MINING HISTORY


in Tacoma, Washington (Marr, 1990; Ott, L., 1986; Power-Fardy, D., 2009; Woodhouse, P.


et.al., Macbeth


2002). The and Golden


King claims were dor- mant until purchased by J.J. Keegan in 1928. In 1934 Mr. Keegan patent- ed the claims through Gold King Mining and Development Company. Between 1938 and 1942, Keegan held a contract with American Smelter and Refining Company (ASARCO) near Tacoma, Washington, which was dropped after shipping several tons. (Lovitt, 1954; Marr, 1990; Ott, L., 1986; Power-Fardy, D., 2009; Woodhouse, P. et.al., 2002).


From 1943 to 1946,


the Knob Hill Mining Company prospected the


area. Knob Hill


also shipped 6,200 tons of ore to the ASARCO smelter, but values were not sufficient for Knob Hill’s continued investment.


(Lovitt,


1954; Marr, 1990; Ott, L., 1986; Power-Fardy, D., 2009; Woodhouse, P. et.al., 2002). In 1948, the property attracted the attention of Wenatchee businessmen.


They


Figure 2 - LRC Mineral Package Outline Map (modified from LMC and Burgoyne, 1996).


contacted Ed Lovitt, a Canadian mining engineer, to evaluate the mining potential of the D-Reef. Lovitt concluded the ore body could be economi- cally mined by small, selective shrinkage stopping. In, 1949 to 1950, Lovitt formed the Lovitt Mining Company (LMC) and the Wenatchee Mining Partnership (WMP). He raised financing to put the property into production, and purchased the J.J. Keegan properties (Woodhouse, P. et.al., 2002). Lovitt sold shares to other investors but retained 51 percent interest. The Gold King Mine was subsequently renamed the Lovitt Mine. The Lovitt Mine became the leading underground gold producer in Washington state and ranked 11th nationally (Brown, L. and Gill, R., 2018; Lovitt, 1954; Marr, 1990; Moore, I.F., 1981; Ott, L., 1986; Power-Fardy, D., 2009; Woodhouse, P. et.al., 2002). In 1951, Lovitt signed a $1 million option with the Anaconda Copper Mining Company of Butte, Montana for development of the property. Anaconda developed a 1250- foot level drift and performed core drilling around the D-Reef area. By 1953, they had exhausted the $1 million in work commitment without developing economic ore. In April 1953, Anaconda returned control back to Ed Lovitt. In 1959, Lovitt, his partner Vere McDowell, and the miners discovered a high- grade ore body on the 1250-foot level, dubbed Nellie’s Room. The zone was valued at over $1 million (Brown, L. and Gill, R.,


www.aipg.org


2018; Gill, R., 1984a; Lovitt, 1954; Marr, 1990; Ott, L., 1986; Power-Fardy, D., 2009, Woodhouse, P. et.al., 2002). In 1961, Day Mining Company of Wallace, Idaho formed a JV with Wenatchee Mining Partnership (WMP). Day Mining earned a 30% interest, while Lovitt, LMC and WMP retained 70%. A 300 ton per day float mill was constructed and from 1962 to 1967 sulfide concentrate and direct ore were shipped to the Asarco smelter in Tacoma, with some going to the Bunker Hill smelter in Kellogg, Idaho. The shipped gold and silver con- sisted of 410,482 gold ounces and 625,849 silver ounces from 1,036,572 tons of 0.396 ounce per ton gold and 0.60 ounce per ton silver. The mine was developed from 10 levels consisting of 7 miles of underground workings. The 1150-foot level served as the main haulage. A 32-degree inclined winze provided access from the 1150-foot haulage level to the 850, 950, and 1100-foot levels. A long section of the mine workings is shown on Figure 3. The workings were open stopped with mining focused on major cross-cutting quartz veins. The Lovitt Mine suspended operations in 1967 with gold price of $34 per ounce and was ranked as the 6th largest U.S. underground gold mine on its closure (Brown, L. and Gill, R., 2018; Burgoyne, A.A, 1996; Marr, 1990, Moore, I.F., 1981; Ott, L., 1986; Patton, T.C. and


Oct.Nov.Dec 2020 • TPG 5


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