LUE clue...the Obit of Hardrock Hammond

[Crow]

Its seems all very suspicious that this story 1929? With Ajo in which had Arizona first open cut copper mine.

The ore mined there was smelter into blister copper ingots. below

Blister copper ingots with have impurities in then Some time lead silver gold and other metals in then they are reprocessed in a refinery. Ajo did not have the capacity to refine the copper blister it produced until an updated plant 1924 with anode casting and tank house refining, precious metal plant capacity.

If the story of treasure being found in 1929 was true. it might of been pilfered blister ingots before 1924. after then pilfer precious metals from the precious metals plant.

In 1929, during a period of “stabilization,” copper men squeezed their price up to stratospheric levels of nearly 24¢ per lb. It was a cordial invitation to open every high-cost mine in the world. By 1933, the U. S. price was down to less than 5¢ per lb., foreign quotations to 4.40¢.

So temptation was there for employees to pilfer copper ingot or even process refined copper or precious metals.

A strike in 1985 led Phelps Dodge to suspend production, and depressed worldwide copper prices throughout the 1990s stymied efforts to reopen the mine. Nearby are the Papago Indian Reservation (east), the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (west), and the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (south).

Mining stopped in 1985. PD remained a presence in the community but sold much of its holdings, including the Plaza and the company housing. The remaining mines property is now owned by Freeport-McMoran Gold and Silver, Inc., which merged with Phelps Dodge in 2007.

That sure I am not sure there is any substance to the alleged Lue being connected to AJO operation?

Before 1872 AJo did not exist. the area is copper belt with very little significant gold vein deposits.

Crow

 

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[Crow]

The smelter below was fully functional by 1924 before that date ingots of blister was produced and shipped out through San Diego. A little more research Ajo smelter did have a tank house where used cathodes to help resolve copper anode in the electrolysis process. this the surrey of impurities could be processed in gold and silver in a precious metals plant.

Here is anode furnace creating copper anodes from the copper blister. Copper anodes are used in the purification of steel during the process of steel making. Electrolytic refining is the process of refining copper from other metals by passing an electric current through a solution of copper sulfate.

Looking at furnace below it look like a type 2 reverbitory furnace which would of used timer to reduce oxygen in blister copper to refine it to be into copper anode.

In the picture below you can see the anode cooling tanks and the anode casting wheel behind it. the furnace would have tap hole usually blocked clay.

And when the oxygen levels are reduced either by timber placed in the bath of molten copper or gas pumped in to push the air out. When air content reduced the furnace is ready to cast. unblocking the tap hole the molten metal flows down a series of heated launders into casting ladle pouring anodes in wheel of molds.

Here is the cast copper anodes below.

They they are sent to a tank house below. and placed in between sheets of cathodes over time the anodes dissolve and copper transfers to cathode and impurities such as gold silver etc fall to the bottom of the tank in slurry.

The slurry is sent to precious metal plant where through flotation tanks is separated.

If any gold came out Ajo area it was originally from theft most likely through employed in the late 1920s stolen over a periods of time.

Having worked in the industry I knew it easy to fOR employees to cheat their employees. While most plants had security there was ingenious ways to pilfer Copper and precious metals.

My guess this alleged treasure found in 1929 if the story was true? was actually from pilfering from smelting and refining process.

So if anything was recovered in 1965 my guess it would of been connected to previous employees 1929 pilfering from the smelting and refining process.

is this connected to Lue if any? is matter for conjecture.

Crow

 

[sdcfia]

. . . .
If any gold came out Ajo area it was originally from theft most likely through employed in the late 1920s stolen over a periods of time.

Having worked in the industry I knew it easy to fOR employees to cheat their employees. While most plants had security there was ingenious ways to pilfer Copper and precious metals.

My guess this alleged treasure found in 1929 if the story was true? was actually from pilfering from smelting and refining process.

So if anything was recovered in 1965 my guess it would of been connected to previous employees 1929 pilfering from the smelting and refining process.

is this connected to Lue if any? is matter for conjecture.

Crow

Ajo's copper mine was a "classic" open pit operation until its closure. Without the data, my guess is that most of the total production figures reported (Cu-Au-Ag) were recovered far, far later than 1929. At best, by 1929, IMO, any gold and silver would have been recovered in the flotation process. These concentrates would have been sent to a precious metals smelter for secondary refining, as far as I can determine Ajo was only smelting blister copper.

I can't imagine workers high-grading flotation sludge and smelting it themselves. The "Ajo treasure" was reported to be "A huge cache of 500 to 700 fine gold and silver slugs". If true, this sounds to me a lot like crude smelting of high grade ore. For example, concentration of the ore using arrastras/amalgamation, then crude smelting into "slugs".

Crow, you presented the geology of the Ajo Mine deposits. Sounds similar to many other Southwestern USA copper mines. Speculation: if the Spanish had found the Ajo deposit, or another rich surface deposit of high-grade gold somewhere in the region, they had the capability of producing the type of bullion reported as the "Ajo treasure". For comparison, the early Santa Rita del Cobre records indicate much extremely rich near-surface gold ores easily recovered there along with massive amounts of native copper by the Spanish, at least a hundred years before the lower grade open pit operation commenced.

As you asked, is this connected to the LUE? Beats me, I still don't have a clear idea what the hell the LUE is.

 

[Randy Bradford]

The only information that I've read about the Ajo cache, is what has been posted on this thread. Was there a map that led to the Ajo cache?

I'll post the story that ran from the PCI newsletter soon, I haven't read it in a while so it might shed some light. I believe it was published in 1968, so the LUE was a known commodity but hadn't been written about like it would be in 1970....

 

[Crow]

Okay some times Crow's old brain is like a fried turkeys.

You might of experienced this Yourself! When you remember story from a long time ago? And you cannot quite remember THE full details of the story? I might of already posted the details here many years ago. I Have been on here on the forum nearly 20 years.

I have hundreds of thousands of pages of documents from all over the globe. So much i forget where crap is? I will give you the part as my old fart of memory can remember.

There was a man living in mining area in the early 20th century as out hunting near a mining town. hunting deer and found a small cave in the rain and discovered a box full of bars. I think silver or copper?

I cannot remember the name? it was in a newspaper article. He recovered the bars which was supposed to have been pilfered from a mining operation? He sold the bars and bought a store in which he managed. I confirmed through census when I had his name. And I think I am not sure it could be related the Ajo mining district?

This may or may not be Johnson person connected to Ajo? If so? I did not know the later Hammond Miller connection in 1960's

As it being connected to the Lue I am not sure? Hell I am note sure the whole story of Lue was just ruse distracted would be treasure hunters away from karl's own pet projects?

Crow.

 

[mdog]

Okay some times Crow's old brain is like a fried turkeys.

You might of experienced this Yourself! When you remember story from a long time ago? And you cannot quite remember THE full details of the story? I might of already posted the details here many years ago. I Have been on here on the forum nearly 20 years.

I have hundreds of thousands of pages of documents from all over the globe. So much i forget where crap is? I will give you the part as my old fart of memory can remember.

There was a man living in mining area in the early 20th century as out hunting near a mining town. hunting deer and found a small cave in the rain and discovered a box full of bars. I think silver or copper?

I cannot remember the name? it was in a newspaper article. He recovered the bars which was supposed to have been pilfered from a mining operation? He sold the bars and bought a store in which he managed. I confirmed through census when I had his name. And I think I am not sure it could be related the Ajo mining district?

This may or may not be Johnson person connected to Ajo? If so? I did not know the later Hammond Miller connection in 1960's

As it being connected to the Lue I am not sure? Hell I am note sure the whole story of Lue was just ruse distracted would be treasure hunters away from karl's own pet projects?

Crow.

I've been studying the LUE Map for several months and posted my research in my thread, LUE MAP THEORY, MAYBE SOME CONTEXT. I'm confident in my research and have found that you have to know other information, in order for the LUE Map to make sense. You have to have the LUE Map, a constellation chart and a map of the United States that shows latitude and longitude as curved lines. With those tools, the LUE Map will lead you to specific locations associated with treasure legends and some locations where treasure has been recovered, some in the eastern United States. You must also know that the constellation Auriga was important to whatever group engineered the LUE mapping. The locations and treasure legends, associated with the LUE Map, were created over a period of a couple hundred years, so Von Mueller couldn't have fabricated it.

 

[mdog]

Its seems all very suspicious that this story 1929? With Ajo in which had Arizona first open cut copper mine.

View attachment 2170340

The ore mined there was smelter into blister copper ingots. below

View attachment 2170341

Blister copper ingots with have impurities in then Some time lead silver gold and other metals in then they are reprocessed in a refinery. Ajo did not have the capacity to refine the copper blister it produced until an updated plant 1924 with anode casting and tank house refining, precious metal plant capacity.

If the story of treasure being found in 1929 was true. it might of been pilfered blister ingots before 1924. after then pilfer precious metals from the precious metals plant.

In 1929, during a period of “stabilization,” copper men squeezed their price up to stratospheric levels of nearly 24¢ per lb. It was a cordial invitation to open every high-cost mine in the world. By 1933, the U. S. price was down to less than 5¢ per lb., foreign quotations to 4.40¢.

So temptation was there for employees to pilfer copper ingot or even process refined copper or precious metals.

A strike in 1985 led Phelps Dodge to suspend production, and depressed worldwide copper prices throughout the 1990s stymied efforts to reopen the mine. Nearby are the Papago Indian Reservation (east), the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (west), and the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (south).

Mining stopped in 1985. PD remained a presence in the community but sold much of its holdings, including the Plaza and the company housing. The remaining mines property is now owned by Freeport-McMoran Gold and Silver, Inc., which merged with Phelps Dodge in 2007.

View attachment 2170343

That sure I am not sure there is any substance to the alleged Lue being connected to AJO operation?

Before 1872 AJo did not exist. the area is copper belt with very little significant gold vein deposits.

Crow

I ran across this treasure legend and I thought it was interesting that the gold bars were stamped AJO.

1. In 1879, four outlaws robbed a stage near Gila Bend and made off with $125,000 in gold coins and 22 gold bars stamped “AJO”. The next day, the same gang robbed another stage near Stanwix Station obtaining 2 chests containing $140,000 in gold coins and $60,000 in currency. Fleeing northeastward when the posse trailed them into the Tonto Basin country, than northwestward when the posse finally overtook them. In the shootout, 2 of the gang were shot and killedand the other 2 escaped, making their way to Holbrook where they waited for things to quiet down. Here, one of the bandits was killed in a poker game and the other, Henry Tice, in a fit of anger, shot and killed the gambler. An irate made a quick job of justice and killed him.
   The search area for this huge store of treasure has centered around the cliffs between Mormon Lake and Flagstaff. All efforts to locate this hoard have failed.

I don't know anything about refining precious metals, but I was wondering, could the insignificant amounts of gold from the Ajo copper. have been recovered from a refinery up by Wickenburg, where there was more gold being recovered?

 

[mdog]

Okay some times Crow's old brain is like a fried turkeys.

You might of experienced this Yourself! When you remember story from a long time ago? And you cannot quite remember THE full details of the story? I might of already posted the details here many years ago. I Have been on here on the forum nearly 20 years.

I have hundreds of thousands of pages of documents from all over the globe. So much i forget where crap is? I will give you the part as my old fart of memory can remember.

There was a man living in mining area in the early 20th century as out hunting near a mining town. hunting deer and found a small cave in the rain and discovered a box full of bars. I think silver or copper?

I cannot remember the name? it was in a newspaper article. He recovered the bars which was supposed to have been pilfered from a mining operation? He sold the bars and bought a store in which he managed. I confirmed through census when I had his name. And I think I am not sure it could be related the Ajo mining district?

This may or may not be Johnson person connected to Ajo? If so? I did not know the later Hammond Miller connection in 1960's

As it being connected to the Lue I am not sure? Hell I am note sure the whole story of Lue was just ruse distracted would be treasure hunters away from karl's own pet projects?

Crow.

Hi Crow,

This Arizona treasure lead is from an old post by Tnet member GoldBack, and might explain why Johnson and his two friends were southeast of Ajo and close to the Mexican border.

"This has also been referred to as the Ajo Treasure. It is said that church valuables including gold and silver bullion have been hidden along the roadway between Sonoyta Mexico and the Tumacacori Mission. The old road was called Carretta Road. (Not so new but still a good one)"

Here's a map showing the area.