Welcome back to our second and final article discussing a decade of change for Park City as the mining community diversified its economy and modernized its mining infrastructure. In the previous article we discussed the success of the Mayflower Mine in the Blue Ledge Mining District east of Park City. Encouraged by this prosperity, United Park City Mines (UPCM), owner of the storied Ontario Mine decided to construct a new shaft to access promising ore beds, commencing construction commenced in 1965. This would be an internal shaft beginning at the 1,500-foot level.
Ultimately the new shaft reached a depth of 2,400 feet. Besides excavation, dewatering systems and a new hoist were required. Between the two, procuring a hoist was the most challenging. The proverbial combination of time and money threatened construction schedules. The ingenuity of the company’s machine shop crew would ultimately resolve the dilemma. In this article, we’ll learn how the newest mine shaft in Park City came to use the oldest hoist.
In a period of transition best describes UPCM as the 1970s beckoned. The company’s two largest investors, Anaconda Company and ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company) were negotiating with UPCM to establish Park City Ventures. Essentially, UPCM leased the mineral rights to the new corporate entity for $2.5 million. UPCM would receive a royalty based upon net profits after deducting for capital expenses. Park City Ventures debuted in 1970. Over the next eight years the company would invest $26 million (approximately $100 million today) to revitalize Park City’s mines. It would prove for naught.

Credit: Park City Historical Society & Museum, Jordanelle Special Service District Collection
The new owners of the Ontario mine needed a hoist for their new #6 shaft – and quickly. Their business models, and the justification for their sizable investment were predicated upon realizing certain production volumes. Failure to do so threatened the entire enterprise. The cost of a new hoist was approximately $1 million – sticker shock indeed. However, even worse – the lead time was twelve months, or more. This was completely unacceptable. What to do?
One of the mines under Park City Ventures purview included the famed Silver King Mine. For decades the Silver King had been exactly that – the king of silver production. Alas, the good times were but a distant memory; The mine closed in 1953. The Silver King’s vast subterranean labyrinth included an area known as Silver Hill, which was developed circa 1910 underneath today’s Bonanza Flats. There were no surface structures. The entire operation was below ground – the power plant, machine shop, hoist, etc. At the time, its lift was the world’s largest internal hoist. Though inoperative for almost twenty years, the hoist was in remarkably good condition.
The resourcefulness of the company’s multiple machine shops was legendary, as exemplified by their foreman, Richard Martinez. For them, no task was insurmountable, including the disassembly, transportation, cleaning, refurbishing, and reassembly of a sixty-five-year-old 900-foot hoist. They estimated four months to do all of that work with a total cost of only $200,000 (one-fifth the price of a new hoist and in at least a third of the time required to install a new one). It was an easy decision.
Acknowledgements: This article owes its existence to the contributions of Keith Droste, Jim Hewitson, Steve Leatham, Clark Martinez, and Sandra Morrison.