Royal John Mine and Mill, Iron Ore Cart, Royal John Mine Road, approximately 0.05 miles northwest of New Mill, San Lorenzo

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NM-35-C. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Royal John Mine and Mill complex is on the west slope of the Black Range in the Gila National Forest. Off Highway 61, near Faywood, New Mexico, is Royal John Mine Road. The road is approximately 12 miles long, and the Mine and Mill are located at the end. It is within the boundaries of Township 17 South, Range 9 West, and includes parts of Sections 8, 9, 16, and 17. Date of Construction: A single claim was patented in with major development occuring in the area between and Designer: Unknown. Builder: Unknown.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER NM-35-C. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Erin Edwards Royal John Mine and Mill, Iron Ore Cart HAER No. Page 2 LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY: The ore cart is located on the east side of Royal John Mine Road, at the terminus of the road in the mining area, approximately .05 mile northwest of the New Mill. The road is unpaved, and has been damaged due to heavy rains and flooding. The general area in which the ore cart is located is littered with various pieces of equipment, processing and hauling gear, assorted machine parts and pipes, and mostly modern-day litter.

Due to an abundance of machinery and equipment in the area, it is unclear if this ore cart is original to the site, or if it has been moved from the adjacent private land to the public land, as the owner of the adjacent claim frequents flea markets and antique shows to collect mining ephemera. ORE CARTS AT THE ROYAL JOHN MINE AND IN NEW MEXICO: Early mining in New Mexico was accomplished by hauling loads of ore on animals. As the stability of the region leveled off and the production of ore increased, carts were adopted to haul the ore. At first the carts were hauled by animals, but as technology advanced they were hauled by diesel- or steam-powered locomotives (Figure 1).

Ore carts are constructed of sheets of steel, with extra metal welded or riveted at the edges and middle for extra stability. They are shaped like rectangular boxes, and have railroad wheels on the bottom. All of the adits and cuts at Royal John had or have rail lines coming out of them; however, it is unknown exactly what routes were used to transport the ore from the mines to the mill, as the system of rail lines has been disassembled over the years (Figure 2). The rail lines are currently spaced at 18 inches apart, which suggests that rails were originally configured at a standard 18-inch gauge. The rails are made of steel, and most likely supported a 1-ton ore cart.

The only ore cart that could be located at the mine is a larger ore cart, capable of transporting approximately 5 tons of ore and with a wheel width of approximately 3 feet. The ore cart is constructed of a welded heavy-gauge steel frame, with wire-mesh sides. The bottom of the cart is missing, as are the wheels, but the axles are still in place. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Royal John Mine and Mill, Iron Ore Cart HAER No. Page 3 American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) ASARCO Company History. Electronic document. Chipman, Donald E. Handbook of Texas Online, "Cabeza De Vaca, Alvar Nunez," accessed January 05, Chipman, Donald E.

Handbook of Texas Online, "Seven Cities of Cibola," accessed January 05, Donoghue, David Handbook of Texas Online, "Coronado Expedition," accessed January 05, Fell, James E. Ores to Metals: The Rocky Mountain Smelting Industry. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. ForestHistory.Org. National Forests of the U.S.; digital document Gulf South Research Corporation. Cultural Resources Survey of the Royal John Mine and Mill in Grant County, New Mexico. USDA Forest Service, Gila National Forest, New Mexico. Hast, Adele. International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 4. St. James Press, Chicago, Illinois. Heyl, Allen V., Allen Agnew, Erwin J. Lyons, and Charles H. Behre, Jr. The Geology of the Upper Mississippi Valley Zinc-Lead District.

Geological Survey Professional Paper United States Government Printing Office, Washington, Huggard, Christopher J., and Terrence M. Humble Santa Rita del Cobre, A Copper Mining Community in New Mexico. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. Kinney, Geology and Ore Deposits of the Royal John area, Swartz District, Grant County, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report. Kohout, Martin Donell Royal John Mine and Mill, Iron Ore Cart HAER No. Page 4 Handbook of Texas Online, "Asarco," accessed January 05, McDonald, Steven John Brief History of the Royal John Mine and Mill Site. Gila National Forest, Grant County, New Mexico. Simmons, Jerry. New Mexico Mining History. Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club. Electronic document.

Soule, Investigation of the Royal John Lead-Zinc Deposits, Grant County, New Mexico. U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations Sutton, Wendy. Email from Wendy Sutton, November 30, Sutton, Wendy. Email from Wendy Sutton, January 27, The American Presidency Project. 2016a Proclamation 432 Setting Apart as a Public Reservation Certain Public Lands in the Territory of New Mexico. Electronic document. The American Presidency Project. Proclamation 582 - Enlargement of the Gila Forest Reserve, New Mexico. Electronic document. USDA Forest Service. Establishment and Modification of National Forest Boundaries and Natural Grasslands, A Chronological Record electronic document. %20to%202012.pdf USDA Forest Service. 2016a The Early Days: A Sourcebook of Southwestern Region History.

Electronic document. USDA Forest Service. Gila National Forest. Electronic document. https://www.fs.usda.gov/gila. Visit Silver City. Gila National Forest. Digital document; Royal John Mine and Mill, Iron Ore Cart HAER No. Page 5 Figure 1 - Typical 1-Ton Ore Cart. Figure 2 - Rail Lines Inside a Typical Adit.