However, the operations stalled due to the Panic of 1893,[9] and all efforts to develop commercial iron production proved futile.

Embree Iron Company began producing zinc and then lead and quickly paid off its debts.

Although ore reserves dwindled after World War I, the company continued to operate during the Great Depression.

In June 1972, the Bumpass Cove Environmental Controls and Minerals Corporation obtained a permit from the Tennessee Department of Public Health, Division of Solid Waste Management, to operate a sanitary landfill located in an old mining site near the head of the cove.

In July 1979, a picket line was formed to stop trucks from hauling waste to the main landfill.

The objectives of the group included removal of hazardous waste from the old mine sites, education, and awareness of community development.

Partly in response to citizen pressure, Waste Resources decided to close the landfill in December 1979.