Mercur Timeline
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Mercur Timeline
A timeline of major events in the Mercur mining district, originally known as the Camp Floyd mining district.
Interested researchers are directed to online newspapers, especially Newspapers.com. A search for "Camp Floyd Mining District" gives a wide variety of results.
Silver Era
April 16, 1870
The Camp Floyd Mining District was organized. (E&MJ, April 24, 1897)
April 20, 1870
The first mining claim, a
placer claim, was located and registered by L. Greeley. (E&MJ, April 24, 1897)
1871
"It was opened as a silver camp in 1871 by the development of the Sparrow Hawk and Carrie Steele mines., In the former a pocket of ore fifty feet wide in places was tapped and worked to a small depth. At that time the Carrie Steele turned out rich ore. It was claimed that the two mines produced all of one million dollars. (Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1894)
November 1871
As part of the law suit of Marion Gold Mining company vs. Geyser Mining company: "Leandro Steele's Story - At this time court took a recess until 2 o'clock, at which hour Leandro Steele was called. Mr. Steele testified that he located the Carrie Steele claim, which he named after his daughter, in November, 1871, and remained in the locality for a number of years. He saw no work done on the west end of the Marion prior to 1875. In that year he and Higginson both did work on the Marion, which he believed was at a point between the present incline house at the head of No. 2 incline, and the south side line of the Marion. Mr. Steele was confident that there was no incline upon the property in 1872. Mr. Steele testified on cross-examination that he never owned an interest in the Marion. He had seen a monument or a stake on the southwestern part of the claim near post 4, in 1872." (Salt Lake Tribune, July 17, 1896)
1872
The Sparrow Hawk, Last Chance and Marion claims were among the first lode claims located, and were the first ones surveyed for patent, the surveys having been made early in 1872. (E&MJ, April 24, 1897)
May 16, 1872
The Sparrow Hawk mine had a force of nearly 100 men working under the supervision of Capt. Walker. The Queen of the West was not being worked. The General Lowe and the Mormon Chief were both producing large amounts of ore. The Eastern Hemisphere, also known as the Star of the West, was idle. The Excelsior, Bald Eagle, Carrie Steele, America, Ella, Maria and Marrow mines were all looking well and were being developed. (Salt Lake Tribune, May 18, 1872, with many other comments about the growth of the district and the town of Lewiston)
November 22, 1872
The Camp Floyd Silver Mining company was incorporated "this past season." The Sparrow Hawk, Marian and last Chance mines were owned by an English company, and the bullion was being shipped direct to England. The company's mill had 20 stamps, and regularly runs out of water, hindering operations. Baxter and Hussey were building a mill at Fairfield, eight miles from camp. The Jenny Lind was the only cinnabar mine in Utah. (Salt Lake Herald, November 22, 1872, includes a long list of active mines)
February 26, 1874
A lengthy article providing a summary of the Camp Floyd district with a list of the mines in the district, and the town of Lewiston. The first mines mentioned by name, about halfway through the article, and therefore likely the most important and most active, were the Sparrow Hawk, Last Chance, and Marion mines. The three mines are shown as "owned and worked by the Camp Floyd Silver Mining company, a British corporation, who have erected a twenty-stamp mill a little south of Lewiston." (Salt Lake Herald, February 26, 1874)
July 23, 1879
The Carrie Steele Mining company was incorporated. (Silver Reef Miner, July 23, 1879)
January 1, 1884
From the Salt Lake Herald, January 1, 1884, "Geology of Utah."
Camp Floyd Mining District.
The principal mines are situated around Lewiston.
The principal mines are the Sparrow Hawk, London, Marion, Geyser, and others of the Camp Floyd Silver Mining Company. These mines are largely developed by numerous shafts, inclines, drifts and adits, and have produced a great amount of silver, which would have been made more profitable if the early management had been more judicious.
The Carrie Steele is largely developed, showing large quantities of rich ore.
The Queen of the West, Silver Cloud, Silver Shield, Antelope, Jenny Lind, Lewiston, Last Chance, Camp Douglas, Silver Star, Reno, Leopard, Silver Circle, Wandering Boy, Star of the West, Midway, Emery, Black Hawk, Gentile Belle, Mormon Chief, Grecian Bend, Mercur, Alexander and New Idria are all promising mines, having all been more or less extensively developed and ore-producing.
Gold Era
December 26, 1890
The Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company held its first annual stockholders meeting on January 14, 1891. R. L. Scannell was secretary. (Salt Lake Tribune, December 29, 1890, publishing a notice dated December 26, 1890)
(The above is the first reference in online newspapers to "Mercur" as a location or company in Utah. There were two men in other parts of the nation, a General Mercur, and a Judge (or Justice) Mercur, mentioned throughout the 1880s.)
January 13, 1891
The annual meeting of the Sparrow Hawk Mining company was held on January 13, 1891, in the same location in Salt Lake City as the annual meeting of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company the next day. R. L. Scannell was secretary of both companies.
(Salt Lake Tribune, December 28, 1890)
January 14, 1891
The annual meeting of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company was held at the office of the secretary of the company in Salt Lake City. The "election of officers for the ensuing year was proceeded with, which resulted as follows: John Dern, of Fremont, Nebraska, president; Henry W. Brown, vice-president: Gilbert S. Peyton, treasurer; Robert L. Scannell, secretary, and these, with the addition of Joseph Smith, form the board of directors; all, with the exception of the president, are Salt Lake parties. The stockholders were well pleased with the outlook, and the mill will be put in operation within thirty days. 150,000 of the 200,000 shares of capital stock were represented." (Salt Lake Tribune, December 28, 1890; Salt Lake Herald, January 15, 1891)
September 17, 1892
The Golden Gate Mining and Milling company filed its articles of incorporation in the office of the County Clerk yesterday. The incorporators were: W. W. Hollister, Santa Barbara, California (president, director, 33-1/3 percent of shares); A. C. Ellis, Jr., Salt Lake City (vice president, director); W. S. Fugate, Salt Lake City (secretary, director, 16-2/3 percent of shares); S. F. Walker (treasurer); John J. Meyers, San Francisco, California (director, 16-2/3 percent of shares); A. N. Butts, Salt Lake City (director, 16-2/3 percent of shares); Philip Deidisheimer, San Francisco (director); Henry C. Pierce (director). The company owned the Mabel lode, the Noonday lode, the grasshopper lode, and the Golddipper lode, all in the Camp Floyd mining district, all in the vicinity of the Mercur mine. "Sufficient work had been done to show that they have ore and will doubtless erect a mill to work it with." (Salt Lake Tribune, September 18, 1892)
June 27, 1893
"M. J. Franklin" applied to the U. S. Land Office in Salt Lake City for patents on the Brickyard, Potosi, Justice and Arab mining claims, all in the Camp Floyd mining district. (Deseret News, June 27, 1893)
(The Franklin patent application to consolidate the above claims was contested in Third District Court by James W. Neill, who held the adjacent Lady May, Vulture and Sullivan claims. -- Deseret News, August 8, 1893)
October 5, 1893
"James Franklin" was the principal owner of the Brickyard group of mines at Camp Floyd. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 5, 1893)
(James Matthew Franklin was born in Missouri in 1843 and passed away in Stockton, Utah, on October 5, 1893. He was a widower at the time and living in the St. Elmo hotel. The cause of death was listed as pneumonia. His illness was mentioned in the October 5, 1893 issue of the Salt Lake Tribune.) (KNH6-CFD)
1894
Capt. Joseph R. DeLamar bought the Brickyard mine from Enos Wall in 1894. (Utah Since Statehood, Noble Warrum, editor, 1919, page 260)
August 2, 1894
"The Viking Gold Mining Company at Mercur are pushing developments on a large scale. This company owns a group of forty-two lode claims, almost encircling the Mercur and Marion properties, and for over two years work has been prosecuted vigorously on the group. They have a finely-timbered double compartment shaft down 400 feet, and cross-cutting is now going on to cut the vein on its dip. The Mercur side lines are above the shaft a short distance. The owners consider themselves lucky in having a good flow of water in the lower workings of the mine, because it will be available at small expense for milling purposes when the Viking mill is erected, which will undoubtedly be done in a short time after pay ore in sufficient quantities is developed." (Salt Lake Tribune, August 2, 1894)
November 26, 1894
Geyser Marion Fight -- "A contest over valuable mining property in the Camp Floyd mining district in Tooele county has reached the District Court. Matthew T. Gisborn, S. B. Milner and G. R. Bothwell commenced a suit yesterday against the Marion Gold Mining company, to enjoin the defendant from trespassing upon and extracting ores from the Florence No. 3 mining claim and a portion of the Geyser Lode mining claim, and for damages in the sum of $50,000 for ores heretofore taken from the claims. The plaintiffs are now working the property involved in the suit, while the defendant, which owns an adjoining mine, maintains that its claim extends into the property claimed by the plaintiffs." (Salt Lake Tribune, November 27, 1894)
Marion Gold Mining company
Geyser Mining company (Gisborn, Bothwell and Milner were the majority stockholders and owners of the Geyser company.)
1895
In 1895 Capt. J. L. DeLamar bought the Golden Gate group of mines which became his Mercur Mines. In 1897-1898, the Golden Gate Mill was built, a 500 ton cyaniding plant. In 1896 and again in 1897, DeLamar had tried to purchase the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling Co., but the price was more than he thought it was worth.
(Read more about Capt. J. R. DeLamar)
January 1, 1895
The Viking Gold Mining company at Mercur had J. J. Hagerman as its president; Percy Hagerman, Colorado Springs, as its secretary and treasurer, and James W. Neill, Salt Lake City as its agent. The company owned 42 mining claims on both sides of the gulch where the town of Mercur was situated, and these claims were on both sides of the Mercur company and the Marion company. The Viking company's Surprise shaft on the east side of the gulch had been sunk 472 feet during 1894. The company's Cyclone shaft had been sunk 75 feet and had hit water which flowed at 1000 gallons in 24 hours. This would furnish water for the two claims to be developed with steam power. (Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1895)
(In February 1895, the Colorado owners of the Viking company suspended operations, "gave up work on their Hillside claims, despite the solicitations of their local manager, Mr. Neill," and turned the property over to leasers. -- Salt Lake Tribune, February 16, 1895)
(Note that the Viking company was consolidated with the Brickyard company in March 1896.)
January 19, 1895
"The Mercur Railway." "Last Rail will be Laid This Afternoon." "On Thursday morning one of the engines of the little system pulled a train of cars up to the switch near the Ruby and the engineer saluted the camp with a succession of blasts from his whistle." Thursday was January 17, 1895. (Salt Lake Daily Herald, January 19, 1895)
(Read more about the Salt Lake & Mercur Railway)
January 22, 1895
"Mercur Mill now Operating." "Delivery of Ore Commenced on Sunday Afternoon." "At an average cost of about $10,000 per mile, the twelve miles of track which comprise the system of the Mercur & Salt Lake railroad, were completed on Saturday afternoon and the ballasting was finished the following day." Sunday was January 20, 1895; Saturday was January 19, 1895. (Salt Lake Daily Herald, January 22, 1895)
April 6, 1895
Captain J. R. DeLamar purchased half interest and control of the Golden Gate company and a bond and lease on the B. B. and Surprise claims of the Viking Mining company. "Just as soon as some method of treatment which will take care of the values in the ores discovered, then the Golden Gate is to be equipped with a mill of not less than 200 tons capacity." "Captain DeLamar appointed George Kislingbury, an old Colorado superintendent of mines, superintendent of the Golden Gate, and sent him out to the camp with instructions to open up the mines." A. N. Butts had secured all of the remaining 42,000 shares of the Golden Gate company before the deal was closed. He sold half interest in those shares to DeLamar and kept the other half for himself. (Salt Lake Herald, April 6, 1895)
April 6, 1895
Captain DeLamar purchased from A. N. Butts, half interest in the Golden Gate group for a reported $35,000, with an option for DeLamar to purchase the other half for $40,000. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 1895, "yesterday")
(By October 1895, A. N. Butts had moved to California and was investing some of the proceeds of his sale of his interest in the Golden Gate mine, in California and Nevada mines.)
(By December 1895, DeLamar had surrendered the bond and lease of the B. B. and Surprise claims of the Viking Gold Mining company, and at the direction of its Colorado owners, had resumed operation of all of its properties. -- Salt Lake Herald, December 28, 1895)
August 18, 1895
Brickyard Group -- "It is very evident that the great fight will be between Colonel Wall and his associates and Mat Gisborn. The latter clams a one-half interest in the group, while the colonel and his people have secured bonds on the interests of the Franklin heirs and also control the claim of the Viking company. Until very recently Mr. Gisborn was the administrator of the Franklin estate but there being some dissatisfaction expressed among the interested ones as to the manner in which the affairs of the estate were being managed, Mr. Gisborn stepped down and out and Professor Gillian was appointed by the probate court to take charge of the affairs of the estate." (Salt Lake Herald, August 18, 1895)
September 4, 1895
The Rover Gold Mining company filed its articles of incorporation with the probate court. The officers and directors were: E. H. Airis, president; John Heimrich, vice president; John Dern, treasurer; George W. E. Dorsey, secretary. A. Murray Spooner was also an equal shareholder, matching the 13-1/3 percent held by the other officers. (Salt Lake Herald, September 5, 1895, "yesterday")
(John G. Heimrich; February 1846 – 1913; LCSG-ZSN; in 1910, a resident of Portland, Oregon, and at time of death in 1913)
November 22, 1895
Brickyard Group -- John Dern and Edward H. Airis purchased a 1/4 interest in the Brickyard mine at Mercur, for a reported $150,000 or $200,000. The purchase was made knowing that the title of the Brickyard group was being contested. The two men had sold their interest in the Mercur Gold Mining company. (Salt Lake Herald, November 22, 1895; November 28, 1895)
(Edward H. Airis; 10 May 1846 – 21 May 1910; LVWB-V3H) (E. H. Airis remained as a principal associate of John Dern until Airis' death in 1910.)
Dern and Airis were the principal owners of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company, and bought their quarter interest in the Brickyard group after finding that the Mercur vein continued into the Brickyard group. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 28, 1895)
November 29, 1895
"Col. Wall yesterday closed a contract for a shaft of 100 feet on the Brickyard group. He expects that it will be necessary to go down at least 300 feet before striking the ore." (Salt Lake Herald, November 30, 1895)
December 2, 1895
From the Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1896.
Salt Lake City. Utah. Dec. 2. — Along back in 1890, scarcely five years ago, half a dozen Nebraska men came out to Utah and concluded to go mining. There were among them a druggist, from Hooper, a brewer from Fremont, a horseman and a couple of farmers. They commenced to spend their money on what the oldest mining men in these parts had long regarded as an impossible proposition. They possessed pluck, intelligence and the moral courage to face local ridicule and prejudice.
These "tenderfoot" grangers from the prairie have just made a clean-up of their five years' operations. After dividing $350,000 net profits from the operation of their mine they have sold the property for just $1,500,000. Moreover, they have shattered the prestige of the oracle, and taken all the conceit out of Utah's local investors, who did not recognize a good thing when they saw it. Also, and what is of more importance, they have demonstrated that here in Mormondom, within fifty miles of Zion, lies a gold field as wonderful as the world-famed Witwatersrand, a field that contains enough gold to pay the National debt many times over. Just as the South African mines have turned the heads of French and English speculators, so are the Camp Floyd bonanzas giving birth to a local craze that bids fair to spread to other centers of speculation.
The Nebraska gentlemen who are responsible for all this are Gill S. Peyton, a druggist from Hooper; John Heimrich, from the same town; John Dern, H. W. Brown and E. H. Airis, from Fremont. They came out to Utah in 1890, and, after looking around for an opening, found one in the Camp Floyd district, and commenced to spend their Nebraska money. They found abundant opportunity for the spending after they had purchased the Mercur claim, then an undeveloped prospect, showing a large body of low-grade refractory ore, for the treatment of which no profitable process was known. An amalgamation mill was first tried, and proved to be an unqualified failure, as also other experiments in the search for a process adapted to the peculiar character of the ore. When one process failed the Nebraskans, with undiminished nerve, began casting about for another. All these cost money, and plenty of it, until $60,000 had finally been dropped into the hole, with no prospect of a dollar in return. One of the gentlemen confessed to me the other day that he and his associates at that time felt very blue and almost discouraged, but still they kept at it.
During all this time the hoary-headed experts and wise men of the local mining fraternity were filled with condescending pity for the victims of misdirected effort. They deplored the greenness that led these "tenderfeet" miners to throw away their good money on what the experienced Utonians had years before dismissed as a worthless proposition. Moreover, there was a certain feeling of resentment excited by the presumption of a "crowd of Nebraska hog-raisers" in refusing to accept the verdict of men whose knowledge had been gleaned from the rocks and hills. There were even some jeers and sneers, but Nebraska kept pegging away.
Finally, rumors of a new process, the wonderful cyanide process, which was producing such great fortunes in the African gold fields, reached the ears of these men, and Mr. Peyton was sent away to investigate. As a result, a small 20-ton plant was erected at the mine. Then there was jubilation in Nebraska's camp, for it was found to be a mighty success. It has now grown into a 200-ton plant, and has yielded to the owners $350,000 worth of gold above the cost of the mine and its operation and all experiments.
December 18, 1895
"Col. Wall, of the Viking company and E. H. Airis and John Dorn of the Mercur company are all doing assessment work on the Brickyard group to preserve their right to the property, which all claim by purchase from different people." (Salt Lake Tribune, December 18, 1895)
December 19, 1895
Brickyard group -- "The Utah and Montana Mining Machinery company yesterday consigned a complete twenty-five horse-power hoisting plant, comprising an engine and boiler, to Colonel E. A. Wall, who will put it up on the Brickyard group, at Mercur, Camp Floyd district." (Salt Lake Herald, December 19, 1895)
December 19, 1895
Golden Gate -- "The Utah and Montana Mining Machinery company has filled an order for the Golden Gate Mining company for a thirty horse-power Ledgerwood hoist, boiler and engine, making the fourth order for hoisting machinery filled by the Utah and Montana people for this company since they began operations in Mercur less than a year ago." (Salt Lake Herald, December 19, 1895)
January 1, 1896
"Colonel E. A. Wall, who is doing so much for Camp Floyd district through his Gold Belt pipe line, is also showing his faith in the camp by developing numerous groups which he has. One of these groups comprise the Alta, Sunday, Lily, Lick, Hazel and Cottonwood, on which he has done something above assessment or representation work, and has made survey for patent. He is now sinking a shaft, to cut the vein, and has reached a depth of 90 feet He is doing work on his Baltic by contract, is interested in the Gold Dust, with a shaft down 70 feet, and the Brickyard where they are putting in a steam hoist, and have a shaft down 100 feet." (Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1896)
January 15, 1896
"The Brickyard Gold Mining company filed its articles of incorporation in this city today. The capital stock of the new company is placed at 250,000 shares of a par value of $4 each. The officers and directors of the company will be named as follows: E. H. Airis, president; John Dern, vice-president; W. S. McCornick. treasurer; M. T. Gisborn and E. A. Wall as directors; Colonel E. A. Wall will be general superintendent for the company, and George Dern, secretary. The property embraced in this corporation comprises a group of six claims, located at Mercur, as follows: The Brickyard, Justice, Potosi, Arab, Cedar and Claire. Colonel Wall and M. T. Gisborn have been claiming the Brickyard group, and Messrs. Dern and Airis have contended that the title thereto was vested in them. This consolidation and incorporation, therefore, will settle all difficulties between them, and now all parties concerned in the transaction will devote their time and energies to making a great, paying mine out of the group, which, for location, cannot be discounted in the district." (Salt Lake Herald, January 15, 1896)
(According to the Salt Lake Tribune of January 15, 1896, the organization of the company was held in the offices of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company.)
(Recall that since August 1895, Wall and his associates, and Gisborn have been in a legal battle over control of the Brickyard group. This new corporation settled that question.)
January 21, 1896
Captain DeLamar purchased the property of the Viking Gold Mining company for a reported sum of $30,000. The Viking company was represented in the deal by James W. Neill, the Viking company's manager, who had just returned from Colorado and consultation with the Viking company owners. The property was known as the "Brickyard Group." There was a Brickyard Mining company which claimed ownership of the same property, and there was speculation of a great fight by DeLamar with that company for ownership of the claims. (Salt Lake Tribune, January 21, 1896)
(Note that the Brickyard company mentioned was the same company that had been organized just six days before by the Dern-Airis-Gisborn group.)
(The deal gave DeLamar 58 acres of patented ground under which no ore had been found.)
March 7, 1896
A three-way compromise agreement was completed between (1) Captain J. R. DeLamar, as owner of the four Protective Tariff, Lady May, Vulture and Sullivan claims, and (2) the Brickyard Gold Mining company, controlled by John Dern E. H. Airis and E. A. Wall, and (3) the Viking Mining company, controlled by J. W. Neill of the Taylor & Brunton sampling company. All at Mercur. As part of the compromise, DeLamar conveyed four mining claims (the Protective Tariff, the Lady May, the Vulture and the Sullivan) to the Brickyard company. These four claims, together with the four claims of the Brickyard company, took in all of the country between the Golden Gate and Rover companies, with DeLamar controlling the Golden Gate company and the Dern-Airis syndicate owning the Rover company. The Brickyard company was to be reorganized as a result of this compromise, with DeLamar driving drifts from the Golden Gate mine towards and into the Brickyard group. (Salt Lake Herald, March 7, 1896)
(Hereafter, the only mention of either the Brickyard company, or the Viking company in online newspapers was in relation to numerous lawsuits started before the consolidation of March 1896, which worked their was through the courts. The usual outcome was a dismissal by stipulation, since all subject mining claims of the subject companies were at least controlled, if not outright owned by a single group of associates. Plenty of work for the lawyers, though.)
1897
Following the completion of L. L. Nunn's Telluride Power company plant on the Provo River in 1897, Nunn "built a 32-mile, 40,000-volt transmission line from it to Joseph DeLamar's mines at Mercur. It went into operation on January 7, 1898, as the longest power line in the world and the first 40,000-volt line in the United States." (McCormick, The Power To Make Good Things Happen, page 45-47)
(Read more about L. L. Nunn's Telluride Power, as part of the history of Utah Power & Light)
May 1, 1897
"Boston & Mercur Mining Company. — Jones & Jacobs, engineers and contractors, of Salt Lake City, have about completed plans for a 200-ton cyanide mill to be erected at Mercur for this company. This plant will have all the latest improvements and work on it will begin at once." (Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 63, May 1, 1897)
May 1, 1897
Omaha Mine -- "This mine, the pioneer of the west dip of the Mercur vein, is idle at present, on account of a pending suit for its possession, between W. S. Fugate and J. K. Walker, Jr. The highest gold values ever found in the Camp Floyd District were obtained in the Omaha, assays having disclosed $147 per ton. The prospects for the erection of a mill the present year are believed to be passed." (Engineering and Mining Journal, Volume 63, May 1, 1897)
August 28, 1897
The DeLamar's Mercur Mines company, organized under the laws of the state of New Jersey, filed its articles of incorporation with Secretary of State Hammond on August 28, 1897. The company commenced business on July 30, 1897. The incorporators were: J. R. DeLamar, Paris, France (2,496 shares of 2,500 issued); W. N. Cromwel, New York City (1 share); W. J. Curtis, Summit, New jersey (1 share); George H. Sullivan, New York City (1 share); H. B. Parsons, Brooklyn, New York (1 share). (Deseret News, August 28, 1897)
August 30, 1897
Brickyard Sale -- The stockholders of the Brickyard met and adopted a resolution authorizing the board of directors to make the conveyance of the property to Capt. J. R. DeLamar, who, by virtue of the recent purchase of the Wall, Dern, Airis and Gisborn interests, becomes the sole owner of the property. The meeting was attended by each of the latter, with Mr. W. H. Cunningham present as the representative of Capt. DeLamar. The stockholders having approved the sale, the board of directors met on September 7th to relinquish all claims and retire finally from the property that has developed so rapidly under the management of Col. Wall. The stock will go to DeLamar's Mercur Mines company, that was recently incorporated under the laws of New Jersey." (Salt Lake Tribune, August 31, 1897; Deseret News, August 31, 1897; Salt Lake Tribune, September 8, 1897)
(Note that DeLamar bought the property of the Brickyard company, not the company itself or any of its stock.)
January 1, 1898
Golden Gate Mill -- "The DeLamar's Mercur Mines company's new Golden Gate mill, now nearing completion, is probably the largest plant in the United States under practically one roof. In extreme outside dimensions it is 204 feet long by 379 feet 4 inches wide. The mill is erected on the side of a steep mountain, and from the top of the lowest foundation wall to the top of the foundation wall of the upper side of the mill it attains a vertical height of 145 feet, while from the top of the lowest foundation wall to the apex of the highest part of the mill is 265 feet, vertical. The mill is built on different levels and sections." (Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1898, with illustration)
May 12, 1899
Captain J. R. DeLamar purchased the Rover group of mining claims from the Rover Gold Mining company for a reported $75,000. The purchase gives DeLamar an extension of his Golden Gate property. (Salt Lake Herald, May 13, 1899, "yesterday")
(The Rover Gold Mining company continued as an active corporation, without property, into 1909-1910, at which time an assessment was levied, and delinquent shares sold at auction. This was needed to allow the directors and majority shareholders to take ownership of all shares, and close the corporation. By March 1931, there were 31 blocks of delinquent shares, ranging from 50 shares, to 500 shares, plus the 20,000 shares held by John Heimrich, and the 19,800 shares held by E. H. Airis, who passed away just six weeks later. The corporation remained in existence as late as 1953, holding the Rover mining claims, a total of 4.3 acres, in the Camp Floyd mining district.)
September 30, 1899
"It is currently reported that the Mercur Mining company will declare its regular quarterly dividend of $50,000 on October 10, payable on the 20th. The Mercur, under the able management of Hon. John Dern, is in splendid physical condition and good for dividends for many years to come." (Salt Lake Mining Review, September 30, 1899)
December 31, 1899
The name of the La Cigale mine in West Dip was changed to the Boston and Mercur mine.
(Salt Lake Tribune, December 31, 1899)
January 3, 1900
The Protective Tariff, the Lady May, the Vulture and the Sullivan, originally part of the Brickyard company, were consolidated as a single group as part of the DeLamar's Mercur Mines company. (Deseret News, January 3, 1900)
April 11, 1900
The Mercur Mining company reduced its quarterly dividend to stockholders to $25,000 instead of the normal $50,000, due to unexpected expenses and reduced output from its mill. The mill had been shut down for a week in February to make changes. The values of the ore became lower, and the price of cyanide increased. The conditions of the mine had improved over the past two months. The negotiations to combine with the DeLamar's Mercur Mines company were open and ongoing, with the property being examined. The outlook for the consolidation was favorable. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 11, 1900)
(The changes to the Mercur Mining company's mill at Manning included a roasting plant at a cost of $150,000, the cost of which would have resulted in no dividends for at least a year. -- Salt Lake Herald, June 2, 1900)
Consolidated Mercur Gold Mining Company (1900)
1900
The Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company was formed by the consolidation of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company and the DeLamar's Mercur Mines company.
The consolidation was approved by each company's stockholders at special meetings held on June 27, 1900. No additional action was needed by the DeLamar interest, but an additional stockholders meeting of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company was held on July 21, 1900, to vote on changes needed to effect to consolidation, including if the new company was to be an all-new corporation, or to be one jointly held, 1/3 and 2/3, by the two predecessor companies.
The result of the July 21st meeting was that each company would deed all of each company's holdings and property to the new company, with an effective date of August 1, 1900. At the end of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company's meeting, General Manager Hartwig A. Cohen of the DeLamar interests, shook John Dern's hand, remarking, "I am pleased to say that we are now one." (Salt Lake Herald, July 22, 1900)
Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company; John Dern, E. H. Airis and associates.
DeLamar's Mercur Mines company, being DeLamar and his associates.
John Dern had traveled to France, to consult with Capt. DeLamar, who was residing in Paris at the time.
From newspaper reports, throughout June 1900.
- The deal was finalized on Friday June 1, 1900, following two months of negotiations, with DeLamar residing in France.
- It was the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company that changed its articles of incorporation to change its name to the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company, and to changes its board of directors from five to seven.
- DeLamar group and all mines, mining properties, mills and machinery, including all property owned by DeLamar's Mercur Mines company, was purchased by the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company. The new company was to have seven directors; four from the Delamar company and three from the Dern-Airis syndicate.
- 1,000,000 shares at $5 par value; Two-thirds to go to the DeLamar company; One third to go to the Mercur Mining company.
- The stock of the new company was non-assessable.
- Capt. J. R. DeLamar, president.
- John Dern, vice president.
- Both mills will each take a complete "clean-up" action to ensure all values recovered after July 1st are properly divided. Mill values prior to July 1st will be to the benefit of each predecessor company. The last shipment from the Mercur Gold Mining company was of 750 pounds of gold dust, shipped on July 27th.
- The Mercur Mining company needed the consolidation to gain access to the Mercur Mines company's new and more modern Golden Gate mill, because the Mercur Mining company's ore was changing to lower grades and could not be processed in their Manning mill.
The deal included:
- The Golden Gate group of 21 claims, 143 acres.
- The Golden Gate group's mill.
- The Mercur group, 13 claims, 153 acres.
- The Mercur group's Manning mill.
- The Brickyard group of 10 claims, 101 acres.
- DeLamar's half-interest in the Gold Belt Water company and its pipeline.
- DeLamar's soon to be completed electric power plant.
- The Merrit group, 3 claims, 59 acres. (owned by Delamar)
- Miscellaneous groups, 27 claims
- Dalton farm
- All water rights, mining claims and all appurtenances
June 7, 1900
From the Butte Weekly Miner, June 7, 1900.
The Golden Gate plant consists of a fire-proof mill, built throughout of steel, the leaching-room of which is over one-sixth of a mile long. It contains nine straight lined roasting furnaces 120 feet long by 12 feet wide each. The entire plant is run by electricity, and all the machinery is of the latest design and thoroughly automatic in operation. The mill is in absolutely perfect condition, and it is doubtless the largest and most complete cyanide plant in the world, of a capacity sufficient to treat 1,000 tons daily. The hoisting works is run by electricity and is of ample capacity to handle all the ores of both properties. The consolidation of these properties will not necessitate a single change in machinery or equipment, the plant being ample in every way.
In this consolidation all the property owned by the De Lamar's Mercur Mines company and J. R. De La Mar personally in Tooele county, is included; this includes one-half of the stock and management of the Gold Belt Water company, a corporation which supplies- with water the town and the various mills operated at Mercur. This also includes the DeLamar electrical power plant, which is to be finished at the cost of the DeLamar company, and placed complete in the hand's of the consolidated company. The total surface improvements on DeLamar's Mercur mines has cost about $875,000.
July 30, 1900
The Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company filed its articles of incorporation in New Jersey on July 30, 1900. (Salt Lake Tribune, July 30, 1900)
The following are excerpts from the three-part article in Salt Lake Mining Review, June and July 1913.
In 1896 the Golden Gate mill was treating 200 tons of ore daily. In July of that year the mill was enlarged to a crushing capacity of 500 tons and leaching capacity of 350 tons. In 1897, as a result of increased capacity, the company was able to treat a lower grade ore.
In the latter part of 1898, near the end of operations at Manning on Mercur ore. After 1900 the Manning mill was run only intermittently by the Mercur company and lessees in the retreatment of tailings
In 1897 and 1898, the Golden Gate mill was built. This mill, altered, improved and somewhat enlarged, was operated until early in the present year [1913].
The Golden Gate mill, with the mines of the two predecessor companies, was taken over by the Consolidated Mercur Mines company, and operated by them after August 1st, 1900.
All of the ore from the Mercur and Golden Gate mines was afterwards treated in the Golden Gate mill, the Manning mill being used only for desultory operations on tailings.
The original capacity of the Golden Gate mill was 500 tons. The plant was erected on the Golden Gate mine, from which ore was hoisted in a three compartment shipway to the top of the coarse crushing building, which was 100 feet high.
In February, 1901 the properties of the Consolidated Mercur included 944 acres of mining ground, a 1000-ton cyanide plant (the Golden Gate), a 600-ton cyanide plant (Manning), hoisting works, machine shop, steam and electric compressor plant, electric tramway, water system, offices, dwellings and all necessary buildings.
For the three years ending June 30, 1903, the company treated nearly a million tons of ore, from which over four and a quarter million dollars in bullion was obtained. The mill was run at a capacity of about 900 tons a day.
Over the next several years, until 1908, the company continued to make changes in their processes, attempting to increase the percentage of gold being recovered, but the quality of ore was deteriorating. By 1908, the company settled into what was working best.
The last skip of ore was hoisted on Sunday, March 30, 1913.
June 9, 1910
"George Airis, son of the late E. H. Airis, has been elected a member of the board of directors of the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his father. E. H. Airis was one of the original incorporators, not only of the Consolidated Mercur company, but of the old Mercur Gold Mining & Milling company, which was merged into the Consolidated company. He was one of the three Nebraska capitalists, the other two being John Dern and John Heimrich, who were pioneers in the Mercur district. He was secretary of the older company, and was a director of both the Mercur Gold Mining & Milling company and the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company from their inception until his death." (Salt Lake Herald, June 9, 1910)
March 30, 1913
"The End of Consolidated Mercur", article about the shut down of Consolidated Mercur mine at Mercur. The company was organized in July 1900. The mine and mill closed on March 30, 1913. (Salt Lake Mining Review, April 15, 1913)
The last skip of ore was hoisted on Sunday, March 30, 1913. (Salt Lake Mining Review, July 15, 1913)
October 18, 1913
Last day of Salt Lake & Mercur operations. Railroad was 14.38 miles long. (Unpublished manuscript detailing the life of L. L. Nunn; manuscript in possession of Grant Pendleton, Utah Power & Light, research completed in March 1982 during a visit to the UP&L archives in Salt Lake City.)
The Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company from 1890 to 1917 paid dividends of $3,445,312. The properties were closed down in 1913, when the workings became so deep they could not be handled at a profit. (Ogden Standard Examiner, June 12, 1934)
After 1913
Mercur events from 1913 to 1936, after the closure of the Consolidated Mercur mine and mill. From the Salt Lake Tribune, November 15, 1936.
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.
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.
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.
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 mill to handle ores mined with a steam shovel from the face old Geyser hill and ores mined by lessees.
(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.)
July 22, 1922
"H. W. Brown, who, with Gill S. Peyton, exercised an option which brought about the organization of the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling company, and who interested the late John Dern, E. H. Airis, John Heinrich and W. B. Brown in the enterprise, is dead at Blue Rapids. Kansas. Mr. Brown was a well-known figure in the early mining history of Utah and at one time owned real estate and property in Salt Lake. The Mercur company later changed its name to the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mining company." (Salt Lake Tribune, July 22, 1922)
December 30, 1932
W. F. Snyder & Sons company took a lease and option on the dumps and premises of the Manning mill of the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company. (Salt Lake Tribune, November 15, 1936)
From 1932 through 1943, the Snyder organization operated the mine and mill dumps of the inactive Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company, and the mill dumps of the Manning mill, by building a new mill at Manning that processed the millions of tons of mill dumps from the previous operations.
(Read more about the Snyder era at Mercur, 1932-1943)
January 11, 1935
The Consolidated Mercur Mining company paid its first dividend in nearly 20 years. The dividend of $6,000 was paid at the rate of 1 cent per share, and was the result of the sale during the year of the company's property to the Lewiston Peak Mining company subsidiary of W. F. Snyder & Sons. (Deseret News, January 11, 1935)
May 4, 1935
"The Geyser Marion Gold Mining company will begin operating its new 300-ton cyanide mill at Mercur before the end of the month, Glenn R. Bothwell, president of the company, announced Friday [May 3rd]. Work on the mill was suspended during the winter, but was resumed recently with a crew of 50 men, and is nearing completion." "The ore is low grade, running about $3 a ton in gold, but lies near the surface and will be mined with a steam shovel. The shovel is already on the ground." "The operation marks Mr. Bothwell's return to a venture in which he was interested 40 years ago, as it was he who built the first mill at Mercur in 1895. Associated with him in the Geyser Marion Gold Mining company are his son, E. B. Bothwell, Edward L. Sheets, Benjamin F. Redmond, John A. Houghton and Andrew L. Hoppaugh." (Salt Lake Tribune, May 4, 1935)
June 12, 1936
The trustees of the defunct Consolidated Mercur Gold Mining company requested the help of postmasters in Massachusetts to locate persons or heirs, or family members of several known stockholders of the company from the period 20 years before. The trustees had sold the company and were looking for these persosn to distribute the money owed them. (Springfield Massachusetts Daily Republican, June 12, 1936)
December 13, 1936
First Security bank of Utah was designated as receiver for the defunct Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company. (Salt Lake Tribune, December 13, 1936)
Gold Mining Shut Down, 1942
By Fall 1941, although America was not yet in the war in Europe, the nation was deeply involved in war production in support of the Allies; England, France and Russia. Among the materials needed for the war effort were what was known as base metals: copper, zinc, and lead. The federal Office of Production Management recognized that gold mines were competing with copper, zinc and lead mines to obtain equipment and machinery, and employees, reportedly saying, "In a war economy, labor, materials and machinery applied to gold production are largely wasted."
The Order stipulated that any mine producing less than 100 tons of gold ore per month could remain in operation. Production figures from the Mercur mine in the 1940-1941 period are not available. The Mercur mine and mill of the Snyder organization either mined more than 100 tons of ore per month during 1941, or had no production in 1941. Or they used this order as an excuse to shut down their Mercur operations to save money on an operation that was having diminishing returns due to the cost of milling the complex Mercur ores.
December 8, 1942
On October 8, 1942, the federal War Production Board issued Gold Mining Limitation Order L-208, with an effective date 60 days later, on December 8, 1942. The order shut down all gold mines that were mining in excess of 100 tons of ore per month. This included the Synder mine in Mercur.
The Mercur gold mine of the Snyder organization was shut down in December 1942, in accordance with the federal War Production Board Gold Limitation Order. The activity of the gold mines was competing with the mining of metals needed for the war effort: copper, lead and zinc.
The Order went into effect on December 8, 1942, and remained in effect until June 1945. But the Mercur mine did not reopen.
(Read more about the WPB's Gold Limitation Order L-208)
(The production of gold may have been shut down by the war effort, but why production did not restart after the war is a mystery. This suggests that due to the low-grade ore at Mercur, gold production by itself was a money-losing operation, unless it was part of the larger mining operations, such as what was happening in Bingham, Tintic, and Park City, where gold was being extracted along with copper, lead, silver and zinc. The on-going fights over who owned which mining claims at Mercur, and the dividing lines, continued on. There were several on-going court cases of mining companies disagreeing about their lines of ownership. Again, instead of simply compromising, the fights continued well into the 1950s. Plenty of work for the lawyers.)
After 1945
1945 to 1995
From Utah Geological Survey.
Production from the Mercur district after 1913 was minor and intermittent until continuous gold production resumed with increased gold prices from 1933 until 1942. Then the U.S. government closed all gold mines (Order L-208) to conserve manpower and materials for World War II. Following the brief mining of some silver rich silica flux for the Garfield copper smelter at the north end of the Oquirrh Mountains, production in the Mercur district ceased again in 1945.
In 1968, Newmont Mining Corporation recognized the similarity of Mercur to their Carlin gold mine, indicating that Mercur was a Carlin-type deposit. They acquired the old Marion Hill and Sacramento mines as well as adjoining areas in the southern part of the Mercur district. Newmont drilled a series of unsuccessful exploration holes before dropping their interest in the district.
Gold Standard, Inc., then consolidated the major land holdings in the central part of the district in the early 1970s, including some property owned by Charlie Steen, Utah’s uranium king, and sold the property to Getty Oil Company in 1973. Getty revived production in the old camp, following the escalating gold price, in 1983 with a large open pit mine–heap leach operation.
Barrick Gold Corporation acquired the mine in 1985, an autoclave was added in 1989 to improve gold recovery, and the mine produced over 100,000 ounces of gold per year until 1995 when the economic reserves were exhausted.
December 9, 1951
Snyder Mines, Inc., was drilling two exploratory holes in the Mercur district, with the involvement of Eastern investors. Their geologist advisers were advising the company that there was an "Ophir lime" bed at the 1800 to 2000-foot level with values in lead-silver-zinc ore. (Salt Lake Tribune, December 9, 1951) (Another example of on-going exploration, spending other people's money)
(The Mercur district lay dormant after World War II due to the high cost of processing the low-grade gold ore. Another factor may have been the law suit in 1936 that put the Consolidated Mercur Gold Mining company into receivership, with First Security Trust as the receiver. Any activity on the Consolidated Mercur property after 1936 then passed through the receiver, which resulted in a long series of agreements and leases, which in-turn resulted in lease payments and royalty percentages being part of the cost of gold production. These added payments and royalties, along with the high cost and uncertainty of processing low-grade ore, made any gold production from Mercur very expensive. The receivership finally ended in 1967, after the lawyers and accountants had exhausted the company of any income or potential income. The receivership should have ended in 1943 with the death of the primary plaintiff in the case.)
(The mines in the Mercur district remained inactive aftre World War II, until January 1952 when a mutual exchange of quit claim deeds took place between the Geyser Marion company, the Herschel Gold Mining company, and the Sacramento Gold Mining company, as parties of the first part, exchanged quit claim deeds with Snyder Mines company and First Security Bank acting as receiver for the bankrupt Consolidated Mercur Gold Mines company, as parties of the second part. -- Western Mineral Survey, January 1952 issues)
(It was at this time in 1952 that Snyder Mines, inc. acquired control of former Geyser, Marion, Sacramento, and Herschel properties, with plans to continue exploratory drilling and prospecting, in addition to their lease agreements for the former Consolidated Mercur company's Mercur and Golden Gate mines, under their company name of Lewiston Peak Mining company. In later years the agreemets were held by the Snyder's Combined Metals Reduction company. Then in 1977, Snyder and Getty Oil combined their interests and began development of the Mercur properties.)
1969
"The old mine mill and mine dumps were a great place for target plinking and dirt biking until 1969 when Newmont Mining Co. began tentative exploration in the area. (Salt Lake Tribune, August 2, 1981)
(By June 1969, Newmont had acquired the rights to drill exploration holes on 270 claims in Mercur.)
Revival (1973)
In December 1973 and January 1974, Getty Oil company announced its purchase of the Mercur gold mine.
(Read more about the events of 1973 to 1998 for the Mercur gold mine, when the mine was owned and operated by Getty Oil and Barrick)
(For additional coverage of the Mercur mine after 1998, see the Mercur, Today page.)
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