Planet, Arizona

34°14′51″N 113°57′54″W

Planet is a populated place on the north bank of the Bill Williams River[1] in La Paz County, Arizona, United States. The town was known as a travelers' stopping place, and had a post office from 1902 to 1921.[2] It is now a ghost town.[3]

Mining

The geology of the Planet area is ancient, estimated to be Precambrian, the bedrock being made up mostly of pinkish gneiss and absorbed limestone and amphibolite, which contained hematite-copper. Gold and the copper were discovered in La Paz County in the early 1860s.[2] The Planet area began producing ore c.1868, making it likely the first copper mine in Arizona.[4] Prospectors received trouble from Apaches in the area until 1874, when they were placed on reserves. Smelting and bullion production, assaying at about 5% copper, began in the 1880s. By 1884, the mine had sent more than 6,000 tons of high-quality copper to San Francisco. Transporting freight 28 miles to Planet cost $10 to $18 a ton. There was for a while limited access to Planet, a stage going between the town and Bouse (21.5 miles to the south) three times a week. With 31 lode claims, the mine was noted as a good example of the state's abundant natural resources.[1] In 1906, the mine was owned by J. Stanley Jones of Denver, Colorado.[5]

The NewPlanet Mining Company was incorporated in Delaware on July 13, 1909. Its predecessor, the Planet Copper Mining Co., had taken over the mine in 1902.[4] By 1916, the Planet Copper Mine was producing 3,929,000 lbs. of copper a year; it ranked as the 25th most productive copper mine in the United States.[6] By 1920, the company's stock assets amounted to $4 million at $5 a share. That year, the superintendent of the mine was Claude Ferguson.[7]

See also

References
  1. Paige, Sidney. Mining Resources of the Llano-Burnet Region, Texas. Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 1911
  2. USGS GNIS Feature Detail Report: Planet
  3. Planet – ghosttowns.com
  4. Weed, Walter Harvey, E.M. The Mines Handbook. New York City, 1920.
  5. Mining Reporter, Volume LIII. The Mining Reporter Publishing Company: Denver, Colorado, 1906.
  6. Finlay, James Ralph. The Cost of Mining. McGraw-Hill: New York, 1920, p. 185
  7. Dunbar, Alexander R. The American Mining Manual. The Mining Manual Co.: Chicago, 1920, p. 84
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