Toughnut / Good Enough Mine - Cochise County

 

Where: Near Tombstone, Arizona  One block south of Allen st. at Toughnut and 5th st.

 

Travel Conditions: Travel to this location is a paved road with no vehilce restrictions 

 

Operation Dates:  1877 to late 1930's

 

Description:  Discovered by A. E. "Ed" Sheiffelin in 1877.

 

Ed Schieffelin discovered silver chlorides and lead carbonates in a quartz vein in the southwestern part of what became the Tombstone mining district in the late summer of 1877. On the third of September, 1877, he recorded his "Tombstone Mine" and "Graveyard" claims in Tucson, County of Pima, Arizona Territory (Devere, 1960). After recording his claims, it took Schieffelin almost a year before he could raise sufficient money and convince his brother Al, and Richard Gird, a mining engineer, to join him in developing his discovery. The vein proved to be small and poorly mineralized, so while the disgruntled Al Schieffelin and Richard Gird attempted to mine, the ever-optimistic Ed Schieffelin prospected further to the north and east, and in two successive days, discovered the large, rich lodes of the Lucky Cuss and Toughnut silver deposits (Butler and others, 1938).

 

With the discovery of the Lucky Cuss and Toughnut lodes, the Tombstone silver boom was born. In rapid succession, the lodes of the Goodenough, Grand Central, Contention, Vizna, Empire and Tranquility mines were discovered. A town, named after Schieffelin's original claim, the Tombstone (fig. 1), was established and mills were built on the San Pedro River at what became the towns of Charleston, Contention and Fairbank. The "Arizona Weekly Star" of November 2, 1879, reported that Tombstones' petition for incorporation had been granted by the Pima County Board of Supervisors. The town boasted a population of 1000-1500, while Charleston, a mill town on the San Pedro River claimed 600-800 inhabitants (Devere, 1960).

 

The silver-lead ores were high grade, near surface and easily extractable. The only problem was the lack of local water for milling; therefore mills were built along the San Pedro River and ore was transported the 9 mi at a cost of $3.50 per ton (Blake, 1882). That problem was solved in 1881 when water was encountered at a depth of 520 ft in the Sulphuret mine.  With water, the future for mining seemed bright, but the water that was thought to be the mines' savior, turned into their executioner. In 1886, the pumps at the Grand Central mine burned, leaving only the Contention mine pumps to handle the water. Those pumps were inadequate, forcing the suspension of all mining below the water table. From 1886-1901, mining was at a low ebb, being carried on largely by lessees.

 

In 1901, the Grand Central Company, the Tombstone Mill and Mining Company and the Contention Company were joined to form the Tombstone Consolidated Mines Company. With the joining of the three companies, the majority of the larger mines in the district were consolidated and the decision was made to once again pump the water and develop the deeper ores. The company sunk the four compartment Boom shaft, constructed a new 125 ton per day cyanide mill and reconditioned the old levels in the Grand Central, Contention, Empire, Lucky Cuss, Silver Thread, Toughnut and West Side mines. By 1906, the Boom shaft had reached the 1000-ft level and water was being pumped at the rate of 3000 gpm (fig. 2).

 

The deeper ores were only partially oxidized, so in the same year the cyanide mill was converted and expanded. Using stamps, slime cones, Wilfley tables and cyanide tanks, the mill operated at a capacity of 225 tons per day (Butler and others, 1938). Independent mines reopened and mining at Tombstone regained some of its old vigor. Silver was selling for 67 cents per ounce, lead at 5.6 cents per pound and gold at the fixed price of $20.67 per ounce.

 

In June 1909 water again dealt Tombstone mining a serious blow. Due to defective fuel for the boilers, the steam pumps on the 1000-ft level (fig. 3) of the Boom shaft seized and stopped. Eight large steam sinking-pumps were installed, but they were incapable of handling the water and it rose to the 900-ft level. As the water rose the overtaxed boilers ruptured almost simultaneously, stopping all pumping. In 1910, a 4,000 cubic-foot compressor was installed and the sinking pumps were run by air. With the air pumps and the installation of new boilers, the submerged pumps were finally recovered and development on the 1,000-ft level was resumed by the end of the year (Butler and others, 1938).

 

The cost of defeating the water, pumping 3,500 gpm, the decreasing silver price and the lack of sufficiently large, highgrade orebodies at depth, finally took their toll. On January 11, 1911, pumping stopped and the pumps on the 600, 700, 800 and 1,000-ft levels of the Boom shaft were allowed to flood (Butler and others, 1938). With the flooding of the

lower levels, mining by the Tombstone Consolidated Mines Company ceased, though lessees continued to work the dumps and search for ore above the water table.

 

In 1914, Phelps Dodge Corporation, one of the principal creditors of Tombstone Consolidated Mines Company, acquired all the company's holdings and started mining under the name of Bunker Hill Mines Company. That company made no attempt to recover the lost pumps or reopen the lower workings. Rather, they concentrated on mining the shallower, lower grade manganese-silver ores in the southern and western part of the district. They mined until 1918, when they turned their operations over to lessees.

 

In 1933, the properties of Bunker Hill Mines Company were taken over by the Tombstone Development Company, which attempted to operate the mines via lessees; their operations continued sporadically into the late 1930's.

 

The Tombstone Extension, a lead-carbonate vein mine located in the eastern part of the district, opened in 1930.  During 1932-33, the mine was the largest lead producer in Arizona (Asarco files). That mine was turned over to lessees in the mid-1930's and closed in the late 1930's.

 

Since the Second World War, the Anaconda Company and Newmont Mining Corporation have both examined the district in some detail; however, neither company was successful in discovering sufficient ore to justify reopening the mines. Two mining operations are being conducted in the district at present. The Escapule Brothers, Charles and Louis, are leaching the dumps from the State of Maine mine and plan to commence mining and leaching of low-grade underground ores in the near future. The other operation is that of Sierra Minerals, which has during the last few years, been reworking the old mine dumps and recovering silver and gold via a cyanide leach process. The large dump east of Tombstone is the site of their current operation.  (New Mexico Geology Society)

 

Production was from the Goodenough claim and came through either the Toughnut or Empire shafts. 1879-1883 production was recorded under the Toughnut workings. The Goodenough claim includes workings between the Empire and Toughnut shafts. Described under the Empire Mine recored in 1884, production began from the Goodenough claim. (minedat.org)

 

What you will see today:  During our visit on December 29, 2015 there were flurries in the air as we waited for the Good Enough mine tour to begin.  The mine tour office is one block south of the main street on 5th street.  There is an option of three tours at the location which consisted of the tame 1 hour tour, the 3 hour intermediate tour, and the 7 hour difficult tour.  Please visit the Good Enough Mine Tour page for more details and if you are interested in the intermediate or difficult tour you must be in excellent shape.

 

There are old mining artifacts located around the tour area to look at from old rock drills, ore cars, and winches.  Each of the three tours exposes the explorer to different aspects of the mining activity in these old mines.  I look forward to the other tours available at the Good Enough Mine. The team at the mine will definitely give the experience of the miner over the years and the history of the mine.  The mining is a labyrinth of tunnels that connect together underground.

 

This mining tour is well worth the time and money if you have an interest in old mining and want to experience what it was like to be a miner in the late 1800's to early 1900's.  The team at the Good Enough Mine will provide a firsthand experience with the historical background of the mines in Tombstone. The link to the Good Enough Mine Tour web site is:  http://www.goodenoughmine.com/

 

Minerals Mined: Primary minerals mined were silver.

 

Acknowledgement: New Mexico Geology Society