The copper mining

Copper mining became a major Shasta County industry in the 1880s.  Copper mining replaced gold as the No. 1 mineral produced in Shasta County in 1897.  Its zenith years were 1906 and 1907 when Shasta County produced more copper than any other county in the United States and when thousands of men were employed in the copper mines, smelters, and other businesses directly related to it. 

The towns of Keswick, Kennett, Ingot, Coram and DeLaMar came into being because of the copper industry.  Copper was found in Shasta County in 1857, first noted publicly in 1859, mined the first time in 1862 at Copper City (known then as Williams) but abandoned because of the meager profits made.  In 1896, Mountain Copper Company began successfully mining copper at Iron Mountain Mine and built Shasta County's first copper smelter at Keswick. 

Other smelters were eventually built by other mining companies to process the ore but the toxic smoke released from their chimneys created an overwhelming environmental disaster - the smoke killed almost instantly whatever vegetation it touched.  As a result, every species of vegetation and tree touched by the toxic smoke (wherever the wind blew it) died, even as far away as Anderson and Happy Valley. 

Violent citizen protests occurred, damage suits were successfully brought against the mining companies by citizens, and by 1919 all the smelters had been shut down by legal action. 

Other major problems included too much zinc in the copper, low prices, high costs of shipment to the refineries, and increased competition. 

The principal copper deposits were and still are located in a 30-mile crescent shaped copper-zinc belt extending from Iron Mountain northeast to Backbone Creek and east to Ingot.  The Iron Mountain district is the most important and includes the Balaklala, Keystone, Mammoth, Mountain Copper, Shasta King, and Sutro Mines.  The Bully Hill district was next in importance and included the Bully Hill and Rising Star group.  Next in importance is the Afterhought Mine at Ingot. 

Smelter closures have not stopped the pollution problem because toxic water continues to seep into the miles of mining tunnels long ago bored into Iron Mountain and the nearby hills which eventually seep into Shasta Lake and the Sacramento River.  The real impact on wildlife and man is still being debated. 

Major modifications and changes are currently underway by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in an attempt to make the area safe.

 

The smelters 

The copper smelters processed the copper ore.  However, the processing of the ore created and caused great environmental hazards and problems.  The surrounding forests were cut down for the needed timber in the mine tunnels as well as for building fires under the mountainous piles of ore for open-air roasting.

Ore was burned or heap roasted at the smelters and the process created poisonous sulphur dioxide gasses which moved with the wind and killed whatever it touched as it moved along. 

All of the smelters were located in a horseshoe shaped area from Iron Mountain on the west, around to Bully Hill, and finally to Ingot on the east. 

Fruit orchards with fruit ready to be picked as far away as Anderson and Happy Valley were known to be completely destroyed overnight because they were unlucky enough to be in the path of the toxic smoke as it blew through their area.  

As a result, the irate farmers organized and sued the mining and smelting companies.  Falling market prices combined with the lawsuits eventually put most of the mines and smelters out of business.  Those that continued to mine had to ship their ore as far away as Martinez for processing.

Afterthought Mine and smelter at Ingot

 

Balaklala Mine smelter at Coram 

 

Bully Hill smelter at Bully Hill and Shasta Lake rising.

 

Heroult smelter employees ready to make a "pour".  Heroult was located

near where the McCloud River flows into the Pit River arm of Shasta Lake. 

 

Mammoth Copper Company's open-air roasting on Iron Mountain above Kennett. 

 

Mammoth Copper Company's smelter at Kennett on the far left.

The town of Kennett is in the center and the Sacramento River is on the bottom.



Mountain Copper Company's smelter at Keswick.