Anaconda, New Mexico facts for kids
Anaconda was a small town in Cibola County, New Mexico. It started in the early 1950s. The Anaconda Copper Company built a plant here. This plant processed uranium ore. It was about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Grants, right on Route 66. The plant processed ore from the Jackpile Mine. This mine was once the world's largest open-pit uranium mine.
Anaconda had about 100 homes. These homes were for the company's supervisors and managers. The ore processing plant was also on the same land. It's important to know that none of the homes were built with "radioactive" material from the plant. Residents called the town "Camp." This name came from the first temporary tents used when the operations began.
Life in Anaconda
The housing in Anaconda was built in three stages. The first group had about 35 houses. They were made of cinderblock walls. These homes had exposed beam ceilings. There was also a building with four small apartments. This was for unmarried employees and was called "The BQ." The next two groups of houses were made of wood with stucco outside. People called these groups Old Camp, Middle Camp, and New Camp, based on when they were built.
Community Facilities
When Old Camp was built, the company also built a clinic. This clinic served employees and their families. It was the only medical facility between Albuquerque and Gallup. So, it helped the whole area. Dr. Basil Wang ran the clinic, which was a well-equipped hospital with several beds. It was so busy that a second doctor was added for a time. Later, Anaconda employees helped build the Cibola Hospital in Grants. The Anaconda Clinic building was then used for other company departments, like Geology.
A large metal building, called a Quonset hut, was also added. This hut was the community center for the camp. It had a finished hardwood floor. People used it for basketball, volleyball, and rollerskating. There was a big kitchen in the back. This was used when the floor became a meeting hall. Company and employee events, including New Year's Eve parties, were held here.
Two more buildings were built next to the Quonset Hut. One had a 20-yard (18.3 m) swimming pool. The other had a four-lane bowling alley. The swimming pool building was insulated with blown styrofoam. In the mid-1970s, the pool building was replaced. Two outdoor tennis courts were added in the late 1950s. A golf course was also added when the later houses were built. This golf course had no grass. It was maintained with a grader to keep the "rough" areas from growing onto the fairways. The "greens" were piles of oiled sand, leveled on top, about 15 feet (4.6 meters) across. A "rake" was used to smooth the green for putting.
Education and Services
There were no schools in Anaconda itself, except for a pre-school in the Quonset Hut. Younger students went to Elementary School in Bluewater Village, a few miles away. Junior High and High School students rode buses to Grants. There was never a store or a Post Office on the company property.
The mill closed in the early 1980s. The houses were sold and moved away. The land was cleaned up over the next 20 years. In 2008, some people shared concerns that the mill might have affected local water sources. Today, there is little left to show that Anaconda was once a community.
The Jackpile Mine
The Jackpile uranium mine opened in 1953. It operated until 1982. The Jackpile was one of the biggest uranium mines ever in the United States. It was by far the largest mine in the Laguna uranium area. The rocks from this area contain uranium, vanadium, and other elements. The ore usually had about 0.2% uranium. The first 3 million tons of ore from the mine had about 0.23% uranium and 0.13% vanadium. The ore was found in old stream channels.
