National Bureau of Mines

01/10/2018

Murder, deceit, espionage and more. If you think you know about abandoned mines, we've got something special for you!

We'll be presenting at the Utah Gold Prospecting Club meeting on January 16 at 7 PM at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center (1355 W. 3100 S., West Valley City, Utah). If you're in the area we'd love for you to join us and learn about why you should work abandoned mines!

02/10/2016

The Placerites district is in the low hills on the east slope of Kamma Mountains about 8 miles south of Scossa and 41 miles north of Lovelock. In the Placerites district concentrations of fine gold and nuggets occur in the alluvial fans that make up the district’s low hills.

The first placer gold discovery was in the 1850’s, but no work was done due to lack of water and other resources. The first placer mining in the district was done in the early 1870s by a man known as “Mahogany Jack” and his 3. They reported to have recovered $30,000 (1,584 ounces) in placer gold by hand methods. In the nineties some placer mining was done, the gravel being hauled to Rabbit Role Springs and worked in rockers.

In 1929 a stock company called the Nevmont Placer Mining Co. acquired control of 4,000 acres of potential placer ground. Equipment was installed to work the placers on a large scale. The gravel was mined by dragline scraper and screened in a trommel; the undersize was sluiced. The quantity of water available in a reservoir excavated in the alluvium near the foot of the hills was inadequate, and in 1932 a 5-inch gravity pipe line was laid from Cow Springs to the ground, a distance of 8 miles. The dragline scraper was replaced by a gasoline-power shovel, but owing to the inadequate supply of water and other factors the venture was commercially unsuccessful. At least five gulches in the district carry gold values. The depth of the gravel worked by small-scale methods ranges from 18 inches to 6 feet. The bedrock is composed mainly of sedimentary formations, principally slate and shale. Most of the gravel is small, but some boulders are present. The gold averages about 800 fine. A nugget which was found some years ago is said to have had a value of $212. Much black sand is concentrated with the gold in working with dry washers.

02/05/2016

The Spor Mountain district experienced three mining booms for three different commodities: fluorite, uranium, and beryllium. The fluorite boom began in the late 1930s and continues today. The uranium boom began in the early 1950s and lasted until the early 1960s. The beryllium boom began in the 1960s and continues today. In 1941, George Spor and his sons staked the Floride claim at Spor Mountain. Ore shipments began in 1944. Other claims were located (Fluorine Queen, Bell Hill, and Lost Sheep mines) and produced ore. Albert and Earl Willden staked the Lost Sheep claim in 1948 and began production that year. The Lost Sheep mine was still active as of 2005. It is the largest fluorite deposit in Utah and has been mined to a depth of 372 feet. In 1953, prospectors using hand-held Geiger counters discovered uranium on the east side of Spor Mountain. The Yellow Chief group claims were immediately located and shallow prospects dug. No more work was done for several years until the Topaz Uranium Company leased the claims. In 1959, the company began developing an open pit to uncover mineable ore. When mining ended in 1962, the over-all size of the pit was 1200 feet long, between 300 to 500 feet wide, and 150 feet deep.

01/28/2016

The Alpha Mining District was organized in 1877 and was originally part of the much larger Antelope District. Early mining efforts consisted of shallow incline shafts and adits, with little to no production. The extent of these workings are primarily unknown; however, historical reports tell of a failed concentration plant just 3 miles west. The treatment of the ore was unsatisfactory and the concentration plant was abandoned thereafter. Not much activity was seen up until 1951 when the district was used as a limestone source for road beds. Notable producers in the District have been the Old Whalen Mine and The Prince of Wales. The Old Whalen primarily saw activity between 1909 and 1913 producing lead and copper. During World War I the Prince of Wales produced small shipments of silver and copper.

The true potential of this District hasn’t really been explored since Daniel Davies bought up and consolidated many of the early workings and mines into one operation in the late 1800’s. He is also attributed to ownership of the Chimney Springs Mill. His operation would cease before the turn of the century and large operations either ceased to exist or went unreported. Post WWI many of the claims in the area were either held by Texas Interests or left idle and closed. The driving force behind the closures of many of these claims can be attributed to poor silver prices at the time, in conjunction with bad flood conditions. Today the District is a ripe area of possibilities that have yet to be tapped.

01/20/2016

In 1905 Oro Blanco was a rough frontier mining district with a total population of a few hundred. The district got its name from white gold (oro blanco), that resulted from significant amounts of silver alloyed with gold in many of the mines in the district.

In 1736 a big silver strike, Planchas de Plata (Sheets of Silver), was made at Arizonac, just west of present day Nogales. This silver strike attracted thousands of Spaniards. Colonists began to settle around Tubac during the 1730’s and Spanish prospectors likely entered the Oro Blanco region around 1740.

The next 60 years saw considerable Indian troubles. In 1748, in response to repeated raids, the Spanish made a formal declaration of war against the Apache. In 1751, the Pima, upset over impressed labor conditions, revolted violently against the Spanish, but were soundly defeated in 1752 in a final battle near Arivaca. Meanwhile, continuing Apache raids forced closure of most of the areas mines in 1787, not to resume operations until 1804.

In 1848, discovery of gold in California brought thousands of potential prospectors through Arizona on the southern transcontinental route (Gila Trail) to California. Many of these people stopped and stayed. The Civil War in 1861-65 drew soldiers away from the area’s presidio’s. This left the mines unprotected from the Apache, resulting in virtual abandonment of the mining camps. Interest in mining was renewed after the war, with the return of the Army, treaties with the Apache, and higher prices for silver.

From 1903 to 1910, the Oro Blanco mines were operated intermittently due to water shortages, a most serious disadvantage of the district. Total gold production from the Oro Blanco Mining District through 1949 is estimated to be 126,500 oz.

01/14/2016

The Kennedy mining district is situated about 55 miles in a southerly direction from Winnemucca, Nevada and about the same distance southeast from Battle Mountain: two towns situated on the main line of the Southern Pacific railroad. During it's peak years it was home to around 500 to 600 people. It had a full complement of houses, stores, and businesses, and it briefly was the second largest town in what then was Humboldt County. The district began in 1891, boomed in the mid-1890s, and then went through several smaller boom and bust cycles until World War II. Gold and silver were the primary minerals mined.

Prospectors were first attracted to the district by the reported discovery of gold by Chinamen in Cinnabar creek in the early 90’s. The prospectors came from the rich placer workings in and about American canyon; but the new diggings were not found sufficiently rich to justify their being worked as placer properties, and the prospectors started work in a number of places, looking for the veins which had fed the canyon. In 1898, Charles E. Kennedy, a prospector who had been attracted by the reported discoveries in the vicinity, left Hawthorne and came to the present site of the town of Kennedy. Within a short time he discovered the vein known as the Imperial, and proceeded, with the aid of some friends, to develop it. The vein was readily traced for a distance of about a mile, and about $10,000 worth of high-grade ore was shipped to the Utah smelters. At about the same time the Lawler Brothers, who had been prospecting in the district for some time, located the “Gold Note group,” which showed some extremely rich ore. Within a very short time they extracted from the Gold Note vein 150 tons of ore, which was shipped to the Utah smelters, and netted about $105 per ton above all expenses. Their good fortune attracted attention to the camp, and within a short time a town was laid out, with a population of about 500 people. It was named in honor of Kennedy, who had made the first discovery of pay ore in the district.

01/06/2016

The Tonopah Belmont Development Company was a major mining company with properties in Tonopah and Goldfield, Nevada, which by then were in decline. The mill was built using parts and machinery scavenged from the company’s operations there. The structure is a rare survivor from those earlier times, relatively intact with the major exception of the Power House that stood next to it with a huge diesel engine inside. This supplied the motive power that turned the wheels to activate the gyres, the gimbals, the aerial tramway with buckets dangling, the paddles in the big cyanide tanks turned by belts, even the electric light bulbs overhead.The engine turned a shaft that extended from the powerhouse into the mill itself and turned the gears that kept the aerial tramway reliably delivering ore from the mine, one bucketful at a time, no matter what the weather. - Source http://nevadatravel.net/travelgram/wp/index.php/features-2/a-visit-to-belmont-mill-and-hamilton/

12/30/2015

The Steeple Rock and Duncan mining districts are in the Summit Mountains of New Mexico and adjoining Arizona, about 50 miles west of Silver City, about 40 miles northwest of Lordsburg, New Mexico. The Steeple Rock district was first prospected in 1860, but the first period of significant mining began in 1880 and lasted until 1897, during which most of the gold and silver production came from the Carlisle mine. The second period of activity began in 1932 following a rise in the price of gold. Between 1932 and 1957, 34,377 oz of gold and 1,447,114 oz of silver were produced from the district.

1911 Report from the Twin Peaks property, a major producer in the Steeple rock district. "The Twin Peaks ores contain gold and silver, principally the former...The east drift. 90 ft. is In oxide carrying more than $25 In free gold. The ore in the east drift is the same shoot showing on the surface for several hundred feet and which there carries an average of about $20...The sulphide in a black material, much resembling the black metal of the silver miners, but the greater value is in gold. During my stay at the properties I went over them carefully, and It was wonderful how It would pan. At many places on the vein the material was broken off without attention, and in no instance did I fail to get a color, oftentimes a great many. The many open cuts show rich ground. Near the extreme eastern end of the properties there is a 70ft. tunnel in ore all the way. The average being above $18 in gold."

12/16/2015

The Wall Canyon mine is located 61 miles outside of Tonopah, Nevada. It was worked from the 1930s to the 1950s. A 1951 report on the mine stated the following:

"The Last Chance antimony mine is north of the ridge separating Wall Canyon from Pablo Canyon to the north…The property is owned by Joe Bastian of Round Mountain and others. A 50-ton mill; reportedly equipped with concentrating tables, jigs, and flotation cells; and a small shaft furnace belong to M. E. Niece of Round Mountain and others...It appears that the ore is found to occur sporadically in shear zones. Several groups have attempted to work the property during the last 10 years. Among them are F. A. Vollmer of Silver Peak, who mined here in about 1940, and Fred J. Delongchamps who worked the mine in 1941 and 1942. This work was done from a 120-foot shaft and a small flow of water somewhat hampered operations. N. L. Brown did the last work on the property. In 1947 he had a 255-foot adit driven to tap the bottom of the shaft. Equipment for a 50-ton flotation mill, that had been on the ground, was then set up. Later this mill was changed to use jigs and concentrating tables. In recent years, Brown installed a small shaft furnace and condenser with which antimony trioxide was made direct from run-of-mine ore."

12/10/2015

The Verde Mining District, covering Jerome Arizona and the surrounding area, was organized in 1876. The production since 1883 amounts to around $126,000,000 in copper, $12, 000,000 in silver, and $9,000,000 in gold. Most of this output has been produced since 1894, and much the largest part has come from the United Verde mine. Few districts can equal this record, and none from so few producing mines.

12/04/2015

The Hancock mines are located in Luna County, New Mexico, just 27 miles outside of Deming. The Mining Reporter wrote of the property in 1904, "The Hancock Mining Company owns and operates a group of five claims located in the Tres Hermanas mining district...The group has been developed by upwards of 600 feet of shaft and 200 feet of drift work. In the progress of which over $45,000 of silver-lead ore has been shipped. At the bottom of a sixty foot shaft there is exposed a 26 Inch ore body that runs about 55 ounces silver, 15% lead, 8.8% copper and $6 in gold...It is stated that there is blocked out upwards of $60,000 worth of ore. Owing to stockholders complications, the property has been idle a few weeks: but it Is the intention to resume work shortly, the development to consist of drifting In the 200-foot level and of sinking to a depth of 500 feet. The sinking plant consists of a twenty-seven horse power boiler and an eighteen horse power engine. Mr. J. D. Hodgdon of Deming is the company treasurer and Mr. James Martin in charge of the mine work.