Qualla: Chino Mine https://qualla.com/chino-mine en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:03 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/g/4/chino-mine-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Chino Mine https://qualla.com/chino-mine Chino Mine: Introduction https://qualla.com/chino-mine/ Photo credit Eric Guinther (Marshman), CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1800, an Apache man led Spanish officer Jose Manuel Carrasco through the pinyon-juniper woodlands of southwestern New Mexico to reveal something extraordinary: native copper so pure it gleamed like polished pennies against the red earth. That moment set in motion over two centuries of conflict, fortune-making, and industrial transformation. Today, the Chino Mine sprawls across the landscape east of Silver City as one of the world's oldest continuously operating open-pit copper mines, a terraced amphitheater of human ambition carved a mile wide into terrain where four cultures fought to control the precious metal beneath their feet.

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Image: Eric Guinther (Marshman) | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/g/4/chino-mine-wp/9tg4-chino-mine-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Chino Mine: Blood and Copper https://qualla.com/chino-mine/ Photo credit Shari Garland, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Santa Rita del Cobre, as the Spanish named it, sat in the heart of Apache territory, and the Mescalero and Warm Springs bands had no intention of surrendering their homeland. Francisco Manuel de Elguea purchased the mine in 1804 and did what colonial powers often did: he impo...

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Image: Shari Garland | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/g/4/chino-mine-wp/9tg4-chino-mine-blood-and-copper.mp3 0:06 2 full Chino Mine: The Third Oldest on Earth https://qualla.com/chino-mine/ Photo credit Shari Garland, CC BY-SA 4.0. The mine fell silent for decades, operating only sporadically until 1873, when Apache chief Cochise signed a peace agreement with the United States. Even then, raids continued until Geronimo's surrender in 1886. By 1909, mining engineer John M. Sully and Spencer Penrose recognize...

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Image: Shari Garland | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/g/4/chino-mine-wp/9tg4-chino-mine-the-third-oldest-on-earth.mp3 0:06 3 full Chino Mine: Industrial Giant of the Desert https://qualla.com/chino-mine/ Photo credit Shari Garland, CC BY-SA 4.0. The mill at Hurley opened in 1911 and was replaced by the modern Ivanhoe concentrator in 1982. A smelter commissioned in 1939 operated for over six decades before permanently closing in 2005 after Clean Air Act compliance became too costly. The mine has weathered boom and bust cy...

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Image: Shari Garland | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/g/4/chino-mine-wp/9tg4-chino-mine-industrial-giant-of-the-desert.mp3 0:06 4 full Chino Mine: Collectors' Paradise https://qualla.com/chino-mine/ Photo credit Shari Garland, CC BY-SA 4.0. Among mineral enthusiasts, Chino holds a special reputation for its stunning native copper specimens. Unlike most copper mines that produce only ore requiring smelting, Chino has yielded crystalline sheets and nuggets of pure metallic copper, some weighing several pounds. The com...

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Image: Shari Garland | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/t/g/4/chino-mine-wp/9tg4-chino-mine-collectors-paradise.mp3 0:06 5 full