Tintic, North Lily Mining Co. (1941-1976)

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This page was last updated on March 1, 2026.

(The focus of this page is the surface workings of the mines of the North Lily Mining company, as visible in photographs, as well as a general description of the mines, with minimal coverage of the geology and financial returns. Also to establish a timeline using sources not previously readily available.)

(Although incomplete, research suggests that none of the North Lily Mining company properties were part of the renewed activity in the Tintic district under the Kennecott lease of 1955. Except for the Dragon Consolidated mine, none of the North Lily properties were active during the early 1970s when Anaconda, especially after closing its International smelter in 1972, began arrangements to merge and consolidate its holdings in the Tintic district.)

North Lily Mining Company Reorganized (1941-1976)

July 9, 1941
The North Lily Mining company was incorporated as a consolidation of the previous North Lily Mining company, and the North Lily Knight company, which was 95 percent controlled by the North Lily Mining company. The consolidation was approved by the boards and shareholders of both companies on July 8, 1941. (Salt Lake Tribune, July 9, 1941; July 11, 1941; July 16, 1941)

(The effective date of the consolidation was July 9, 1941)

(Both the previous and the new North Lily Mining company was a subsidiary of the International Smelting and Refining company, which in-turn was a subsidiary of the Anaconda company.)

(The North Lily Mining company became a full subsidiary of the International Smelting company on July 9, 1941, and after that date no attempt was made to show ore shipments or revenue of the Tintic operations as separate from those of any other mine controlled by the International company, including its Bingham properties.)

The North Lily Knight company was consolidated with the North Lily Mining company. The North Lily Mining company owned 95 percent of the North Lily Knight company, which controlled the following nine companies: Big Hill Mining company; the Defender Mining and Milling company; the Dragon Consolidated Mining company; the Empire Mines company; the Eureka Swansea Extension company; Middle Swansea Mining company; the Swansea Consolidated Mining company; the Tintic Drain Tunnel company; and the Twentieth Century Mining company. (Eureka Reporter, July 17, 1941)

July 17, 1941
The Tintic Standard Mining company leased for a period of 10 years, 56 acres of North Lily Mining company ground, and an additional 56 acres leased from Eureka Lily company which was controlled by the Tintic Standard company. A one-mile drift was already nearly completed westward from the Tintic Standard main No. 2 shaft at the 1450 level, and crossing into North Lily ground. Any ore extracted was be removed by way of the Tintic Standard No. 2 shaft, and 50 percent value of any ore extracted from North Lily ground would be paid to the North Lily company. (Salt Lake Tribune, July 11, 1941; Eureka Reporter, July 17, 1941)

August 8, 1941
Stockholders of the following three former Knight companies approved changing the lease of their properties from being leased to the North Lily Knight company, to being leased to the newly re-organized North Lily company.

Eureka Bullion Mining company (original lease dated January 17, 1931 with later extensions dated June 16, 1936 and September 19, 1938)
Big Hill Mining company (original lease dated December 20, 1930)
Twentieth Century Mining company.
(Provo Daily Herald, August 7, 1941; Legal Notices)

October 1941
Joint project of the North Lily company and the adjacent Tintic Standard company.

The project was a joint "Development Unit" formed in October 1941 between the Tintic Standard Mining Company and North Lily Mining Company (a subsidiary of International Smelting & Refining).
The joint project focused on 143 acres in the East Tintic district, covering ground owned by Eureka Lilly Consolidated and Twentieth Century Mining companies.
Though previously undeveloped at depth, experts considered this area one of the most promising prospects in the district.
Since its inception, crews had completed over 8,000 feet of lateral development, resulting in several encouraging ore showings.
Work was being conducted from the 1,450-foot level of the Tintic Standard No. 2 shaft.
By January 1945, a drift had been extended 8,000 feet along the South Fault, a known ore-bearing structure, and had successfully reached the Twentieth Century property.
(Lehi Sun, January 11, 1945)

February 16, 1945
"In the Tintic district at Eureka, the North Lily Mining Company, was brought into production several years ago. For a number of years North Lily was one of the district's large producers, but the original ore body was largely mined out and production has been comparatively small recently. However, the company has acquired additional ground and is pursuing its policy of developing Utah's resources to the extent of its ability." (Emery County Progress, February 16, 1945)

April 3, 1945
"International Smelting and Refining Company, wholly owned subsidiary of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, owns 57.6 per cent of North Lily stock outstanding, according the 1944 report." (Deseret News, April 3, 1945)

April 18, 1946
The North Lily mine shipped 14,360 tons of ore to the smelter during 1945, compared to 13,944 tons for all of 1944. (Salt Lake Tribune, April 18, 1946; about 287 carloads compared to 278 carloads)

March 28, 1947
From the Western Mineral Survey, March 28, 1947.

The great metal mines surrounding the town of Eureka, Utah, while having produced millions in wealth during past years, are now responding to far-reaching exploration programs started during recent months.

Tintic, Utah, once one of Utah's great mining districts, and for many years the leading silver producing district in the nation, is once again the scene of renewed attention in an effort to reestablish it in the metal mining world.

Since its discovery in the early seventies, Tintic has never given out. It has contributed much to the commerce and industry of the state by its production of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc. But it has languished. Many of its great mines such as the Centennial Eureka, Bullion Beck, Mammoth, Chief Consolidated and Tintic Standard have passed their peaks, at least temporarily.

Tintic has outlived many booms and depressions, but today it needs development and encouragement. Those who know the district believe that Tintic has only been scratched and that it will see greater days ahead.

It is encouraging to learn that new capital has entered the district has leased the Little May property in the south end of the camp and plans an extensive prospecting campaign to sound out the productive possibilities of that area. The North Lily Mining Company has leased the old No. 2 shaft of the Chief Consolidated and has started work in that area, and the Tintic Standard and North Lily is prospecting in the eastern end of the district as fast as available manpower will permit.

December 3, 1948
"Operations on the 1500 and 1600 foot levels of the North Lily mine have been abandoned and the pumps pulled, F. A. Wardlaw. Jr., president, said last Wednesday. The gold-silver-lead-zinc ore being taken from those levels played out and chances for finding new ore were considered nil, he stated, so pumps were pulled and the levels allowed to flood. The mine had shipped several cars per month until about a month ago, Mr Wardlaw said. Work is being done on the 1100 and 1350 levels of the North Lily in connection with the development of a leased block in the property of the Eureka Lily Mining Co. However there have thus far been no extractions of ore from the leased area." (Eureka Reporter, December 3, 1948)

July 1, 1949
The North Lily mine was closed on July 1st due to a lack of exploration possibilities. The price of metals (lead and zinc) was too low to make mining profitable. The mine was said to be "played out" and without the government subsidy, operations could be continued. The company's Godiva and Dragon Consolidated properties were still in operation, employing only 35 miners. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 27, 1949)

(After the North Lily mine closed in 1949, research suggests that, except for the Halloysite from the Dragon Consolidated mine, the only source of income for the company was royalties, leases and fees from adjacent mining companies as they developed their own operations as they passed into North Lily properties.)

(The Tintic Bullion and Eureka Bullion mines, or leases of them, along with leases of the North Lily mine produced over 2000 tons of dry ore each during 1949, and were the main producers for all of the North Lily Mining company's properties. Leases were low-cost, low-production operations that seldom lasted more the two or three years as each of the minor ore veins were followed until they were exhausted.)

August 28, 1954
The Dragon Consolidated Mining company was 65.7 percent owned by the North Lily Mining company. About 57 percent of the North Lily company was in-turn owned by the International Smelting & Refining company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Anaconda Company. The remainder of stocks of the two companies was owned by small investors. The Dragon Consolidated, because it was shipping large quantities of Halloysite, paid its first dividend in more than 30 years. (Salt Lake Tribune, August 28, 1954)

(1955 -- Although incomplete, research suggests that none of the North Lily Mining company properties were part of the renewed activity in the Tintic district under the Kennecott lease of 1955. Except for the Dragon Consolidated mine, none of the North Lily properties were active during the early 1970s when Anaconda, especially after closing its International smelter in 1972, began arrangements to merge and consolidate its holdings in the Tintic district.)

May 18, 1958
Anaconda, through its subsidiary International Smelting company, in addition to others, controlled the following former Knight companies. (Provo Sunday Herald, May 18, 1958)

Big Hill Mining company
Defender Mining and Milling company
Empire Mines company
Eureka Swansea Extension Mining company
Middle Swansea Mining company
New Southern Eureka Mining company
North Godiva Consolidated Mining company
Swansea Consolidated Mining company
Tintic Drain Tunnel company

May 23, 1958
The last reported shipment from the Swansea Consolidated mine was in May 1958 when the mine shipped 158 tons. (Eureka Reporter, May 23, 1958)

June 9, 1960
North Lily Mining company declared a dividend based on production of Halloysite from its Dragon Consolidated Mining company subsidiary. North Lily was still a subsidiary of International Smelting, which in-turn was still a subsidiary of The Anaconda Company. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 9, 1960)

1962
The Tintic Central mine was first developed in 1962, comprising 19 patented mining claims and 274 acres. Control of the Tintic Central Mining company was by the North Lily Mining company through ownership of a majority of the Tintic Central stock. North Lily Mining company was in-turn controlled by the Anaconda company. The Tintic Central Mining company was adjoined on the east by the South Standard Mining company, and the Iron Blossom Mining company on the west. These two adjoining companies were controlled by the adjacent Tintic Standard Mining company.

(No production resulted from the Tintic Central mine. There were annual stockholder meetings held in January of every year between 1963 and 1970, but there are no reports or references to any mining activity during those years, until the company was included in the 1972 proposed merger of all Anaconda properties in Tintic.)

March 25, 1963
The stock of the Big Hill Mining company, the Mountain View Mining company, the Swansea Consolidated Mining company, and the Victor Consolidated mining company, were all de-listed from the Salt Lake Stock Exchange, effective March 25, 1963. "Robert P. Woolley, president of the exchange, said de-listing requirements involved the number of stockholders, the number of assets and the issuance of an annual report." (Salt Lake Tribune, March 13, 1963)

(The action suggests that the stock was all in the hands of either International Smelting, or directly with Anaconda.)

March 11, 1971
Excerpts from Deseret News, March 11, 1971.

The Anaconda Company announced "today" that it had signed an agreement to lease the mines in Utah County of the following companies. The lease stipulates that Anaconda would spent $200,000 in development over the next two years, the $00,000 over the following three years after the first two years, then $500,000 for the second five-year period. The lease encompasses 1,183 acres. Six of the eight companies were already controlled by Anaconda through majority stock ownership. Also included in the "unit lease" was Anaconda's International Smelting subsidiary, and two separate companies, Kennecott Copper Corp., and Tintic Standard Mining company. The Anaconda-controlled mining companies were:

Big Hill Mining Co.
East Tintic Coalition Mining Co.
Eureka Bullion Mining Co.
International Smelting & Refining Co.
North Lily Mining Co.
Twentieth Century Mining Co.

August 9, 1972
The International Smelting and Refining company was a subsidiary of the Anaconda company. With the closure of the International smelter at Tooele, Utah, at the end of January 1972, Anaconda had no need for the mines in the Tintic Mining District. It especially had no need for the unique lead-silver-gold ores, known as "fluxing" ores, that were unique to the Tintic district. In a reflection of the changes, Anaconda began the process to "delist" six of its Tintic mining subsidiaries. Included in the inactive mines were the Eureka Bullion Mining company, and the Empire Mines company. Two active mines were the Dragon Consolidated Mining company, and the North Lily Mining company. (Salt Lake Tribune, August 9, 1972)

October 25, 1972
Anaconda renewed its lease of the North Lily properties in the Tintic district, extending the lease to March 4, 1974. The lease area included property owned by the East Tintic Coalition Mining company, Eureka Bullion Mining company, North Lily Mining company, Big Hill Mining company, and Twentieth Century Mining company, all of which were controlled by International Smelting, and in-turn by Anaconda. Included in the lease also was parts of the Tintic Standard Mining company. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 25, 1972)

(As early as November 1972, Anaconda began moving to consolidate and merge all of the 18 companies it controlled in the Tintic district. This would require almost complete stock ownership, not just control of a majority of the stock. -- Salt Lake Tribune, November 29, 1972)

January 1, 1973
"The Anaconda Co. announced that as of January 1st, four of its principal wholly owned subsidiaries will be merged into the parent company. Anaconda Wire and Cable company, Anaconda American Brass company and Anaconda Aluminum company will become divisions of Anaconda without a change of name or officers. The properties and plants of International Smelting and Refining company in Utah and New Jersey will, after the merger, be operated as part of the Primary Metals Division of Anaconda." (Butte Montana Standard, December 30, 1972; Salt Lake Tribune, January 3, 1973)

From the Deseret News, January 2, 1973.

The Utah property of International Smelting and Refining Co. officially became a part of the parent Anaconda Company's Primary Metals Division Monday [Jan. 1st].

International's principal holding in the state was the Tooele Smelter which now is being dismantled. There are about 1,200 acres of land in the smelter site according to Clark L. Wilson, manager of Anaconda's Utah operations.

International also had property in New Jersey which was included in the merger. Three other wholly-owned subsidiaries merged into Anaconda were Anaconda Wire and Cable Co., Anaconda American Brass Co., and Anaconda Aluminum Co. Wilson said a proposed consolidation of various subsidiary companies that hold mining properties in the Tintic Mining District still is being studied.

North Lily Mining Company Merger (1976-1981)

August 21, 1976
From the Deseret News, August 21, 1976.

Anaconda plans 17-firm merger in Tintic area -- In a move to consolidate its holdings in the Tintic area of Juab County and facilitate exploration and development, Anaconda Co is proposing a merger of 16 small mining companies.

Special meetings of the stockholders of the companies have been scheduled to discuss the proposed merger. Anaconda owns a controlling interest in all of the companies with one exception and has indicated it plans to support the merger proposal.

None of the firms is actively engaged in mining but some have properties under lease to others for exploration development and mining.

North Lily would be the surviving corporation. Shareholders in companies affected by the merger would receive North Lily stock in exchange for their shares. Those with fractional share interests would be paid in cash, according to the proposal.

All of the participating firms have substantially the same officers and directors.

The 16 mining companies involved in the merger were:

Big Hill Mining Co.
Dragon Consolidated Mining Co.
East Tintic Coalition Mining Co.
Empire Mines Co.
Eureka Bullion Mining Co.
Eureka Swansea Extension Mining Co.
Mountain View Mining Co.
New Southern Eureka Mining Co.
North Godiva Consolidated Mining Co.
North Lily Mining Co.
Swansea Consolidated Mining Co.
Tintic Central Mining Co.
Tintic Drain Tunnel Co.
Twentieth Century Mining Co.
Victor Consolidated Mining Co.
Yankee Consolidated Mining Co.

(The 17th company, ATC, Inc., held ownership of 61 separate mining claims (or lodes), and which passed that ownership to North Lily Mining company on May 20, 1977. Then on June 22, 1977, North Lily passed ownership to Anaconda. All 61 claims were located within Sections 17 and 18, T10S, R2W.) (This is the two mile-square sections that diagonally connect the town of Eureka, and the area immediately to the northeast that included the village of Homansville. There is little or no mineral-bearing ground in this group, and it was acquired to consolidate adjoining mining claims.)

November 19, 1976
The stockholders of 16 of the 17 companies controlled by Anaconda voted to approve the merger into the North Lily Mining company. The holdout was the 16 percent of stockholders of the Dragon Consolidated Mining company who voted against the merger. (Deseret News, November 19, 1976)

(In January 1977, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) purchased the all interests of Anaconda Copper Mining Company.)

December 28, 1977
From the Salt Lake Tribune, December 29, 1977.

Anaconda Terminates Lease -- Anaconda Co. said Wednesday [December 28th] it is terminating a mining lease from the North Lily Mining Co. in Utah's Tintic Mining District. Termination is effective in 60 days.

Also involved are leases on certain properties owned or controlled by Kennecott Copper Corp. and Amax Arizona, Inc. Anaconda had drilled several exploration holes since taking the lease in 1971.

Anaconda holds a 65 percent in North Lily, which has the three subsidiaries - Dragon Consolidated Mining Co., Defender Mining and Milling Corp , and Middle Swansea Mining Corp.

Only operating company in the district now is KCC's Tintic Division which is engaged in lead-zinc and silver mining.

(Amax Arizona was the successor to the Tintic Standard companies, since 1973.)

(As a side note, the lease was canceled because Anaconda had merged with North Lily on June 22, 1977. This was the final effective date for the merger of the 17 companies, into Anaconda.)

May 18, 1980
Although the merger took place in 1976, a series of law suits were filed contesting the exchange values of the individual stocks of the 14 companies in the North Lily merger. On May 18, 1980, a legal notice was posted advising stockholders of the 14 companies, excluding the Dragon Consolidated company and the surviving North Lily company, to surrender their stock certificates to have them exchanged for the approved value in North Lily Mining company stock. (Salt Lake Tribune, May 18, 1980)

The 14 companies were (alphabetically):

Big Hill Mining Company;
East Tintic Coalition Mining Company;
Empire Mines Company;
Eureka Bullion Mining Company;
Eureka Swansea Extension Mining Company;
Mountain View Mining Company (former Uncle Sam and May Day);
The New Southern Eureka Mining Company;
North Godiva Consolidated Milling Company;
Swansea Consolidated Mining Company;
Tintic Central Mining Company;
Tintic Drain Tunnel Company;
Twentieth Century Mining Company;
Victor Consolidated Mining Company;
Yankee Consolidated Mining Company.

North Lily After Anaconda (1981)

(All activity of the North Lily company after 1981 was not associated with any of the previous North Lily properties that had been controlled by Anaconda and its subsidiary, International Smelting company, after the 1924-1929 period, and fully merged with Anaconda in 1977.)

April 10, 1981
A year after the merger of North Lily properties, a new three-year lease of the North Lily Mining company to Anaconda to develop the properties was signed on April 10, 1981. (Eureka Reporter, May 8, 1981)

(Research suggests that this is a wholly new North Lily Mining company, since the previous company had been fully merged with Anaconda on June 20, 1977.)

May 10, 1981
From the Provo Daily Herald, May 10, 1981.

Eureka. Stockholders of the North Lilly Mining Company, whose property is located in the Tintic District, have approved a lease agreement between North Lily and Anaconda Company of Denver. Anaconda is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield Company.

Anaconda is currently considering reprocessing the North Lilly tailings by using a cyanide leach process. However, other technologies are also being examined, a statement from Anaconda said.

The lease has an initial term of three years and grants to Anaconda a portion of North Lily's property for the purpose of treating and processing tailings, dumps, and other material to extract valuable minerals.

July 21, 1981
"The Anaconda Company currently has two geologists working on a surface mapping and sampling project. Anaconda owns about 20,000 acres of surface and mining rights in the District. In 1978 Anaconda completed a modest surface drilling project in the area of their North Lilly Mine property. Anaconda will probably only complete field work this season. Their goal is to define specific drill targets for precious metals. Anaconda is considering construction of a leach plant near the old Silver City mill." (Eureka Reporter, July 21, 1981)

(Research suggests that in about 1983, Anaconda sold the mining claims in the East Tintic area, previously leased since 1981, to companies or persons other than those who did business using the North Lily Mining company name after 1983. Those companies or persons appear to have controlled only the North Lily Mining company name, holding none of the actual former Anaconda property previously held by the North Lily Mining company prior to the merger of 1976-1980. The companies or persons using the North Lily Mining company name appear to have been stock market speculators and promoters who simply cashed in on the well-known North Lily Mining company brand name, counting on potential investors not doing the needed research.)

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