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History of Mining on War Eagle Mountain
War Eagle Mountain is one of three peaks in Southwest Idaho that form a contiguous fault trend, and which have all produced minerals from the same veins: Delamar Mountain, Florida Mountain, and War Eagle Mountain.
In the summer of 1862, the Oro Fino Vein on top of War Eagle Mountain was discovered. During 1863 a number of lode claims were located and mining in earnest began. By the end of 1875 a total of ten shafts had been sunk in the Oro Fino Vein ranging in depth from 300 feet to 1,250 feet. The Oro Fino Shaft at the North end is 300 feet deep and the Mahogany Shaft at the South end is 1,100 feet deep. The Golden Chariot and Ida Elmore shafts are 1,250 feet and 1,000 feet respectively.
By 1866, all the major mines in the area had been discovered and were being developed. The major mines were the Oro Fino, Cumberland, Poorman, Ida Elmore, Golden Chariot, Minnesota, Mahogany and the Morning Star in Silver City. There were 12 mills in the area with a total of 132 stamps to pulverize the ore, separate the metal from the rock and pour the raw metal into rectangular bricks of bullion dore. This bullion was then shipped out of the area, sometimes as far away as Europe, for refining into pure gold and silver. By the end of 1875, approximately 750,000 ounces of gold equivalent were reportedly extracted from the shafts on War Eagle Mountain.
In August 1875, a financial panic that had started in New York in 1873, culminated with the San Francisco bank crash, and then the closure of the San Francisco Stock Exchange. A nationwide depression occurred, which resulted in source of working capital for the mines drying up. The miners continued to work without pay until October 1875, when they left the mountain for employment elsewhere. During the winter of 1875-1876, because the mines were not being used, the shafts filled with water. This condition has existed for the past 134 years, which has resulted in the preservation of these historical vein systems without being disturbed by intruders or miners.
From 1875 through 1899, mining men who had managed and worked in the underground mines and milling operations tried to promote a project that would allow them to recover the remaining submerged gold and silver reserves they knew existed. Finally, in November 1899, American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) funded the Sinker Tunnel Project. The project objective was to drive a 10 x 10 tunnel from Sinker Creek on the North-East side of War Eagle Mountain, at an elevation of 5200 feet, approximately 2,000 feet below the bottom of the Golden Chariot Shaft. This tunnel was named the Sinker Tunnel, and its intended use was to drain water out of War Eagle Mountain and to haul ore mined from the veins to the surface for milling. The cost of the project was about $250,000 (or the equivalent of $25,000,000 today).
It was anticipated that the Sinker Tunnel would intersect the Oro Fino Vein at about 7,000 feet from the tunnel portal. The Oro Fino Vein was actually intersected at 6,890 feet in May 1902. After the Sinker Tunnel was extended north about 80 feet, a raise was started upwards toward the bottom of the Golden Chariot Shaft. When this raise reached 620 feet in height it was only 150 feet below the bottom of the Golden Chariot Shaft, which contained about 1,100 feet of water. At this point the amount of water permeating down into the raise was increasing every day, which caused the miners to become anxious about their safety, and raised concerns as to how ASARCO would punch the final hole into the bottom of the Golden Chariot shaft. The miners raised concerns with the Idaho Inspector of Mines about the working conditions, which resulted in the Idaho Inspector of Mines stopping any further work in the area until safety measures were implemented. At that time, ASARCO elected to close the project down, and return later if conditions changed, which never happened.
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During 1932 and 1933, some additional exploration tunnels were driven to the north and to the south from the raise. In 1941, salvagers opened the Sinker Tunnel and removed all the steel rail and pipe scrap for the war effort. Shortly thereafter, a landslide completely buried the entrance to the tunnel under 50 feet or more of earth and rock, and the Sinker Tunnel complex was forgotten.
In 1993, Mineral Extraction, Inc., the current owner at the time, rediscovered the location of the tunnel and over several years attempted to refurbish the Sinker Tunnel complex, with the exception of the raise, nearest the bottom of the Golden Chariot shaft. The entrance was excavated, and a semi permanent structure was built to protect the site. In 2010, the roads to the Sinker Tunnel Complex were upgraded to allow 25-ton trucks access to the site, and an area 300x400 feet was prepared to act as a staging area at the 5,200 foot level. The tunnel was aerated in its entire length and the entrance to the tunnel was permanently extended to avoid land or snow slides to block access to the tunnel. Permanent drainage pipes are being laid in the tunnel as it was determined that the Tunnel is the main drain for the War Eagle complex. Mining and shoring or rock bolting of some weak points in the top wall is underway. Permitting for exploration of the tunnel is underway with training for underground personnel and safety measures being installed as per the latest mining rules and regulations. The company is also a member, in good standing, of the Idaho mining rescue system.
The mines on War Eagle Mountain were very productive in the first few years because the surface deposits were of extraordinary richness. As the mines got deeper the veins had a smaller yet more consistent amount of ore in relation to the amount of rock that needed to be removed to expose it. Generally, the value of ore per ton of rock removed remained consistent from a depth of 150 feet to as deep as any of the mines were worked. This would indicate that the extensions of the veins into the deeper levels, not yet reached by the mine shafts, would contain the same percentage of metal ore.
The mines became more expensive to develop and operate as they got deeper. This was not due to a decline in the yield per ton, but due to the increased cost of lifting the mineral ore and of removing water from deeper shafts. The removal of ground water in mines is a persistent expense that must be addressed on a daily basis. When a mine doesn't have a lower working level tunnel – like the Sinker Tunnel Complex – that intersects a vertical shaft, the water must be brought to the surface and disposed of no matter what the expense or technical inconvenience if the mine is to continue operating. This increased cost of mining at depth was one of the most significant problems for the mines on War Eagle Mountain.
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