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Don Pisto
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ramping up copper mining at el arco
big plans on the horizon....
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/new-power-infrastructure-in...
there's only two things in life but I forget what they are........
John Hiatt
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David K
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This has been a long time coming... The place was once a major gold mine town (early 1900s) and a military base in later years. It even had its own
paved highway in the mid-1970s (Mex. #18) since the transpeninsular road bypassed it in favor of Guerrero Negro, in 1973. That road was never repaved
once the thin asphalt broke up by the 1980s.
Of interest is this paragraph from the link:
In an interview with the news agency Reuters, Xavier García de Quevedo of Grupo México revealed new investments totaling $3.1 billion over six
years for metals refining in Sonora and power infrastructure for the proposed El Arco copper mine in the municipality of Mulegé, Baja California
Sur.
El Arco is not in Baja California Sur, but only about two miles north of the border. Maybe the copper deposits are south of the border? Today, only a
cattle ranch remains populated in the middle of the ghost town.
El Arco in June 2017:
[Edited on 8-11-2021 by David K]
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Don Pisto
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https://www.mindat.org/loc-191823.html
el arco mines sob
[Edited on 5-13-2021 by Don Pisto]
there's only two things in life but I forget what they are........
John Hiatt
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mtgoat666
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The open pit mine will require about 1000 MW power, immense water supply (desal, or draining viscaino aq) and a port. Wonder if the port will be on
SOC or Pacific? My bet in on SOC.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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David K
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Who is paying the most for copper? Will the ore be processed at El Arco or shipped to the mainland or Arizona for processing? That will decide what
port location they build at. A sleepy Baja is a thing of the past. Maybe a railroad line down the peninsula is coming, 125 years after it was first
proposed!
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mtgoat666
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Southern Copper’s (Groupo Mexico) 2020 10-K said:
“Arco - Baja California: This is a world class copper deposit located in the central part of the Baja California peninsula, with ore reserves of
over 2.7 billion tons with an ore grade of 0.399% and 0.11 grams of gold per ton. This project, includes an open-pit mine combining concentrator and
SX-EW (solvent extraction-electrowinning ) operations with an estimated production of 190,000 tons of copper and 105,000 ounces of gold annually. We
are currently in the land acquisition process for the project.”
And pretty PR flak words and pics… https://youtu.be/OV5SreHdAvA
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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JZ
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Sounds like it's time to buy property in Baja.
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bajaric
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Resumption of copper mining at El Arco has been considered many times but nothing much seems to ever happen. The lack of a nearby seaport or rail
line has always prevented modern day copper mining of the low grade copper deposit. The ore would have to be hauled 50 miles to the coast at El
Barril, or to the port at Guerrero Negro, by truck. With a cheap source of electricity it might be economical to process the ore on site, and simply
haul copper ingots instead of millions of tons of low grade ore.
El Arco, the town, is consistently described by authors as a "gold mining town" (Gerhard and Gulik, Minch, etc.) but I believe this is an error that
has been passed down from author to author. Gold mining in the area (at Calmalli and Pozo Aleman) boomed from 1883 to about 1905, when most of the
gold mines were worked out and abandoned.
El Arco did not even exist until about 1930 when it grew into a mining town, but it was not a gold mining town, it was a copper mining town. It
growth coincided with the invention of the internal combustion engine, that may have allowed for transport of copper ore to the smelter at Santa
Rosalia. El Boleo, the French copper mining company, actually took over mining at El Arco in the 1940's until the accessible high grade ore deposits
were exhausted and mining was abandoned around 1948. The issue is complicated because there was gold present in the copper ore, so in a sense they
were mining gold, but it was a by product of the primary target, copper.
There is a remarkable lack of historical information available about El Arco. It seems to be a forgotten town.
[Edited on 2-19-2024 by bajaric]
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JC43
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Quote: Originally posted by bajaric  |
There is a remarkable lack of historical information available about El Arco. It seems to be a forgotten town. If anyone has different info I would
love to hear it. btw great shot of the old ore cart, DK wonder if it could be dated by some ore cart aficionado?
[Edited on 5-14-2021 by bajaric] |
I can help you on that! El Arco: An Electric and Pluming Company in La Paz! 
--------------------
Don`t point your gun on me for that joke. o.k.?
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David K
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Ric, the Lower California Guidebook is generally very accurate on history.
In the 1956 edition, it mentions El Arco (population 160) history:
"The gold mines of El Arco, which at one time employed over 1,000 workers, began to be developed by an American company in the 1920's, but operations
ceased after a prolonged strike of the miners. A new company is now endeavoring to reopen the mines." (1956)
I will site other sources as I 'dig' further!
[Edited on 5-18-2021 by David K]
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bajaric
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | Ric, the Lower California Guidebook is generally very accurate on history.
In the 1956 edition, it mentions El Arco (population 160) history:
"The gold mines of El Arco, which at one time employed over 1,000 workers, began to be developed by an American company in the 1920's, but operations
ceased after a prolonged strike of the miners. A new company is now endeavoring to reopen the mines." (1956)
I will site other sources as I 'dig' further! |
Dig further ha ha I get it --
The Lower California Guidebook got that wrong, sorry to say. Per E. Heylmun, PhD, in an article published in ICMJ's Prospecting and Mining Journal:
"The Asarco porphyry copper-molybdenum mine at El Arco was the principal mining operation in Northern Baja between 1883 and 1929".
This argument is bolstered by the reported population of 2000 people at El Arco in the 1920's. Gold mining, in comparison to copper mining, employed
relatively few people, due to the smaller amounts of ore that were mined and processed. Thus, El Alamo, the largest gold mining town in the largest
gold producing district in Baja, had a maximum population of about 500 persons. A gold mining town with a population of 2000 people would indicate a
giant gold mining operation, comparable to the largest lode mines in Alta California such as the Kennedy and Argonaut mines near Jackson, CA.
(population 3000 in 1900). These mines were a mile deep and produced 25 million ounces of gold, each. If such a mine were present at El Arco it
would be famous. So what was this giant mega gold mine at El Arco called? Answer, it did not have a name because it never existed. They were mining
copper.
The question that remains unresolved is what happened to the copper ore they dug up at El Arco. If it was processed on site there would be piles of
slag all over the place. This is why I believe that copper ore from El Arco was hauled (or shipped) to the smelter at Santa Rosalia for processing.
I have not been able to verify this, partly because an internet search for El Arco Baja California invariably brings up several hundred web pages for
time shares and condos in Cabo San Lucas!
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del mar
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"So what was this giant mega gold mine at El Arco called? Answer, it did not have a name because it never existed. They were mining copper."
I don't know who said it was a giant mega gold mine but the GOLD mine in question is the "La
Otilia" gold mine. opened in 1883.....not a huge producer. as far as gold at El Arco goes.....obviously its still in the ground but they're looking
at a 105,000 ounce gold mine along with the copper.
[Edited on 5-16-2021 by del mar]
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David K
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Digging up more gold...
In the 1992 book, 'Modest Fortunes, Mining in Northern Baja California', on page 175:
"In the twentieth century, the town of El Arco, which sits next to boundary of Baja California Sur, became a major gold center."
[Edited on 5-18-2021 by David K]
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mtgoat666
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Prior to 1960s, al arco was site of small mining operations, including some placer ops.
Beginning in 1960s, Asarco (and later others) started spending significant $$ on exploration work.
Mining has probably never taken off there because of the remote location and lack of water.
Mining is all talk until they actually start mining,… they may not start large-scale mining at el arco for another 10, 20, 30 years, etc.,
especially if grupo Mexico has better mines to exploit for the next few decades.
According to the 10-Ks, the owner has been buying up lots of land, so maybe they are getting serious about mining. Who knows?
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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PaulW
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Now we are seeing much exploration for lithium and that may explain acquisition of land near existing mining areas.
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AKgringo
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Sounds like there is more "prospecting" going on than mining! It is just my guess, but with a push toward a more non-fossil fuel energy supply, there
are groups that are looking to lock in any possible copper supply. From the manufacturing of devices, to distributing the electricity, copper is
going to be in increasing demand!
FWIW....I own a gold mine! It is ancient place deposits, with only seasonal water to work it, and was last actively mined in the 1930s. My
grandfather bought it in the 1940s (before I was born) and quickly discovered that breaking even on extracting the gold was not going to happen!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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David K
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In the book, 'Roadside Geology and Biology of Baja California, Mexico' by John Minch, 2017:
"189.5 Turnoff on Mexico 18 leads to El Arco, a gold mining town and the site of a porphyry copper deposit in the metavolcanic
rocks.
"Porphyry copper deposits are usually mined in open pits on a large scale. The El Arco area promises to be one of the largest copper
deposits in the world. They estimate 600 million tons of .7% copper ore."
[Edited on 5-18-2021 by David K]
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AKgringo
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Up the Copper River....
McCarthy Alaska is where the Kennecott mine is located. The ore there was 70% pure! The river produced copper nuggets, some of them boulder sized.
Now, back to Baja!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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David K
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I really hope that Ric has something to counter the books that keep calling El Arco the gold mine town. El Arco is The Rainbow, and where do we find
gold???
Book #4:
Here is the 1953 'Baja California' a sportsman adventure book by Ralph H a n c o c k (with Ray Haller, Frank Alvarado, and Mike McMahan), on page 86:
[Edited on 5-18-2021 by David K]
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bajaric
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Yes, at the start of this thread I said that several authors described El Arco as a "Gold Mining Town" and you posted four examples.
Most of the mines around El Arco were copper mines, or copper / gold mines.
It would be more accurate to say El Arco was a town where a lot of copper and a little bit of gold was mined.
Calmalli was a gold mining town. Pozo Aleman was a gold mining town. These were next door to El Arco, so its a reasonable mistake to call El Arco a
gold mining town when in fact El Arco was a COPPER mining town.
[Edited on 5-18-2021 by bajaric]
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