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REFERENCE
SECTION: GHOST TOWNS & ABANDONED MINES
CLOSED MINES, GOODSPRINGS DISTRICT, NEVADA |
Below are photos
of some recent activities by the Bureau of Land Management, closing
off access to mines. This is due to idiots who do not exercise good
caution, safety, and judgement by not entering mines in the first
place...so now those of us who are responsible & careful must
have our entertainment taken away from us because of a handful of
morons. I'd much rather have folks enjoy my photos here than risk
trying to see all this for themselves. I've been exploring mines
for decades, and am well prepared; I also don't explore mines that
don't appear to be safe to enter, and trust my sixth senses if something
seems amiss.
I don't fault the BLM nor the Forest Service nor any other agency
that is involved in closing off access to mines; they are reacting
to the stupid amongst us and doing as they are directed. So by no
means is this a condemnation of any federal agency; I hold them
blameless. Rather, it is the few idiots amongst us that makes the
rest of us pay for their stupidity.
Goodsprings was named for cattle rancher Joe Good, who used to water
his herd at the springs named after him. The town of Goodsprings
thrives to this day, but has many reminders of its glorified mining
past. In fact, there is an effort underway to have the former grade
of the Yellow Pine Mining Railroad designated as a trail under the
federal Rails To Trails program. The mining district extends well
beyond Goodsprings and generally incorporates mines around Sandy
Valley & the Potosi Mountain range as well. This section covers
a wide area throughout the district, including photos in & around
Goodsprings township proper.
Strikes in the area were recorded beginning in the early 1880s,
but high transportation costs stymied development until the SP,LA&SL
Railroad (aka "The Salt Lake Route," forerunner of the
Union Pacific) rails were laid through Jean in 1905, less than 10
miles to the south. In 1882 the Keystone Mine was located west of
Goodsprings, and a small mill was constucted in the town. The Yellow
Pine Mining Company was formed in 1901, by combining several smaller
claims located in Porphyry Gulch, roughly 4 miles northwest of Goodsprings
town. The increase in ore output from the various area mines demanded
better transportation to the SP,LA&SL railhead at Jean, and
so in 1909 an attempt was made to acquire the remaining assets of
the defunct Quartette Mining Company's railroad (the locomotives
& some equipment had already been acquired by the Arden Plaster
Company); the deal was not consumated until more than a year later,
and the Yellow Pine Mining Company Railroad was completed in June,
1911. The railroad was approximately 12-1/2 miles long, and featured
steep grades all along its length: 4 to 5% in the "easy"
section out of Jean, and then up to 12% in short sections
along the rest of the route! Runaways and accidents were not uncommon
during the railroad's lifespan. The railroad ran from Jean northwards
into Goodsprings (where the Yellow Pine Mining Co. mill was also
located, along the railroad route), and then northwesterly to the
Yellow Pine Mine. Several other mines were also served by the railroad
along the way to enhance revenue, a very few with their own spurs.
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Here's an interesting
mine group near the fenced-off Monte Cristo Mine; I haven't been
able to find a name for this group of workings other than "Adit"
or "Prospects" on good topo maps, nor have I been able
to find any information on what they may have been named through
the Nevada Bureau of Mines. Anyhow, these have been closed off by
the BLM and/or the NBoM by welding steel tubing & angles together
in the adit, and inserting a corrugated drainage pipe into the vertical
shaft (with a small opening to keep people out but allow bats access/exit).
I assume this mine was picked due to its easy access from the 4x4
road; most of the other mines in the area are only reached after
hiking up difficult pack mule trails. |
Back
to Ghost Towns & Mines Page |
Back
to Goodsprings Mining District Page
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