The Eagle Mountain Mine produced magnetite-hematite ore from contact-metasomatic deposits in Riverside County, from 1948 to 1983. 80 million tons of upgraded ore were shipped, providing the major ore feed to Kaiser Steel’s works at Fontana, the largest steel works in the western U.S. 

The mine was a greenfield development, requiring development of a company town of 4,000 residents, a new water supply, and construction of 52 miles of new rail line.  It formed one part of a sprawling infrastructure network that supported the Fontana works, the establishment of which was fostered by the outbreak of World War II.

Speaker: Fred Barnard

Fred Barnard is a retired hard-rock exploration geologist, with geology degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He spent 45 years in base and precious metals exploration worldwide, for International Nickel Company and Anaconda Minerals, and as an independent consultant. His first exposure to Eagle Mountain was as an undergraduate summer hire in 1961, attached to the Engineering Department.  Currently he resides in Golden, Colorado, and is a member of the Facebook group “Eagle Mountain Refugees”.

Join us here at the Lukens Executive Office Building as we watch a nationally broadcast monthly talk presented by the Iron and Steel Heritage Forum.