Buckeye Copper Mine, AZ

Buckeye Copper Mine was reported, in 1961, to have been quarried to provide ornamental stone for a “new shopping center on Bethany [Home] Road”. I bet that is the Chris-Town Mall. By 1971, a three-foot quartz vein in schist, yielding 2-3% copper with visible gold, had been discovered. Two years later, Buckeye had two inclined shafts, one of 60 ft. and the other “several hundred feet deep”. Overall, Buckeye Copper Mine consisted of 62 adjacent unpatented claims.

In the "ghost town", there are 14 buildings. (On the route, all buildings are numbered.) All the buildings have concrete floors, some segmented and finished. Most had collapsed cinder block walls. There was no evidence of broken window glass. Two buildings (#6 and #10) had pipes for plumbing. One building (#6), on the saddle next to the jeep trail in, had a porch, and stunning views north, across the valley, towards what is now the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. Only one building (#12) still had standing walls, in this case of 4" thick concrete, and a 6" internal wall. On one side was a tin roof and wooden walls, leading me to think it make have been the explosives locker. Building #13 was obviously the mill. As far as mining camps go, Buckeye Copper Mine was once the lap of luxury.

I found one adit and one shaft, both unfortunately gated. (Covered with an immovable steel grate.) You can smell the adit before you see it, as it is filled with bats. (And bat guano.) Another shaft, on the southwest slope of the small ridge, appears to have collapsed, or been filled in. There are two more possible shafts / adits on a small hill just east of buildings 7-9 on the ridge's southeast slope.

If you have some extra time or energy, you can hike up to Hargan Mine from the Bat Cave.

Check out the Official Route and Triplogs.

Leave No Trace and +Add a Triplog after your hike to support this local community.

2017-03-28 kingsnake