Copperland (prospect)

This small operation in the White Tanks pursued copper and molybdenum, but never took off.

By the end of 1966, the property was purchased and owned by B.W. Copeland. Copeland, a real estate investor, lived in Prescott and owned other prospects throughout Arizona, including one at Slate Creek near Wilhoit. He renamed the Copper Chief prospect to Copperland and worked to further develop the property. Drilling was completed by Cominco in 1967 and mining claims were established by January 1968. Up to this point, no major work had been done and only included shallow surface diggings. The White Tanks were largely overlooked by prospectors due to the relatively barren geology. Copeland believed there were three to four large copper veins in the area. He secured water for drilling efforts from a nearby stock tank used by ranchers.

The biggest issue now was trying to find a company to invest in the property. While Copeland had some drilling and assaying completed, it still wasn’t enough to get the attention of a large mining company. In February 1969, Copeland got in touch with American Smelting & Refining Company (ASARCO) based in Tucson. After going back and forth, he finally managed to get ASARCO to commit to exploring the Copperland Property in March. Copeland gave them exclusive rights of his 36 claims and was hoping they would commit to take over the property in two months time. Copeland also stated a hefty list of royalties if the company wanted to operate the property, which included a 25 year contract, $2,000/month minimum, 5% of all smelter profits, and a purchase price of the property of $1.5 million.

ASARCO representatives met with Copeland in March 1969 and visited two of his three properties, including Copperland. A mapping crew was sent out to the property and worked on and off between March and April. They collected rock samples (to be run through geochemical analysis at ASARCO) and even flew over the prospect to get an aerial view of the area. On April 25, 1969, ASARCO had completed their investigation and informed Copeland that they were not interested in pursuing the property. They turned down his offers for a lease and relinquished their rights over the property.

While B.W. Copeland did get a company to lease his property after over a decade of effort, it seems like Copperland never panned out like he hoped. Today, a few small adits remain on site at Copperland. Numerous bulldozer cuts and other small prospects can be scattered around. There is little to no evidence of structures left on the property today. To reach Copperland, travel southeast off of Sun Valley Parkway. There are numerous routes into the mine site. Some of the land closer to the White Tanks has been closed and others remain part of State Trust Land, so consulting a map before and carrying a permit would be advised.