Tintic District History Notes

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Tintic District History Notes

(The focus of this information is to describe the general history of the Tintic Mining District, using sources not previously readily available.)

The Tintic Mining District in central Utah was the home of some of the richest silver mines in the West. The first silver ore was discovered in 1869 by George Rust, a cowboy herding cattle in Ruby Hollow, three miles south of what would later be the town of Eureka. Word soon spread and many other mines were very soon being developed. Those early miners organized the Tintic Mining District in December 1869, taking its name from the large open valley to the west. The valley got its name in 1856, from a local Ute chief who participated in the brief "Tintic War."

The name of the valley to the west of the mountains where these mineral riches were discovered was officially recognized as early as November 1856 by the U. S. Land Office in Salt Lake City:

"Public Lands In Utah -- Returns of the surveys of public lands in Utah Territory have been received by the Commissioner of the General Land Office from the Surveyor General of that Territory. These returns embrace the valleys of Salt Lake, Cache, Malade, Blue Springs, aud Hansel, north of the base line; the valleys of Tuilla and Bush, west of the meridian; and the valleys of Jordan, Utah, Cellar, Tintic, and Yonab, to the south, exhibiting surveys of one hundred and thirty sectional townships." (The Daily Delta, New Orleans, November 21, 1856)

The valley was already known as the "Tintic Valley" in late 1858. It was well established at its northern end as the grazing grounds for the livestock of the more than 2,400 U. S. Army troops at Camp Floyd. Although Tintic himself is not mentioned, the local Indians were reported as threatening to steal all the Army's horses and make off with them. The herds of horses and cattle would have been significant, as well as the men growing and harvesting hay for the camp. A troop of soldiers from Camp Floyd was dispatched to the area as far south as the Sevier River, near today's Lynndyl, to protect the men and herds. (New York Tribune, December 16, 1858, citing an Army order of November 11th.)

"In December 1869, West Tintic first attracted attention, and the Sunbeam mine was located, later becoming the first important producer, along with the Scotia; then the Eureka Hill, Mammoth, Shoebrldge, Martha Washington, Black Dragon, Black Eagle, and Swansea, all operated between 1870 and 1876. In 1873 the Mammoth-Copperopolis (Ajax) and the Crismon-Mammoth mines were the principal producers of copper in Utah." (USGS, Professional Paper 107, 1919)

"Prospecting commenced in this District in December 1869, and on the 13th day of said month the first lode, viz: The Sunbeam, was discovered and located by Joseph Hyde, S. B. Moore, L. J. Whitney, S. W. Worseley, E. M. Peck and W. J. Harris, and the above named gentlemen proceeded to organize a Mining District, giving it the name of Tintic, after an old Indian war chief. S. B. Moore was elected Recorder for one year, and has been re-elected for a second term." (Salt Lake Daily Review, August 24, 1871)

(This original Tintic mining district from 1871 had its boundaries from the Sunbeam claim, east 10 miles, south 15 miles, west 10 miles, then north 15 miles and back to the Sunbeam. It did not include the later Mammoth or Eureka districts.)

The first successful Tintic mines came in 1869 and 1870, and included mines all along the western slopes of the East Tintic Mountains, from north to south, mines in Eureka, Mammoth Hollow, Ruby Hollow, and Diamond Gulch. Eureka came into being as the area surrounding the Eureka Hill mine was developed.

The Sunbeam claim at Diamond Gulch was reported as the first mineral discovery in the district, being recorded on December 13, 1869. The next recorded claim was the original Eureka claim (later known as the Eureka Hill), recorded on February 4, 1870. "On this claim the ground was covered with with rich float, wagon loads of which were gathered up and hauled by team to Santaquin, then the nearest railroad station." (Salt Lake Mining Review, September 15, 1899)

(More research is needed for this "first" event, since there was no railroad south of Salt Lake City in February 1870.)

January 25, 1873
Charles T. Meader was reported as being one of the first successful miners to put his money back into other mines in the Tintic district. "Let it be understood and remembered that Mr. Charles T. Meader was the very first man to put grand cash afloat in Tintic. While he was bettering his own condition he probably little thought he was greatly assisting others. Mr. Meader has also been instrumental in bringing other capital to bear in the district." Meader had recently bonded the Carisa mine from the Roberts Brothers, and would "soon commence work with a strong force." (Salt Lake Weekly Tribune, January 25, 1873)

"A most interesting feature of the Tintic mines is that one could spend weeks underground and see only part of the workings, and it would not be necessary to come to the surface after entering any mine to reach the others. It is possible to go down the Chief Consolidated shaft and enter the Gemini, Bullion Beck, Eureka Hill, Centennial Eureka, Eagle and Blue Bell, Victoria, Grand Central, Mammoth, Gold Chain, and Lower Mammoth mines without returning to the surface. All of these mines are connected by underground workings. The same conditions exist in the East Tintic mines." (Eureka Reporter, June 26, 1987)

Quoting D&RGW's 1938 summary of branchlines, "This camp has been a steady producer and, even during the years when silver prices were low, production has been relatively continuous at some of the properties. Notable among producing mines of this district are the Mammoth, Grand Central, Eagle and Blue Bell, Chief Consolidated, Bullion, Beck, and others."

"The Tintic district has long been one of the most productive in Utah [as of 1947]. Owing to poor transportation facilities, development of the district was not rapid until 1878, when the railroad from Salt Lake City reached Ironton, five miles from Eureka. Prior to that time, however, there was considerable mining of rich ores found near the surface which were shipped to San Francisco, California, to Reno, Nevada, Baltimore, Maryland, and even to Swansea, Wales. Later, most of the ores were shipped to Argo and Pueblo, Colorado, and to Salt Lake valley smelters." (The Mining Industry of Utah, published by the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce, 1947)

Tintic After 1956

In 1956, the Chief Consolidated mine turned off its pumps, although some production by leasors continued on the upper levels for a while.

In the late 1950s, Kennecott started exploration in the eastern part of the district that led to development of the high-grade Burgin mine. But the constant expense of fighting the soft ground and the hot and caustic water, and low metal prices, forced Kennecott to shut down its operations in 1980, despite good reserves of high-grade silver-lead-zinc ore.

(Read more about the Kennecott Lease)

After the Kennecott lease, the property owners, mostly Chief Consolidated, found other companies willing to attempt their own operations. Sunshine Mining tried operating at the nearby Trixie mine, a silver-gold-silica flux producer. Sunshine Mining continued operating the Trixie mine until 1983, having produced about 750,000 tons of ore.

1967
"In the Tintic district, leasers, selecting the high grade ores, have operated occasionally during the last 15 years since most of the mining firms discontinued company operations. Until the late 1950s, a number of siliceous mines in the Tintic area had shipped substantial quantities of fluxing ore to the Garfield copper smelter, but after Kennecott took over the smelter in the late 1950s and began using materials from its own Bingham open cut mine for fluxing material, very few shipments were made from Utah County. Among the mines producing small tonnages of lead-zinc and siliceous ores from the Utah County side of the Tintic district are: Iron Blossom, Colorado Consolidated, Tintic Standard, North Lily and Eureka Standard Consolidated. Bear Creek Mining Co. is continuing its search for commercial ores in the Tintic district." (Utah's Mining Industry, published by the Utah Mining Association, 1967, pages 89-90)

Tintic After 1980

Kennecott closed its Burgin mine in 1978.

Sunshine closed its Trixie mine in 1983.

North Lily Mining Company installed a cyanide heap leaching plant, recovering gold and silver from area mine-dump material hauled to its leach pad. The heap leach operation started in 1988, and was closed in 1996.

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