Early Mining on Mackay Peak Mackay Peak (10273 ft ) Ore was first discovered in what is called the Alder Creek mining district in 1879. However the prospectors who discovered the ore were too poor to develop their claims. In 1884, additional discoveries, including one in the area of what would become the Darlington Shaft of the Empire mine, created a boom in the area. NOTE: The Darlington Shaft (700 feet in depth) is located at the top of the the current open pit mine. . A 50-ton smelter was built at Cliff City on Cliff Creek This smelter was build by Wayne Darlington as an experiment to see if it would be economically feasible to recover copper from the ore by smelting. Wayne Darlington NOTE: I t could be said that Wayne Darlington was the visionary who saw the potential for the mining of copper in the Alder Creek Mining District. The Office of State Engineer was establ...
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