Please remember to exercise caution when exploring Nevada's Ghost Towns & Mining Camps. Open shafts, drifts going into mountainsides, and old buildings, are all DANGEROUS. Be aware of your surroundings, and let someone know where you are, especially if your plans change.

Copper Basin

DIRECTIONS: From Battle Mountain, head south on Nevada 376 for 5 miles. Exit right and follow for 3.5 miles to Copper Basin.

"Copper Basin came into being in 1897 when the Glasgow and Western Mining Company began operations in the district. A small camp of about 50 formed. The two main mines, the Turquoise King and the Myron Clark, were the early best producers. Glasgow and Western continued to operate off and on for about a decade before closing down. The claims were taken over by the Copper Basin Mining and Milling Company, with L. G. Hardy as president. The company then controlled six claims, developments that included 1,200 feet of lateral work on a 250-foot shaft and a 300-foot tunnel. In 1917, the Copper Canyon Mining Company purchased all Copper Basin mines-120 claims (2,172 acres), 20 placer claims (402 acres), 17 mill sites, and a 280-acre townsite.

The company developed 5 of the mines: Widow (200 feet, 2,900 feet of lateral work), Chase and Goff (200 feet, 3,045 feet), Sweet Marie (295 feet, 4,000 feet), Contention (130 feet, 2,700 feet), and Hawkeye (403 feet). Copper Basin's peak came between 1918 and 1920. The mines were idle in 1920, but $76,000 of exploration work was conducted in 1924. Leaseholders then worked the claims until 1935, when the Copper Canyon Mining Company regained control of the mines. The company did no mining work, though, and in 1941 the property was leased by the International Silver and Refining Company. The Copper Canyon Mining Company once again regained control of the mines after the war. The mines were worked intermittently until 1957, when the company left the district for good. Then the district was idle until 1967, when the Duval Corporation, now known as the Battle Mountain Gold Company, reopened the mines. The company is very active in Copper Basin today. A couple of wooden shacks from the old site remain, but most of the original buildings have succumbed to the company's recent expansion."

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