Donald J. Lunt

(1929 - 2019)

Mining Historian

2022 Inductee from Mining's Past

Donald J. Lunt was a lifelong Greenlee County, Arizona resident and devoted avocational historian of the old Copper Mountain or Clifton-Morenci mining district.

Mr. Lunt was born in 1929 in a small house on D Hill in Old Morenci and lived most of his life in the Clifton-Morenci area. For most of his adult working life, he was employed by the Phelps Dodge Corporation, the former operator of the Morenci mine from 1921 until 2007. In his free time, Mr. Lunt was an avid photographer.

Following his retirement from Phelps Dodge in the early 1990s, he spent much of his time working as a local historian with the Greenlee County Historical Society. In this setting, he amassed a large collection of historical photographs, including diverse images of the Copper Mountain district and surrounding area. His expertise in local history was often called upon, and he worked closely with Freeport-McMoRan to identify, organize, and digitize a large collection of glass negative photographs of Clifton-Morenci.

In 2018, historians worked with Mr. Lunt and his wife, Josephine, to catalogue his many photographs and, more importantly, to record his knowledge about each one and the scenes and subjects they depict. Mr. Lunt’s devotion and love of mining history will live on through his invaluable contributions to the study of one of the most famous copper districts in the West.