Mercur, 1936
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Mercur, Salt Lake Tribune, 1936
The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday Morning, November 15, 1936.
Camp Floyd District Entering on Third Period of Productivity
Mercur Coming Back After Twice Taking 'Ghost Town' Status
Operators Expending Large Sums in Development; History Marked by Long Struggle to Solve Problem of Milling Complex Ore
By George W. Snyder
Mining was first started in Ophir canyon, which lies about three miles north of Mercur, or the present Camp Floyd mining district, in 1869. The first ores found were silver chlorides and silver-lead carbonates. Walker Brothers built the first mill at this camp. Silver-lead mining next began to make headway at Stockton, Bingham and Little Cottonwood became points of considerable interest when ore was found at the grass roots and men from California, Nevada, Idaho and the Sweetwater country in Wyoming came flocking into Utah.
Such were the conditions when, in the spring of 1870, men crossed over from Ophir into what became known as Lewiston canyon and discovered the outcrops of the Sparrow Hawk silver vein. It was an antimonial silver ore assaying from 40 to 120 ounces per ton on the outcrop. A number of Utah settlers living in what was old Camp Floyd rushed up into the hills northwest of their settlement and, along with the miners from Ophir, located a large part of Lewiston canyon as mining ground.
Soldiers Among Locators
Some of these original locators were soldiers who had served in Albert Sidney Johnston's army, known as the Army of Utah, which had camped on the south side of the stream flowing from two springs, which separated the Mormon pioneer farmers from the military camp at Camp Floyd.
Among the men of Camp Floyd who joined the original rush to locate claims in Lewiston canyon, soon to be named the Camp Floyd mining district, were the Greeleys, Carsons, McKinneys, McClains, Snyders, Flocks and the famous "Bill" Hickman.
Most of the original locators sold their claims when the first money for development came into the camp. In 1872 Captain Shaw erected a mill in Lewiston canyon and attempted reduction of the ores from the two known mineral lodes, namely, the Stibnite, or Sparrow Hawk, vein, which was rich in silver. and the gold vein (later known as the Mercur vein, or bed), which carried much cinnabar, or sulphide of mercury. He succeeded in obtaining a few silver bricks and made a bold attempt to amalgamate the gold ore, but with no success. Changes in the mill were without results. The assays of gold were good, but the clay-like ore of the great vein would not respond to any known method of treatment. No mine had shown such a peculiar gold lode before. Laboratory tests of every assayer proved the gold was there, but the naked eye could not detect It.
Work Abandoned
Captain Shaw, who made the first attempt, had to abandon the work, though he fully realized the potential value of this gold bearing rock. The little camp was deserted and the cattle of the ranchers at Camp Floyd soon roamed the streets and surrounding hills of the one time mining camp, another "ghost" camp almost before it got started.
There was no change in the camp during the 1870s or 1880s, and its early history was but a memory, when, in 1890 an intensive search was again started for gold mines and men from the east came to buy gold properties. Some promoters of the abandoned Mercur mine met a number of prosperous farmers from Nebraska with money to invest, who bought the mine. The Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company was organized and arrangements were made to treat the ore by pan-amalgamation. A mill was built at Manning, some three miles away, where water was available.
A 10-ton plant was erected at a cost of $30,000 and the ore started through it. It kept on going through with little change, as the recovery was less than 20 per cent. The operation, like its predecessors of early days, failed. Roasting preliminary to amalgamation was tried and on the word of one "Cyanide" that he had $7000 worth of amalgam ready to retort, John Dern and E. H. Airis came on from Fremont, Nebraska, to see the result. The "result" was a retort residue the size of a hen's egg.
New Process Tried
Amid all the gloom around the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company's offices, two men refused to give up hope. They were Gil S. Peyton, manager, formerly a Fremont druggist, and Hal W. Brown, a stockholder. They had heard of the MacArthur-Forrest process of gold treatment by the use of potassium cyanide and felt that the Mercur ore was suitable for this treatment. Against considerable opposition they sent a sample of the ore to the metallic extraction plant at Denver. Returns showed a 90 per cent recovery. A car of ore was then shipped and better than 85 per cent of the gold was extracted.
On the strength of these results one of the first cyanide plants in the country was built at Manning. The company was on the right track, although other troubles, such as finding a successful means of leaching, were yet to be ironed out. From a 50-ton plant in 1892 the mill was enlarged to a 100-ton plant in 1893. In January, 1895, the Salt Lake & Mercur railroad was completed from Mercur through Manning to Fairfield, a station on the Oregon Short Line, which came down the east side of the Oquirrh mountains. Ore hauling by teams was suspended and the transportation of ore and supplies simplified.
Capacity Increased
By 1896 the mill was treating 200 tons of ore daily. Extraction ran between 80 and 87 per cent, with a mill treatment cost of 85 cents per ton. In July the mill was again enlarged to a crushing capacity of 500 tons and a leaching capacity of 350 tons. By 1897 it was handling lower grade ores as a result of this increased capacity, and for the year ending December 31, 1899, the average daily output was 353 tons at at cost of $1.05 per ton for mining, 88 cents for milling and 54 cents for miscellaneous items, a total of $2.27. Mill heads ran about $6.50 per ton, with a recovery of $5.52, showing a profit of $3.25 per ton.
In 1895 Captain Joseph De Lamar bought the Golden Gate group of claims adjoining the Mercur mine of the Dern-Heimrich-Airis company. A large amount of base ore was encountered which contained considerable pyrite, realgar and orpiment, compounds of iron, mercury, sulphur and arsenic. Carbon, which is a precipitant for gold, also was found in the ore. It was not amenable to cyanidation. Experiments conducted for two years showed that with finer crushing and roasting the base ores could be cyanided. This led to the erection of the Golden Gate mill in 1897 and 1898.
Companies Combine
In 1899 the DeLamar Mercur Mines company and the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company were combined and the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company came into existence. All the ore from the Mercur and Golden Gate mines was afterward treated at the Golden Gate mill, the Manning mill being used only for intermittent operations on tailings.
The original capacity of the Golden Gate mill was 500 tons. This gave it a position among the largest reduction works in the country. Power and light were supplied over high tension lines from a power plant in Provo canyon, 40 miles away. This, at the time, was the longest single transmission line in the United States.
From April 1, 1898, to August 1, 1900, the DeLamar Mercur Mines company milled 449,694 tons of ore, from which $2,236,737.28 in bullion was produced at an operating cost of $1,546,924.29, leaving a net profit for the period of $689,812.99. This made an average recovery of $4.97 per ton of ore treated at a cost of $3.44.
The Mercur Gold Mining company had milled up to August 1, 1900, 595,422 tons of oxidized ores and paid $1,490,500 in dividends. The net profits of the two companies were $1.53 and $2.50 per ton, respectively, so that when these properties were consolidated they had produced 1,045,136 tons of ore at a profit of $2,190,901.79. The Brickyard group of claims also was taken in by the consolidation. It adjoined the Golden Gate group on the north. All told, the properties of the Consolidated Mercur group included 944 acres of mining ground.
Aside from these large operations, several smaller companies were organized in the Camp Floyd district. The Geyser-Marion company was a consolidation in 1897 of the old Geyser and Marion properties. Matt Gisborn, controlling the Geyser, and G. R. Bothwell, controlling the Marlon, joined their interests and both mills ran to capacity up to 1900, paying about $100,000 in dividends. This company was bought in by W. S. McCornick of Salt Lake. A new company, the New Mercur Gold Mines company, formed to operate the mine and mill, met with little success. The Franklin Leasing company, organized later by T. H. Franklin, ran the mine and mill from January. 1912, through 1913.
The Sacramento Gold Mining company's property, which joined the Consolidated Mercur on the south, had an interesting career. In 1895, one year after the erection of the Geyser mill, it built a 50-ton leaching plant. It had its ups and down, but ran almost continuously until 1907. Considerable profit was made from the treatment of cinnabar ores and for some years the Sacramento gave Utah high rank in the production of quicksilver [mercury]. There seemed to be a concentration of cinnabar in this area, although it is found in varying amounts throughout the district. Despite high costs, it is reported that the company treated some 300,000 tons of ore and paid about $308,000 in dividends while operating. A considerable part of this profit was made from the treatment of cinnabar.
New Mill Opened
In the winter of 1895 the Sunshine Gold Mining company started its 50-ton mill in the camp of Sunshine, some four miles south of Mercur. The mill ran intermittently until 1901 and was pretty much of a failure, due to excessive slime and a poor flow sheet. Financial and legal troubles also held the owners back. In 1901 George Moore interested some Connecticut capitalists. The mill was increased to a capacity of 300 tons and started up in 1902. It was here that the Moore slime separator for separating sands and slimes was first tried out; also the vacuum filtration idea, which led to the development of the Moore vacuum filter.
For various reasons the new mill was unsuccessful and it was not operated after the close of the year. In 1904 a man named Lawrence took a lease on the property. He tried some special processes which resulted in failure. In 1908 Consolidated Mercur interests formed the Boston-Sunshine Gold Milling company and started operations in May, 1909 in a remodeled mill. The plant was successful and operated on available ore for 14 months, paying $19,500 in dividends.
Shortly after the Sunshine mill was started in 1896, a mill was built on the neighboring Overland property and put in operation in December, 1898. The ore was quite free from slimes and very easily leached, but the grade was low. In 1899 the plant was closed for enlarging, and in January, 1901, it was again started, with a capacity of 500 tons daily. The heads ran between $2.20 and $2.40 a ton, but with the low tailings loss and milling cost it looked as if a success could be made of the operation. However, a heavy debt on the property and the very close margin on which it worked proved too much of a burden and E. W. Clark of the Ophir Hill was appointed receiver. He sank a new shaft and started the mill, but ran it for a short time only. The year 1902 marked the last attempt of the owners to operate, and it was closed down without ever having paid a dividend.
Going back to the Consolidated Mercur operations, as has been stated, the company was well under way in 1901 and operated continuously for better than 11 years. During this period it milled 3,137,757 tons of ore with a gross value of $10,245,175.02, and paid $1,235,000 in dividends. The extraction averaged 76.7 per cent.
Historical Sidelights
A sidelight on the camp of Mercur, having historical interest, is the fact that many of the men who helped to put Utah on the map as a mining state, and who themselves became prominent in the state or nationally, were instrumental in solving the complex problem of winning gold from Mercur ores at a profit. With the Consolidated Mercur company as directors were John Dern, W. H. Cunningham, George H. Bennett, Edward T. McLoughlin, William H. Thompson, George H. Dern and W. S. McCornick. On the operating staffs of the DeLamar Mines, Mercur Gold Mines and Consolidated Mercur were such engineers as D. C. Jackling, Robert C. Gemmell, Walter T. Janney, Duncan MacVichie, George H. Dern, Ernest Gayford and Gil S. Peyton.
The foregoing covers to a great extent the early history of the Camp Floyd mining district. The writer is indebted to the Salt Lake Mining Review for a large part of the information given. This takes the district up to a period marking its second experience as a ghost mining camp. After the closing of the Golden Gate mill in March. 1913, there was still a little activity in the camp. In 1917 the remainder of the mine and mill buildings were dismantled and the machinery sold. Houses were moved to near-by settlements and soon the sheep and cattle were again roaming the hills and streets of the once busy town of Mercur.
International Interested
This condition existed until June, 1931, when the International Smelting and Refining company entered into an agreement with the Sacramento Gold and Quicksilver Mining company to spend a certain amount of money on the property for a controlling interest. The Sacramento company at that time held this ground under option from Glenn R. Bothwell and associates. On August 23, 1932, the smelting company, after spending a considerable portion of the money called for its agreement, decided to abandon the project. At this time gold was still $20.67 an ounce.
The Sacramento company continued to work the property. It put in a mercury reduction plant to treat mercury ore opened up in a caved area. Operations were continued on a small scale until 1934, when insufficient financing put this company into a receivership.
On December 30, 1932, an agreement was entered into between the surviving directors and trustees for the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company and W. F. Snyder & Sons company, granting the latter a lease and option on the Manning dumps and premises. In February, 1933. a corporation known as the Manning Gold Mines company was formed to take over these dumps, located over the divide and about five miles southeast of the old townsite of Mercur.
Aided by Higher Gold
The dumps were the tailings resulting from the milling of the first ores mined from the Consolidated Mercur mines (approximately 600,000 tons), and it was figured that even at the then price of gold ($20.67 per ounce) a small profit could be made. Before milling operations started the price of gold went up and by the time the Manning mill was operating in good shape, or early in 1934, the price of gold was pegged at the present figure of $35 an ounce. This increase assured the success of the Manning plant.
After the execution of the Manning contract, W. F. Snyder & Sons company started negotiations with the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company for the remainder of the property, consisting of the mining claims and the tailing dumps situated at Mercur, in Tooele county. These negotiations, started in January. 1933, were brought to a successful conclusion In June, 1934.
The Lewiston Peak Mining company was incorporated under the laws of Utah to take over and operate the mining property and tailing dumps thus secured, under lease and option. This is the status of the property at the present time.
Requa Operating
The West Dip property, to the west of Mercur, is under development by Mark Requa of California and associates, who are erecting a mill.
The Bothwell interests are again operating the Geyser-Marion property and have put up a small cyanide bill to handle ores mined with a steam shovel from the face of Geyser hill and ores mined by lessees.
The foregoing covers briefly the history of the Camp Floyd district from its beginning to the present and gives some idea of the ups and downs which befall many of the western mining camps. While not as colorful as some gold camps, its story has been one of overcoming difficulties and disappointments until the metallurgical problems were solved to the point where a profit was possible.
Every mining district is of very definite and direct value to the communities in and adjacent to the territory in which it is located. Camp Floyd has been no exception to this rule.
Many Towns Benefit
The towns of Lehi, Cedar Fort, Fairfield, Ophir, St. John, Vernon, Stockton, Tooele and Grantsville, together with intermediate farms and ranches, have felt the buoyant effect of mine and mill payrolls. During the first period of operation the total payroll was small and did not much affect the fortunes of the people involved, but during the second period of activity, extending from 1890 to 1913, and particularly from 1900 to 1913, when the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company was operating as the largest unit in the district, the payroll averaged from a low figure in 1900 of approximately $10,000 to a high of some $60,000 per month, when all properties were running.
The third, or present, period of activity has seen the payrolls in the district rise from a few hundred dollars in 1930 to a present payroll which probably will exceed $15,000 a month and is steadily increasing. This means approximately 130 men employed on company account, with about 75 to 100 leasers working on the different properties. Food and mining supplies to the value of approximately $6000 per month, are being procured locally and in Salt Lake City, while electric power at a cost of $3000 per month is being consumed. Insurance and taxes of various kinds, together with miscellaneous expenses, account for another $3000 per month.
Operations Expanding
The present scale of activity in the Camp Floyd district calls for an expenditure of approximately $27,000 per month. Added to this figure is the $7000 to $12,000 per month paid to leasers for ore mined by them, which is mostly spent in the surrounding communities. This means $35,000 to $40,000 per month, or nearly one-half million dollars per year, is being put into circulation throughout the territory tributary to this mining district. Additional money (profits to the company on ore mined and new capital) is being spent by the operators for more and larger equipment to take care of a continually expanding program.
It does not take much imagination or vision to appreciate the present and potential value of this mining district to a considerable number of persons directly, and to the state as a whole. Real wealth is being created and the people should see that the mining industry in general, which adds so materially to their prosperity and happiness, is given every incentive to grow and expand.
(This is the twelfth in a series of articles on Utah's mineral resources. The thirteenth, appearing in next Sunday's Tribune, will deal with the cement industry.)
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