Helvetia, Arizona
| Helvetia, Arizona | |
|---|---|
| Populated place | |
Helvetia in 1909, facing east.
|
|
 Helvetia, Arizona
Helvetia, Arizona
|
|
| Coordinates: 31°51′28″N 110°47′19″W / 31.85778°N 110.78861°WCoordinates: 31°51′28″N 110°47′19″W / 31.85778°N 110.78861°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Pima |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Abandoned | 1921 |
| Elevation | 4,324 ft (1,318 m) |
| Time zone | MST (no DST) (UTC-7) |
| Post Office opened | December 12, 1899 |
| Post Office closed | December 31, 1921 |
Helvetia is a populated place in Pima County, Arizona, that was settled in 1891 and abandoned in the early 1920s. Helvetia is an ancient name for Switzerland.
Helvetia was founded in 1891 for the settlement of workers from the surrounding copper mines. At its peak the city had 300 inhabitants, of which most were Mexicans. In 1911, the mines closed, due to low commodity prices. The post office, which had opened on December 12, 1899, closed on December 31, 1921, marking the end of the town.
There is not much left of Helvetia to see, simply a pair of foundation walls rising above a floor, the ruins of the smelter, and the cemetery. In the vicinity there are slag heaps and shafts from the mines. Although the town is gone, there are several homes in the immediate area that are still in use, including the Helvetia Ranch.
Helvetia is located in the Santa Rita Mountains, north of Madera Canyon, at 31°51′28″N 110°47′17″W / 31.85778°N 110.78806°W.
The Rosemont project is a large porphyry copper deposit nearby, which may yet be developed into a mine pending proper approval. There is an extensive area of porphyry copper mineralization between Helvetia and the ghost town of Rosemont. Four centers of potentially economic copper mineralization are known. The best-delineated deposit is the Rosemont, which has a geological ore reserve of around 550 million tons at about 0.45% copper, with significant molybdenum and silver credits.
In 2010, Rosemont was owned by Augusta Resources. Augusta hoped to put the Rosemont into production as early as 2011. The Rosemont Copper plan was to create a 21st-century mine in Southern Arizona. Rosemont’s plan set new higher standards for environmental protection by using new technologies for water conservation and tailings storage. In addition Rosemont Copper was expected to produce more than 2,900 jobs annually for the state of Arizona and more than $19 billion in economic activity.
...
Wikipedia