South Standard Mine

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This page was last updated on October 28, 2025.

Overview

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

South Standard Mine (1916-1996)

The South Standard Mining comany was organized in November 1916. The next year, after buying several adjacent mining claims and much smaller mining companies, its was idle. From then on it became a company that managed its ore reserves, wainting for another company to invest the badly needed funds to explore for more reserves.

By 1956, the South Standard Mining company was controlled by the Tintic Standard Mining company, along with the Eureka Standard Consolidated Mining company and the Eureka Lily Consolidated Mining company. But it was control only, by majority ownership of each company's stock.

When Tintic Standard sold its holdings to Amax Copper company in 1973, the minority shareholders prevented South Standard being sold at the same time.

The South Standard remained independent, and in 1982 purchased the Eureka Standard Consolidated Mining company from Amax. The combined South Standard and Eureka Standard companies remained independent until they were sold to Chief Consolidated Mining company in 1995.

The South Standard had been one of four companies that formed the so-called "Tintic Group" that were party, along with the huge Chief Consolidated Mining company form the nearby Eureka area, to the so-called "Unit Lease" to Bear Creek Mining company, a direct subsidiary of Kennecott Copper Corporation. Kennecott first developed the Burgin mine on Chief Consolidated property, then the Trixie mine on Eureka Standard property. Because the entire area was under the unitized lease, all of the parties in the lease shared in the royalty fees.

November 3, 1916
"The claims which were formerly owned by the Montreal Mining company form the basis for another new corporation which will be launched within the next few days under the name of the South Standard Mining company. The ground is in the eastern end of the Tintic District and as the name implies, to the south of the Tintic Standard, which at this time is attracting so much attention. Some years ago during the time when there was so much activity in the eastern end of the district the owners of the Montreal ground did considerable development work, and among other improvements they drove a tunnel on one of the claims, cutting into the ground for a distance of over 500 feet. In driving that distance they cut one very promising vein and it is on this vein that the South Standard company will do its work. It is stated that a contract for 50 feet of drifting has been awarded to Duncan and Allen and that the work will he started in the very near future." (Eureka Reporter, November 3, 1916)

(As noted, the South Standard was initially a horizontal tunnel, not a vertical shaft.)

October 19, 1917
The United Tintic Mines company gave a quit-claim deed to the South Standard Mining company for the Burglar Lode Mining claim and 26 other claims. The transaction included: The Tintic Empire Mining company for the Nevada Tunnel Extension No. 2 and five other Tintic mining claims, and the Tintic Combination Mining company for the Nevada Tunnel Extension No. 1 and ten other Tintic claims. The consideration stated in the transactions is one dollar. (Eureka Reporter, October 19, 1917)

October 19, 1917
"During the past week the capitalization of the South Standard Mining company was raised from 1,000,000 shares of the par value of 10 cents to 1,300,000 shares of the same par value. A deal was also made whereby all of the old stock of the company was retired and the shareholders given new stock on a basis of one share for six. The company also absorbed the United Tintic company, giving one share for each two shares of United Tintic stock. Officers of the South Standard company are E. J. Raddatz, president and general manager; W. I. Snyder, vice president; H. G. Snyder, E. W. Hulse and C. E. Renner constitute the board of directors. Already there are three shafts on the ground of the South Standard, one down 150 feet, another down 235 and the third 285 feet deep. One of these shafts is equipped with about everything that is needed to sink to a depth of 2000 feet. In all the company owns about 48 claims, nearly 1000 acres of ground." (Eureka Reporter, October 19, 1917)

(By March 1918, the South Standard was one of the largest groups in land area in the entire Tintic district, at about 2,000 acres.)

September 23, 1921
"The work of sinking the main shaft at the property of the South Standard Mining company was taken up recently and it is understood that this piece of development work will continue indefinitely. A large gallows-frame was erected a short time ago and the hoisting engine is in operation. The next thing in order will be the installation of a compressor. For the present the sinking Is being carried on with the use of hand drills." (Eureka Reporter, September 23, 1921)

(There were no reference in online newspapers to any production from the South Standard mine, other than reports that the mine shaft was at least 1,200 feet deep, with drifts driven to develop the extent of the ore vein. The only regular reference was to its listing on the Salt Lake stock exchange for the price of its stock, meaning that its stock was being actively traded based on its ore reserve.)

South Standard To Tintic Standard

June 15, 1956
The Tintic Standard Mining company, the South Standard Mining company, the Eureka Standard Consolidated Mining company, and the Eureka Lily Consolidated Mining company all shared the same majority stock ownership and same directors. These same directors voted as a block to approve these same companies' participation in the Jenny Lind Unit Lease to Bear Creek/Kennecott Copper. (Eureka Reporter, June 15, 1956)

May 29, 1960
The South Standard Mining company was controlled by Harriet D. Travis, and the Raddatz estate. (Salt Lake Tribune, May 29, 1960)

(In December 1939, Harriet D. Travis was elected to the boards of the Tintic Standard Mining company, and the Eureka Standard Mining company. She was the widow of Ira D. Travis who had passed away recently; he had been president of the Tintic Standard Mining company. She was reelected as a director as late as June 1956, but had passed away on August 16, 1962 at age 97, leaving her estate in charge of the 100,000+ shares she and her husband had held in the Tintic Standard company. In 1964, in a report of the activities of the Harriet D. Travis Charitable Trust, it was noted that she had been the last remaining heir to one of Utah early mining fortunes. -- Salt Lake Tribune, December 8, 1939; August 17, 1962; Deseret News, March 3, 1964)

(Ira D. Travis, in 1909, was vice president of the newly organized North Beck Mining company. E. J. Raddatz was president. By 1913, Travis was on the board of the Tintic Standard company, with Raddatz as president. Travis continued as a director of the Tintic Standard Mining company through to November 1933 when E. J. Raddatz passed away. At that time, Travis was elected as president of the Tintic Standard company, a position he kept until his death on September 12, 1939 at age 80. Travis had been associated with Raddatz right from the earliest days of the Tintic Standard company and it affiliates in 1906. Travis and his wife Harriet Doolittle had married in 1893 in Albion, Michigan, where both had been attending college. -- Deseret News, September 13, 1939)

June 11, 1968
Tintic Standard Mining company had the following subsidiaries: South Standard Mining company; Eureka Standard Consolidated Mining company; Eureka Lily Consolidated Mining company; Colorado Consolidated Mines company; Sioux Mines company. All were holding their annual meetings on June 12, 1968 in the Walker Bank Building in Salt Lake City. H. E. Raddatz was shown as president of all six companies, along with Banner Mining company, of which Tintic Standard held 11.37 percent. Total earnings for all six companies with property in the Tintic district, leased to Kennecott, was $18,370, down from $29,658 the previous year. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 11, 1968)

South Standard Breaks From Tintic Standard

(At some point between mid-1968 and mid-1970, the South Standard Mining company was no longer a subsidiary of, or controlled by the Tintic Standard Mining company, with the two companies only being mentioned together as part of the Unit Lease to Kennecott.)

June 10, 1970
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, June 10, 1970, the companies that were part of the Unit Lease to Kennecott included the following.

Chief Consolidated Mining company
Eureka Lily Consolidated Mining company
Eureka Standard Mining company
South Standard Mining company
Tintic Standard Mining company

(South Standard Mining company was not part of the sale in June 1973 of the Tintic Standard Mining company and its assets to Amax.)

(There were no references to the South Standard in online newspapers until 1973 when the Trixie mine began shipping ore to the Kennecott smelters, thereby providing income to the South Standard company, with its numerous majority and minority stockholders. Income tripled to $240,000 for 1980, compared to 1979, after the lease agreement was renegotiated so the the owning companies received their royalties based on Kennecott's net smelter returns, not on Kennecott's net profit.)

By 1977, the Unit Lease to Kennecott had the following owners.

Amax Arizona (ex Tintic Standard)
Chief Consolidated
Eureka Standard
South Standard

Eureka Standard Merged To South Standard (1983)

December 23, 1982
"South Standard Mining Co , Salt Lake City, and Amax Arizona Inc., announced agreement Thursday for South Standard to acquire all of Amax Arizona’s interest in Eureka Standard Consolidated Mining Co., Salt Lake City. Amax Arizona, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amax Inc., Greenwich, Conn., owns 61 percent of Eureka Standard. Finalization is subject to regulatory approvals and merger between South Standard and Eureka, hopefully to be accomplished in March or April." (Salt Lake Tribune, December 24, 1982)

January 14, 1983
"South Standard Mining Co., Salt Lake City, and Eureka Standard Consolidated Mining Co. announced terms of a merger whereby Eureka Standard holders would receive one share of South Standard stock for three and a half shares of Eureka. The merger of Eureka Standard into South Standard, tentatively scheduled to be completed by April 30, follows the acquisition of a 61 percent interest in Eureka Standard by South Standard from Amax Arizona, Inc." (Salt Lake Tribune, January 14, 1983)

July 29, 1983
South Standard Mining company merged with the Eureka Standard Consolidated Mining company on July 29, 1983, with the South Standard being the surviving company. (Salt Lake Tribune, Saturday, July 30, 1983, "Friday")

(This change left the South Standard company and the Chief Consolidated company as the two remaining parties in the Unit Lease dating back to 1956. When Kennecott teminated the lease on the Trixie mine in November 1982, the change resulted in no more royalty income for the lease partners. The Chief Consolidated company had lost its majority royalty fees on the Burgin mine in 1980 when Kennecott terminated that lease.)

By June 1990, the Raddatz family still held 30 percent ownership of the South Standard Mining company. (Salt Lake Tribune, June 8, 1990)

South Standard Merged To Chief Consolidated (1995)

July 12, 1995
The Chief Consolidated Mining company purchased the South Standard Mining company. The acquisition of the South Standard by Chief was based on an offer to exchange three shares of Chief stock for each ten shares of South Standard stock outstanding. The acquisition of South Standard would put under Chief Consolidated ownership all of the properties originally incorporated in the Kennecott Unit Lease from 1956. South Standard's properties totaled approximately 2,550 acres contiguous to the south and west of the Chief Consolidated's East Tintic properties. The Trixie gold mine, located on South Standard's property, produced gold and silver ores when it was in operation, initially by Kennecott Corp., and then by Sunshine Mining Company until Sunshine terminated mining the Trixie in October 1992. (Eureka Reporter, August 25, 1995, citing Chief Consolidated's annual report)

June 28, 1996
The sale and merger of South Standard Mining company into Chief Consolidated Mining company was finalized on June 28, 1996. (Eureka Reporter, August 9, 1996)

Burgin Mine (1948-1977) and Trixie Mine (1969-1992)

(Beginning in May 1955, the South Standard was part of a consortium that put their Tintic properties into a common "Unit Lease" to fund the exploration of the many adjoining mining claims in the region.)

(From 1956 to 1958 Kennecott continued its exploration of the Unit Lease area. In 1958 they began development of the Burgin mine, on Chief Consolidated property, and in 1963 production from the Burgin mine began. In mid-1978, Kennecott gave up the two leases (Burgin and Trixie) due to high costs, including pumping to fight the increasing water levels in the mines.)

(In 1969 Kennecott opened the Trixie mine, leasing the location from South Standard Mining Co. In March 1973 Kennecott put the Trixie mine into production. By July 1976, all the ore from both the Trixie mine and the Burgin mine was being processed in the Burgin concentrating mill, then sent to the Kennecott smelter at Garfield. Kennecott shut down its operation of the Trixie mine in November 1982.)

(Read more about the Burgin mine and Trixie mine as part of the story of Tintic after 1980, after Kennecott's termination of the Unit Lease)

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