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Directions: Recently I located this old map (Fig. 01) (circa 1916) of the Goodsprings area. Shown in the upper left corner of the map, both of these mines are located approximately 4 miles northwest of Goodsprings Nevada, off of what today is know as Kingston Road.
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01/15/2014 Trip Notes: Today Harvey and I and Robert Croke headed out behind Goodsprings in search of some new mines to explore. Before locating the Red Cloud mine we showed Bob some of the Yellow Pine mines we had visited on previous trips. We also found two additional (unidentified mines) located in the hills, north, behind the Yellow Pine Mine. After exploring these mines, we then headed back to Kingston Road in search of the Red Cloud mine. We located the mine site (Fig. 01) less than two mile north of Kingston Road. We spent nearly an hour exploring the abandoned adits, shafts and mill ruins scattered around this site. As we were anxious to locate the Keystone Mine, we didn’t spend any more time in this area. Even though we did not get to the site of the Pilgrim Mine, I have included what information I have on it at the bottom of this post.
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Unidentified Mines: The first site (Fig. 03) provided us with two adits to explore. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the first one (Figs. 04 & 05) had steel bars across the width of the adit that prevented exploration much beyond 10-12 feet. The second opening (Fig. 06) proved more promising, however, after about 20 feet in there was a very steep shaft with some wood framing and a series ladders (Fig. 07) that was too unstable to descend. The mine at the second site
had a very large steel structure covering the shaft to prevent entry.
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| (Fig. 06) |
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Red Cloud Mine: Primary Mining: Gold; Secondary Mining: Copper, Silver, Mercury. The Red Cloud mine site (Fig. 09), is located about four miles northwest of Goodsprings on the north side of Kingston Road on the way to Wilson Pass. It was discovered by J.C. Armstrong in 1902. Little work was done until July of 1905. As you approach the mine, the first thing that comes into view is the remnants of the old cyanide plant (Fig. 01). The plant was built In the early part of 1906, and operated almost continuously until September 1907. This was a very deep mine. The main shaft is a vertical shaft that extends to a depth of 116 feet, which is then inclined at 65 degrees till it reaches the the bottom, 300 feet below the collar. There were five levels; 34, 87, 136, 190, and 300 feet. (Fig. 08) is a map of the 87-foot level. The mine was a small gold producer near the turn of the century and is typical of many of the older mines in the district. The two known collar shafts of this mine have been sealed (Figs. 10 & 11). Some very large, partially connected timbers along the side of the road (Fig. 12) are probably the remains of a frame head that stood above one of the shafts. The few standing structures and tanks (Fig. 13) on the site were part of the gold cyanidation process which was a chemical process of using cyanide to remove gold from low grade ore. Atypically, the gold from this mine was not visible, but miners were able to rely on the presence of pyrite as an ore control. Examination of mine tailings reveals the presence of minor pyrite, copper carbonates, cinnabar and chert-like masses of silica. The record shown in (Fig. 14) was for only a 6-month period in early 1906. It can be assumed that after the building of the on-site cyanide plant, that production increased dramatically. However, it has been estimated that the total production of gold from this mine probably did not exceed $200,000.
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| (Fig. 09) |
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| (Fig. 14) |
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Pilgrim Mine Description: Primary Mining: Zinc;
Secondary Mining: Copper, Silver, Lead. The Pilgrim mine is located about 5 miles northwest of Goodsprings, on the north side of Kingston Road, about .2 miles northeast of the Red Cloud Mine. The claim was made in 1892 by A.G. Campbell, but little work was done until 1908. It was later acquired by Harvey Hardy and associates, and then by the Pilgrim Mining Company. There are a few open collar shafts and a good sized tailing pile, but the mine was dug into the valley floor; not a hillside. As you can tell from (Fig. 15), the principal working is an inclined shaft, which extends westward at 32 degrees to the 90-foot level and then 45 degrees to the 120-foot level. There also drifts south at 40 feet and north at 52 feet. As you can see from the production chart (Fig. 16), nearly 2,000 ounces of silver were retrieved from the mine between 1908 and 1918; however, it produced mostly lead (130,000+ lbs) and zinc (73,000+ lbs).
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| (Fig. 16) |
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