Nevada Find

[Digger Bob]

Here's a couple more of that stamp mill and the surrounding area.

One is of the main mine that fed this mill. You can see how they cleaned out the fault in the mountain. Some of the cribbing is still visible.

Another shows the type of ground this was prevalent in the area. You can see our camp on the top of the cut. Great view both east and west, BTW. Beautiful sunsets. Anyway, the ground is light colored clay or dolomite type. There were some very vivid red outcroppings that they dug into also. But no quartz or outstanding mineralization. Nothing detectable in any of it.

I did not save any of the bagged up material from that shaft. I wouldn't know what to do with it if I had. But it wasn't rock, it was just dirt. This isn't the only time I've found bagged up material like this in an old shaft. Years ago I found similar sacks in a shaft near the old town of Jessup. Why it was left is a mystery to me. Perhaps it wasn't rich enough to pay to haul it out? Maybe they intended to come back for it and never made it home? It looked as though it had been there for over 50 years, at least. I believe that the crushed up material that came out of mills like this were run through a mercury treatment to extract the gold. So this had not been run, but it was very fine like it had been crushed.

Who knows? That's one of the joys of exploring these old sites. I love trying to figure out just what they were doing, why they left, and what the equipment was used for. Anyway, hope you like the pictures. I know how to get back there if someone thinks it's worthwhile to take a sack and assay it.

Digger Bob

[Ridge Runner]

Hi Digger

I'm thinking I'd taken some of that dirt home and pan it out.You may be rich and not know it.You sure got some great shots of the mine and around it.

Chuck Anders

[vini]

Neat stuff that things in good shape for as old as it might be wonder what kind of timers they used? red wood?

[Zippoz]

Here's a couple more of that stamp mill and the surrounding area.

One is of the main mine that fed this mill. You can see how they cleaned out the fault in the mountain. Some of the cribbing is still visible.

Another shows the type of ground this was prevalent in the area. You can see our camp on the top of the cut. Great view both east and west, BTW. Beautiful sunsets. Anyway, the ground is light colored clay or dolomite type. There were some very vivid red outcroppings that they dug into also. But no quartz or outstanding mineralization. Nothing detectable in any of it.

I did not save any of the bagged up material from that shaft. I wouldn't know what to do with it if I had. But it wasn't rock, it was just dirt. This isn't the only time I've found bagged up material like this in an old shaft. Years ago I found similar sacks in a shaft near the old town of Jessup. Why it was left is a mystery to me. Perhaps it wasn't rich enough to pay to haul it out? Maybe they intended to come back for it and never made it home? It looked as though it had been there for over 50 years, at least. I believe that the crushed up material that came out of mills like this were run through a mercury treatment to extract the gold. So this had not been run, but it was very fine like it had been crushed.

Who knows? That's one of the joys of exploring these old sites. I love trying to figure out just what they were doing, why they left, and what the equipment was used for. Anyway, hope you like the pictures. I know how to get back there if someone thinks it's worthwhile to take a sack and assay it.

Digger Bob

Ill pay for some assay's at the NBMG if and when you make it back there, drop me a pm, or e-mail me at

[email protected] if you are serious about it.

-Greg

[Bandana Don]

Very good pictures Digger Bob. Thanks. Yup, I think I'd bring some of that bagged material out and see what is in it... just mght surprise ya. Have you been able to determine the time period during which this mine was operated? I would think the State of Nevada would have some records on file.

Keep us posted on this interesting discovery.

Don

[sawmill]

I could be wrong,because my eyes are not that great.

But on the outside center support posts,it looks like there

is no trespassing signs. If in fact there is signs,that is most

likely a patented mine,or under government protection.

The roads still look to be in good shape for a really old

time mine,that has been abandoned.

Until the last 20 or 30 years before the vandals and thieves

got so mobile,there used to be lots of places like that.

It is sad to see these things disappear. For some of us

nothing will stir the soul better than seeing an old head

frame or mine dump on some lonely spot.

[Digger Bob]

I could be wrong,because my eyes are not that great.

But on the outside center support posts,it looks like there

is no trespassing signs. If in fact there is signs,that is most

likely a patented mine,or under government protection.

The roads still look to be in good shape for a really old

time mine,that has been abandoned.

Until the last 20 or 30 years before the vandals and thieves

got so mobile,there used to be lots of places like that.

It is sad to see these things disappear. For some of us

nothing will stir the soul better than seeing an old head

frame or mine dump on some lonely spot.

No, your eyes are not bad at all. That yellow square is just a blank piece of metal that may have been a sign at one time. But there's nothing on it now. Here's another picture that shows it better.

However, there is an old, very faded sign between the two sets of stamps. You can just see the corner of it in the other picture here. It's one of those Archeological protection signs, put up by the BLM some time ago.

The roads that you see dont' look so bad in the pictures but they are unrecognizable from where the entrance used to be. Only the one way up above, just below the big cut is traversable by ordinary vehicle. Unless you were looking for this, you'd never see it except from one small spot on the "main" road.

As far as getting some of the bags to sample, well, it's a good 500 miles away from me now. Too far to go for a bag or two to test. One of these days I may go back and see what in them. I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the bags all lined up going down into the shaft as far as my light would go.

I would guess the stamp mill was used up into the 30's maybe. There has been sporatic prospecting in the area since then. I saw some claim markers a few miles away dated to 2001. But it's a very remote area frequented mostly by deer and chukar hunters.

[sawmill]

Digger Bob

Thanks for posting those photos and the story.

There is an old mine in New Mexico,and one area

has stacks of bags full of dirt. They were brought

in for tamping material for the blast holes,a sand

and clay mixture.

Tamping material in a hardrock mine is hard to

come by.

Never trust anything in a bag ,box,or barrel in

or around an old mine. Some of those old timers

played around with some strange concoctions for

blasting,and other stuff.