The Empire Zinc Company was a subsidiary

Subsidiary

A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

 of the New Jersey Zinc Company

New Jersey Zinc Company

The Horsehead Corporation , formerly the New Jersey Zinc Company, is an American producer of zinc and related materials.The New Jersey Zinc Company was for many years the largest producer of zinc and zinc products in the United States. The company thrived in the period from 1897 to 1966, at which...

. It originally held claims in the Gilman Mining district in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. From 1912 to 1915, the New Jersey Zinc Company acquired and consolidated the mines as the Eagle Mines and operated Empire Zinc Company as a subsidiary. It also bought the town of Gilman, Colorado

Gilman, Colorado

Gilman is an abandoned mining town in southeastern Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The U.S. Post Office at Minturn now serves Gilman postal addresses....

 and ran it as a company town. The Eagle Mine site at Gilman is an EPA

United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

 Superfund

Superfund

Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...

 site.

The 1954 movie "Salt of the Earth

Salt of the Earth

Salt of the Earth is an American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. All had been blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics....

" was based on the 1951 strike against New Jersey Zinc Company's Empire Zinc mine in Bayard, New Mexico

Bayard, New Mexico

Bayard is a city in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,534 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bayard is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

.