The Winkeye Mine peaked our interest after watching a YouTube and reading a blog post by Justin Ames aka The Velvet Rocket. One of Justin’s earlier explorations before…
On a sunny spring morning way back in 2015 we set out for our second trip to the Allegheny district. This time we had the Morning Glory stamp…
Poker Flat history begins with the gold rush when extreme quantities of gold were pulled from the district as much as $700,00 per month (period values). Major hydraulic…
Not much history on the Ophir Mine is out there. It does appear on USGS Topo but that’s about it. The Ophir is best know by off roaders…
Malakoff Diggins is California’s largest hydraulic gold mine. There are no shafts (except for massive drain tunnels) because the gold was dug up by using high pressure water…
The Plumas-Eureka State Park consist of the Plumas-Eureka (Mohawk) Stamp Mill, the museum was built in the old miners barracks, the Eureka Tunnel, nearby Jamisin City and mine, and the…
A mining settlement established in 1850. In 1852 a snow avalanche destroyed the camp and it was not resettled for several years. Today a few period buildings remain…
The mighty Plumbago Mine (aka lower Plumbago) and Stamp Mill has a long and rich history. Millions of dollars of high grade have been pulled from small pockets…
A popular hiking destination located within Plumas-Eureka State Park. The Jamison was a top producer that once yielded a 52lb nugget. The mine site is also known as…
The Mexican Mine has been on our to do list for a while. It wasn’t until our third trip to the area we were able to find it.…
In the foothills above the affluent San Jose suburb of Almaden Valley lies dozens of mercury mines and the ruins from nearly 140 years of mining operations. The…
I found this mine searching USGS Historic Topo maps near La Grange. The maps show two shafts only a few minutes north of La Grange. Mindat.org indicates a…
We have driven by and through Chinese Camp several times over the years on our travels up and down Highway 49 but never stopped. But now with Lake…
The Tarantula Mine can only be seen when Lake Don Pedro is at extremely low levels as it was when we visited in November 2014. Part of the…
The Argonaut is the site of the worst gold mining disaster in California History. On August 27th, 1922, 47 immigrant miners became trapped at the 4,650 foot level…
Located right off old Highway 49 is what used to be the North Star Mine (according to USGS Topo) now owned by Sutter Gold Mining Inc.. Sutter Gold…
The Keystone Mine was a significant contributor to gold production in the Mother Lode producing $24,000,000 in gold to a depth of 2680′ from 1851 until it’s close…
The Newton is the only copper mine so far that we have visited and added to this site. It sits only yards off highway 88 so it was…
Its amazing that one of California’s most productive mines has faded into a barely visible steel structure among the trees and has even been used as a cell…
Opened as the Rancheria Mine in 1853 and renamed the South Mayflower Mine in 1893. In 1899 it became the Bunker Hill Consolidated Mine and operated until 1922…
Mining began in the 1850’s with an 8 stamp mill added in 1867. The mine reached a depth of 3030′ on incline and a drift connected to the…
I have never seen a headframe so twisted, mangled and distorted. I really wonder how this happened, to much load, wind, who knows? The claim is composed of…
Certainly one of my all time favorites. The giant stamp mill sits right next to a well maintained gravel road only a short distance from the highway. Virtually…
Not much is known about the Ryan Mine except it has a 400′ deep shaft and produced 1700 tons of ore in 1940. We were able to drive…
The El Doarado Mine is located at the northern edge of the Whiskytown National Recreation Area. The nps.gov site makes no mention of the mine so it is…
Murphys was originally known as Murphys Camp, named after brothers John and Daniel who began placer mining in the area in 1848. Claims were limited to 8 sq/ft…
On Main Street in Georgetown is a restored stamp mill from the Slate Mountain Mine. The mine was a few miles south east of town. The mill was…
Lucky me! I was perusing local USGS Historic Topo’s and came across this awesome find. From Google Earth I could clearly see a mine shaft, a ball mill,…