Tintic, Centurion Mines Co.
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Centurion Mines Corporation
(The focus of this page is a general description of the properties held by the Centurion Mines Corp., as a company within the Tintic District, with minimal coverage of the geology and financial returns. Also to establish a timeline using sources not previously readily available.)
(Over the years of its existence, Centurion Mines held interest and leases for mineral lands 10 miles west of Eureka, known as the West Tintic Mining District. The company also held interest and leases for mineral lands west of Milford, Utah, as well as in other states. Only the mineral lands within the Tintic Mining District are covered here.)
Centurion's predecessor was founded in 1979 as Tintic Joint Venture LP, with Spenst Hansen having a 50 percent interest, and was subsequently was incorporated in 1984 after Spenst Hansen took control of the company. Centurion was listed on NASDAQ in November 1988.
During 1985 Centurion Mines Corporation acquired processing and lease rights to most of the major mine dumps in the Central portion of the Tintic Mining District, Juab County, Utah. The total tonnage under lease was approximately 3.9 million tons.
- Chief Consolidated Mining company (2,502 acres); 10-year lease acquired May 13, 1985
- Sharon Steel (former USSR&M) (1,130 acres); 5-year lease acquired August 14, 1985
- McIntyre Family (86 acres); 5-year lease acquired September 1, 1985
The 1985 leases included the dumps of the following former active mines:
- The Grand Central operated from 1897 to 1932; extracted 657,926 tons; estimated 600,000 tons in the dumps
- The Centennial Eureka operated 1886 to 1929; extracted 1,570,000 tons; estimated 750,000 in the dumps
- The Bullion Beck operated 1882 to 1915; extracted 535,000 tons; estimated 240,000 tons on the dumps
- The Gemini/Keystone operated 1886 to 1930; extracted 470,000 tons; estimated 320,000 tons on the dumps
- The Eureka Hill mine operated 1872 to 1915; extracted 520,000 tons; estimated 350,000 tons on the dumps
- The Chief Consolidated No. 1 operated 1909 to 1957; extracted 3,463,000 tons; estimated 1,200,000 tons on the dumps
(There is no indication that Centurion actually took any action to process these dumps for the well-known mineral content. The cost extraction and transportation was almost immediately found to be too high, and the mineral content recovery too low. Centurion was always nothing more than a lease-holding company, with lots of plans for exploration and development of perceived mineral assets, spending other people's money. The money was used for exploratory drilling, and geological studies, and pretty reports. The partners of the few joint ventures soon discovered it was all essentially nothing of any substance. There is also no indication that Centurion ever had any employees, or personnel other than Spenst Hansen and the occasional business agent and one- or two-person minimal office staff.)
July 24, 1987
From the Eureka Reporter, July 24, 1987. (This is the first reference to Centurion Mines Corp.)
Centurion Mines Corporation of Salt Lake City, and Grand Central Mining Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Mining Corporation Holdings Limited of Australia, have signed a definitive joint venture agreement for the exploration, development and possible mining of a large block of property in the Tintic Mining District of Central Utah, Centurion President, Barry F. Katona, announced today.
Under the terms of the agreement, Centurion Mines contributed approximately 26,000 acres of mining properties and mine dumps containing 4 million tons of material to the joint venture. Grand Central Mining, which will manage the venture, will contribute $6 million to fund an initial exploration program.
Grand Central Mining will own 66 and two-thirds percent of the venture and Centurion will own the remaining 33 and one-third percent. Centurion will participate indefinitely in profits from all properties and operations within the 296 square mile joint venture area.
Since the initial agreement in November 1986, the Centurion-Western venture now controls approximately 34,000 acres and 5 million tons of mine dump material. This is the largest single property position in the 120-year history of the Tintic District. Western Mining is the largest gold mining company in Australia. The company had sales of $557 million (Australian) during 1986 and produced 632,000 ounces of gold from 13 gold mines. Western Mining employees over 6,000 people in four countries.
Centurion Mines Corporation was formed in 1984 by combining of predecessor companies with an operating history beginning in 1979 in the Tintic Mining District. The company’s stock is traded on the over-the-counter stock market.
August 23, 1992
"Centurion Mines Corp. reports large gold and silver deposits on its 2,300-acre Sunbeam properties in Utah's Tintic Mining District." (Salt Lake Tribune, August 23, 1992)
December 17, 1992
"Founded in 1979, Centurion Mines has steadily accumulated diversified North American gold/copper resources. The company is a significant holder of precious metals properties in the United States, and one of the largest in Utah. Centurion participates in strategic business arrangements for mine development and the processing of gold and other metals." (Shoshone News Press, December 17, 1992, on the occasion of Royal Minerals, a subsidiary of Centurion since February 1992, selling 5,700 acres in the Oquirrh mountains to Kennecott Minerals, in the vicinity of the Barneys Canyon/Melco development)
Centurion Buys Godiva (1993)
September 1993
Between June and September 1993, the Centurion Mines Corp. purchased the land assets, consisting of 64.17 acres, and all outstanding shares of the Godiva company from the remaining heirs of the McChrystal and Wallace families, along with 67 other minority shareholders. The Godiva Mining company was dissolved as a corporation on September 30, 1994. (Eureka Reporter, April 7, 1995)
Centurion Buys Mammoth (1994)
May 1994
Centurion acquired control of approximately 58.6 percent of Mammoth Mining Company, which itself controlled approximately 53 percent of The Gold Chain Mining Company, a Mammoth subsidiary. In the following months, Centurion purchased additional shares of Mammoth and Mammoth purchased additional shares of Gold Chain common stock from their respective shareholders. As of September 30, 1995, Centurion controls approximately 81.8 percent of Mammoth and Mammoth controls approximately 61.1 percent of Gold Chain. Mammoth has land and lease ownership in the Tintic Mining District, including the Mammoth Mine.
June 10, 1994
"On Tuesday, May 31, 1994, Centurion Mines Corp. announced the purchase of 980 acres of privately owned mining lands in the Tintic Mining District near Eureka, Utah. Historic mines on this property include the Centennial Eureka, Bullion Beck, and Victoria. During their operating period these mines were highly profitable because the ores of gold, silver and copper were high grade and the ore bodies were large. Mine closure occurred in the late 1920s because of unfavorable economic conditions and not for lack of ore. The acquisition of this privately owned mining property is a significant step in our efforts to become a producing mining company, said Spenst Hansen, chief executive officer. Centurion now owns, with no underlying royalties or other financial obligations, all right to these mines, which were the flagship producers of the former U.S. Smelting and Refining Company. The existing serviceable shafts and tunnels are an invaluable asset. Centurion is currently evaluating bids from several underground mining contractors specializing in rehabilitation and utilization of existing mine workings as part of modern underground mine operations. Infrastructure already in place includes roads, electricity and water. A trained work force is. locally available." (Eureka Reporter, June 10, 1994)
(These former United States Smelting Refining and Mining properties in Tintic were being liquidated by Mueller Industries, the surviving corporate entity of USSR&M, after its corporate successor Sharon Steel was forced into bankruptcy in 1987 by the environmental cleanup of the smelter site in Midvale, near Salt Lake City.)
August 6, 1994
"Kennecott Corp. has withdrawn from a joint venture with Centurion Mines Corp. to revive copper and gold mining in the historic Tintic district near Eureka. The joint venture was launched in April 1993. Since that time, Centurion said Kennecott invested about $1.5 million in the project, acquiring 2,500 acres of land and participating in the drilling of 19 exploratory holes. All property, exploration data, drill core and other samples generated during the joint venture will become the sole property of Centurion, said Spenst Hansen. Centurion's chief executive officer. Hansen said that with Centurion in full control of 8,341 acres in the Tintic district, it is in excellent position to further explore and profit from the properties acquired and exploration carried out during the joint venture." (Salt Lake Tribune, August 6, 1994)
(The Centurion/Kennecott joint venture was for the exploration of mineral lands in what was called the "Sunbeam Silver City" area. -- Eureka Reporter, April 2, 1993)
Centurion Buys Grand Central (1994)
September 4, 1994
"Centurion Mines Corp. has acquired 100 percent ownership of the Grand Central Mine and 70 percent control of Mammoth Mining Company in the Tintic Mining District of Utah for cash and common stock. This acquisition includes approximately 500 acres of contiguous, privately owned, patented mining properties in the most highly mineralized portion of the Main Tintic District, with no outstanding royalties or other obligations. Most of these mines were closed more than 50 years ago due to general economic conditions and not for lack of ore. In addition, Centurion acquired 10,800 acres of privately owned mineral rights in the West Tintic and Sheep Rock mining districts. The acquisition of the Grand Central and Mammoth Mines and adjacent properties in the very heart of Tintic is a major step forward for Centurion, said Spenst Hansen, chief executive officer of Centurion. Centurion also acquired stockpiled, previously mined ore at the Grand Central Mine, which requires only crushing, transportation, and smelting." (Provo Daily Herald, September 4, 1994)
September 24, 1994
"Centurion Mines company President Barry Katona contends two blocks of ore at the Mammoth Mine on the west side of the Tintic range can be mined within the next 12 months. Centurion does not yet have a company to operate the mine, according to Katona, nor does it have a smelter under contract willing to process the ore. Centurion had been engaged in a joint venture with Kennecott Corp. of Salt Lake City, which had been drilling the property looking for ore bodies that could be profitably mined. Kennecott withdrew from that joint venture last month. The size of the ore body and its grade didn't match what Kennecott was looking for." (Salt Lake Tribune, September 24, 1994)
February 10, 1995
"Centurion Mines Corp., a Salt Lake City-based corporation, announced last week that it has successfully extracted a 30-ton bulk ore sample from the upper levels of the Mammoth Mine. Assays taken from this ore sample show a grade of .07 ounces per ton of gold, 10.5 ounces per ton of silver, and 9.9 percent copper. This represents approximately $350 per ton in gold, silver, and copper at current metal prices. The upper levels of the Mammoth Mine, from the 300 foot (main tunnel entry level) to surface, were last mined and closed in the 1930s. Since that time, no modern exploration has been conducted in the upper workings of the mine. Since November of 1994, Centurion has been aggressively pursuing pre-production activities in and around the Mammoth Mine. Working from existing surface tunnels, the company has been engaged in extensive underground mapping, sampling and rehabilitation of old mine tunnels." (Eureka Reporter, February 10, 1995)
As of February 1996, Centurion Mines had 100 percent control of 20,460 acres of mining properties in the Tintic Mining District.
August 1, 1996
"Centurion Mines Corp., of Salt Lake City is forming a joint venture with BHP Minerals to mine on the Little Bingham copper/gold mining property near Eureka. The project will include 12,000 acres and involve exploration for a large commercial porphyry-type copper/gold deposit" (Salt Lake Tribune, August 1, 1996)
The following comes from the 1997 Summary of Mineral Activity in Utah.
Centurion Mines Corporation and Royal Silver Mines, Inc. merged in late 1997 to form Grand Central Silver Mines, Inc. Centurion contributed its patented mining properties in the Tintic, Beaver Lake, and West Tintic districts, as well as other exploration properties throughout the state. Royal Silver contributed its patented claims in the Coeur d’Alene district of Idaho, and other claims and exploration properties in the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina.
Most of Centurion’s work in the Tintic district in 1997 consisted of creating a computer data base of past information including production, mine workings and geology, underground drilling and sampling, and other geologic, geochemical, and geophysical information. Based on the compilation, they have identified a number of precious metal-rich, polymetallic targets they believe worthy of testing. Most of these targets are in the Main Tintic district near Mammoth. Most exploration will be done by underground drilling and drifting, and will require rehabilitating one or more shafts for access. Grand Central (Centurion) is currently seeking joint venture partners to test these targets. The company is also investigating the possibility of re-opening the Dragon mine for halloysite. The mine is located in the Mammoth area. Little work is planned in 1998 for the several copper-porphyry targets in the southwestern part of the district
January 1, 1998
"Utah Best and Worst Stocks in 1997" Centurion Mines was among the "Worst" in Utah, with its stock declining from selling for 68 cents on December 21, 1996, to selling for 18 cents on December 31, 1997, a decrease of 76 percent, third from the bottom of the list. (Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1998)
(As mentioned at the beginning of this narrative, Centurion was always nothing more than a lease-holding and mineral rights promotion company, with lots of plans for exploration and development of perceived mineral assets, spending other people's money; in this case, money gleaned from the sale of penney-over-the-counter stocks. The money was used for limited exploratory drilling, and limited geological studies, and pretty reports. The partners of the few joint ventures soon discovered it was all essentially nothing of any substance. There is also no indication that Centurion ever had any employees, or personnel other than Spenst Hansen and the occasional business agent and a minimal one- or two-person office staff.)
February 11, 1998
"Centurion Mines Corp., Salt Lake City, has changed its name to Grand Central Silver Mines. The ticker symbol for the company, whose stock is listed on the NASDAQ Small-Cap Market, has been changed to GSLM. Along with the change in its name, the company has also completed a 1-for-10 reverse split of its stock." (Salt Lake Tribune, February 11, 1998)
By the 1997-2004 period, Centurion Mines Corp. was being listed as delinquent for non-payment of property taxes in Beaver, Juab, Millard, Salt Lake and Utah counties.
The last newspaper reference to the Grand Central Silver Mines company was in April 2004, in the form of a legal notice of a court case.
The Securities and Exchange Commission classed Grand Central Silver Mines as a "mineral royalty trader." The company stock was revoked by the SEC in October 2007.
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