Tonopah-Belmont Mine, Osborn Mining District, Maricopa County, AZ
The Tonopah Belmont mine is a large abandoned underground mine with a rather intriguing mining and post-mining history, including claims of being haunted due to the rumored deaths of two mineral collectors. While the mine sits neglected and abandoned today, it was once the largest producer of the Osborn Mining District, employing around 50 individuals during its “boom.”
Discovery and Early Mining History
The mine was first located in 1907 by Mr. George Dillard and his partners, Dan McNeil and Charles Wilcot, who were prospecting the area. These men held the claims under the Belmont-McNeal mine. They completed yearly assessment work until selling the property in 1926 to the notable Tonopah-Belmont Development Company (TBDC) from Nevada.
After acquiring the claims, TBDC began developing the mine, calling it the Tonopah Belmont Mine after the company’s name. They sunk a 500-foot shaft, and from 1926 to 1930, the mine “boomed.” During these years, the mine produced 700,000 pounds of copper, 6,000,000 pounds of lead, and small quantities of silver and gold. Around 50 people were reportedly employed at one point during the boom. The success of the Tonopah Belmont mine during this period also spurred growth in the nearby homesteading community, which would later become known as Tonopah. However, by 1930, depressed copper prices had caused TBDC to end operations and close the mine. This closure lasted only until 1940, when war demand for metals spurred the reopening of the mine.
Small-Time Operations and the Eventual Bust
Now operated by Pierce Perry, the Tonopah Belmont Mine shipped out 2,724 pounds of ore from 1940 to 1941. From then on, multiple small-time lessors took short-term leases on the claims and did little to further develop the mine. Instead, these lessors chose to mine out the rich pillars left behind from the TBDC’s original operations. Also known as “pillar robbing,” this mining type created unsafe underground conditions and damaged the main shaft. In 1961 though, Milca Mining Co. repaired the main shaft. However, mine production had, for the most part, concluded. The only work that continued was exploration, drilling, and sampling.
In 1988, Lakeshore Minerals conducted surface drilling and considered the possibility of open-pitting the mine, but decided against it, and by 1990, the mine “busted.” However, rather than fading into the desert to be forgotten, like many other abandoned mines, the Tonopah Belmont Mine became a focus for the “Abandoned Mine Safety Fund.”
Post-Mining History
In 1994, the Arizona State Mine Inspector’s Office (ASMI) completed a catalog of abandoned mines in Arizona. To reduce “potential claims by people injured in abandoned mine openings,” ASMI proposed an Abandoned Mine Safety Fund to remediate and close the mines for public safety. One of the mines identified was the Tonopah Belmont Mine.
In 1999, ASMI proposed a project to remediate and close the Tonopah-Belmont Mine. The exact reason that ASMI chose the Tonopah-Belmont mine for this project is unknown to me. There are rumors that a mineral collector fell to his death within the mine in 1990. While I am unsure about the validity of the claim, the Tonopah Belmont mine did become a popular mineral collecting spot after its closure due to a plethora of rare micro-mount minerals, including Rongibbiste, Herbertsmithite, and Shannonite, which is a unique mineral that formed from a fire that occurred within the mine at the main winze. This main winze was also easily accessible by a haulage tunnel and had a depth of 450 feet. Alongside this, the Tonopah Belmont featured a few other open shafts, all of which were easily accessible from the main interstate and located on public BLM land. These various factors were likely the reason why ASMI chose to focus on the closure of this mine.
Mine Closure and Legacy
The Tonopah Belmont mine closure was no small affair. The project began in 1999 with a bat study by a renowned UCLA biologist. When the mine was first identified in 1994, ASMI found a 2′ by 2′ wooden stick with a duct-taped handle in the main haulage tunnel. Written on the stick was “Bat Stick for Killing Bats.” At the end of her study, the UCLA biologist identified four different species of bats living within the Tonopah-Belmont mine.
With the bat study complete, ASMI contracted Primatech to oversee the closure project. Primatech gated all the adits, deep shafts, and open stops. They also removed trash and filled in some of the smaller shafts. To educate the youth about the dangers of abandoned mines, ASMI invited a 5th-grade class from Mesa’s Hawthorn Elementary School to participate and help with the closure (see attached black and white photos). In total, the project cost just under $32,000. However, the project was not all too successful.
There are rumors that in 2002, another collector fell to his death in the same deadly winze after prying the main adit steel gates open. A more enormous metal gate supposedly replaced that one, but when I visited the Tonopah-Belmont mine a few years ago, that same gate had been cut open, allowing me to explore the haulage tunnel and the legendary, infamous winze.
The Tonopah-Belmont mine is a unique and interesting site. The surrounding ruins, including mill foundations and a small rock office, are interesting sights to see. If you dare to explore the underground section, it doesn’t live up to all it’s made out to be. Nonetheless, the recent legends of death within the mine and unique collectible minerals make it popular for rockhounds and abandoned mine explorers.
