Denn Mine

Denn & Arizona Mine 

Shattuck Denn Mine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In April of 1905, Joe Colley and his crew of the Denn & Arizona Copper Company had prepared the site northwest of the cemetery for sinking of the Denn Shaft. On December 8th 1905 the shaft was already 740 ft. deep and fifteen sinking buckets of muck were being raised every ten hour shift. In March 1906, the shaft was equal to the 1000 level (983 Denn) of the Junction Mine. A station was going to be cut with drifting started towards a diamond drill hole that struck ore. The pumps were being installed. On December 10, 1906, the drift on the 1000 level struck ore near the drill hole. In July 1907, a drift on the 1100 intercepted the same orebody. With falling metal prices, the Denn was ordered closed in November 1907 with the exception of the diamond drilling crews. By April 1909, the 1250 level station was being cut and the shaft was being sunk at a rate of 15 ft. per week.  In November, drill holes on the 1350 level were spouting jets of water up five feet and  releasing 1,400 gallons per minute into the mine . Later, a large flow of water was struck in a drift on the 1600. Initially, the pumps held off the water, but then more water was struck. Soon the shaft was flooded to 35 ft. below the 1350 level. In December 1910, the pumps were pulled and Denn was shutdown. The mine remained closed until June 1917, work resumed. By January 1918, dewatering the mine to the 1600 level was being worked on. February 1919 a fire broke out inside the Denn and after one week it was still not under control. It was not until the controversial merger of the Shattuck & Arizona Copper Company with the Denn & Arizona Copper Company that the Denn became a consistent producer. Under the Shattuck Denn Mining Company the Denn was pumped out and the mine operated from 1925-1944. In 1947, the Denn was purchased by the Phelps Dodge Corporation. A waste pocket was built so waste could be hauled by dump trucks dumped into the pocket and lowered underground for back filling stopes was for backfilling. The Denn hoisted ore from the Campbell Mine. This made the shaft muddy as water seepage mixed with dirt falling out of skips. This mine remained in operation used until the end of mining in 1975. Although, the working condition were less than ideal being hot, wet and some areas had an unpleasant smell. Local legend tells that the scent was caused by the cemetery above the mine workings. The shaft was completed at a depth of 3,157 ft. deep and with four compartment. The Denn was one of the more noticeable mines. Even after the closure in 1975, the loud, eerie, howl of the mine fan echoed across Evergreen Cemetery and into Lowell for years. This fan was providing ventilation for the Junction pump stations and parts of the Campbell Mine. The Denn Mine is sometimes referred to as the Denn & Arizona Mine, or Shattuck Denn Mine in period literature. 

 

“Preparing for Denn Shaft” Bisbee Daily Review 30 April 1905 page 9

“Denn-Arizona” Bisbee Daily Review 10 December 1905 page 1

“The Denn-Arizona” Bisbee Daily Review 18 March 1906 page 9

“The Denn-Arizona has Stopped Sinking for Present” Bisbee Daily Review 1 April 1906 page 16

“Denn-Arizona was Feature of Week Harrington Tells of Importance” Bisbee Daily Review 16 December 1906 page 9

“Denn-Arizona Strikes Rich Orebody” Bisbee Daily Review 30 July 1907 page 5

“Shattuck-Ariz and Denn to Close” Bisbee Daily Review 8 November 1907 page 5

“New Station For Denn Mine” Bisbee Daily Review 29 April 1909 page 6

“Water Coming in at Denn Mine” Bisbee Daily Review 2 November 1909 page 8

“Arizona News of Interest” Tombstone Epitaph 20 November 1910 page 1

“Cause of Shut Down in Mine Unexplained” Bisbee Daily Review 27 December 1910 page 1

“1917 Short of High Grade, Which is Needed to Meet Costs; Warren District May Help” Bisbee Daily Review 3 January1918 page 9

“Fire in Denn Mine; 200 Out of Work” Bisbee Daily Review 23 February1919 page 5