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Property Overview

The West Swansea Mineral Property is a high-grade copper and gold deposit located in Northern Arizona. The site encompasses 40 acres on the western edge of the massive deposit known as the Swansea Mines. In 1905 the mine was purchased by T. Carrigan out of Los Angeles, CA and renamed the “Clara Gold and Copper Mine”. In 1933 after the Great Depression, it was again being developed under the name “West Swansea”.
Finally in 1964 the property had been severed from the Swansea Mining Company and was referred to as the Copper Spike.
The ore on the property is in a series of veins and pockets. Copper ore averages 8% and gold follows with the copper and averages 0.4 oz. per ton. Caveat on the gold deposits, they have ranged as high as 5.4 oz. per ton where found in pockets.
The mine site sits on an east facing slope of the Buckskin Mountain Range. The surface material on the site is azurite, chrysocolla, hematite and magnetite. Nickel has been reported at the site as well.
There are a series of subsurface workings on the property. Some of the workings interconnect, but there are also some collapsed drifts. Surveyors mapped 225’ of development on the main working level. There is a large shaft on the southern most section of the property that measures 310’. Surveyors did not access this shaft and it has not been mapped.
There has been no milling on the property. As such there are no tailings. There are some substantial dumps which appear to have drifted and flowed out from heavy run offs.
The area was first worked for silver in 1826 and copper was not a valued asset at the time. These workings would appear to originate around 1850. The property was operated intermittently from 1905-1911, 1922-1927, 1933-1941 and finally 1959-1961.
Surveyors noted substantial bodies of copper ore visible in stopes in the workings of the West Swansea. This matches with history of the area. The mines reportedly shut down in 1944 and while worked on smaller scales, never returned to the massive milling and mining operation that was Swansea. There are many reports of hundreds of thousands of tons of copper reserves in the mines from the 170’ to 220’. This copper was considered low grade at 3-4% per ton. Today it is a stellar value.
Based on the material seen in the workings and the material on the surface, the West Swansea site has barely scraped what could be developed and the reserves are likely substantial. This opinion is based on the surveyors statements and knowledge of mining sites.

Gold Rush Expeditions, Inc. does offer mining consultation services and assistance with permits for a small fee.

Training courses for underground work and exploration can be found here: https://stayoutstayalive.com/training/