The Royal Development Company of Leavenworth, Washington, gained
its articles of incorporation on July 3rd, 1917. Trinity
Mine, a subsidiary of the Royal Development Company, produced
mainly copper ore mined from the Chiwawa district. The
Chiwawa district includes the drainage of the Little Wenatchee,
White, and Chiwawa Rivers. While the mainstay of the mine
was copper silver, gold and tungsten were also found as
byproducts. In 1929, about 2,500 feet of mining work was
done with a workforce of 80 employees. In support of
operations at the mine, the Royal Development Company operated a
large and completely equipped lumber camp including a 250-500
ton mill, water power development, sawmill, and town site with
20 million feet of timber available. In early 1930 a flotation
mill was erected and by 1936 the mine produced more than 10,000
tons of copper ore. However, in 1937 operations began to slow
and the mine produced only 5,825 tons. As costs increased and
the returns did not, operations were slowed. The company
was forced into receivership in the early 1940s and the
workforce was reduced to a night watchman who lived there year
round. The Royal Development Company dissolved on June 28th,
1948.
References:
Culver, Harold, and W.A. Broughton. Tungsten Resources in Washington.
Washington State, Division of Geology. Bulletin No. 34. Olympia, WA. 1945.
pp. 14-15.
Florin, Lambert. Washington Ghost Towns. Western Ghost town Series.
Superior Publishing Co. Seattle WA. pp. 89-91.
Huntting, Marshall T. Inventory of Mineral Properties in Chelan County,
WA. Washington State, Department of Conservation and Development, Division
of Geology. Report of Investigations #9. Olympia, WA. 1943. pp. 21-22.
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