Kennecott Copper: The Kennecott Mine in Utah History

The Kennecott Mine in Utah History

Kennecott: Your Neighbor for More Than 100 Years

In 1848, Thomas and Sanford Bingham, who thought the canyon would be great ranchland, settled Bingham Canyon. But the canyon was filled with rich minerals deposits, so soldiers from Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City began prospecting the area in 1863. Their commander, Col. Patrick Conner, formed Utah’s first mining district in Bingham and became known as “The Father of Utah Mining.”

Over the years, miners extracted lead and silver from Bingham. In 1903, the Utah Copper Company was formed to mine and produce copper on a massive scale. In 1906, the first steam shovels began open-pit mining on “The Hill,” which is today “The Pit.” At about the same time, Utah Copper and Boston Consolidated Mining Co. built copper mills near the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, and American Smelting & Refining Co. built a smelter nearby. All these facilities were continually updated.

In 1915, Kennecott Copper Corp. bought 25 percent of Utah Copper and in 1939 purchased all of Kennecott’s property and assets. After World War II, where Kennecott provided about 1/3 of the copper used by the Allies, the company built its own refinery to process copper from ASARCO’s smelter. When Kennecott purchased the smelter in 1959, it became a fully integrated copper producer with all four steps; mining, concentrating, smelting, refining, in the production cycle in house.

Kennecott has been owned by a number of other companies and is now a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies.