I would like to know if anyone knows how copper was mine and process in the late 1800s. I have try ed the local library and the Internet this would help me with my old west desert layout . thanks
The Copper Queen mine in Bisbee, Arizona was begun in the late 1800s as an underground shaft mine, but most were large, open pit operations, just like today.
To model a copper mine would require a huge layout for the pit alone. The Lavender Pit in Bisbee, Arizona, which is no longer in production, is nearly a mile deep and several miles in diameter. And then you need room for humongous tailing piles for the dirt that is dug out of the ground to get to the copper ore, a smelter to process the ore, etc.
If you would like to see a modern day copper mine, go to Google Maps satellite view and look at the Ray Mine in Arizona.
Here are some still photos of the Ray mine: http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/334raymine.html
Two books come to mind that would be of interest to you. Perhaps your library can get them on inter-library loan. I believe that both are out of print now, but I have seen recent ads for the Myrick volume (at $150 asking price).
Rails to Carry Copper: A History of the Magma Arizona Railroad by Gordon Chappell. Pruett Publishing Co., 1973
Railroads of Arizona Vol. II by David F. Myrick. Howell-North Books, 1980
Multiple historical photos are found in each of these volumes. Good luck with your search.
Bill
The Nevada Northern was a copper mining railroad that now operates as a tourist line. A companion website offers historical information on the railroad and some on the mining operations.
It depends on the part of the country what type of mining occurs. Northern Michigan has huge deposits in the UP and most are shaft mines. Today it is nearly shut down if not completely as open pit mining is much cheaper to extract the ore (and safer). Refining is basically the same as any other ore. Crush, melt and extract the metal although some copper is done electroytically rather then heat.
thank for the info
Bill
The October 2005 issue of Railroad model craftsman has an article titled. From out of the past: The Isle Royale Copper Company Railroad complete with layout plan, loco roster, building photos and a history of copper mining. It still shows as being in stock on their website
I have a 1971 edition of a book that was published in 1935, The War Of The Copper Kings. By C. B. Glasscock. It is a history of the copper mining in Butte Montana. It gives a really good insight into the industry. There is a lot of info in some of these old books., if you can find them. I got this book at a swap-meet. For me, anyway, research is one of the best parts of this hobby. Anything you want to know is out there. Have fun looking!
Copper mining has been around for a long time, and the process was established centuries ago. The ore must be extracted, ideally with very little overburden and oxidation, and the ore must be crushed. So, you would have a stockpile of some kind and then conveyors or mules/horses with wagons taking loads of raw ore to a crushing facility. The ore had to be crushed sufficiently that its surface area per particle allowed the maximum recovery of elements in it, and often not just copper. Molybdenum might be there, or lead and zinc. Same for bismuth and cadmium. Depending on the market for those things, they would either be extracted or left to go out into the tailings as waste. The tailings would be held behind and earthen dam or discharged directly onto the ground at a convenient place, or let into a stream or river nearby. Not now, but back then…
You would also need a flotation circuit of some kind where both xanthates and flocculents would be used to separate fines and heavy stuff, and to bubble the copper out into receiver troughs where it would be collected to be dried into a concentrate. So, not only would you need a crusher, but you’d also want a grinding circuit. This could be one or two small ball mills, maybe a rod mill and a couple of balls taking the rod mill discharge and grinding it a second and third time until the ore was fine enough to float in the flotation circuit. Much of the mechanicals would be steam operated or via a horse on a treadmill providing belt power. The latter would be a very tiny and marginal operation, though, processing maybe five or six tons of ore a day. Steam would permit 10 times that capacity and on up.
Crandell
Here’s a pic of an old Copper mine just North of Vancouver. They mined right out of the Mountain and the PGE rail line ran right by it.
Today it is a museum and you can go down the old shafts on a little mine train and also see how the whole operation worked.
You might find some info on the history of the mine here.
http://www.bcmuseumofmining.org/
Brent
Just spent a little time with Google, searching “Magma Arizona Railroad”, which was a copper hauler. I found a photo of the smelter and also found a couple folks selling that Gordon Chappel book about the Magma Arizona for $38.30 or so, which is a good price for an out-of-print hardbound rr book if it is a topic of interest.
Another thought is to search out the names of the COUNTIES in Arizona where these railroads ran or where copper mining occurred. Usually, historical societies are named by the county that they serve, so then you could run a search for those historical societies. Many of them have photo archives on line.
Again, Good luck. Bill
The Nevada Northern had many shaft mines along it’s route, and I think only one open pit, which could easily be modeled on a backdrop. Here is a map of the mine district.
http://history.nevadanorthernrailway.net/trackplans/1910mines.gif
Hope this helps[swg]
sfb
If you research Kennecott Copper Mine (originally Bingham Canyon Mine) in Utah you can find a wealth of information. It’s one of the worlds largest open pit mines that has been in production since 1903. Old enough to give you an idea of how copper was mined and processed for the time period you ask for, as well as give you the proper local for the ‘ol west’ theme, kinda.
Biggest copper mining area in the United States at that time was the Upper peninsula of Michigan. Check out copper harbor, mi.
thanks