MINING

In Arizona copper camps, mining, smelters and tailings dumps are part of a way of life. In dozens of communities all over the state, generations of Arizonans have been born, have grown up, and have earned their bread and butter and educated their children from the proceeds of the red metal that comes so abundantly from the ground. Abundantly maybe, but it's still not that easy to get out. In the old days of the bonanzas at Jerome, Superior and Bisbee, it was a little easier and a lot less complicated. In those days, around the turn of the century, most of the mining was underground and by hand and the refining-getting the metal out of the rock was mainly a matter of putting the high grade ore into the smelter furnace with a reducing agent and melting it down. When it became molten, the copper and other trace metals - the gold, silver and a few other metals in minute quantities - separated from the waste rock which was poured off as slag. The copper was poured into molds and shipped off to the east to be made into something useful.

That was it. Simple, straightforward and rewarding for many more thousands of people than today work in Arizona's copper mining industry.

And on top of that, for every ton of ore that is mined, two tons of waste rock have to be moved. That means today's miner has to blast loose and haul away some 6,000 pounds of rock to get about 12 pounds of copper. You can see why that old timer's grandson has to be able to haul 150 tons at a time. Modern mining is a gigantic earth moving operation.

Everybody talks about the "mines" in Arizona. Actually, at every operation there are two things going on: the mining and the refining. It's a lot more complicated than this, but basically the mining involves blasting loose and hauling away the material two tons to the waste dump and one ton to the refinery. The ore occurs basically as either a sulfide or an oxide. To understand the difference between sulfides and oxides, imagine a piece of copper wire or a penny you've found outside somewhere it has turned greenish, right? That's oxidation. Iron rusts; copper turns green. The same thing happens in the ground. Millions of years ago when the copper was deposited in the ground with the iron, sulfur and various trace metals as a liquid or as a gas, it solidified and the natural forces began working on it. As the surface of the earth eroded away andToday, it's another world. The grandson of one of those tough old-time hard-rock miners is still tough but he probably operates a giant diesel-electric truck capable of hauling 150 tons of material in one trip. There are still four underground mines operating in Ari-

Gila County's History and Heritage Began with MINING

Arizona and at least three more being planned or developed, but most of the copper mines in Arizona today are open pit operations. And smelters. The old timers (and not a few working in the smelters today) claim that the sulfur smoke from a smelter actually kept them from getting colds in the winter; kept their sinuses cleared; they bragged about having fewer days off because of sickness than any other department at the mine. They could probably make a case for their claims, but today the smelters are a far cry from what they used to be. And there are only seven today compared with more than a dozen at one time. And the modern smelter is a lot cleaner than it used to be. Fewer people produce a much richer smelter feed resulting in a lot more copper. Acid plants are being built on most of the smelters in the state now to take the sulfur in the ore and turn it into sulfuric acid. But let's start at the beginning: ore. The definition of ore is rock with mineral value in it that can be recovered at a profit. Copper ore is rock with copper in it that can be removed for enough money to pay the bills with a little left over for the stockholders.

And you've probably heard of high-grade. The grade of ore simply pertains to the percentage of metal in the ore. The old-timers were able to send their ore directly to the smelter because it was high grade. It had up to five to 10 per cent copper in the rock.

All the high grade ore has been mined out for many years now, and the average grade of ore being mined at this time is about.7% seven-tenths of one per cent.

By Maggie Wilson It got closer and closer to the copper sulfide material below, water percolated down to it and into the top of it. Oxygen began working on it oxidizing it - forming the various oxide copper ores. These are the pretty, colorful minerals so much in demand by collectors today chrysocolla, azurite, malachite, turquoise. When these oxide minerals are mined from off the top of the sulfide minerals, the copper is refined from them by a process called leaching. This is simply a matter of using sulfuric acid to dissolve the copper from the rock, leaving a copper sulfate solution. The copper then is removed from solution by one of several ways. For centuries, men have been recovering copper this way by washing the weak copper-bearing solution over scrap iron. The iron particles replace the copper in solution, leaving behind a reddish-brown residue that can be easily refined to a high purity by firesmelting. Text continued page 40

Globe, Arizona. GLOBE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

GILA COUNTY, ARIZONA, U.S.A.

Gila County was formed from parts of Maricopa and Pinal counties on February 8, 1881, and was extended eastward to the San Carlos River by petition in 1889. It contains 3,040,000 acres. The county was named for the Gila River, which forms part of its southern boundary. The county seat was established at what was originally called Globe City, now Globe (q.v.), an important copper mining center.

The elevation of Gila County varies from 2,123 feet at Roosevelt Dam to 7,153 feet at Mount Ord. Over half of the county is occupied by the San Carlos Indian Reservation (cf. San Carlos River), which in turn extends into Graham County for half its own area. The principal industries of Gila County have always been and continue to be mining and the raising of livestock.

Writers of Arizona history and lore seem to run out of superlatives in describing Gila County. We have listened for hours to stories of Gila County people, places and events. Our Editor Emeritus, Raymond Carlson lived half of his life in the Globe-Miami area and his remembrances could well be the foundation of one of the most fascinating human interest volumes ever printed based on the facts and legends of Gila County at a time when the body, soul and mind of Arizona acted and reacted to the pulsations emanating from the industrial and political heart of Arizona. An anonymous author stated in ARIZONA HIGHWAYS of June 1928: "Gila County, Rich in Romance, wondrously wealthy 'on a copper bottom' of ores estimated at incalculable millions of dollars producing a substantial portion of the world's copper - output made possible by the generous bestowals of the Great Architect of the Universe, plus the dogged determination of those who saw great potentials in Gila County."

With the building of Coolidge and Roosevelt Dams Gila County became a part of every each of its neighboring counties providing water for the agricultural, social and recreational development of America's fastest growing communities. Many of the photographs in this special Gila County edition depict scenes outside the Gila County boundary lines. Blue Ridge Lake, pictured on our front cover is but a few miles from the county line. Who can deny that Gila County is richer for the proximity of the picturesque waterway, and vice versa.

According to Gila County "old timers" one who does not desire to establish permanent residence in the county should tarry in it no longer than two weeks, for he will never be satisfied elsewhere once the magic of the carefree, rugged and promising country has captivated his soul.... a land rich in tradition welcomes the new awareness that wilderness itself is a heritage worth preserving.

The rugged Mazatzal Mountains lie in the northwest corner of Gila County. This view looks across the upper Tonto Basin from the Pinon and Juniper studded hills near Payson, Arizona. — JOSEF MUENCH

About 1200 A.D. these cliff dwellings were occupied by a group known as the Salado. – JAMES TALLON

The old Chamberlain Trail crosses beautiful meadow land north of Young, Arizona. JOSEF MUENCH

Arizona Route 260 crosses Tonto Creek at Kohls Ranch, approximately 18 miles east of Payson. It was near here, in the early 1900's, that author Zane Grey built his lodge and wrote many of his books. - ROBERT MYERS A quiet retreat just off the Houston Mesa Road between Pay son and Pine, Arizona. DARWIN VAN CAMPEN

Great fun... but not recommended for amateurs Kayaking the Salt

Photos by Allan C. Parker (Unless otherwise noted) Editor's Note: The following letter and the accompany-ing photographs were submitted by Allan C. Parker (Lt. U.S.A.F.), Williams Air Force Base, East of Chandler, Arizona. The photograph at upper right, page 29, was taken by Lt. Parker from the fourth aircraft flying in formation over Roosevelt Lake, Gila County, Arizona.

I'm a 1972 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, stationed at Williams AFB since last July, and am presently nearing completion of my pilot training program here. One of the hobbies I brought with me when I moved was white water kayaking. The idea seemed rather improbable rivers and rapids and such in Arizona.

The original kayak is an Eskimo craft used for hunting, usually made of sealskin stretched over a light framework, made watertight by a flexible closure secured with lacing. Modern commercial kayaks made of reinforced fiberglass shells are sturdy enough to withstand the stresses and strains of the most severe white-water challenges, but, only under the control of experienced boatmen.

Lt. Parker's photographs depict highlights from a day of the exciting watersport, from the crest of the swirling rapid to "sitting in a hole," lower right.

This spring's plentiful water supply resulted in many parties setting out to "run the river" on a weekend frolic without proper equipment, knowledge, or experience. The results, more often than not, were news reports every Monday morning of some new tragedy or a rescue carried out by some sheriff's department or helicopter. The problem is the result of lack of knowledge. People confidently paddle away from, for instance, Camp Verde with expectations similar to their experiences of tubing near Saguaro Dam. Publicity could help to alleviate this problem by making people aware of the extreme difficulties faced on these rivers and the seriousness of such an undertaking. Additionally, this knowledge may tend to draw more people who are qualified to experience these rivers. My selfish desire to keep "my river" a secret is overridden by more important considerations, not the least of which is increased safety. Even the best parties are susceptible to unforseen problems. Another party on the river may be able to lend considerable and much appreciated aid. I am not worried about increased numbers degrading the nature of the rivers. Through my experience I've observed that in general "river runner" type people are very considerate of their surroundings and create a much smaller impact on the environment than most other groups of people. During my weekends this spring I tried to keep my camera handy to record the excitement, challenge, fun, and exquisite beauty of these rivers.Allan C. Parker (Lt. USAF) This spring, however, found me more and more pleasantly surprised as I explored additional bits and pieces of the Salt and Verde Rivers. As it turns out these two rivers offer every bit of the challenge, excitement, and even remote wilderness experience as such famous routes as the Green River of Colorado or the Salmon River of Idaho, which every year draw canoe, kayak, and raft enthusiasts from across the country. The upper reaches of the Salt and Verde Rivers (above Roosevelt and Horseshoe Reservoirs respectively) are every bit as good but are virtually unknown to all save a handful of adventurous locals who are familiar with these canyons through their own efforts in rafts or kayaks.

It's another great day for boating, and fishing is good too, on twenty-three mile long Roosevelt Lake. - DARWIN VAN CAMPEN PAINTINGS COURTESY OF COPPER HILLS HOTEL, MIAMI, ARIZONA Artist Floyd C. Chandler has documented this historically famous copper mining area in three oil paintings: LEFT “Miami and the mines” 30" x 40"

LOWER LEFT - “The old Keystone Hotel,” 24" x 36"

LOWER RIGHT “Globe from “G” hill,” 30" x 40"

Mining is the basic economy for the twin cities of Miami and Globe. This is the Inspiration Copper Company. - NORMAN MEAD

RIGHT: The air space over large remote portions of Gila County is used by the United States Air Force for training purposes. This flight of Northrop T-38 Talons was photographed over Payson. USAF PHOTO BY ALLAN C. PARKER