Archives West Finding Aid

Mining began in Bingham Canyon, Utah, around 1863 with picks, dynamite, and shovels. However, it wasn't until Daniel Jackling and Robert Gemmell surveyed the area and proposed a new method of mining in 1899 that the mine became profitable. Large-scale surface mining began at that time. In 1903, Jackling formed the Utah Copper Company and bought out Boston Consolidated Mining Company years later so Utah Copper could operate on the entire mountain. In 1936, Kennecott Copper Corporation bought Utah Copper Company and later changed it to the Utah Copper Division. During this time, the "hill," as the mountain was called, was transforming into the "pit" as work at the mine continued. During the 1950s, Kennecott constructed its own refinery and bought the ASARCO smelter so it could have a complete production line of mining, concentrating, smelting, and refining. The mining pit is presently around 3/4 mile deep and still growing.

The expansion of Utah Copper's operation came from the Guggenheims, who also held majority interest in Standard Oil. One of their investment vehicles, the Guggenheim Exploration Company, provided the funding for Utah Copper to build its new mill at Magna, and the reorganization of Utah Copper in April 1904 was the result of the influx of Guggenheim money. The Guggenheims were also the majority owners of American Smelting and Refining (ASARCO), who had bought majority interests in most of the Salt Lake Valley smelters, wanting to consolidate the smelting operations in one large location to benefit from economies of scale that such an operation would provide. To tie their two new properties together, i.e., funding the expansion of Utah Copper, and consolidating the Utah smelters into a new large smelter at Garfield, Utah Copper signed a 20-year contract with ASARCO that would both guarantee a market for Utah Copper mining operations, and through their new mill at Magna, provide copper concentrates for the new Garfield smelter. (Arrington: Richest Hole, p. 46)

Construction on the new Utah Copper mill began in November 1905. (Engineering and Mining Journal, March 17, 1906, p. 534; see also Arrington: Richest Hole, p. 50). Construction of the Garfield smelter began in 1905. (Arrington: Richest Hole, p. 47). To formally get the new smelter organized and under construction, the Garfield Smelting Company was incorporated on November 17, 1905, as a subsidiary of the American Smelting and Refining Co. (Utah corporation files, index 5411). The Garfield smelter began operations in August 1906. (Arrington: Richest Hole, p. 47)

"Complying with Court Decree copper smelting was discontinued in Salt Lake Valley December 31, 1907. However, before the closing down of the three going copper smelters in Salt Lake Valley, preparation for their replacement had been made by new and more modern plants, the Garfield Smelter of the American Smelting and Refining Company erected near the south shores of Great Salt Lake and the Tooele plant of the International Smelting and Refining Company erected at the mouth of Pine Canyon overlooking Tooele Valley. The Garfield Smelter started operations in 1906, principally for the reduction of Utah Copper Concentrates but also custom ores. The Tooele Smelter got into operation in 1911, principally for the reduction of Highland Boy ores but also custom ores, and was equipped for the smelting of both copper sulfides and lead-silver ores." (Thomas Parry Billings, "History of the Bingham Mining District", written c.1952)

(Organizational history written by Mark Jensen.)