What is the Bonanza Mine?
These are the remains of the first copper mine in the Wrangell Mountains, which launched Kennecott and the Alaskan Syndicate!
What Makes It Historical?
In 1899, U.S. Geological Survey geologist, Oscar Rohn, hiked through these mountains, finding a glacier he named Kennicott and a creek he named McCarthy, names which stuck to this area into the present. It was Mr. Rohn who tipped off prospectors, “Tarantula” Jack Smith and Clarence Warner, that the green in the high mountains wasn’t grass but copper ore! By summer of 1900, these two dug into one of the richest copper lodes in the world, chock full of high grade 77% copper ore. There was no more fitting name for this spot than the Bonanza Lode, and its Bonanza Mine!
These two scrappy prospectors mined here for seven years until the arrival of Stephen Birch, who bought up their claim and all the surrounding claims for his rising copper empire in Kennecott. The Bonanza Mine, connected to the concentration mill by a 3-mile tramway in 1909, sent 100 tons of ore down the mountain every day! By the time the operation closed in 1938, this mine alone had produced 1,383,000 tons of copper ore!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve!
- Donate to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
4.5 miles up the Bonanza Mine Trail from the Kennecott Mill
Kennicott, AK 99566
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
You’ll have the best change for good weather hiking between June and October!
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