Brief history of Deming-area mills and manganese stockpiles
— Ibrahim H. Gundiler

Mining activity in Luna County was recorded as early as 1876. Lead-zinc-gold-silver ores were mostlyhand-sorted and shipped to area smelters. Two flotation concentrators, Asarco and Peru mills situated northwest of Deming, were built primarily to process zinc ores from Fierro-Hanover and Bayard mining districts in Grant County approximately 55 mi north of Deming. Availability of abundant ground water for milling, land for tailing disposal, and proximity to major highways and rail lines were the main reasons for building the mills in Deming. Luna County was also an important producer of fluorspar and manganese ores. Manganese is a vital alloying element in steelmaking and is considered a strategic material. The U.S. Government provided incentives to encourage domestic manganese production during the World War II and the Korean conflicts, and established programs to purchase and stockpile manganese ores and concentrates in Deming. A small mining company has been processing manganese ores and tailings through a gravity separation mill northeast of Deming since 1975 when the stockpiled material in excess of Defense National Stockpile objectives was sold.