Consolidated Coppermines

Literally hundreds of mining claims were filed on properties in the Robinson District in the opening years of the twentieth century. The 1907 promotional booklet 'Ely and Her Mines' extolled "Copper as King" and 'Ely as the Copperopolis of America,' listing no less than 55 active copper mining concerns. The largest three were Nevada Con, Cumberland Ely Copper Company and Giroux Consolidated Mines Company. Nevada Con and Cumberland Ely were both under Guggenheim control, and would eventually be combined in 1910. The Giroux properties were not added until some 48 years later.

There were perhaps as many rumors of mergers between the Nevada Con and Giroux (later Consolidated Coppermines) properties over the years as there were copper companies in those early days. In February 1907, Giroux offered Guggenex 510,000 shares of stock at $10.00, but the million for the Morris, Brooks and Bunker Hill properties of Giroux, but that deal was also declined. In 1913, Giroux combined with four other companies to form Consolidated Coppermines. D.C. Jackling of Nevada Con considered it a good idea to acquire the Coppermines porperties at that time if the price was right; evidently, it wasn't.

Nevada Con knew that Giroux/Coppermines had good ore bodies, but also thought that they had insufficient water. The belief was that they would either have to sell out or have Nevada Con treat their ore. The later is exactly what happened beginning with a contract to smelt Coppermines ores in 1912 and later extended under several contracts over many years for both milling and smelting mines and/or from their water rights to Steptoe and Cave Creeks to supply both a reduction works and the town of Kimberly. However, they found it more profitable to have their ores treated under contract at McGill.

The two companies eventually engaged in a bitter court battle to settle the complex situation resulting from ore bodies near the Liberty Pit extending into each other's claims. Nevada Con instituted proceedings in October 1929 that were followed shortly with counter-claims filed by Consolidated Coppermines. A settlement wasn't reached until July 1937. Consolidated Coppermines received a cash award of one-half million dollars and realized $300,000 in the award of 5.4-million pounds of copper. Nevada Con received permission to extend the Liberty Pit by excavating in Coppermines Emma Nevada and Ora claims, thus gaining about 50-million tons of ore. The two companies also agreed to a new contract whereby Nevada Con would treat Coppermines ore. The position of the companies relative to each other was more clearly defined as a result of these lawsuits, and they were both more amenable to compromise on future disagreements in order to prevent the waste of time and money from additional litigation.

During the 1958 recession, Kennecott bought Consolidated Copeprmines properties at Kimberly, and all of the Robinson Mining District then belonged to Kennecott Nevada Mines Division.