5.31 oz Jonathan Head, Amie and Climax Mine, Leadville Silver Ingot, CO – Leadville
c1880 – “Presented to Jonathan Head by his friend John Gerians, foreman of the Amie and Climax mines.”
“Leadville silver”. Size: 2” x 1” x 0.5”. Weight: 5.31 troy oz. The Amie and Climax mines are located on Fryer Hill at Leadville, one of the richest areas of the district. Horatio Burchard, Director of the Mint, called it “the great bonanza field.” The Climax and Amie discovered rich ore about 1878 along the border of the claim, and it took a major lawsuit to settle the matter. In fact, the ore along the boundary was said to be among the best ores ever found at Leadville. The two mines paid out $600,000 in dividends based on over $2 million in production by 1883. Production kept going for a number of years, particularly at the Climax, where ores were developed through a series of underground workings serviced by six shafts [Corregan & Lingane, Colorado Mining Directory, 1883; Burchard, Report of the Director of the Mint, 1885, pp223-4, 231-2].
The vein system dipped NE, and ore was found from the surface down to 175 feet, where a sort of “iron cap” took over on the Amie. This “cap” also was in another adjacent claim (mine); the Deer Lodge. In about 1880, in two weeks time, more than $200,000 was taken from the #3 shaft of the mine, and it is undoubtedly this time that this ingot celebrates. Neither of the two men on this ingot, as mine workers or foremen, were mentioned in management reports of Corregan & Lingane, Burchard, or other handy mining references. It might be suggested that perhaps this ingot could celebrate a good deed, such as a close call underground, that indebted Gerians to Head. Another Jonathan Head, perhaps the same man, superintended a mine called the K Head mine and the Tippecanoe shaft near Youngstown, Ohio in 1890. More research is needed using Leadville, Colorado directories and newspaper reports of the period, none of which are digitized at present.
The Other Climax Mine
There is often confusion about two major mines in Colorado of the same name, Climax. The Fryer Hill, Leadville Climax mine is discussed above. But those of us in the mining business know of another Climax mine, even more important, just up the highway to the east at the summit. This Climax mine is perhaps one of the most important mines in the world, producing molybdenum, an essential steel hardening alloying metal. It is recently the subject of an excellent article in Mining Engineering this month (September, 2012) by senior Editor William Gleason. This Climax mine was discovered during the Leadville boom period in 1879, but the funny grey metal wasn’t identified until 1895 by the Colorado School of Mines. Climax Molybdenum was formed in 1918 and the mine took off, as use for “molly”–as we in mining call it–exploded. The mine soon became a world leader in production, until 1980, when the economy crashed. The need for steel crashed with it, taking molly along for the ride. The mine closed and was reclaimed in the 1990s. After 2005, renewed market interest in molly rekindled the mine, and over the past five years or so, careful efforts were made to increase exploration, refurbish the mill, and make long term plans for continued production. The efforts produced 20 years of reserves, a restart this year in production with the hiring of 3500 employees, and guarded optimism in market support. The project has major economic impact on the region, and brings the Climax back into the fold as one of the world’s premier molly mines.
[12/2012] https://www.icollector.com/Jonathan-Head-Amie-and-Climax-Mine-Leadville-Silver-Ingot-CO-Leadville_i14654246 ($22,705)