Editing Superior, Arizona (section)

==Silver King Mine==

The Silver King Mine began on  March 22, 1875, when Charles G. Mason and four companions found [[native silver]], and staked the Silver King claim.  On March 29, 1875, the Silver Queen (Magma) [[vein (geology)|vein]] was staked, and the Silver Queen Mining Company was organized in 1880. However, with the depletion of silver, the Silver Queen shut down in 1893, and the Silver King in 1896.  In 1910, [[William Boyce Thompson]] and George Gunn bought the Silver Queen Mine, and organized the Magma Copper Company. A 300-ton-per-day concentrator was built in 1914.  In 1915, a [[narrow-gauge railway]] connected Superior with the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]], which was converted to [[standard gauge]] in 1923. A [[smelter]] was built in 1924.<ref name="Full1968">{{cite book |last1=Hammer |first1=Donald |last2=Peterson |first2=Donald |editor1-last=Ridge |editor1-first=John |title=Geology of the Magma Mine Area, Arizona, in Ore deposits of the United States, 1933–1967 |date=1968 |publisher=The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum engineers, Inc. |location=New York |pages=1282–1310}}</ref>

After 71 years of production, the Magma Mine closed in August 1982 due to high operating costs and declining copper prices. Operations resumed in September 1990, but the mine closed again on June 28, 1996. During its  86-year life  (1910–1996), the Magma produced about 27.6 million short tons of ore averaging about 4.9% copper,  recovering about 1,300,000 short tons of copper, 36,550 short tons of zinc, 686,000 ounces of gold, and 34.3 million ounces of silver.<ref>[https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2015/07/19/history-of-the-magma-mine-superior-arizona/ History Of The Magma Mine, Superior, Arizona] at ''Arizona Daily Independent'', July 19, 2015.</ref>

The old Magma No. 9 shaft atop Apache Leap is being used to explore the huge [[Resolution Copper]] deposit below.