Ferris-Haggarty Mine (Ferris-Haggerty; Rudefeha Mine), Encampment Mining District, Carbon County, Wyoming, USAi

Regional Level Types
Ferris-Haggarty Mine (Ferris-Haggerty; Rudefeha Mine)	Mine (Inactive)
Encampment Mining District	Mining District
Carbon County	County
Wyoming	State
USA	Country

A former Cu-Au-Ag-U occurrence/mine.

Mineralization is a Cu deposit (Mineral occurrence model information: Model code: 92; USGS model code: 24b.1; Deposit model name: Massive sulfide, Besshi; Mark3 model number: 98), hosted in Proterozoic quartzite of the Deep Lake Group.

The Ferris-Haggerty mine is a 100 year old abandoned underground copper mine on private land within the boundary of the Medicine Bow National Forrest near Encampment, Wyoming at an elevation of 9,500 feet. The site is situated in the remote upper reaches of Haggerty Creek, about four miles north of Wyoming Highway 70 in Section 16, T14N, R86W At the turn of the nineteenth century it was one of the largest Copper mines in the region, producing an estimated 24 million pounds of Copper from 1898 to 1908. The mine used state of the art mining equipment, including a 16-mile aerial tramway (touted as the largest in the world at the time) for transporting metal ore to a smelter in Encampment.
The copper ore was initially extracted from the underground workings through two vertical shafts driven from the surface and later from a main haulage level, called the “Osceola Tunnel”, whereby the ore was transported to the surface using a compressed air locomotive and rail cars. The ore was then transported over the Continental Divide to the smelter in Encampment via the aerial tramway. By 1904 the mining operations were at their apex, employing 200 men and producing over $1,400,000 worth of copper. Mining operations ceased in 1908 presumably as a result of smelter fire, financial problems, mismanagement and declining copper prices. Foreclosure proceedings began in 1913 and salvage operations followed shortly. The Ferris-Haggerty Mine Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10303371

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References