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Jim Besleme asks if someone can "direct him to the Rio Tinto group in the UK, hopefully  
to one of  their historians, to make an inquiry about a base metal mine that they  may 
have had in western Arizona during the 1938-1942 time frame. What I am  looking 
for is the mine's name and general location."

I have no direct contact with Rio Tinto but do, as a former editor of Mining Magazine, receive
their monthly magazine, the Rio Tinto Review. Maybe the editor of this could put you in 
contact, Jim, with a suitable person. The editor's name is Hugh Leggatt, and his e-mail address 
is  [log in to unmask]

I am surprised to learn that Rio Tinto apparently were involved with a base metal mine in
Western Arizona in the period 1938-42. I went to the Rio Tinto mine in 1954, and my 
understanding has always been that the Rio Tinto company ran only that mine in Spain
from 1875 until the mine was partly nationalised by Franco about the end of 1954. If memory 
serves me right, they were paid the princely sum of £13 million pounds for a two-thirds
share of the mine, and spent some of it on what became the Rio Algom uranium operation
in Canada, years later buying Consolidated Zinc in Australia to become Rio Tinto Zinc.

My memory, of course, could be totally at fault on this, and I have no means of reference
immediately to hand.
Tony Brewis