Gibson Mine and Bellevue Ghost Town, Pinal Mountain Mining District, Gila County, AZ
Early Mining History and Founding of Bellevue
The Gibson mine dates back to the early 1900s, when mining operations began on the Summit Vein in 1904. Sam Gibson and Tim Henderson sunk a shaft to a very slight depth, opening up a large body of high-grade chalcopyrite. Shipments of ore began soon after, along with further development, and the Gibson Copper Company was established. An incline shaft 200 feet, which intersected even larger bodies of ore. By 1907, the Gibson Copper Company had sunk the initial shaft on the Summit Vein to 400 feet. It included 1000 feet of workings that intersected other large bodies of ore. At this point, the mine employed over 270 people and was generating substantial profits.
A small town had formed around the mining camp, which included a post office, boarding house, and stagecoach with daily trips to Globe. This town became known as Bellevue and hosted around 350 residents during this peak in activity. For the year 1907, the mine’s recorded production was 3,340,770 pounds of fine copper. The operation focused on producing only high-grade copper due to high transportation costs; any material with less than 10% copper was left in place or backfilled into the stopes. 1907 was truly the peak of the Gibson mining boom.
Bad Investments
Like all mining booms, though, it was short-lived. Rather than investing in processing and milling equipment for the lower-grade ore, the owners squandered their profits on large, lavish on-site buildings. They also made poor investments in other mining properties. By 1912, the boom had ended with only 20 men employed at the mine. However, total production from those boom years was impressive. From 1906 to 1912, Gibson produced 7 million pounds of copper and 2,000 ounces of silver, totaling a current market value (as of 2024) of approximately $28 million. Smaller operations continued, though, and the Gibson mine began to see an uptick in mining activity due to war demand.
Second Boom and Eventual Bust
By 1913, the Gibson Copper Company had suspended operations but continued to lease its claims, charging a 30% royalty fee. Several independent leases continued to exercise options at the mine, and from 1912 to 1920, ore shipments out of the Gibson mine continued, spurred by high copper prices resulting from military demands. In July 1915, reports stated that 81 men were leasing on the Gibson, and 100 people currently lived in the town of Bellevue. Lessees were shipping about 350 to 400 tons of 20% copper from the mine per month. In 1916, the Robertson brothers mined 15 tons of 46.69% copper, which some claim is the highest-grade copper ever mined in Arizona. In 1917, the United States fixed the copper price at $0.235 per pound. The fixed copper price began to spur a second boom at the Gibson mine.
Mining men began investing in the Gibson again. In 1919, a dam was built on nearby Pinto Creek to impound 6,000,000 gallons of water for the newly built contractor flotation mill. However, with the signing of the armistice, officially ending WWI, the demand for copper fell, and mining activity at the Gibson mine began to decline. By the beginning of the Great Depression, underground operations had ceased entirely, the mine had closed, and the operators had abandoned the site. Isolated and without any other local industries, residents left and abandoned Bellevue. Some small-scale hand-sorting of mine dumps and milling occurred from 1937 to 1953; however, like many copper mines, new mine operators would soon come to rework the Gibson mine with new extraction technologies.
Post 1950s Leaching Operations and Fallout
Beginning in the 1960s and lasting until the 1990s, small-scale leaching operations were conducted at the mine by various lessees and sub-lessors. These leaching operations included heap leaching and in-situ leaching through underground mine workings. However, the mine’s operators conducted haphazard leaching. They failed to obtain the necessary environmental permits or follow proper guidelines, resulting in numerous ecological problems. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) initially noticed the issue after a large storm in the 1990s brought down turquoise liquid onto a neighbor’s property. The ADEQ investigated the mine site and found that the previous operators of the in-situ leach operations had abandoned the mine entirely, leaving a heap of industrial waste strewn across the property.
Furthermore, the property had become a significant liability with unmarked shafts and adits dotting the site. To further complicate matters, the previous operators responsible for the mess were small-time mining operators that had either dissolved or were on the brink of bankruptcy. However, the Gibson is a patented mining property. Therefore, ADEQ had the authority to make the property owners responsible for the cleanup. The only issue was that ADEQ found only partial ownership, which the Friars held.
The Cleanup
Those unfamiliar with the Friars must understand that they are a religious order dedicated to helping people experiencing poverty, and the Friars themselves also take a vow of poverty. The organization had acquired the property as part of a well-intentioned donation from the previous owner. This well-intentioned donation had now become an enormous liability for the organization, whose only source of income was through donations. However, the Friars decided to tackle the problem head-on and work with ADEQ to clean up the property. Doing what they do best, the Friars fundraised for the project. They partnered with environmental organizations to propose a cleanup action. With help from contractors, grantors, and mining companies, ADEQ implemented a $5 million cleanup.
Beginning in 2006, the Gibson mine has undergone reclamation work, including the removal of leaching equipment and leached tailings, which BHP interestingly transported to the Pinto Valley Mine for copper recovery. ADEQ has completed most of the cleanup, and as of 2022, the most recent work has been to restore the mine area to its pre-mining condition.
Post Cleanup and Remains
Multiple visits over the past couple of years have allowed me to thoroughly explore this large site. Unfortunately, due to the cleanup, not many structures remain from the original pre-1960s operations, except for the remains of a mill. There is a large, neglected metal barn on the site that appears to be from the post-1960 period. The barn is mostly empty, except for some leftover supplies from the cleanup.
Ore Sample and Chalcanthite Adits
There is also not much in terms of underground workings, since most of the tunnels either collapsed or filled in by previous operators and ADEQ. However, two interesting adits do remain. One is a small, short, hidden tunnel containing boxes and boxes of ore samples. The other, located on the outskirts of the site, is a longer tunnel containing bright blue Chalcanthite along with disused glass jugs.
The Gibson mine is definitely one of the top ten mines I’ve explored. While only a small portion of the original operations remains, the mining landscape is still vast, unique, and features interesting hidden areas. In addition to all of this, it has a unique history of successful reclamation.
