The Bonanza Kings, also called the Silver Kings, was a nickname given to the four men who started a stock brokerage called ''Flood and O'Brien'', more commonly known as the Bonanza Firm. ''Bonanza'' is a Spanish term meaning "rich ore body"; in 1873, after gaining control of the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company, they discovered a large vertical ore body more than 1,200 feet deep which became known as the "big bonanza".

Mining success

In 1871,

Irish-Americans Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

John William Mackay,

James Graham Fair James Graham Fair (December 3, 1831December 28, 1894) was an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a highly successful mining engineer and businessman. His investments in silver mines in Nevada made him a millionaire, and he was one o ...

, James Clair Flood, and William S. O'Brien, organized the Consolidated Virginia Silver Mine near

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...

, from a number of smaller claims on the

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the U ...

and later added the nearby California mine. Mackay and Fair had the mining knowledge and Flood and O'Brien raised the money. The purchase price of the claims, later to become a fabulous source of wealth, was about $100,000. The original stock issue was 10,700 shares, selling for between $4 and $5 a share. In 1873, the "big bonanza" was uncovered and San Francisco and the entire mining world were hurtled into a fever of excitement. The first stock issue was converted into two issues of 108,000 shares each, and by the middle of 1875 the speculative value of the two mines were close to $1,000,000,000. Shares went as high as $710. For three years after the discovery of "big bonanza" the two mines produced $3,000,000 per month. In 1876, for exhibition purposes, $6,000,000 was taken in one month from both mines. Production began to fall off in 1879 but in twenty-two years of operation the two mines yielded more than $150,000,000 in

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, and paid $78,148,800 in dividends, making the four owners into some of America's wealthiest men.

References

* *{{Citation , publication-date=1876-12-15 , title=THE MINING ARISTOCRACY.; SOCIAL STANDING OF SAN FRANCISCO'S BONANZA KINGS. THE ANCIENT FEUDS OF THE MAGNATES OF THE MINES--FLOOD AND O'BRIEN, FAIR AND MACKEY, MORROW AND BALDWIN IGNORED IN SOCIETY--RALSTON'S RUIN--THE EXPLOITS AND CHARITIES OF "KNIGHTLY JIM" KEENE. , newspaper=

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, publication-place=

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, page=7 , url=https://www.nytimes.com/1876/12/15/archives/the-mining-aristocracy-social-standing-of-san-franciscos-bonanza.html , access-date=2011-10-01 , first=Our , last=Own Mining in Nevada Silver mining in Nevada Gold mining in Nevada Mining in California Quartets Mining in Utah