Lions Den Mine, Aguila Mining District, Maricopa County, Arizona
Located within a small valley within the Big Horn Mountains is the Lion’s Den Mine, an abandoned Arizona Manganese mine. The mine appears to take its name from the small natural cave within the mine area reminiscent of a Lion’s Den. I found very little information about the Lion’s Den Mine, but it appears to have been staked in 1952 by A Powell & H. Richardson.
It seems most workings at the mine were open cuts, although a short adit was present. Not much remains of the operation except for many rusted cans and glass bottles. In fact, a significant amount of intact glass wine bottles remain at the site. It seems that a former worker or owner really liked their wine. Also present were some broken “Nihi” bottles that date back to the mid-1900s.
