minesHay

The Hayden/Winkelman Area in central Arizona is and has been a major mining area in the state of Arizona. As far as large producers, ASARCO operates a very large mill and smelter here processing ore from the Ray Pit west of Kearny Arizona. There are many older mine sites still visible also.

I grew up in the Winkelman area and so did my friends Mike C. and Neil F. Even though we moved away for work and school we still return very frequently to see how the countryside is doing.

The first old mine on the list is the Old Ray Mine in the Dripping Springs Mountains northwest of Hayden. Access is on a 4wd road that has several sections that are very brushy. The width of the road has pretty much degraded to ATV width. I thought that it was too much punishment for my new Tacoma when I could easily walk. There are a half dozen old truck bodies, most notably those of the Burma Trucks below the mine. The mine consists of several tunnels and shafts. If you have the energy to walk to the skyline above the mine, you can get a spectacular view of ASARCO's Ray Pit in the distance below.

Burma Truck on Left

Mine Tunnel

Panorama of Ray Pit

Moving Southeasterly from the Ray Mine closer to Hayden,but still in the Dripping Spring Mountains, is the New Year Mining Camp with the San Bernardo Mine among others. This area is dotted with shafts, tunnels, and prospects. There is one shack near the New Year Mine. Access can be made by a moderate 4wd road off of Hiway 77 between Winkelman and the BLM Shores Campground. The San Bernardo mine produced copper, gold, silver and lead.

New Year Cabin

Tunnel and Mine Rail

San Bernardo Mine

Mill Site below Bernardo Mine

Muller Type Crusher

Off the edge of the Dripping Springs Mountains and below the New Year Mining Camp to the North is Santa Monica Camp. I walked down to the camp from the New Year Mine. It is a mile or so over pretty steep ground. This mining area produced several metals including gold, lead, copper, tungsten, zinc and vanadium. There are several tunnels and at least one shaft with a large dump.

Tunnel Santa Monica Camp

Small Stationary Engine Santa Monica Camp

Northeast of Hayden and across the Gila River is an old mine that operated from 1907-1934. It produced gold, copper, silver and lead. This was an underground mine. There are several dumps, a fallen headframe and a hoist and engine. Access to this mine is a walk of several miles. It is just inside the new boundary of the San Carlos Indian Reservation.

Engine and Hoist

Southwest of Winkelman in Indian Camp Wash are the Manriquez Claims. These have been inactive for many years.

Headframe and Hoist

Mobile Slusher

Dead Cat

The Shaft

Moving further westward is another underground mine with a sizeable dump, shack, compressor and winding machine.

Compressor and Tunnel

Hoist

Shack and dump

Further west a bit is the Ripsey Mine. This was quite an operation that finally came to an end in 1941. This mine produced copper, gold, silver and lead. My friend Mike's dad worked as an assayer at this mine before moving to the ASARCO operation in Hayden.

Boiler at Ripsey Mine

Ripsey Millsite

The next mine is also within a twenty mile radius of the Hayden/Winkelman area. It is in southern Gila County. In its life time it produced lead, zinc, copper, gold and silver.

Mine Site	Headframe	Orebins
Shop Building	Very Large Compressor	Bunk House