Bauer

[Mike369]

Next time I head out by stockton I am going to stop and take a look at the tunnel. It sounds and looks like it is caved in for part of the way but I am interested to see if you can see up the tunnel at all. If the tunnel drained the mines up there then it is at least a mile long just from what I can see on google.

[Derek]

Mike369,

You can't see into the tunnel at all. The water comes in under the cement manhole then flows over a spillway into the pipe. The tunnel connects all of the major mines in Stockton at the 1200' level of most of the mines.

[rhartill]

Between 1901 and 1906 the Honarine Mining Company bought up many of the mines and drove a lengthy tunnel at a depth of about 1200 ft to dewater the active operations. In 1910 the Bullion Coalition Company was formed and bought out the Honarine Mining Company and most of
the remaining small mining operations in the area and built a gravity concentrating mill at the portal of Honarine drain tunnel. This facility, located just northwest of Stockton, came to called Bauer, and became the location of a very successful milling and processing operation. After the facility was taken over by the Combined Metals Reduction Company, it led the nation in advancements in the milling and processing of lead-silver ores. The processes of fine grinding and selective flotation soon became the standard procedures for the industry.

The Honarine drain tunnel produced large quantities of water throughout the first part of the century. The flow was estimated at times to be close to 10,000 gpm. Some of the water was necessary to run the mill, but the rest was diverted for other uses. In 1910 the mine managers of the Bullion Coalition Company decided to use the excess water for agricultural purposes. This resulted in a unique combination of mining and fruit raising that provides an interesting side note to the mining history of the region. The mining company began a ranch with an extensive orchard, alfalfa fields, potatoes and wheat. The orchard grew to be one of the largest in the state, covering more than 175 acres with apricots, peaches and apples.
Apples were the dominant crop raised, with apple trees numbering more than 19,000 at the time of peak production. Water from the drain tunnel was used to irrigate the orchard and crops, and was said to be ideal for farming purposes because it contained some trace elements that appeared to be advantageous for the trees. A large underground storage and sorting cellar was constructed, and the company shipped carloads
of fruit throughout the western United States. The orchard produced significant quantities of fruit during the period 1910-1938, with production ending in 1938 when pumping operations in the Bluestone Mine were stopped and the flow of water decreased.

The Great Basin claim, which later became the property of the Honerine, also known as the National, was included in the group of 77 patented mining
claims and fractions transferred to the Bullion Coalition Mines Co. in 1910. In 1924 it was taken over, with additional claims, including the New Stockton (formerly the Ben Harrison) by the Combined Metals Reduction Co. At the time of this survey (USGS PP173) in 1926 and 1927 part of this property was being operated by the company and part by lessees. The property is opened by an adit 13,000 feet long. The total output of the Honerine and its predecessors is reported to have been 80,000 tons of ore valued at $1,250,000 to the end of 1889. At that time there were 11,500 feet of openings, and the greatest depth was 660 feet.

[acidman1968]

Between 1901 and 1906 the Honarine Mining Company bought up many of the mines and drove a lengthy tunnel at a depth of about 1200 ft to dewater the active operations. In 1910 the Bullion Coalition Company was formed and bought out the Honarine Mining Company and most of
the remaining small mining operations in the area and built a gravity concentrating mill at the portal of Honarine drain tunnel. This facility, located just northwest of Stockton, came to called Bauer, and became the location of a very successful milling and processing operation. After the facility was taken over by the Combined Metals Reduction Company, it led the nation in advancements in the milling and processing of lead-silver ores. The processes of fine grinding and selective flotation soon became the standard procedures for the industry.

The Honarine drain tunnel produced large quantities of water throughout the first part of the century. The flow was estimated at times to be close to 10,000 gpm. Some of the water was necessary to run the mill, but the rest was diverted for other uses. In 1910 the mine managers of the Bullion Coalition Company decided to use the excess water for agricultural purposes. This resulted in a unique combination of mining and fruit raising that provides an interesting side note to the mining history of the region. The mining company began a ranch with an extensive orchard, alfalfa fields, potatoes and wheat. The orchard grew to be one of the largest in the state, covering more than 175 acres with apricots, peaches and apples.
Apples were the dominant crop raised, with apple trees numbering more than 19,000 at the time of peak production. Water from the drain tunnel was used to irrigate the orchard and crops, and was said to be ideal for farming purposes because it contained some trace elements that appeared to be advantageous for the trees. A large underground storage and sorting cellar was constructed, and the company shipped carloads
of fruit throughout the western United States. The orchard produced significant quantities of fruit during the period 1910-1938, with production ending in 1938 when pumping operations in the Bluestone Mine were stopped and the flow of water decreased.

The Great Basin claim, which later became the property of the Honerine, also known as the National, was included in the group of 77 patented mining
claims and fractions transferred to the Bullion Coalition Mines Co. in 1910. In 1924 it was taken over, with additional claims, including the New Stockton (formerly the Ben Harrison) by the Combined Metals Reduction Co. At the time of this survey (USGS PP173) in 1926 and 1927 part of this property was being operated by the company and part by lessees. The property is opened by an adit 13,000 feet long. The total output of the Honerine and its predecessors is reported to have been 80,000 tons of ore valued at $1,250,000 to the end of 1889. At that time there were 11,500 feet of openings, and the greatest depth was 660 feet.

Let me guess... You've got a copy of "Mining, Smelting, and Railroading in Tooele County".

It's a good book with a lot of information about the mines in the Stockton area.

[acidman1968]

Here are a few more tidbits about the tunnel from Bauer into the Combined Metals mines (the following quotes are from the book "Mining, Smelting, and Railroading in Tooele County" - which is available for purchase at the office of the Tooele Transcript Bulletin in Tooele.

On pages 5 and 6:

Calumet Mine

The portal of the tunnel that leads to the Calumet and other workings is in the Bauer Plant. From the portal to the old Honerine and Galena King workings is two miles, and to the Ben Harrison and Calumet workings is tow and one-half miles; the Ben Harrison and the Calumet being more than a mile apart with the other workings between.

............................

The tunnel from Bauer intersects the Calumet limestone 1000 feet below the surface. This Company developed ore shoots on the Calumet, Muscatine and Iroquois limestone and has mined these shoots for more than 1000 feet in depth below the level. The main shaft on the Calumet limestone bottoms on the 2100 level, 1100 feet below the tunnel level.

On page 16:

The portal of the Honerine drain tunnel is located in the Shadow of a great gravel bar of ancient Lake Bonneville. The camp then was known as Buhl, a name which was later changed to Bauer. The tunnel is 600 feet vertically below the 600 level and is called the 1200 level. From the Bauer camp the tunnel passes beneath the U.P.R.R. and Highway 36. The first quarter of a mile the tunnel is in lake bed sediments, then passes through 1,000 feet of porphyry, and then into the sedimentary bedding of the mountain range. The tunnel branches to cut under the many small mines of the district, several of which are two and one-half miles from the portal.

[acidman1968]

Here's one more quote from the book, starting on page 23:

All these Bauer properties are worked and drained through the 1200 level Honerine tunnel. The first mile of the tunnel is through the old Lake Bonneville sand bench and has to be timbered sand tight the whole mile. Originally the tunnel sets were 7' x 7'. Over the last thirty years the sets have been repaired and shored up until there is just clearance for the 36" wide storage battery locomotives. The tunnel needs retimbering and widening to allow the use of a t least five ton cars and larger locomotives. The original 12 pound rail already has been replaced with 50 pound rail. The track has a grade of one half percent so that a train of empty cars has the same pull going in the mine as a loaded train has coming out. There must be by this time a material much better than timber for lining this mile of tunnel. The rest of the mine uses very little timber.

[rhartill]

These are my sources for Bauer--

This BYU study of this area was done under contract with the DOGM to document the area's rich history (and I think they borrowed heavily from "Mining, Smelting, and Railroading in Tooele County" :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3744237/Ophir-Utah-Mine-Reclamation-Project-Cultural-Resource-Survey

I found this at the SLC Public library downtown:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/4723688/A-Brief-History-of-Stockton-Utah

This is a chapter from Ore Deposits of Utah:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/4000310/Kessler-Rush-ValleyStockton-Pages-From-PP111final3

This is the classic report the USGS published on Stockton-Fairfield as USGS PP 173:

http://www.archive.org/details/UsgsPp173StocktonFairfield

The Tooele county book is a great resource as well...and at a decent price at the newspaper office in downtown Tooele.
Location:
58 North Main Street
Tooele, UT, 84074
Phone:
435-882-0050

[Derek]

When I read in that book that the Calumet mine was that deep, I was amazed. The waste dump is not that large and it make me wonder how much waste was taken out of the drain tunnel. Unfortunately the Calumet shaft is caved in and inaccessible, however the New Stockton/Ben Harrison shaft is still open. Now if someone were to have a winch that could go down to the 1200' level of that mine, imagine the possibilities......?