The Mineral Park mine is a large

open pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of minin ...

copper mine Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...

located in the

Cerbat Mountains The Cerbat Mountains ( yuf-x-wal, Ha'emede:) is a mountain range in Mohave County in northwest Arizona immediately north of Kingman. The Cerbat Mountains and the White Hills (Arizona) adjacent north, are the dividing ranges between the Detri ...

14 miles northwest of Kingman, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. A 2013 report said that Mineral Park represented one of the largest copper reserves in the United States and in the world, having estimated reserves of 389 million tonnes of ore grading 0.14% copper and 31 million oz of silver. Large scale copper mining began in the old Mineral Park district in 1963 when Duval Corporation began the open pit operation. Cypress Mines (later

Cyprus Amax Minerals Cyprus Amax Minerals was a major US-based mining company formed in 1993 through the merger of AMAX with the Cyprus Minerals Company. It was one of the world's largest producers of Molybdenum and Lithium and was a leading producer of copper and coal ...

acquired Duval's copper mines in 1986 and sold Mineral Park in 1997. The mine was acquired by Mercator Mineral Park Holdings of British Columbia in 2003. In December 2014 the mine closed as the company filed for bankruptcy. On January 20, 2015, it was reported that Origin Mining Company, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Waterton Global Resources who also own Elko Mining Group and Carlin Resources LLC in Nevada, had purchased the property.

Turquoise mining

Turquoise mined at this location is known as "Kingman Turquoise." This mine was worked for turquoise by Native Americans before European contact. Archaeological evidence includes " Hohokam hammers, dating back to 600 a.d." and the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

hammers. "In the late 1880s to the early 1900s, Mineral Park was mined by the Aztec Turquoise Co., the Los Angeles Gem Co., Arizona Turquoise Co., Southwest Turquoise Co. and Mineral Park Turquoise Co." Since the 1970s, turquoise has been mined by members of the Colbaugh family.

Mineral Park

Mineral Park was a mining town, now a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

in the Mineral Park valley of the

in Mohave County, Arizona. Its ruins and cemetery are now located within the property of the mine. Mining in the area began in 1871 and a camp was established soon after. The mines produced primarily silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc. The post office was opened December 23, 1872. It grew to be the largest town in the county and became the county seat in 1873. It had the county courthouse and jail, stores, hotels, saloons, shops, doctors, lawyers, assay offices and two stagecoach stations. Mineral Park – Mohave County Bicentennial Commission – 1976, historical marker, located 14 miles northwest of Kingman on US 93 in Mohave County, Arizona
/ref> The town published a newspaper, the ''Mohave County Miner''. In 1887 it lost the county seat to the railroad town of Kingman in an election. Some of the population and the newspaper moved and mining began to slacken with the price of silver. The post office closed on April 30, 1893. It reopened in September 1894, but closed for the last time in 1912.John and Lillian Theobald, ''Arizona Territory Post Offices & Postmasters'', The Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, 1961. Mining revived in the area since the 1960s, but the town never did. , a cemetery, a few ruins and foundations remain within the property of the new mine.

References

External links

Minerals of Mineral Park mine
at Mindat.org

nice photos

from ghosttowns.com {{Mohave County, Arizona Copper mines in Arizona Geography of Mohave County, Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona Cemeteries in Arizona