Several Old Mine Sites Near Hayden And Winkelman Arizona

The Hayden/Winkelman Area in central Arizona is and has been a major mining area in the state of Arizona. As far as large producers, ASARCO operates a very large mill and smelter there processing ore from the Ray Pit west of Kearny Arizona. There are many older mine sites still visible also.

I grew up in the Winkelman area and so did my friends Mike C. and Neil F. Even though we moved away for work and school we still return often to see how the countryside is doing.

The first old mine on the list is the Ray Silver Lead Mine in the Dripping Springs Mountains northwest of Hayden. Access is on a 4wd road that has several sections that are very brushy. The width of the road has pretty much degraded to ATV width. When I was there last, I thought that it was too much punishment for my new Tacoma when I could easily walk. There are no standing buildings or any mine equipment at the mine today. Concrete floors and other foundations indicate that the camp was pretty well developed at one time. The mine had a pretty long life from 1917 to around 1960. It's production was mostly in lead with some silver and gold. The mine consists of several tunnels and shafts. There is an interesting collection of old classic truck bodies scattered about. If you have the energy to walk westerly to the skyline above the mine, you can look down on ASARCO's huge Ray pit below.

Another mine in the Dripping Springs mountains was a major producer in its day. As was the case with many of the mines in the area there were several different metals produced. There were many unusual minerals that came from this mine. It is still a producer of mineral samples today.

Southwest of Winkelman in a sand wash are the Manriquez Claims. These have been inactive for many years. All of the equipment in the photos was there in 2006. I have been told that in 2009 the truck mounted slusher had been removed and a great portion of the cat had been cut off for scrap.

Moving further westward is another underground mine with a sizeable dump, shack, compressor and winding machine.

Compressor and Tunnel

Hoist

Shack and dump

Further west a bit is the Ripsey Mine. This was quite an operation that finally came to an end in 1941. This mine produced copper, gold, silver and lead. My friend Mike's dad worked as an assayer at this mine before moving to the ASARCO operation in Hayden.

Boiler at Ripsey Mine

Ripsey Millsite