The vapor was condensed and stored in
metal flasks for transport. Mercury is
one of the easiest metals to extract from
its ore, and yet its refining took a heavy
toll on the Big Bend ecosystem, as all
available timber within an ever-widen-
ing radius of the mines was rapidly
exhausted. Eventually a low-grade
source of coal was discovered nearby,
from which a methane gas could be pro-
duced to fuel the furnaces. Mercury is
toxic, especially in vapor form, and the
discarded slag from mercury mines con-
tain a high level of the metal, as the pro-
cessing of the ore typically yielded
about 95 per cent of the mercury, leav-
ing five per cent in the slag. Because of
its volatility, any deposited mercury can
be readily re-emitted to the atmosphere
and the immediate environment.
When one thinks of 19th century
mining in the West, one thinks immedi-
ately of precious metals - of silver and
gold, boom towns, major population
redistribution and a general rush toward
the promise of riches. While the Big
Bend saw nothing like the rushes experi-
enced in California, it had its fair share
of precious metal mining.
The Shafter mining district was mined
for precious metal ores, primarily silver,
from 1883 until 1952. In 1876, geologist
Samuel B. Buckley surveyed the Chinati
Mountains and found deposits of silver,
lead, copper, uranium, zinc and mercury.
In 1879, three railroads – the Galveston,
Houston and San Antonio, the
International-Great Northern and the
Texas and Pacific – organized a prospect-
ing expedition to Presidio County, which
came back empty-handed. In 1880, Col.
William Shafter assayed a sample of rock
brought to him by John W. Spencer, a local
rancher. Having found small amounts of
silver in the sample, the two teamed up
with Lt. Louis Wilhelmi and Lt. John L.
Bullis from Fort Davis and purchased four
sections of land around Spencer's discov-
ery. Lacking the technical knowledge nec-
essary to mine the silver, however, they
eventually leased and later sold the acreage
to speculators from California, who organ-
ized the Presidio Mining Company.
Ninety-two per cent of the silver and
73 per cent of the gold produced in
Texas during its years of operation came
from the Presidio mine. At its peak it
employed 400 miners and in 1913 it
introduced air drills to make the work
more efficient. The mercury-based mill,
which extracted the silver from the ore
by crushing it and mixing it with mercu-
ry and salt, was replaced with a bigger
and better cyanide-based mill. This
process of chemical separation involves
the fine grinding of high-grade ores,
which are soaked in cyanide in vats, and
the piling of lower-grade ores which are
sprayed with the cyanide. The cyanide
dissolves the silver and the slag, or spent
ore, is discarded. Careful management of
mine tailings and water in modern min-
ing operations prevents cyanide pollution
of mining areas, but spills of cyanide-
polluted water can still occur and are
common around the world. Shafter and
the mining district flourished until the
Great Depression, when the price of sil-
ver took a severe downturn. Efforts to
revive its glory days subsequent to 1936
failed as the output of silver and lead
diminished steadily.
Today, the Rio Grande Mining
Company has reopened the silver mine at
Shafter, building on exploration from the
1970s which occurred before the last
decline in the price of silver. Using chemi-
cal leaching to extract the precious metal,
the mine intends to produce 3.8 million
ounces of silver per year, roughly half the
amount produced by the current largest
producer in the U.S., in Alaska. The price
of silver has tripled since 2009 to roughly
$30 per ounce. The new Shafter mine will
produce its silver in 800 pound bars.
Concerns about the environmental
implications of the mining extend beyond
the use of chemicals and the safe disposal
of contaminated slag. The Rio Grande
Mining Company has announced its
intentions to void approximately 1 million
gallons of water per day into a nearby dry
arroyo.
Mining and controversy go commonly
hand-in-hand: on one hand towns spring
up in the desert, where a dearth of
resources prevented their growth in the
past. Jobs are created, as well as wealth,
and a certain sense of conquering a
stingy and inhospitable environment by
wringing it for its underground riches.
On the other hand, the extraction of
resources through mining takes a bitter
toll on the other resources of the desert:
water, timber, and topsoil, the paucity of
which already strains the ingenuity of
this harsh environment's inhabitants,
human and non-human alike. Yet the
pursuit of riches in the ground is perhaps
inevitable, as attested by the Burro Mesa
quarries at the foot of the Chisos
Mountains, where thirteen millennia of
treasure seekers have mined before.
NOW OPEN
Accepting new patients
Walk-ins welcome
Se habla Español
2600 N. Hwy 118 (in the Medical Office portion of the Hospital)
Monday through Friday • 8:00am to 5:00pm
Dr. Catherine Harrington
Family Practice / Fellowship-trained OB
Board Certified Family Practice
Dr. Harrington is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Meharry
School of Medicine in Tennessee. She has a special interest in pedi-
atric patients and OB’s. To make an appointment with Dr.
Harrington, please call 432-837-0431.
Dr. Rochelle Sohl
Gynecology and Gynecologic Surgery
Board Certified OB/Gyn
Dr. Sohl is an Honors graduate from the University of Texas San
Antonio. She is an Alpine native and has special interests in
menopause, pelvic floor surgeries and women’s health issues. To
make an appointment with Dr. Sohl, please call 432-837-0430.
Allison Ainsworth, ANP
Allison Ainsworth is an adult nurse practitioner who offers primary
care for men and women over the age of 13. Allison received her
MSN while working at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She
has worked with over 3,500 patients and also has experience in
supervising care for a Nursing Home.
Cenizo
First Quarter 2013
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