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RIO TINTO
(Elko County)
Rio Tinto was one of the last true boom towns in Nevada and it was all due to the dogged determination of one man, Samuel Franklyn Hunt. In 1919, Hunt, who had prospected all over the west, including Alaska, found some traces of copper a few miles south of Mountain City. He filed claims and spent the next 12 years telling anyone who would listen that there was a rich deposit of copper under his claims. The very name he chose for his claims, Rio Tinto, epitomized the strong belief he had in his mine. The Rio Tinto copper mines in Spain had achieved fame for producing ore for over 3,000 years.
His main supporters during this time were the Davidson brothers, Walt and Jack, who ran a store in Mountain City. While most people laughed at him, the Davidsons believed in him and grub-staked him to whatever he needed. They would be greatly rewarded for their loyalty in the near future.
In 1931, Hunt's constant promotion of his mine at Rio Tinto finally paid off when Ogden Chase became interested. Hunt and Chase formed the Rio Tinto Copper Company. With Hunt's glib tongue and Chase's experience in mining promotion, the pair were able to sell two million shares of stock, even though no mining had actually started. With the money raised, work was begun on an incline shaft. For years, Hunt had predicted that the copper ore body would be found at 250'. When copper was finally found on December 26, 1932, it was at 227'. The ore assayed at an incredible 40% and gradually rose to 47%.
The announcement of the strike created a rush to the area, reviving the nearby town of Mountain City, and creating two towns, Rio Tinto and Patsville, located a mile below Rio Tinto. At Rio Tinto, a large group of tents and shacks were thrown up. The people who originally bought stock at $5 a share, saw the value quickly climb to $17.50 a share. On June 30, 1932, the International Smelting and Refining Company, a subsidiary of the huge Anaconda Copper Company, purchased the Rio Tinto Copper Company for $300,000. The company was renamed the Mountain City Copper Company. As a payback for all his support, Jack Davidson was named the company's first president. The next two years, the company spent its energies developing both the mine and town. Twenty-five men were hired solely for the purpose of erecting buildings at the townsite. Wide, tree-lined streets were soon crowded with ten apartment buildings, duplexes, and many single family homes. In addition, a grammar school and a high school were built, complete with athletic fields. A theater provided entertainment. Modern conveniences such as electricity, water, and sewer were also provided.
While this development was being done, a number of other companies filed claims in a ring around the Rio Tinto Mine. In July, 1933, the Warhorse Exploration Company bought 30 claims from Lyman Brooks and John Crosby. The company paid $500,000 for another block of claims in August. In March, 1934, John Crosby, John Robbins, and Lois Hays, formed four new mining companies: Andover, March, Nipigon, and Noji. However, the Rio Tinto claims covered the entire 200' thick and 700' long ore body and there was little for the other companies to find.
The Mountain City Copper Company began production in earnest in 1935 when almost eight million pounds of copper were produced. During 1936, a powerline was built from Jarbidge to power not only the town but also the new 300-ton mill that was under construction. A deadly accident marred Rio Tinto's rise to prominence. On August 13, six men were killed by deadly gas in the mine. Frank Teyera, Albert Ape l, William Burns, June Barr, Lawrence Willis, and John Sheppard, were all dead long before rescuers were able to reach them. Despite the tragedy, the company town of Rio Tinto continued to grow. In September, the mill, which cost $300,000, was finally started up. This helped push Rio Tinto's copper production to more than 25 million pounds, worth $2.3 million, in 1936. This made the company the largest copper producer in the United States. A post office, with Pearl Clary as postmaster, opened on December 7. The next year was Rio Tinto's best with more than 33 million pounds mined with a value of $4 million. At the time, 340 men were on the company payroll and the mine and mill operated around the clock.
On January 18, 1938, the The Rio Tinto News began publication. "It has come into being because we know that a newspaper can be valuable to a community in a great many ways. It can help form and crystallize public opinion in progressive policies. It can make the citizens of Rio Tinto, Mountain City, and Patsville realize that these are now their home towns and that the business and social activities of their neighbors are a part of their lives and should be of interest to them. It can, and must, print reliable news and make itself a medium for doing good in the community. If it does all of these things sincerely, no matter how small its circulation, it will be successful in upholding the ideals of a good newspaper." It was a weekly paper, edited by Harry Pazour, that was run off on a mimeograph machine. The paper, which was issued every Tuesday, only lasted for 14 issues and ended publication on April 21. There wasn't any advertising in the paper but it gave indepth reports on happenings in the town, at the community center, and schools in both Rio Tinto and Mountain City. The final issue had this as the closing statement: With the copy of the issue which you hold in your hands, The Rio Tinto News brings to a close a life which, though short, has been a happy one. We hope that it has contributed something worthwhile to the community during its existence. That has been its purpose. It is impossible to express in words the feelings that your support, your encouragement, your willingness to overlook shortcomings have occasioned in our hearts. It has made the work connected with putting out the paper a real pleasure. You are grand people and your kindness will never be forgotten. The Rio Tinto News has been proud to be a part of the life of this community and it is its hope that there is much happiness in store for all of you."
During 1938, the mill was enlarged to 400 tons. Production dropped to $1.3 million. Two other mining companies began operations during 1938; the Owyhee River Copper Company and the Rio Grande Mining Company, but their success was limited. In February, 1939, the Mountain City Mine and Mill Workers Union #466 was organized and soon had 280 members. A wage scale was designed that was based on the current price of copper. The mill was again enlarged, to 450 tons, and the mine's production rose to $3 million. While the advent of World War II proved detrimental to many mines in the west, Rio Tinto continued to flourish because of the strategic nature of copper. While $3.1 million was mined in 1940 and $2.6 million in 1941, the vast ore body was becoming depleted. The miners went on strike in October, 1941, protesting wages and unsafe work conditions. The strike ended the next month after a personal appeal from Governor Carville. Production dropped to $1.7 million in 1942, $1.4 million in 1943, and $1.3 million in 1944. 1944 was the last year of $1 million plus production. Workers were being laid off and a sense of impeding doom spread over the town. Only $650,000 was mined in 1945 and barely $100,000 in 1946. Actual mining stopped in the spring of 1947 and stockpiled ore was processed, which produced $524,000. The remaining 60 workers were stunned when the mill was shut down in September, 1947. The town of Rio Tinto emptied quickly. The post office, normally the last vestige of life, closed on February 29, 1948. Some cleanup operations netted $90,000 during the next two years, but Anaconda pulled out its subsidiary in 1949, and the town became a ghost town. Most of the buildings were bought and moved to Elko, Carlin, and Mountain City. In fact, a group of the single family houses are still standing on Seventh Street in Elko.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a leaching operation yielded another 7.7 million pounds of copper but didn't revive the town. The huge mill was dismantled for scrap by the Loveland Construction Company in 1979. Today, Rio Tinto is still a fascinating place to visit. A few of the small family homes still remain. Foundations of the many houses and apartment buildings that were moved show the layout of the town. The most impressive ruins of the town are those of the concrete school. Just above the town are the huge remains of the mill. Rio Tinto exudes the true essence of a ghost town and is a must for any ghost town enthusiast.