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Tintic Mining District

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Tintic Mining District

(The focus of this information is to describe mines and mills at Tintic that used railroad transportation, 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 so-called but brief "Tintic War."

From "The Mineral Industry Of Utah," By Robert S. Lewis And Thomas Varley, University of Utah School of Mines, Bulletin No. 12, 1912

Tintic Name

The name of the Tintic Valley was officially recognized as early as November 1856 by the U. S. Land Office in Salt Lake City. The mountains to the east of the valley where these mineral riches were discovered, soon became known as the East Tintic Mountains.

The valley was already known as the "Tintic Valley" and was well established at its northern end by the mid 1850s as the grazing grounds for the livestock of the more than 2,400 U. S. Army troops at Camp Floyd, beginning in 1857. Although Tintic (the Ute Indian) 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 11, 1858.)

Tintic History

Tintic History Notes -- Compiled notes about the history of the Tintic Mining District, from the naming of the valley in 1856, to its early mining days and first mine discoveries.

Tintic War, 1856-1858 -- Compiled history of where the Tintic name came from.

Tintic History, 1900 -- Text of the history of the Tintic district, from USGS Folio No. 65, Tintic Special, published in 1900.

Tintic History, 1925 -- Text of a history of the Tintic district, published February 1925.

Tintic History, 1949 -- Compiled history of the Tintic district, after World War II, to 1956 and the Kennecott leases.

Tintic History, 1977 -- History of the Tintic Mining District to the 1930s, completed in 1977 by the Utah Division of State History in support of the nomination of the area as a National Historic Place.

Tintic After 1980 -- History of the Tintic Mining District after 1980, including the later years of the Burgin and Trixie mines. (The EPA cleanup is included as part of the Chief Consolidated story.)

Panic of 1893

There were multiple causes of the Panic of 1893, and the financial troubles of the Groesbecks and their various enterprises were just a few of the many thousands of businesses across the nation that struggled and/or failed when the price of silver crashed.

Some historians point to the 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act as the primary cause of the Panic of 1893 and what followed. The act required the federal government to keep a predetermined ratio of gold to silver, and as the demand for gold went up to feed new Treasury bonds to back up the increase in paper money, so too did the governments demand for silver.

Silver mining and silver production went into overdrive to meet the ratio of silver to the inflated stocks of gold. The increased stocks of gold followed the rising stocks of silver in a self-feeding loop of pending ruin. Then fears of inflation brought about an increasing demand for the metal itself as a hedge against inflation. Gold began to flow out of the treasury in worrying amounts, which sparked rumors that the government was low on gold. As private ownership of gold metal grew, and government inventories fell, the government's ratio of gold to silver went into free-fall as the government stocks of gold fell.

The price of gold stayed low because its price was fixed by the Treasury. Of course, gold was still being mined, but its fixed price and its scarcity kept mining activity at a minimum. Gold couldn't be had at any price, forcing the government to borrow gold from J. P. Morgan. In the years since the Sherman Act, the increasing amount of silver in the Treasury had resulted in more silver coins in circulation. The low inventory of gold forced the government to reduce its stock of silver metal, which in-turn ended the making of silver coinage. The demand for silver metal plummeted, since at that time the government was essentially the only buyer of silver.

The open-market price of silver continued to decline, and mining it became barely profitable. Many mines closed, throwing men out of work, and those who remained were forced to accept severe pay cuts. The mines of Eureka and the Tintic district saw an immediate decline.

The glut of silver coinage increased the nation's circulating money supply, which fed inflation, forcing banks to call in their loans to beat the increasing devaluation of the money they had lent. Businesses who relied on credit saw their rates begin to climb and credit began to tighten. This in-turn resulted in less business activity overall, thus bringing about the Panic of 1893.

Pittman Act of 1918

The Pittman Silver Act was passed on April 23, 1918, and allowed silver dollars to be converted to silver bullion for re-sale due to wartime shortages. Of the 270,232,722 silver dollars converted to bullion, 259,121,554 were converted to bullion and sold to Great Britain and India at $1 per ounce. Then, the same quantity of silver was purchased from the silver mining industry and converted to silver dollars, at less than the current price on the open market. The Pittman Act expired on June 15, 1923, which in-turn affected the operations of the Tintic mines, which were shipping silver and lead, with varying amounts of gold and copper. As a result of the expiration of the Pitman Act, the price of silver in the United States collapsed from $1.29 before the Act, down to 65 cents by the end of 1923.

Tintic Leasing

Tintic Leasing -- Information about the leasing programs used by many mines in the Tintic mining district, to lower operational costs of developing new ore bodies, and to drive new shafts, drifts, raises and winzes in the exploration of their mining properties.

Tintic Mills

(Includes mills in the Eureka area, in the Mammoth area, and in the East Tintic area, as well as those outside these areas.)

Tintic Mills -- Information about the large reducing and concentrating mills at Tintic, including the Mammoth and Sioux (Farrell) mills. Includes a glossary of terms of processes in the milling of ore.

Early Tintic Mills -- Information about the general development of the early mines of the Tintic Mining District, from 1872, before the arrival of the Salt Lake & Western railroad in 1882, to the mid-1890s.

Tintic Milling Co. -- Information about the Tintic Milling company at Silver City, on the site of the closed Tintic Smelting company.

Tintic Mining men

Tintic Mining Men -- Brief biographical notes about the men and families who helped make the mines of Tintic so successful. (incomplete; research continues)

Jesse Knight -- Information about Jesse Knight and his family, who developed mines in the Tintic district between 1896 and 1929. (to North Lily/Anaconda control in 1929)

John Bestelmeyer -- Information about the Bestelmeyer and his family, who developed mines in the Tintic district between 1899 and 1931. (to North Lily/Anaconda control in 1931)

John McChrystal -- Information about John McChrystal and his family, who developed mines in the Tintic district between 1879 and 1928. (to Chief Consolidated control in 1922)

Tintic Mines

(Listed alphabetically)

(Includes mines in the Eureka area, in the Mammoth area, and in the East Tintic area, as well as those outside these areas.)

(Locations covered are only those with large surface works that show in photographs, and which were consistent producers. Smaller mines are included if their mining property became involved with the development of the large producing companies.)

Ajax Mine

Ajax Mine -- Information about the Ajax mine, which began as the Mammoth Copperopolis Mining company in 1871, then the Ajax mine in 1894, then the Gold Chain in 1909.

American Star Mine

American Star Mine -- Information about the American Star mine, situated on 15 acres between the Chief Consolidated mine and the Eagle & Blue Bell mine; worked from the Eagle & Blue Bell mine; controlled by Bingham Mines company after 1908, then by USS&M after 1929; sold to Chief Consolidated on December 31, 1954.

Apex Standard Mine

Apex Standard Mine -- Information about the Apex Standard mine, from which the Apex Standard No. 2 shaft became the focus of Burgin mine operations after 1981.

Beck Tunnel Consolidated Company

Beck Tunnel Consolidated Company -- Information about the Beck Tunnel Consolidated company, the 1904 consolidation of the Bullion Beck Tunnel company and the La Reine Mining company.

Bestelmeyer East Tintic Mines

Bestelmeyer Mines -- Information about the East Tintic mines developed by John Bestelmeyer, adjacent to and later controlled by the North Lily company.

Big Hill Mine

Big Hill Mine -- Information about the Big Hill mine, developed by the Bestelmeyer family and later part of the larger North Lily group controlled by Anaconda.

Black Dragon Mine

Black Dragon Mine -- Information about the Black Dragon mine, the earliest mine in Tintic to produce fluxing iron ore.

Black Jack Consolidated Mining Co.

Black Jack Consolidated Mining Company -- Information about the Black Jack Consolidated Mining company, the 1907 merger of the Black Jack Mining company and the Star Consolidated Mining company.

Boss Tweed Mine

Boss Tweed Mine -- Information about the Boss Tweed Mining company. Combined with the Victor Mining company in 1903 to form the Victor Consolidated Mining company. (under construction; research continues)

Bullion-Beck Mine and Mill

Bullion Beck Mine and Mill (1874 to 1925) -- Information about the Bullion Beck mine and mill, from 1874 to its sale to USSR&M in 1925, and after 1929 as a USSR&M Tintic property.

Bullion Beck Tunnel Company

Bullion Beck Tunnel Company -- Information about the Bullion-Beck Tunnel company, located on the east slope of Godiva Mountain. Controlled by Jesse Knight after 1901. Consolidated with the La Reine Mining company in 1904 to become the Beck Tunnel company.

Burgin Mine

Burgin Mine -- Information about Kennecott's Burgin mine in the East Tintic district.

Carisa Mine

Carisa Mine -- Information about the Carisa mine, one of the pioneer mines in Tintic. Located in 1870, and steady producer after being more fully developed in in the 1890s, it became part of the Knight properties and was included in the Empire Mines consolidation in 1917. The Carisa group included the Northern Spy group after 1901.

Centennial-Eureka Mine and Mill

Centennial-Eureka (1885 to1929) -- Information about the Centennial-Eureka mine, including its predecessor companies, from 1885 to its sole to United States Mining company in 1899, then to USSR&M in 1906, then as a USS&RM Tintic property after 1929.

Central Standard Mine

Central Standard Mine -- Information about the Central Standard mine near Homansville east of Eureka; includes information about predecessor company, Copper Leaf Mining

Chief Consolidated Mine

Chief Consolidated Mine -- Information about the Chief Consolidated mine to 1955, then its modern-day successors, the Burgin and Trixie mines after 1980. (The Kennecott separate lease period, 1955 to 1980, is covered below.)

Chief Consolidated EPA Settlement -- Information about the EPA cleanup of the Eureka area, 2000-2010.

Crown Point Mines

Crown Point Mines -- Information about the several companies that used "Crown Point" as part of their names, with the major company being Jesse Knight's Crown Point Extension Consolidated Mining company, which changed its name to the East Tintic Consolidated Mining company in 1907.

Dragon Consolidated Mine

Dragon Consolidated Mining Co. -- Information about the Dragon Consolidated Mining company, and its Halloysite mine in the Tintic Mining District.

Eagle & Blue Bell Mine

Eagle & Blue Bell Mine (1883 to 1929) -- Information about the Eagle & Blue Bell mine, from 1883 to its sale to the Bingham Consolidated company in 1903; controlled by Bingham Mines company after 1908, then by USS&M after 1929; sold to Chief Consolidated on December 31, 1954.

East Tintic Coalition Mine

East Tintic Coalition Mine -- Information about the East Tintic Coalition mine, developed by the Bestelmeyer family and later part of the larger North Lily group controlled by Anaconda.

East Tintic Consolidated Mining Co.

East Tintic Consolidated Mining Co. -- Information about the mining property organized by Jesse Knight and his associates in 1907, which in 1938 became part of the Eureka Lily Consolidated company.

Empire Mines Company

Empire Mines Company -- Information about the Empire Mines company, owned by the Knight interest after 1917.

Eureka Hill Mine

Eureka Hill Mine -- Information about the Eureka Hill mine and mill (under construction; research continues) (to Chief Consolidated in 1922)

Eureka Lily Mine

Eureka Lily Mine -- Information about the Eureka Lily mine in the East Tintic area. The Eureka Lily mine later became part of the much larger Tintic Standard company and was part of the Kennecott Unit Lease of 1956.

Eureka Mines Co.

Eureka Mines Co. (with Gemini Mine) -- Information about the mine of the Eureka Mines company, included as part of the Gemini mine story. (to Chief Consolidated in 1922)

Eureka Standard Mine

Eureka Standard Mine -- Information about the Eureka Standard mine in East Tintic. The Eureka Standard was one of the four-companies that made up the "Tintic Group" that was part of the Unit Lease to Kennecott in 1956, with Chief Consolidated purchasing the company in 1995. The Trixie mine was located on Eureka Standard property, which became part of South Standard in 1983 when the South Standard company purchased the 61 percent of Eureka Standard held by Amax Arizona.

Gemini Mine

Gemini Mine -- Information about the Gemini mine, located very near the northwest edge of the town of Eureka. (Includes the Ridge & Vally, and Eureka Mines also) (to Chief Consolidated in 1922)

Godiva Mine

Godiva Mine -- Information about the Godiva mine in the East Tintic district.

Gold Chain Mine

Gold Chain Mine -- Information about the Gold Chain mine, including its predecessor companies Mammoth Copperopolis (1871-1875), then British Tintic Mining (1877-1883), then American Eagle (1883-1894), then Ajax (1894-1909), then Gold Chain (1909-1932).

Governor Mine

Governor Mine -- Information about the Governor mining claim and mine that became part of the Dragon Consolidated company in 1911.

Grand Central Mine

Grand Central Mine -- Information about the Grand Central mine in Mammoth Hollow in the Tintic Mining District.

Iron Blossom Mine

Iron Blossom Mine -- Information about the Iron Blossom mine. (under construction; research continues)

Iron King Mine

Iron King Mine -- Information about the Iron King mine

Kennecott Tintic Division

Kennecott Tintic Division -- Information about the activities of the Bear Creek Mining company in the Tintic area, from 1955 to 1980. Bear Creek was the domestic exploration arm of Kennecott Copper Corporation.

Burgin Mine -- A separate page with information about the Burgin mine while it was under the Unit Lease to Kennecott, 1955 to 1980.

Trixie Mine -- A separate page with information about the Trixie mine while it was under the Unit Lease to Kennecott, 1955 to 1980.

Knight Investment Company Mines and Mills

Knight Mines and Mills -- Information about the mines of the Knight Investment company in the East Tintic area, and the mills and smelter at Silver City.

(The Knight properties were sold in 1929 to International Smelting company, a subsidiary of Anaconda Copper.) (See North Lily, below)

Lower Mammoth Mine

Lower Mammoth Mining Company -- Information about the Lower Mammoth Mining company, located adjacent to and south of the Ajax company on the south side of Mammoth Hollow.

Mammoth Mine and Mill

Mammoth Mine -- Information about the Mammoth mine, including information about its predecessor companies.

Martha Washington Mine

Martha Washington Mine -- Information about the Martha Washington mine, in Dragon Hollow, east of Silver City.

May Day Mine

May Day Mine (1895) -- Information about the May Day mine, later part of the North Lily group.

McChrystal Mines

McChrystal Mines -- Information about the mines in the Tintic Mining District developed and owned by John McChrystal and his sons.

Mountain View Mine

Mountain View Mine -- Information about the Mountain View Mining and Milling company, which later became part of the Yankee Consolidated group, then the North Lily group.

North Lily Mine

North Lily Mining Co. -- Information about the North Lily Mining company, including as Anaconda's holding company for its Tintic properties, from 1929 to 1981.

North Lily Mining Co. After 1981 -- Information about the North Lily Mining company, active in name only by other companies after 1981. Includes the North Lily Heap Leach site.

North Standard Mining Co.

North Standard Mine -- Information about the North Standard Mining company, in the east Tintic mining district.

North Star Mine

North Star Mine -- Information about the pioneering North Star mine, which became part of the Star Consolidated group in 1896.

Northern Spy Mine

Northern Spy Mine -- Information about the Northern Spy mine.

Plutus Mine

Plutus Mine -- Information about the Plutus mine that later became part of the Chief Consolidated group.

Red Rose Mine

Red Rose (Victor) Mine -- Information about the Victor Gold and Silver Mining company, which included the Red Rose mining claim, and was regularly referred to as the Red Rose mine.

Ridge & Valley Mine

Ridge & Valley Mine (with Gemini Mine) -- Information about the Ridge & Valley mine, included as part of the Gemini mine story.

Ruby Shaft

Ruby Shaft (as part of Tintic Drain Tunnel) -- Information about the not-completed Tintic Drain Tunnel, its parent company, the Tintic Drain Tunnel Company, and its Ruby Shaft that shipped ore as it was being sunk as a ventilation shaft for the drain tunnel at the "water level." The goal of the drain tunnel was a connection at depth with the shaft of the Dragon mine at the head of Dragon Canyon, east of Silver City. Both mine and drain tunnel were owned by the Knight Investment group.

Sioux Mine and Mill

Sioux Mine and Mill -- Information about the Sioux mine and mill, including information about its predecessor companies, and the Sioux-Ajax Tunnel.

Sioux Ajax Tunnel

Sioux-Ajax Tunnel -- Information about the Sioux-Ajax Tunnel between a point near the Ajax mine on the west side of Sioux Peak, and the Sioux mine on the east side.

South Standard Mine

South Standard Mine -- Information about the South Standard mine, one of the last consolidations in the East Tintic area. It was one of the four-company "Tintic Group" that was part of the Unit Lease to Kennecott in 1956, with Chief Consolidated purchasing the company in 1995. The Trixie mine was located on Eureka Standard property, which became part of South Standard in 1983 when the South Standard company purchased the 61 percent of Eureka Standard held by Amax Arizona.

Star Consolidated Mine

Star Consolidated Mine -- Information about the Star Consolidated mine, in Dragon Hollow, east of Silver City. Encompassed the pioneering North Star mine. Later part of the Black Jack Consolidated mine, a Jesse Knight property.

Swansea and South Swansea Mines

Swansea and South Swansea Mines -- Information about the two adjacent mines of the Swansea Mining company, and the South Swansea Mining company; controlled by Knight interests after 1908, and by Anaconda after 1929.

Tintic Drain Tunnel

Tintic Drain Tunnel -- Information about the not-completed Tintic Drain Tunnel, its parent company, the Tintic Drain Tunnel Company, and its Ruby Shaft that shipped ore as part of its vertical shaft meant to meet the horizontal drain tunnel at the "water level." The goal of the drain tunnel was a connection at depth with the shaft of the Dragon mine at the head of Dragon Canyon, east of Silver City. Both mine and drain tunnel were owned by the Knight Investment group.

Tintic Standard Mine

Tintic Standard Mine -- Information about the Tintic Standard mine.

Tintic Standard Mill

Tintic Standard Mill -- Information about the Tintic Standard (Harold) mill (under construction; research continues)

Trixie Mine

Trixie Mine -- Information about Kennecott's Trixie mine in the East Tintic district.

Uncle Sam Mine

Uncle Sam Mine -- Information about the Uncle Sam mine, Jesse Knight's second mine in the Tintic District; sold in 1901 to the Uncle Sam Consolidated company; sold in 1907 to the May Day company; later part of the North Lily group.

USSR&M Tintic Mines

USSR&M Tintic Mines -- Information about the Tintic mines of the United States Smelting Refining & Mining company, which included the Centennial Eureka from 1899; the Bullion Beck from 1925, and the Eagle & Blue Bell from 1929.

Utah Consolidated Mine

Utah Consolidated Mine -- Information about the Utah Consolidated Mining company, located north and adjacent to the Sioux mine, on the east side of the Tintic district. Became part of the Sioux holdings in 1895.

Victor Mine

Victor Gold and Silver Mining Co./Victor Consolidated Mining Co. -- Information about the Victor Gold and Silver Mining company (1883-1903), whose major mine was the Red Rose mine. Consolidated with the Boss Tweed Mining company in 1903 to form the Victor Consolidated Mining company (1903-1972).

Victoria Mine

Victoria Mine -- Information about the Victoria Mining company and its mine in Eureka, then to its sale to the Eagle & Blue Bell in 1915, as part of the Bingham Consolidated company's Tintic properties, then to the Bingham Mines company in 1922, then to 1929 and its sale to USSR&M.

Yankee Consolidated Mine

Yankee Consolidated Mine -- Information about the Yankee Consolidated mine, located at the southwest area of the East Tintic mineral zone. In the mid 1920s it became part of the Anaconda holdings in the Tintic District.

Zuma Mine

Zuma Mine -- Information about the Zuma mine in the east Tintic mining district.

Tintic Railroads

Eureka Hill Railway (1907-1937) -- Information about the Eureka Hill Railway, a narrow gauge railroad in Utah's Tintic Mining District that used Shay locomotives exclusively. Included is a timeline of the road's history, and a full roster of their locomotives.

New East Tintic Railway (1896-1900) -- Information about New East Tintic Railway, builder of UP's Mammoth Branch in the Tintic Mining District, and the original operator of Union Pacific's only Shay locomotives.

Salt Lake & Western Railway (1881-1889) -- Information about the predecessor to UP's early Tintic Branch between Lehi and Tintic.

Tintic Range Railway (1891-1908) -- Information about the Tintic Range Railway, which became D&RG's Tintic Branch in 1908. Although the information has always been available on other pages, it is also presented here to have it all on a single page. Includes links to additional information about the Tintic Branch.

Tintic Southern Railroad (2009-2015) -- Information about the failed Tintic Southern, actively planned from 2009 to 2015 to operate over portions of the former D&RGW Tintic Branch.

Tintic Mines, Mills and Railroads -- An updated version of the original text used for an article published as "UP's Tintic Subdivision" in The Streamliner, Volume 19, Number 3, Summer 2005, published by the Union Pacific Historical Society. The article in The Streamliner includes 32 photos (three in color, plus the color cover), and seven maps, along with locomotive diagrams, timetable entries, and track profiles of the branches where UP ran its Shay locomotives.

UP-LA&SL Tintic Branches -- A list of UP's Tintic Branches, including their mileposts and stations.

Tintic Stories

Tintic Stories -- Over the many years of active producing mines in the Tintic district, there have been many stories that bear repeating. Here are just a few.

Tintic Maps

Josh Bernhard's "Railroads of the Tintic Mining District" -- A Google map of all the railroads that served the Tintic Mining District.

D&RGW's Tintic Branch -- A Google map.

LA&SL's Tintic Branches -- A Google map.

Tintic Books

Three books are known to have been published about the mines and mills of the Tintic mining district. Each has its strengths in providing valuable information.

History Of Juab County, by Alice Paxman Mccune. Published by Juab County Company Of The Daughters Of Utah Pioneers (1947)

The Towns Of Tintic, by Beth Kay Harris. Published by Sage Books, Denver (1961)

Faith, Hope, & Prosperity: The Tintic Mining District, by Philip F. Notarianni. Published by the Tintic Historical Society, Eureka, Utah (1982)

Online Resources

(These are very large PDF files, with very little organization and a large degree of duplication. Literally a "data dump" with no apparent effort to process and index them prior to them being digitized.)

Eureka City Historic District (Utah State Historic Preservation Office) -- The documents for nomination as a National Historic Place. (PDF; 550 pages; 562MB)

Tintic Mining District (Utah State Historic Preservation Office) -- The documents for nomination as a National Historic Place. (PDF; 736 pages; 1.14GB)

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