Silver Camel Mine
Silver Camel Mine was in the Sulphur Mining District and is possibly the source of Hardin's sample that spawned the Hardin City rush.
In 2012, Allied Mining received permission to open pit mine the area as part of the Hycroft Mine. The Silver Camel Mine is possibly fenced off.
History
The Annual Report of the Nevada State Inspector of Mines (1921) stated:
"Silver Camel M & D Co leased... Sulphur... Sulphur, gold " [1]
Lincoln (1923) wrote: "The Silver Camel mine has been worked for many years by leasers who are said to have produced $120,000 in silver, according to a letter from A. J. Crowley."
"Rich stringers of hornsilver occur in the Silver Camel Mine."
"P. Webster is Pres. and Mgr. of the Silver Camel M. & Dev. Co"[2].
Vanderburg (1938) writes: "The silver deposits occur at the south end of the sulphur deposits a short distance from a place called the Devil's Corral, a natural amphitheater formed by highly colored rocks. The principal property in the early days was the Silver Camel mine, which is reported to have produced $100,000 in high-grade silver ore from 1908 to about 1912, principally by lessees. In recent years the only mining has been done by James Brown of Sulphur, Nev., on the Hornsilver claim."
"Development consists of a number of trenches and shallow shafts totaling about 1,500 feet. The deepest shaft is 95 feet deep. There is no equipment on the ground, and all mining in former years was done by hand methods."
"The silver occurs as cerargyrite (hornsilver) in narrow seams varying from a fraction of an inch up to 4 inches in width. No ore was found at a depth greater than 20 feet from the surface. An adit driven 300 feet to tap the ore zone at depth, but it did not disclose anything of importance. The deposits are unusual in that the narrow seams of cerargyrite occur in a cemented conglomerate."[3]
Vanderburg writes "Probably the metal found by Hardin was a specimen of hornsilver float from the Silver Camel mine near Sulphur." (p. 9).
Bonham (1985) refers to Vanderburg and states that probably $100,000 of ore was removed between 1908 and 1915[4].
Rogers (1993) states that "archeological data retrieval and archival research has been completed..." on the area by Dr. Peter Mires and Dr. Robert Kautz of Mariah Associates, Inc. (Reno). Investigations included a rockshelter that was modified for silver assaying, a blacksmithing area, shafts, adits and prospects.[5]
Price (2008) state that Allied Nevada Gold drilled in the Silver Camel area.[6][7]
Wilson (2010) include a photo of the area and describes the plans to mine the area.[8]
The BLM (2012) stipulations to the Hycroft Mine expansion stated: "3. Bat exclusion activities shall be conducted in the east and west Silver Camel workings prior to disturbance of this area. Exclusion activities shall include the following: spreading exclusion materials (one-inch chicken wire or one-inch polyethylene avian netting) across the open workings, allowing bats to exit the site while discouraging their return; exclusions shall be conducted at each opening with potential connection to the east and west Silver Camel workings prior to closure for a minimum of three to five nights; exclusion materials shall be monitored nightly throughout the period of exclusion to reduce the potential for exclusion material collision stress, injury, and death; external surveys using night vision or thermal imaging equipment shall be conducted to verify site vacancy; fire smoke bombs shall be used on the final night of exclusion prior to closure; and physical closures shall be conducted immediately following confirmation of vacancy. In addition to bat exclusion from the Silver Camel workings, warm and cold season surveys shall be conducted in the vicinity of the Project for potential mitigation sites should additional mitigation be deemed necessary by the BLM."[9]
References
- ↑ "Report of the State Inspector of Mines," p. 31, 1922"
- ↑ Francis Church Lincoln, "Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada," Verdi, Nev.: Nevada Newsletter Publishing Co., p. 103, 1923.
- ↑ W. O. Vanderburg, "Reconnaissance of mining districts in Humboldt county, Nevada," U. S. Bureau of Mines 6995, p. 20, 1938.
- ↑ H.F. Bonham, Jr., L.J. Garside, R.B. Jones, K.G. Papke, J.Quade, and J.V. Tingle, "OF1985-03: A mineral inventory of the Paradise-Denio -- and Sonoma-Gerlach Resource Areas, Winnemucca District, Nevada," p. 171, 1985
- ↑ Society for Historical Archaeology, American Anthropological Association,", p 16. Volumes 26-28, 1993
- ↑ Jonathan G. Price et al, "MI2008: The Nevada mineral industry 2008," 2008.
- ↑ Allied Nevada Drills 1,103.5 Feet of Gold and Silver Mineralization in North Brimstone at Hycroft," August 21, 2008.
- ↑ Technical Report Allied Nevada Gold Corp., Hycroft Mine, Winnemucca, Nevada, USA," April 01, 2010.
- ↑ Record of Decision and plan of Operations Approval, Hycroft Mine Expansion Project," DOI-BLM-NV-W030-2011-0001-EIS, BLM, 2012
- GNIS "approx loc, in Sulphur MD" MD?
- Citation: "Lincoln, Francis Church. Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada. Verdi, Nev.: Nevada Newsletter Publishing Co., 1923, 295 pp. Lengthy discussion of mining districts in Nevada, their various names, their history, and their mineral resources. p103"
- S16 T34N R29E - no NV Plat Map
- J. C. Jones, 1921, "Unpublished notes on Silver Camel Mining & Development," On file at the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. (From Western Mining History website and others).
- Schrock, Gary, 1974, Geology of the Silver Camel area: unpublished report to Summa Corporation. (From Struhsacke, below).
- Eric Struhsacke, "Gold and Silver Deposits of Western Nevada: Rochester Mine, Florida Canyon Mine, Crofoot/Lewis Mine, Rosebud Deposit," 1993.
- Black Rock Explorers Society: Silver Camel Mine Recent photos.
- Devil's Corral Calcite-Gypsum occurrence (Mindat) Photos.
- Mires, Peter B., "Ruminations on the Silver Camel: Lessons fro the Black Rock Desert's Mining Landscape," Geographical Review, Vol. 101, No. 4 (October 2011), pp. 592-599.