Grand Gulch Mine

An isolated copper boom-town active from the 1870s to the 1960s

The story of Grand Gulch begins in the mid to late 1800s. Copper deposits in the area were originally discovered around 1871 by Paiute Indians in the area. After revealing the location and value to residents of St. George, Utah (about 80 miles to the north), a party was put together to visit the location of the mineral wealth. This party included five men of which the most enthusiastic was a blacksmith by the name of Samuel L. Adams. In March of 1871 the party visited the site and took samples. They happily reported back to St. George that their findings were better than expected.

Dubbed the Adams Lode, a claim was filed on June 23, 1873. By September of that same year, a wagon road had been cleared from St. George to the site, a distance of about 80 miles over rough terrain. In June of 1874 a shaft had been created to a depth of about 100’. Three tons of ore were taken out of the mine to Salt Lake City (400 miles away).

After demonstrating the success of the new mine, Adams and other associates, including Richard Bentley, incorporated the Grand Gulch Mining Company later in 1874. The company was based out of St. George. The ore coming out of the mine was surprisingly high grade with some estimates at nearly 50 percent copper. Silver was found in lesser qualities. The closest railhead was still 180 miles away. The lack of easy access challenged the success of the mine. The high transportation cost of bringing equipment in and hauling minerals out limited the profits of the mine.

In late 1875 a smelter was constructed by the company in St. George to cut down on haulage costs. The smelter wasn’t big enough though and high-costs coupled with low productivity saw the closure of the mine for a short time. To reduce costs further, a smelter was built on the mine site and was functioning by May 1878. However, again, lack of success at the mine resulted in on-and-off working for several years.

The onset of World War I saw the increased need for copper. The Grand Gulch Mine upped production and from 1916-1918 were the busiest and most successful years of operation. Population peaked at around 80 people. Because there were no other towns nearby, the mine itself actually served as a polling location and draft registration point for Mohave County. The quality of the ore began to drop dramatically as most of the high-grade ore was now gone. After the war, the prices of copper dropped massively and this hurt the mine even more. The geologic occurrence of high-grade ore here proved to be limited and after brief exploration of deeper levels of the mine, it was determined there was nothing else to be salvaged. In the fall of 1919 the mine closed, with only a watchmen being left to guard the property.

Like other mines, Grand Gulch was reworked occasional in the 1940s following World War II. In the late 1950s-1960s the mine was reworked by the Signal Oil and Gas Company who brought in nearly 30 people and re-processed numerous tailings. Chemical leaching was briefly used but nothing worthwhile was ever found. Large dump trucks made during WWII were likely brought in at this time to help move ore around and even dismantle the mine. This same group are likely the ones who created an airstrip just to the southeast of the mine. This airstrip proved helpful when the mine was shut down permanently and much of the equipment was flown out to another mine nearby.

Today, much remains of the Grand Gulch Mine. The bunkhouse, office building, dump trucks, and numerous other cement foundations and equipment liter the property. The difficult access to the mine, which ended up leading to its downfall, keeps the mine well preserved today. The easiest way to get to the mine requires navigating about 80 miles of dirt road from St. George, Utah. Follow BLM Road 1069 south to BLM Road #5. Then continue southwest onto Road #103 past Poverty Mountain. The trail gets rougher as you split off onto Road #1002. High clearance is required on 1002 and 4WD is recommended. More specific directions from Mt. Trumbull can be found on our trail page here. The mine can also be accessed from Toroweap to the east or the Virgin Mountains to the west. Both are substantially more difficult and longer drives than the route from St. George.