although the mine was worked steadily until November, having produced in 10 months 15,000 tons of ore averaging $54 a ton, but the expenses of mining were so heavy that the company was in debt at the end of the year. Most of the ore mined in 1873 was smelted at the Last Chance and Flagstaff smelting works, in Sandy, but 2,595 tons was sampled at the Pioneer Sampling Works, in Salt Lake City, and shipped to other works. According to the official statement 14,767 tons of ore was taken from the mine in 1874 and 3,521 tons of argentiferous lead obtained at the Last Chance smelting works. (Raymond, R. W., Statistics of mines and mining in the States and Territories west of the Rocky Mountains for 1873, p. 260, 1874, and Raymond, 1874, p. 260, 1875)

The total value of the metal output of the Flagstaff mine prior to 1880 is estimated at $4,550,000. About 300 tons of lead-silver ore was taken out of the Flagstaff workings by the Consolidated Flagstaff Mines Co. in 1906, 1907, and 1908, and from 1913 to 1920 lessees and the Wasatch Mines Co. shipped 1,262 tons of ore, part of which was mined near the surface. The principal value was in lead, silver, and copper, but some zinc ore was shipped in 1915.

September 18, 1871
Ore from the Flagstaff mine was being transported down the hill by that company's "tramways, forty tons per day. The ore is of high grade, and has been reduced, thus far, partly at the Pardee smelter and partly at Buel & Bateman's smelter at the foot of the canyon - the latter works for the last two weeks, having turned out, of the ore from this mine, of bullion at the rate of eight or nine tons per day." (Salt Lake Daily Review, September 18, 1871)

English Investors Take Control

November 23, 1871: The formal acquisition agreement was signed between the original owners (the Salt Lake Mining Company, represented by attorney Nicholas Groesbeck) and Horace Nelson Wilkinson on behalf of the new company. The purchase price was £300,000 (roughly $1.5 million at the time), and the purchase included all net profits generated by the mine retroactively since September 1, 1871.

November 30, 1871
From the Pall Mall Gazette (London), November 30, 1871.

Summary of The Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah (Limited), a new mining enterprise under the Companies Acts of 1862–1867.

Capital and Dividends: The company features a total capital of £300,000, divided into 30,000 shares at £10 each. Management intends to pay dividends monthly starting February 1, 1872. While cash and bullion reserves are expected to exceed £30,000 by that date, the directors plan to cap the initial dividends at 2 percent per month (24 percent per annum).

(£300,000 in 1872 was approxiamtely $1.5 million in U. S. dollars.)

Leadership: The board of directors is chaired by The Right Honourable Lord Robert Montagu, M.P., with Sir Alexander Malet, Bart., K.C.B., serving as Vice-Chairman. The remaining board members include G. C. Frames, Esq., William Maitland, Esq., and T. R. Tufnell, Esq., all of whom hold prominent directorships in banking, insurance, and shipping companies.

The primary purpose of the company is to purchase and operate the Flagstaff Silver Mine, located in Little Cottonwood Canyon within Salt Lake County, Utah, along with the Little Cottonwood Smelting Works, fifteen acres of land, and valuable attached water rights.

The total purchase price is £300,000, which is structured as £100,000 in cash and £200,000 in fully paid-up shares.

This acquisition agreement, dated November 23, 1871, was made between the Salt Lake Mining Company, represented by attorney Nicholas Groesbeck, and Horace Nelson Wilkinson on behalf of the new company.

The purchase includes all net profits generated by the mine since September 1, 1871, which ensures that at least £20,000 in cash will be transferred directly to the company's possession upon the final handover of the property.

Geographically, the mine spans an area of 2,000 lineal feet by 400 feet in breadth and is situated 2,500 feet north-westerly from the prominent "Emma" Mine on the exact same vein, while remaining within sixteen miles of the railway.

The existing the smelting works features a substantial 45-ton daily capacity and a permanent water supply sufficient to power five times the current machinery.

Expert assessments highlight that the ore is soft, friable, and easily extracted without the need for blasting. According to geological reports, the deposit is a "true vein" characterized by permanence and immense richness, with physical indications suggesting that a formation up to 1,500 feet thick may ultimately prove to be a single, massive silver-bearing band comparable to the famous Comstock formation. Discovered in early 1870, the mine has already yielded upwards of 2,500 tons of first-class smelting ore. Assay evaluations by multiple engineers place the average value of the gold and silver alone at over $90 per ton, and because most of this material was extracted during initial exploratory drifting, a significant majority of the ore remains standing and ready for immediate stoping.

Operational infrastructure consists of two shafts sunk to depths of 275 and 254 feet, as well as an active tunnel project driven from the hillside designed to tap the vein 200 feet below the lowest shaft levels. This tunnel is expected to be completed by February 1872, allowing the existing smelting works to begin working at full capacity and drastically increase production.

Financial viability is supported by recent operations; during September 1871, the partial utilization of just one furnace reduced 457-1/2 tons of ore to generate a gross value of $71,448.33 and a net profit of $43,373.51 (equivalent to £8,960). Incomplete reports from October indicate similar yields, which altogether project an estimated annual net profit of £107,520, representing an annual dividend return of nearly 36 percent on the company's capital.

To ensure internal oversight and reassure investors, the company has implemented a rigorous daily reporting system that records tons raised, smelting costs, bullion produced, fuel consumption, wages, and workforce numbers. These transparent daily records are signed by managers and will remain open at the company offices for direct inspection by shareholders.

The entire business case is validated by authoritative scientific reports authored by Professor William Blake (former California State Geologist), Professor W. C. Vincent, and mining engineer John R. Murphy, all of which were further verified and endorsed by Professor Ansted, F.R.S., F.G.S., for potential investors to carefully review.

January 12, 1872
N. M. Maxwell and J. A. H. Patrick, both of Omaha, were staying at the Townsend House hotel in Salt Lake City. (Deseret News, January 12, 1872)

(Maxwell was the designated superintendent of both the Flagstaff and Last Chance mines. Patrick was, after May 1874, the designated general manager of both companies.)

The newly formed British entity, The Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah (Limited), held a meeting on January 19, 1872 where shareholders formally voted to confirm the purchase of the Flagstaff property.

January 19, 1872
"At a meeting of the Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah, held to-day, a very favourable report was read, together with a telegram stating that the profit for September, October, and November was £21,143, although the smelting works were not at work for 20 days. It was resolved to confirm the purchase of the property, and to invite applications for the unallotted shares." (London Morning Post, January 19, 1872)

(£21,143 was approximately $102,903.00 in 1872 dollars, and approximately $2.8 million in 2026 dollars)

February 16, 1872
The Ely Record of February 29, 1872, reported that on February 16th Buel had sold his Flagstaff mine and furnaces located in Little Cottonwood for $1.5 million. While the proceeds would have been split with his partners, Buel earned a tremendous return from this transaction that would see him through for a number of years. (Ely Record, February 29, 1872; quoted in otherhand.org/home-page/archaeology/dave-buels-east-fork-flume-san-gabriel-canyon/the-history-of-david-buels-east-fork-flume-san-gabriel-canyon)

March 18, 1872
A report from Mr. Maxwell on February 25th reported that production from the mine had been September 1st and November 27th, 1871 had been 1,345 tons of ore at a cost of mining it reported as $8.10 per ton. All titles to claims at the mine had been perfected. (London Morning Post, March 18, 1872)

March 26, 1872
The first meeting of the shareholders of the company was held "today", with Alexander Malet as president reporting that the present rate of production was 30 tons per day, which could be increased. (London Morning Post, March 26, 1872)

April 30, 1872
"The following telegram was received on Saturday the 27th inst., from the Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah (Limited): 'Start furnaces steadily to-morrow. Patent issued. Lode where intersected by tunnel, has increased in width to 5 feet, all good ore.'" (London Daily Telegraph, April 30, 1872)

May 7, 1872
"The directors of the Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah (Limited) state that they have entered into an engagement with Mr. N. M. Maxwell to proceed to Utah and take charge of the mines and works as resident manager. The shareholders are aware that Mr. Maxwell is the gentleman who was selected by the directors to examine the mines, and that it was on his full and satisfactory report that the property was purchased." (London Standard, May 7, 1872)

June 26, 1872
Telegram received "this morning," "Week's run 72 tons, good value £23,000; everything looking well for continuous and increased yield. - Maxwell. The London offices added, "This present rate of production, as given by the general manager, is equivalent to a net profit of over £3,000 per week, or £500 per day, six working days per week." (London Times, June 26, 1872)

(The first reference to the Flagstaff Silver Mining company in U. S. newspapers came in late July 1872, as part of a list of 18 U. S. mining companies with British investors. Four were located in Utah: the Flagstaff, the Emma, the Mammoth Copperopolis and the South Utah.)

December 23, 1872
In a telegram dated December 23, 1872, Maxwell reported that the ore vein was 10 feet wide and improving. The shaft had been sunk down to 600 feet. (London Standard, December 25, 1872)

"Flagstaff Silver Mining Company, (Limited,) -- Incorporated in London; capital $300,000. Have smelting works situated at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, built by Buel & Bateman in 1870; working Flagstaff ore. Three furnaces; two running; the third expected to start soon. The latter is a hot-blast furnace, and of equal capacity with the other two. When the third furnace is running the yield of bullion will be twenty tons daily for the three furnaces. Superintendent N. M. Maxwell, assisted by J. B. Stanford." (Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, January 18, 1873)

(Beginning in November 1873, the financial future of the two mines, the Flagstaff and the Last Chance, began to collapse.)

(The story of the Flagstaff smelter at Little Cottonwood, and its closing in 1874, continues with the Last Chance smelter at Sandy after 1874.)

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