Image shows Utah Portland Cement Company, Lime Quarry. Parleys Canyon Utah. Oct. 9, 1903.
Utah is a Mining State
It is impossible to tell the complete history of Utah without mining. Mining plays a crucial role in the economic, industrial, political and social growth of Utah. By the 1860s, Utah leaders were encouraging lead and silver mining.
For example, the making of Portland Cement - a prominent mining company in the 1800’s - in Utah was first undertaken in 1890. In that year a corporation called the Utah Portland Cement Company built a plant in Parleys Canyon in Salt Lake City. This company made a cement by using shale and limestone and operated only on a small scale. At that time, the only other plant in operation on a commercial scale west of the Mississippi River was at Colton, California.
Mining in Parleys Canyon
Parleys Canyon has long played a part in Utah’s mining history. Located in the historic City Creek Mining District, the mountains of Parley’s canyon have been mined for various resources over the past 150 years; first for precious metals and later for building materials. Today the Canyon is home to The Portland Cement Company quarry that has been active since the late 19th century, producing limestone and cement and continuing the area’s rich legacy of mining.
Image shows the Portland Cement Company quarry excavation site in Parleys Canyon.
Picture: Old Mill Golf Course and Corporate Center. (Everything seen in this image was once a gravel pit.)
What happens to a mine after the end of its life cycle?
In almost all cases, the land where a mine once stood can be entirely reclaimed. Some examples of well-known and well-trafficked areas in Utah that used to be mining land include:
Old Mill Golf Course
Old Mill Business District
Quarry Bend
Fort Union Business Park
Utah’s Economy Needs Mining
According to experts, mining remains crucial to almost all aspects of the state’s economy today. Utah Geological Survey senior scientist Michael Vanden Berg says, “Mining continues to be a strong contributor to Utah’s overall economy, supplying jobs, tax revenue, and the materials needed to build and sustain our modern society.”
Additionally, hydrocarbons like gilsonite, building materials like red sandstone and limestone, and uranium facilitated further growth in the industry throughout the 20th century. The Bingham Canyon Mine, formerly the Kennecott Copper Mine, opened in 1906 and today is one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world, providing 1% of the world’s copper.