Some minor drilling was done and a few of the old mines were retimbered. bought many of Tonopah Mining Company 's old mining claims in the central mineralized portion of the Tonopah district, including the Mizpah, Silver Top, and Desert Queen mines. There was a brief period of renewed interest in Tonopah in 1968-1969 when Howard Hughes' Summa Corp. ![]() Following a huge fire in 1942 at the Tonopah Extension mill, the remaining mines closed down by the end of the war and the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad was torn up in 1947. The mines declined over the Depression years, and by World War II, only four major mining companies were operating. Peak mine production occurred from 1900 to 1921 yielding almost $121 million in gold, silver, copper and lead ore. A fire in the Tonopah-Belmont mine in February 1911 caused the deaths of 17 men, the only significant mining accident in the history of the Tonopah mines.More than 20 mining companies were active in the district from the 1910s though the 1920s. West End's three main shafts were as deep as 1,400 feet, and in 1911 the company built a 200 tpd cyanide mill. West End also controlled the Halifax-Tonopah Mining Company and leased additional claims from Jim Butler. The second dominant company that evolved was the West End Consolidated Mining Company, with 185 acres adjoining the southwest side of the Tonopah Mining Company's property. The company built a 30-stamp cyanide mill in 1910, which was later enlarged to 50 stamps. 2, Victor, and McKane, all over 1,500 feet deep, and the Victor reaching almost 2,200 feet deep. The Tonopah Extension company had three mines - the No. In the next few years, two mining companies consolidated between them most of the productive mines in Tonopah: the Tonopah Extension Mining Company, controlling about 700 acres of property west of the Tonopah Mining Company's property. In May 1905, Tonopah replaced Belmont as the county seat and the town continued to grow. When the railroad was extended to Goldfield in 1905, it was named the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad. The railroad was officially opened on July 25, 1904, and in 1905 was enlarged to standard gauge. The huge volume of ore being developed in Tonopah's mines by 1903 necessitated the construction of a 60-mile long narrow gauge railroad that connected Tonopah with the Carson and Colorado branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad at the Sodaville junction. The town's population grew to more than 3,000 by the end of 1902, at which time substantial new ore deposits were located in the lower levels of some of the existing mines, including the Montana-Tonopah, Desert Queen, North Star and Tonopah Extension. From 1912-1923, it was operated as one of the best-equipped and most efficient silver cyanide mills in the US. ![]() Ore from both properties was shipped to Millers for processing until 1912, when a 60-stamp 500-ton mill was built at Tonopah. ![]() The Tonopah-Belmont was developed by two vertical shafts, 1,200 feet and 1,700 feet deep with underground workings totaling almost 39 miles. The Tonopah-Belmont Mining Company also formed in 1902 with 11 claims (160 acres) adjoining the east side of the Tonopah Mining Company property. The company workings consisted of three deep shafts with more than 46 miles of lateral workings. In 1902 Jim Butler sold his claims which were consolidated into the holdings of the Tonopah Mining Company, which controlled 160 acres of productive ground in the main Tonopah district. The Butler mines produced almost $750,000 in gold and silver in 1901, and continued regular production for 40 years. A post office opened at Butler in April 1901 and changed its name to Tonopah in 1905. The population of Butler grew from 40 men in Jan 1901 to 60 in March 1901 and to 250 a few weeks later. Partners Butler and Oddie leased out their claims for a year, taking a 25% royalty on all silver and gold mined from their claims. Work began on the Mizpah mine in October 1900, and the camp that sprang up nearby was called Butler. Butler and his wife later returned to then county seat Belmont to file on eight claims near Tonopah Springs, of which six became some of Nevada's largest producers: Desert Queen, Burro, Valley View, Silver Top, Buckboard, and Mizpah. Later that year, Tasker Oddie visited Butler and paid for another assay in return for a quarter interest in the claim, after which Austin assayer William Gayhart assayed the samples as high as $600 a ton. In May 1900, Jim Butler found silver ore samples near Tonopah Springs, but his first assay of the ore at nearby Klondike was unconvincing.
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