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This page last updated on 12/03/2018
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| (Fig. 01) |
Directions: Leaving from the Stratosphere, get on the I-15 South. Go 24 miles and take NV-161 (Exit 12) toward Jean/Goodsprings. Leaving Jean, head west on Route 161 towards Goodsprings. Continue through Ivanpah Valley on the left and Goodsprings Valley on the right, until you reach a unnamed 4WD road opposite the Goodsprings Bypass Road on Nevada 161, about a half mile before Sandy Valley Road. Turn left onto this road. Refer to (Fig. 02). You will be able to see the the Goodsprings Energy Recovery Station in the distance. Keep heading south through the Ivanpah Valley, to a small, rocky knoll about two miles past the Lincoln Mine. See second map in (Fig. 03).
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| (Fig. 02) |
Area Description: For a more detailed description of the Goodsprings Mining District, go to my page ...
Goodsprings Mining District - Summary Page. There are literally dozens of prospects, mines, shafts and adits in the Goodsprings' Mining District in the southern end of the Spring Mountain Range south of the town. The majority of these are accessed from two 4WD roads that run off of Sandy Valley Road and Nevada 161. Table Mountain Road which runs south off of Sandy Valley Road, provides access to, among others, the Surprise, Columbia, Argentena, Lookout and Mountain Top mines. An unnamed 4WD road opposite the Goodsprings Bypass Road on Nevada 161 runs south through the Goodsprings and Ivanpah Valleys', and provides access to the Crystal Pass Mine, Lincoln, Ireland, Houghton, Star, Monte Cristo, Portor, Accident, Bullion and Valentine mines, as well as dozens more prospects, adits and unnamed mines. The vast majority of the mines in this portion of the Goodsprings Mining District are in the Spring Mountains west of Porter Wash as seen in the (Fig. 03) below.
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| (Fig. 03) |
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| (Fig. 04) Click to enlarge |
Description of the Ireland Mine: The Ireland Mine is a grouping of small prospects, pits, adits, and incline shafts that sit on top of a small, rocky knoll at the mouth of Porter Wash, before the road turns to the right and enters Porter Wash (Fig. 03) and the enlarged cutout of (Fig. 04) right. This large knoll is home to nearly a half-dozen mine sites. All of its mines here appear to have long ago been scoured of any signs of equipment & materials. As with many of the mines in this area, there is little information available that I've been able to find. Within an area scarcely 500 feet in diameter there are 8 shafts and shallow pits, the deepest of which is an incline on the north side of the hill 125 feet deep. The ore shipped from this property has come from small loads of lead, copper, and zinc minerals. According to local reports several carloads of copper-bearing lead ore have been shipped from this site.
12/01/2018 Trip Notes: As we approached this rocky knoll we turned right and drove to the north side (Fig. 05). At the end of this short road we parked (Fig. 05) in front of the mine's main opening (Fig. 01). Even though this shaft was barred with heavy steel bars just inside the opening (Fig. 06). The shot in (Fig. 07) was taken peering between the bars. Another nearby tunnel (Fig. 08) allowed one to enter a few feet into it. The pictures in (Figs. 09 and 10) show some nearby wood timbers. The shot in (Fig. 11) is exiting the short tunnel. The view in (Fig. 12) is looking northwest out over the desert in front of these mines. Meanwhile, Jim climbed to some of the pilings higher up on the hillside, but all of them had either been filled or barred. (Con't below)
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| (Fig. 04) |
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| (Fig. 05) |
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| (Fig. 06) |
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| (Fig. 07) |
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| (Fig. 08) |
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| (Fig. 12) |
Notes Continued: From here we continued on west into the Porter Wash (refer to Fig. 03). We arrived at an unknown site had what appeared to be the remains of an ore offloading platform (Fig. 13). Due south, opposite was a wash and a hillside that contained several sites of adits with pilings (Fig. 14). Looking west, further up the wash you could see the Accident Mine high on the side of the mountain (Fig. 15). Driving up the wash was not very inviting and we decided to settle for a closeup shot with my 720mm zoom lens (Fig. 16). This mine was located in 1901, Little work was done until 1911, and then again in 1919. The mine has several openings, but most of the ore was produced by the main tunnel. The minerals extracted were gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. Lead and zinc were the primarily minerals removed, and the others were beneficial byproducts of the zinc & lead extractions. The main tunnel at this site was actually quite extensive. I wished we had been able to reach it. For more pictures of the site go to ...
Accident Mine.
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| (Fig. 13) |
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| (Fig. 14) |
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| (Fig. 15) |
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| (Fig. 16) |
For additional pages on mines around the Goodsprings Mining District also visit the following ...
Note: Every attempt is made to provide accurate information, but occasionally depictions are inaccurate by error of mapping, navigation or cataloging. The information on this site is provided without any warranty, express or implied, and is for informational and historical purposes only.
