Milford Copper Mines

This page was last updated on November 11, 2025.

(Return to Mining Index page)

(editor's note: No more updates for events after 2011; this is an on-going operation, with no railroad activity.)

Timeline

1967
The Utah Mining Association's "Operational and Economic Review" dated August 1967, noted that the American Mining Company had a open pit copper mine near Milford.

In the 1990s, Centurion Mines Corporation was actively trying to develop the O.K. Mine as an solvent exraction/electro-winning (SX/EW) property. Centurion Mines was the former Mammoth Mining company with mineral lands in the Tintic Mining District near Eureka, Utah.

March 20, 1996
"Centurion Mines Corp. Salt Lake City, says an independent mining consulting firm concluded in a preliminary production feasibility study that its OK Mine near Milford has the potential to make Centurion a productive mining. The study reported 30 million pounds of recoverable copper and estimated the cost of recovery at 69 cents per pound. Current ore reserves at the OK Mine will permit a four-year mine life." (Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 1996)

May 2, 1996
"Dotson Exploration Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Centurion Mines Corp., is in the permitting process currently to construct a State of the Art SX/EW (Copper solvent/Electro winning) processing plant approximately 10 miles north west of Milford. Mark Dotson, President of Dotson Exploration Co, and a executive director of Centurion Mines Corp. says that it is hoped plant construction can begin in the fall of 1996 with production achieved early in 1997. The mine will employ initially 25-35 people with an additional 25-35 after the first year. Plans currently call for a long term operation with stable employment and promise for further expansion in 3-5 years. Centurion Mines Corp. is currently one of the largest holders of patented and unpatented mining claims in the state of Utah and is aggressively pursuing large scale production in the Tintic Mine district as well." (Beaver Press, May 2, 1996)

July 2, 1996
"Centurion Mines Corp. Monday announced the results of this spring’s development drilling program at the OK Copper Mine near, Milford. Test work will optimize the copper leaching, SX/EW process prior to the start qf operations in early 1997. The OK Mine is operated by Dotson Exploration Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Centurion Mines Corp." (Provo Daily Herald, July 2, 1996)

April 9, 1997
"Salt Lake City (AP) — Centurion Mines plans to reopen a copper-mine area about seven miles northwest of Milford about Sept. 1. The Salt Lake City-based company expects the old "OK Mine" to produce up to 50,000 pounds of copper daily and employ 100 to 150 people. The company plans to use a heap-leach process. The first phase of the new operation will be to place a plastic liner on the ground to catch the acidic water and begin stacking up the old mine tailings and waste dumps left at the site. Although discarded in the past, these materials still contain profitable levels of copper. The second phase of the project involves mining ore from the existing pit and opening another pit nearby. Projected life of this project is 20 to 25 years." (Provo Daily Herald, April 9, 1997)

Western Utah Copper

November 24, 2003
Palladon Ventures, Ltd., announced that they had acquired an option for 65 percent interest in the Western Utah Copper Project, which had recently been assembled from several previous owners and vendors. (Palladon News release dated November 24, 2003)

August 26, 2005
Palladon announced that Western Utah Copper, Palladon's joint venture partner in their Iron Mountain Project, had sold its 35 percent interest in the Iron Mountain Project to Luxor Capital Partners. Palladon reduced its 65 percent interest in the Iron Mountain Project to 50 percent, and announced that they would use the $1.4 million proceeds to directly benefit its own interest in the continued development of Western Utah Copper's copper mine west of Milford. (Palladon news release dated August 26, 2005)

January 30, 2006
Palladon announced that a recent test hole, drilled to a depth of 440 meters, had assayed at 6.7 percent copper and 41.40 ounces per tonne silver ore. (Palladon news release dated January 30, 2006)

March 2006
A report by way of email from Roger Beckett on March 30, 2006 mentioned that Western Utah Copper was about ready to start pouring foundations for its new crusher building. (Roger Beckett email dated March 30, 2006)

January 9, 2007
Palladon sold their interest in the Western Utah Copper Project to their former joint venture partner, Western Utah Copper Company, for a reported $3 million in cash, and $10 million payable as royalties from the smelting of known reserves and newly discovered ore bodies. Palladon announced that the proceeds of the sale was to be used to pay down principal on the outstanding loan to Luxor Capital Partners on the debt outstanding for the Iron Mountain Project. (Palladon news release dated January 9, 2007)

March 27, 2009
Western Utah Copper Company held a media event at the mine site near Milford, promoting the progress made by the company, claiming it was just getting started in extracting billion of dollars worth of copper, gold and silver from reserves that it had available. The promoters claimed that the value of copper and silver extracted from the mine would exceed $1.2 billion within five years; the mill would process 2,500 tons a day and that revenues would hit $103 million annually. These dollar figures were later found to be greatly exaggerated.

May 18, 2010
Copper King Mining Corporation, operating as Western Utah Copper Company, declared bankruptcy. The company controlled iron ore and copper deposits on about 60,000 acres of leased land around Milford, Utah. It opened a $60 million mill in 2009 and employed 85 people. The company was about three-fourths through a startup phase for a complex and difficult mining operation, including building a processing mill, but ran into a lack of operating funds. The decision to declare bankruptcy was made at the May 13 meeting of the company's board of directors. (Associated Press, May 20, 2010)

June 10, 2011
A complaint filed in U. S. District Court by the Security and Exchange Commission claimed that the management of the Copper King Mining Corporation made false claims about the extent of the reserves available at the company's mine near Milford. The company was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the new owners were cooperating fully with federal regulators to investigate the claims. While the mineral reserves had been exaggerated by the previous owners and management, the actual reserves available to the reorganized company were said to still be substantial. The company was set to emerge from bankruptcy within 60 days. (Deseret News, June 10, 2011)

CS Mining

November 1, 2011
CS Mining, LLC, announced that it had purchased the interests of Western Utah Copper Mining Company, and Copper King Mining Corporation. "The primary assets include approximately 60,000 acres of mining claims, an operational flotation mill, a full mining fleet and significant copper, gold, silver and magnetite resources. The existing proven, indicated and inferred minerals exceed 600,000 pounds of copper alone and the property has additional promising targets." "CS Mining intends to improve the efficiency of the flotation mill, construct a new tailings pond and complete additional metallurgical testing within 3-4 months prior to the restart of operations." (CS Mining news release dated November 1, 2011)

(editor's note: No more updates for events after 2011; this is an on-going operation, with no railroad activity.)

Map

Milford Copper -- Google map of the copper mines northwest of Milford, Utah (incomplete; research continues)

###