I believe this was mentioned briefly earlier, but I wanted to expound upon what is, in my opinion, a real possibility to be considered: accidental death from falling into an abandoned mine shaft.
Utah has
at least 17,000 mine openings (which state officials admit is likely an undercount as they don't have enough funds to do a full state-wide survey) that have not been closed (an additional 5,000 mines have been sealed off). Since 1983,
11 people have died and
42 people have been injured in abandoned mines in Utah alone.
At its peak, there were
more than 400 mining claims were staked out between Ben Lomond Peak and Collinston in northern Box Elder County. Lucin itself was
its own mining district that was also conveniently located near the only railhead in the area.
While the veins in the Lucin area
lacked the gold that was characteristic of the Western mining boom in the mid-late 19th and early 20th century, they were flush with less-glamorous but equally-lucrative minerals like copper and iron. Lucin's minerals were
first discovered in 1868, and by 1872, the Lucin mining district was established to organize all of the new mines being established in the area. Below is a map of
Lucin mining claims:
View attachment 349925
View attachment 349926
The Copper Mountain fault zone is a
mineralized fault zone at the top of Copper Mountain that is more than 1,000 feet wide and intersects with many other mineralized faults. The Lucin Copper Company operated a profitable copper and iron ore mine on this fault, shipping out
130 to 150 tons of copper ore per day, although work was occasionally stopped
due to strikes. The Lucin Copper Company also owned
25 claims in the Lucin district aside from the mine atop Copper Mountain.
The Tecoma mine, also located in Lucin, was extremely active and profitable. It was
sold in 1871 for $125,000 in gold coins, equivalent to
$2.9 million in today's money. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of other mines operating in the Lucin area during its peak. Mines frequently changed hands, either being sold to individual owners or large mining conglomerates (there were
15 of them operating in Lucin alone by 1910), as evidenced by the
multitude of notices published in area papers.
The Salt Lake Company, organized by mining tycoons and engineers from Butte, MT, purchased large tracks of mines adjoining the old Lewissohn mines in Lucin in 1907. The Salt Lake mine was massive: it had an
open cut 100 feet wide, 200 feet long, with a back wall of 80 feet containing nothing but copper ore. The company also had many other mines on its 500-acre claim, including "
a tunnel and workings to the extent of about 1,200 feet."
Unfortunately, due to a lack of state funding and sheer number of abandoned mines in the state, there is not a comprehensive list of abandoned mines and their locations, which means there is always a possibility of stumbling across one unexpectedly.
Sources
Donald McCoy Blue, "
Geology and Ore Deposits of the Lucin Mining District, Box Elder County, Utah, and Elko County, Nevada," M.S. thesis, University of Utah, 1960.
Faye Farnsworth Tholen, "
Vipont, Utah: A Lost and Almost Forgotten Ghost Town,"
Utah Historical Quarterly 71, no. 3 (2003).
Janelle Hyatt, "
Claims to fame: New exhibit looks at mining industry in Box Elder County,"
Standard-Examiner, 15 July 2012.
John Hollenhorst, "
Nevada mining death serves as reminder of danger in Utah’s 17,000 mine openings,"
Deseret News, 8 March 2011.
"
Big Strike in Lucin Copper Mine Reported,"
Salt Lake Telegram, 13 March 1918, 6.
"
Sale of a Mine,"
Corinne Daily Reporter, 3 October 1871, 3.
Lucin Copper Mines Co. advertisement,
Butte Miner, 17 June 1907, 8.
Notice of sale of the Jennie Ledge Mine,
Ogden Junction, 3 June 1874, 6.
"
Butte Men Get Copper in Utah: Northern Engineers Snap Up Property Adjoining Old Lewissohn Mines,"
Salt Lake Herald, 3 June 1907.
