BajaNomad - ramping up copper mining at el arco

ramping up copper mining at el arco

Don Pisto - 5-13-2021 at 12:46 PM

big plans on the horizon....

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/new-power-infrastructure-in...

David K - 5-13-2021 at 01:02 PM

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]

Don Pisto - 5-13-2021 at 01:11 PM

https://www.mindat.org/loc-191823.html

el arco mines sob

[Edited on 5-13-2021 by Don Pisto]

mtgoat666 - 5-13-2021 at 01:47 PM

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.

David K - 5-13-2021 at 02:02 PM

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!

mtgoat666 - 5-13-2021 at 02:46 PM

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

JZ - 5-13-2021 at 10:06 PM

Sounds like it's time to buy property in Baja.

bajaric - 5-14-2021 at 11:40 AM

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]

JC43 - 5-15-2021 at 04:36 PM

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! :saint:

--------------------
Don`t point your gun on me for that joke. o.k.?

David K - 5-15-2021 at 04:55 PM

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]

bajaric - 5-16-2021 at 11:58 AM

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!

del mar - 5-16-2021 at 01:58 PM

"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]

David K - 5-16-2021 at 03:46 PM

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]

mtgoat666 - 5-16-2021 at 07:19 PM

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?

PaulW - 5-17-2021 at 08:00 AM

Now we are seeing much exploration for lithium and that may explain acquisition of land near existing mining areas.

AKgringo - 5-17-2021 at 09:08 AM

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!

David K - 5-17-2021 at 09:42 AM

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]

Up the Copper River....

AKgringo - 5-17-2021 at 10:11 AM

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!

David K - 5-17-2021 at 10:09 PM

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]

bajaric - 5-17-2021 at 11:02 PM

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]

David K - 5-18-2021 at 09:59 AM

Good morning Ric, I know you are the rock guy in the room and your knowledge on them is not in dispute. I am the book guy, and I only want to see something that says copper was mined in El Arco in the 1930s. So far, only gold is mentioned. There was an American mine manager living in El Arco... as I recall from reading my books. The first mention of El Arco switching from mining gold to mining copper (I recall) is in Arnold Senterfitt's Airports of Baja California (1972 edition).

In the 1954 travel adventure book, 'Bouncing Down to Baja' by Bill and Orv Wortman, they say: "The El Arco area is rich in mineral deposits, including gold, silver, and copper... he obtained sixty or seventy grams of gold from a ton of ore." (approx. 2 ounces)

From 1943: Land Where Time Stands Still by Max Miller

David K - 5-19-2021 at 08:58 AM

A book about traveling by land from San Diego to Cape San Lucas, in the Fall of 1941, published in 1943.

On page 58, last paragraph:
"The Hardings used to have an airplane, when the gold mine in El Arco was going well."

Don Pisto - 5-19-2021 at 09:50 AM

you've sold the rest of us but im afraid you're gonna have to arm wrestle Ric! :coolup:

David K - 5-19-2021 at 11:39 AM

Ric may be correct, but not one book yet seen mentions El Arco was anything other than a gold mine. I agree with Ric about how books copy info from other books. It happened with mission books and that is why I was motivated to write my book to provide the factual history that wasn't yet published in English or at all, in a single source. I will continue to search books for mention of the element that El Arco mined.

willardguy - 5-19-2021 at 12:08 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

A book about traveling by land from San Diego to Cape San Lucas, in the Fall of 1941, published in 1943.

On page 58, last paragraph:
"The Hardings used to have an airplane, when the gold mine in El Arco was going well."

also Margaret Brown Baldwin speaks of staying at a wealthy gentleman's house who owned a GOLD mine at El Arco.......pretty sure Margaret's dad new something about mining!

mtgoat666 - 5-19-2021 at 12:46 PM

The old time miners were going after lode (vein) minerals. The 1960s-onward interest in el arco area is porphyry deposits. Small scale underground mining vs open pit/strip mining.

The old mines in el arco area were spread out over a large area,… suspect the miners went after different minerals based on location. The area is not homogeneous, different mines probably went after different minerals, and perhaps multiple minerals in each mine.

David K - 5-19-2021 at 01:41 PM

A famous "bait and switch" mine center might be Las Flores (San Juan Mine, south of L.A. Bay?

Books called it a 'silver mine'... but gold seems to have been the #1 element processed there? Yes, they both often come out of the same holes in the earth... Maybe for taxation reasons, calling it a silver mine was a better business move?

David K - 5-19-2021 at 02:36 PM

LOL, yes Ric... but lately, Nomad has been pretty lackluster without fresh trip reports... Blanca's trip up to Rancho San Francisco was nice to see.

I am not debating what was mined in El Arco, but simply listing the books that name the mineral mined... and so far, it is gold back then with copper making it a rebirth of the town 50 years ago... only the rebirth never happened and now the town is totally abandoned. Just a cattle ranch is set up there.

What books or documents do you have that say copper was mined there in the 1930s? Let's keep looking at what history says and if it is wrong (like with the missions) let's correct it!

SFandH - 5-19-2021 at 02:43 PM

Only historians can change the past.

1958: Solo Below by Don A. Hue

David K - 5-19-2021 at 02:50 PM

Page 35:
"El Arco is a small dusty mining town located along the rim and overlooking an arroyo where extensive gold mining operations are being carried on."

SFandH - 5-19-2021 at 03:00 PM

Be there doubloons in El Arco? Arr......

mtgoat666 - 5-19-2021 at 03:08 PM

From “ Geophysical exploration of the El Arco- Calmalli mining district, Baja California, Mexico” by Ram6n Farias Garcia, Univ of AZ MS Thesis….

“Production in the El Arco-Calmalli district began in 1883 when
gold placers were discovered. During the first half of the present [20th] century several small mines in the northwestern portion of the district, such as the Calmalli and Don Carlos mines, were developed and worked for gold and copper and were still operating at the beginning of the 1930's. El Arco was also an important mine worked for gold and copper between 1930 and 1940. Other small mines of lesser importance within the district are the Otilla, Nogales, El Tigre, and El Aguila, but not all of
these prospects were formally worked. A large amount of placer activity also existed near the streams of Pozo Aleman at the center of the district.

The El Arco-Calmalli district became important in 1968 when IndustrialMineraMexico,S.A., formerlyAsarcoMexicana,S.A.,began a geological and geophysical reconnaissance of the district followed by a drilling program. This exploration led to the discovery of the El Arco porphyry copper deposit.”

Gold & Copper: Hardly Any Fences by John Hilton

David K - 5-19-2021 at 03:22 PM

Hardly Any Fences, Baja California in 1933-1959, by John W. Hilton. Published in 1977 as #38 of the Dawson Baja California Travels Series.

Very interesting! >>>

bajaric - 5-20-2021 at 09:37 AM

The answer to the question of whether El Arco was a "gold mining town" or a "copper / gold mining town" is really just a question of semantics. They mined gold there, so it was a gold mining town. The gold that was found at El Arco, from all indications, was a fringe benefit of mining a lot of copper ore, but it was still gold.

To get an answer as to what exactly they were mining at El Arco in the 1920's-1930's would require finding records of copper and gold production that were kept by the Federal government of Mexico, for tax purposes. Of course, in 1910 the Federal government of Mexico was overthrown in a revolution. Thus, there might be a gap in the records from 1910-1920, but after that records should be available. However, traveling to Mexico city and digging though old tax records to figure out what they were mining at El Arco is not high on my list of priorities.

[Edited on 5-20-2021 by bajaric]

David K - 5-20-2021 at 12:16 PM

Of course...
I look forward to going prospecting with you someday!
There is still a lot of gold (or copper) in them thar hills!!

bajaric - 5-21-2021 at 07:07 AM

OK amigo! Some day when the border crossing situation improves for us luddites that cross in the regular lanes maybe we can do a little exploration trip. There is not much gold left laying around that can be easily recovered, and such areas tend to be off limits, but exploring the old mining districts it is a great excuse to get off the beaten track and see some parts of Baja that few people ever visit.

I ran across a reference to an article that would cast some light on El Arco, but have not been able to find it:

El Arco, Zarate and Munoz 1925

If someone on here with access to a research library system could try and find that article somewhere it would be cool, I don't have access to the academic research system.

Seeking Papers on El Arco Mine History:

David K - 5-21-2021 at 08:52 AM

1) https://www.mindat.org/loc-191823.html

El Arco Mine, El Arco, Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, Mexico
Gold

<photo of gold nugget>

Placer gold nugget collected at the El Arco site. Formerly of the William Larson collection.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------
2) https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.83...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -----------
3) https://books.google.com/books?id=1xFyRVrXxQIC

Jack Swords - 5-21-2021 at 11:21 AM

Just have to join in this!

Years ago we explored Pozo Aleman and Calmalli. We found dry washers in some of the buildings and a rocker in the same area. There were the dug outs under a cliff wall with blackened wall from fires. The rocker and dry washers are used for gold mining as we use similar items in our area in old placer diggings (ancient stream beds). I had photos, but several computer changes has rendered the photos gone.

We have 2 dry washers and the bellows is powered by a lawn mower engine, but some are human powered. We have recovered quite a bit of gold from the Mojave and other desert areas. Sure learned a lot about the trials of the old miners....lots of work.

Perhaps David can find his photos as they were sent to him (storage area with several dry washers).

https://www.goldrushnuggets.com/robousbygomi.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywasher

David K - 5-21-2021 at 11:37 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Jack Swords

Just have to join in this!

Years ago we explored Pozo Aleman and Calmalli. We found dry washers in some of the buildings and a rocker in the same area. There were the dug outs under a cliff wall with blackened wall from fires. The rocker and dry washers are used for gold mining as we use similar items in our area in old placer diggings (ancient stream beds). I had photos, but several computer changes has rendered the photos gone.

We have 2 dry washers and the bellows is powered by a lawn mower engine, but some are human powered. We have recovered quite a bit of gold from the Mojave and other desert areas. Sure learned a lot about the trials of the old miners....lots of work.

Perhaps David can find his photos as they were sent to him (storage area with several dry washers).

https://www.goldrushnuggets.com/robousbygomi.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywasher

Yes Jack... all your photos of historic locations are saved on my website. Here is your section: http://www.vivabaja.com/swords/

Pozo Aleman dry washer: http://www.vivabaja.com/swords/page3.html

Jack Swords - 5-21-2021 at 12:20 PM

Fantastic David, you must have a great filing system to keep track of so many photos. Thanks.

The dry washers and rockers are used for gold mining in areas with little water. We were surprised to find them there, they were obviously well used.

advrider - 5-21-2021 at 12:31 PM

Wow good stuff you guys. I would love to see a trip take place to some exploring with the guys that already know the good spots.

AKgringo - 5-21-2021 at 01:23 PM

Have any of you Nomad prospectors have any experience with metal detecting devices in Baja? I have a Gold Bug II, that I never really learned how to use.

With my hearing loss I have had no luck discriminating between the copious amounts of iron in this area, and background noise. I would at the very least need to have some good head phones, and an experienced operator to coach me.

I also have one of the Briggs and Stratton powered dry washers in the basement that I have never used. It belonged to my dad, who was a rock hound and desert explorer.

bajaric - 8-10-2021 at 02:25 PM

Jack, cool pictures of the old dry washers. Water was always a scarce commodity in the area, as it still is.

And now a little additional historical information.

This took some digging!

This is from the 1908 "The Copper Mining Handbook" by Horace J. Stevens. The Copper Mining Handbook was a journal (actually, a thick book) that covered the global copper mining industry over several decades. Each edition had a listing of copper mining companies and in the 1908 edition there was included:

"The Ybarra Gold Mining Company. 132 Market St San Francisco Mine office Calmalli Sur Baja. A. J. Mayer Superintendent. Lands include the Buenavista San Francisco and other mines carrying auriferous and argentiferous* copper ores. Has steam power and 25 ton mill employing 75 men at last account."

*ore that contained gold and silver

It is likely that the some of copper ore mined at El Arco in the 1920's made its way to the smelter at Santa Rosalia. Perhaps the breakwater constructed of copper slag at Santa Rosalia has a little bit of El Arco in it. The gold that was recovered from the copper ore, what there was of it, ended up in the vaults of the Rothschilds, of France, with some no doubt accruing to the Bank of England after the matte from Santa Rosalia was delivered to London where it was transformed by fire and electrical currents into pure metallic elements. Dickens described the hellish scene of the furnaces of London in one of his novels.

AK, the gold bug is known as a very sensitive detector but in areas with a lot of "hot rocks" it is almost useless due to false signals. An entry level Minelab multi frequency vlf in the $350 range would give you an idea if you want to pursue the hobby and can also be used for detecting on the beach.

[Edited on 8-10-2021 by bajaric]

[Edited on 8-10-2021 by bajaric]

David K - 8-10-2021 at 04:53 PM

In the 1930 AAA guide/ map that Harald sent me is the following about El Arco or as they called it "El Arco Mine":

"...100 men engaged in the mining of gold."

Notice in the upper left, before the point and bay name was changed to 'Rosalillita' (to prevent confusion with the Copper mine town).

[Edited on 8-11-2021 by David K]

Compare

PaulW - 8-11-2021 at 08:09 AM

Atlas image near El Arco

David K - 8-11-2021 at 09:04 AM

Beautiful map! The Old El Camino Real and Baja Divide routes are nice to see, too.

rzitren - 8-11-2021 at 10:07 PM

According to Beto in San Francisquitos, The mining representatives have been talking to him about building a road thru his property. He thinks they will build it out to the end of the point on the southeast side of the bay and build a pier off the end into the deep water.

David K - 8-13-2021 at 09:25 AM

Quote: Originally posted by rzitren

According to Beto in San Francisquitos, The mining representatives have been talking to him about building a road thru his property. He thinks they will build it out to the end of the point on the southeast side of the bay and build a pier off the end into the deep water.

I presume this is for the future, giant El Arco copper mine? Hopefully a pier, and road, between Beto's cove and the PSFO resort, will not put dust or noise into his peaceful cove.

rts551 - 8-14-2021 at 11:43 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

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?

There is water there. My neighbor drilled the water wells for them 30 years ago.

David K - 12-9-2023 at 07:53 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

The answer to the question of whether El Arco was a "gold mining town" or a "copper / gold mining town" is really just a question of semantics. They mined gold there, so it was a gold mining town. The gold that was found at El Arco, from all indications, was a fringe benefit of mining a lot of copper ore, but it was still gold.

To get an answer as to what exactly they were mining at El Arco in the 1920's-1930's would require finding records of copper and gold production that were kept by the Federal government of Mexico, for tax purposes. Of course, in 1910 the Federal government of Mexico was overthrown in a revolution. Thus, there might be a gap in the records from 1910-1920, but after that records should be available. However, traveling to Mexico city and digging though old tax records to figure out what they were mining at El Arco is not high on my list of priorities.

[Edited on 5-20-2021 by bajaric]

Good morning gang,
I am uncertain if the following was shared yet or not. It comes from Margaret Brown Baldwin, describing a mule trip with her father from their home in Punta Prieta to San Borja the south to Calmallí, one year between 1907 & 1910.

>>> From Mission San Borja we went on to Calmalli, another days’ journey. Calmalli was at one time a large town. We stayed at the home of Mr. Ybarro and his wife, a very wealthy man who was a good friend of my father. He owned many cattle and ranches and had gold mines at Camp Aleman and at El Arco. Mr. Ybarro had a fine home and many servants. We had a twelve-course dinner with a new and lovely plate for each course. This was a thrilling experience, coming from such simple living as we had at Punta Prieta. <<<

See the full article from 1976: https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1976/october/memories/

baja-chris - 1-9-2024 at 12:18 PM

So did they ever break ground on the proposed new open pit copper mine in El Arco? I've not seen any evidence of it.

bajaric - 2-18-2024 at 09:40 AM

El Arco google earth

El Atco smallerst.jpg - 31kB

Grid pattern of drill holes. Depending on what they found the old mining town may someday be a giant hole in the ground.

Check out my book, The Gold of Northern Baja, details and purchase on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Northern-Baja-History-Travel/dp/...

thanks, Ric aka Jens Tobias

PaulW - 2-18-2024 at 10:31 AM

Yes, the GE images for the El Arco area are date 5-18-2023.
Much improved since the last time I looked at the area.

mtgoat666 - 2-18-2024 at 07:26 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

El Arco google earth

Grid pattern of drill holes. Depending on what they found the old mining town may someday be a giant hole in the ground.

thanks, Ric aka Jens Tobias

Amlo has been proposing ban of open put mining. Quick google shows grupomexico not doing much in way of sales pitch for el arco.
My guess is that el arco project is unlikely to launch soon.
Good me thinks if project dies, it would ruin a nice part of rural baja…

David K - 2-18-2024 at 07:48 PM

Check out this drone 360° look at El Arco. I see many new buildings since my 2017 visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vivabaja/permalink/139627877...

mtgoat666 - 2-18-2024 at 08:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Check out this drone 360° look at El Arco. I see many new buildings since my 2017 visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vivabaja/permalink/139627877...

Seems to be a bad link. Goes to a private FB group. Do you have link to original content?

David K - 2-19-2024 at 07:34 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Check out this drone 360° look at El Arco. I see many new buildings since my 2017 visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vivabaja/permalink/139627877...

Seems to be a bad link. Goes to a private FB group. Do you have link to original content?

Link is good, but yes, it is to my VivaBaja group.. where I shared the 360° drone view. Here is the source: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069952299292 AirBaja Drone

bajaric - 3-8-2024 at 01:35 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

Quote: Originally posted by bajaric

In 1907-1910 the town of El Arco did not exist. She was speaking from memory in 1976 and probably lumped El Arco and Calmalli together as so many have done. In reality they were two separate mining districts: Calmalli was a gold mining district that flourished in the 1880's. By 1910 it was almost a ghost town. El Arco was a mining center that developed in the 1930's. Most of the mines around El Arco were copper mines, with gold present in the ore similar to the copper mined on Cedros Island.

For those that were unable to view the facebook video it showed some newer structures and a crowd of people gathered with many pickup trucks parked nearby. So there seems to be some kind of activity. I believe AMLO has banned new mining concessions, but Grupo Mexico secured the concession for the El Arco property quite some time ago. The lack of opposition to the project is probably because the area is virtually uninhabited. This is in contrast to a major gold mining project in Baja Sur that was shut down a few years ago due to protests from the people that depend on the water there. Mines that process large amounts of ore use a lot of water and this can deplete the aquifers in the area.

Ironic that copper is a necessary component for, among other things, electric vehicles.