EPA officials working on the Superfund cleanup of the Iron King Mine and Humboldt smelter have urged the community of Humboldt to turn the facilities into historic landmarks, according to the Dewey Courier. The paper says "A recent EPA report says the mine has ruins of an historic homestead, a mix of modern and historic architecture, and remains of recently demolished historic buildings. It also has an historic gravesite. The smelter, which began operations in the early 1900s before shutting down in the mid-20th century, contains prehistoric artifacts as well as historic mining and railroad features."
EPA said they don't want to level the stack because of its historical significance. But they are running an ambient air sampling program to evaluate possible contaminants from the mine's tailings pile. [right, undated historical view of smelter. Credit, ADEQ]