Santa Rita Mine - Mines on Waymarking.com

The Santa Rita Mine is supposedly the longest continuous mining claim in the United States. Mining, in a sense, began when the Mimbreno Indians collected chrysocolla, a copper ore, prior to 1300. Later, the Apaches used surface copper for trade and ceremonial purposes. Actual deep mining of the copper veins began shortly after 1799 when a Spanish soldier stationed nearby began mining an ore vein, and it has been mined continuously ever since.

The copper was taken south to Mexico City by mule trains, copper of such clean quality and malleability most all Mexican copper coins minted from then until 1840 were minted from it. In the 1850's the Santa Rita Mines were abandoned due to the Apaches, but was soon reopened. It wasn't until 1873 that it first came under American ownership, yet only 30 years later the rich veins had played out and the Santa Rita Mine as we know it today began to take shape.

It began with the finding that while the ore was of lower quality, there were enormous amounts of it. The result was that by 1910 steam shovels were beginning to excavate a hole that would grow over the ensuing years to the 1500 foot deep, 1 1/2 mile across pit that it is today. Concentrators, mills, smelters and refineries all became part of the complex over the years. One of the oddities of the pit is that in a way it swallowed itself, what with the original mining town of Santa Rita having disappeared into the that ever growing pit over the years.

You can view the mine is from the overlook at the Santa Rita Observation Point, located on the east side of NM Highway 152 just south of milepost 6. While there is no visitors center, there is an interpretive display.

Telephoto shot of the 360-ton, 3 stories tall, haul trucks that carry the ore up and and out of the mine.