Sleeping Beauty was originally discovered during the Anasazi times by Native Americans. At the time, turquoise was mined with hand tools. Sleeping Beauty was re-discovered by accident in the 1900s when the mine was opened in the pursuit of copper. The sleeping beauty mine is located in Globe Arizona. It is named after the mountain ranges where it is located. The mountain range where it is located, from a distance, resembles a woman that is sleeping with her arms crossed…hence the name Sleeping Beauty. In 2012, the Sleeping Beauty mine closed it’s turquoise mining operations but not because the mine was spent. At the time the copper mine that owned the mining concession sold the mine to a new owner. The new owner decided to not pursue the turquoise mining operation and instead focus solely on copper.The extremely large copper deposits surrounding the sleeping beauty mine is what gives the stones their very vibrant blue color.
