Mining Global Inc (MNGG)

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The truth about The Congress Mine


http://tucson.com/news/local/mine-tales-congress-mine-was-golden-goose/article_ae6ead81-a645-50eb-9521-145184418477.html

What would become one of the most prosperous mining camps at the turn of the century was ?founded in southwestern Yavapai County by Dennis May on March 25, 1884, and several years later developed by the wealthy Mississippi steamboat operator Diamond Joe Reynolds.

The Congress Mine produced more than $8 million in gold during the first decade of the 20th century and more than 396,300 ounces ?between 1887 and 1959.

Despite the initial discovery of gold in quartz veins in 1870 around the future Congress Mine site, production was limited because the ore was not free milling — meaning able to be treated by crushing and amalgamation.

In 1895, a cyanide plant was built to process the ore from the mine and the previously mined tailings.

The cyanide process, established in South Africa, involved removing gold and silver from host rock by dissolving them in a dilute solution of cyanide, precipitating them with zinc, then vaporizing the zinc, leaving behind the gold and silver.

The process was perfected by Scottish chemists John S. MacArthur, Robert W. Forrest and William Forrest in 1887.

In 1894, E.B. Gage, Frank Murphy and N.K. and Wallace Fairbank bought the Congress Mine. Murphy was a businessman and key promoter in the railroad industry, having developed the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railroad and the Prescott and Eastern Railroad.

Created in 1899, the Congress Consolidated Railroad transported ore from the Congress Mine to the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railroad at Congress Junction.

Murphy also established the Development Company of America, a single corporate entity formed by the merger of mines, railroads and refining companies.

The DCA would reinvest its profits in the acquisition of mining property in Arizona, including Congress, Tombstone and mines in the Bradshaw and Silverbell mountains.

Congress was divided into two sections — Mill Town and Lower Town. Mill Town included the mill, company offices, hospital and residences. The commercial district had restaurants, saloons, several churches and a school. The town also had an electric light plant.

One challenges Congress had was limited water sources, which led to several destructive fires in 1898 and 1900. Water was acquired eight miles away at Date Creek or from a spigot at the company store in Mill Town.

On May 7, 1901, President William McKinley — known for his strong support of the gold standard — visited the Congress Mine.

During its heyday, 450 men worked for the Congress Gold Mining Company, later reorganized by the same owners as the Congress Consolidated Mines Company, Ltd.

The company sank many shafts, including one more than 4,000 feet deep, which at that time was deeper than any other mine in the Southwest.

Production continued until 1910, but then began to decline due to a reduction in the market value of gold and the bankruptcy of Frank Murphy and E.B. Gage due to overspeculation.

The mine continued to decline, although several different lessees and investors later attempted to recover gold from the mine’s tailings.

The post office that had operated since Jan. 19, 1889, closed on Aug. 31, 1938. Congress Junction, a station along the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railroad three miles southeast of the Congress Mine, assumed the place of prominence in the area.

Congress Junction was later renamed Congress, and the Congress Mine has yet to regain its former glory.