 |
Turquoise
Mines of Nevada |
A Listing of Historic and Still Producing Nevada
Turquoise Mines
Turquoise and its family of related gemstones have been
mined from more than 120 locations within Nevada, a number far more than that of all the other 50 states combined. As
a result, the state has also produced more turquoise than all the other states in the US, with the present value of the
rough produced likely surpassing 100 million dollars, though historical production numbers
have often not been publicly reported. The deposits are spread sparsely across large areas
of Nevada, but the
greatest number of mines are concentrated in Lander and Esmeralda Counties. The deposits tend to occur in groups, and in places where there are
a good number of them, these areas can be termed as turquoise mining districts. In spite
of this, many of these districts are better known for their greater production values in
gold and other metals. Turquoise has never been subject to the kind of widespread and
intense exploration that accompanied Nevada's famous gold and silver rushes, and new turquoise discoveries
continue to be made periodically when high prices and strong demand for turquoise rough
encourage local prospectors to begin searching for deposits of the elusive gem and its
related gem minerals. There were a number of new discoveries made during the turquoise
"boom" period of the late 1960s and early 1970s that have received little
attention in any related publications since that time. Large and extensive work was done
during those boom times and Nevada produced considerable turquoise. For more information on the general
occurrence and geology of turquoise formation, and the techniques of mining it, see our
general web page on
Nevada Turquoise. Many older publications do not have any information from the boom
period of the 1970s as they were written before that time. As a result, this listing
contains descriptions of a number of mines not previously written up in any publication,
and is probably the most complete listing of the known turquoise producing mines of Nevada ever written. It
specifically notes 121 locations where turquoise family minerals have been commercially
mined within the state.
Probably the three most productive mines in the state are, in decreasing order, the Aurora at Carico Lake, the Fox near Cortez, and the
Royal Blue at Royston. The No. 8 Mine near Carlin, the Blue Gem at Battle Mountain, the Lone Mountain mine west of Tonopah and
the Pilot Mountain Mine near Mina would probably rank as the next most productive Nevada turquoise mines. A
number of others, with lesser, but still significant production are considered as
"classic locations" for American turquoise because of the beautiful gem material
they produce. Inclusion of various mines in this listing is based on past production, but
also adds some little known locations and other smaller mines that are still actively
worked on a small scale by their owners. At some places, a number of different mine names
have been used over the years for the same property. I have attempted to correlate
various old location names with those currently being used wherever possible. A
number of publications concerning Nevada turquoise mines were consulted, and a listing of references appears
at the end of this list. I have also conducted original research made a number of visits to various turquoise
producing areas around the state. In the investigation of Nevada turquoise, I found that most
of the reference books cited at the end of this listing contain at least some minor
errors, and these errors are often repeated on various web sites that offer
Nevada turquoise source information. The majority of these have been corrected
for this compilation. Although I have stated that this is probably the most
complete listing ever produced concerning Nevada turquoise, there have been many
more mines in Nevada that have produced at least some turquoise than those
listed below. Each mine or District is listed with the principal turquoise
family minerals that it produces. Please note that the author, Chris Ralph,
retains all copyrights to this document and it may not be reproduced, quoted or copied
without permission.
ACKERMAN CANYON -
VARISCITE. TURQUOISE
This is a series of mines that are located about 30 miles
northeast of Austin on a mountain west of Ackerman Canyon, east of Austin
in Lander County. The location was first discovered and worked in the 1970s. The color of
the material ranges from light to dark blue green, the highest quality material being a
translucent emerald green shade and resembling a fine Jadeite in color. Most of the
variscite has a high silica content, is hard and takes a good polish. It occurs in veins
up three inches thick and is sometimes found in nodule form as well. No material is
currently being produced. Some turquoise is produced at mines on the fringe of
thei area. There are a number of small mines in this general location. Mines at
this location includes the Ackerman, King Tut and Marie.
AUSTIN -
TURQUOISE
The Zuni and Papoose
turquoise mines are both located about 12
miles south of Austin, Nevada in the Toiyabe Range. In general, the turquoise
from this area is somewhat similar to the turquoise from the McGuinness area which is
located a few miles north of Austin in the same Toiyabe mountain range. Angular black chert contrasts
with bright and deep blue turquoise in the better material. The Zuni also produces some
interesting contrasting blue with green material (in the same stone).
Both mines are later discoveries and were worked chiefly
in the late 1960s and 1970s.
APACHE - VARISCITE
This mine is locate on the west side of the Toiyabe Range several miles north of Austin, in Lander County. The deposit was not
discovered until the 1990s. Thick veins of variscite ranging up to about 3 and a half
inches are mined here. The varicite is generally light green with black mottled markings.
Zones of higher quality darker green variscite nuggets have been uncovered in the deeper
workings. This property has produced considerable quantities of variscite and is
considered one of the worlds largest producers of that material. Initially, much of the
material was marketed as "Apache Turquoise" but the name was
retracted once a correct mineral identification was made. Several tons of high quality
material have been produced.
BASALT AREA –
TURQUOISE
In the 1930s a series of turquoise deposits were
discovered near Basalt in Esmerelda County by Lee Hand and others. These include the Blue Jay Gem
and the Blue Gem No. 1 mines. The deposits are located on both sides of
Highway 95 about 5 miles north of the old town site of Basalt. None of the prospects are
particularly large, and most of the work was done by bulldozer in the 1970s. Most of the
material occurs in cracks and seams and most is very thin, but there is some fine material
in both good blue as well as attractive green colors. Virtually no nugget type turquoise
is produced. Each dozer trench or other excavation produces a somewhat different type or
color of material.
BELMONT DISTRICT -
TURQUOISE
In the early 1900s turquoise was discovered south
and southwest the famous old bonanza silver mining district of Belmont in Nye County. Though some good quality
blue turquoise has been mined, no large quantities have been produced. The turquoise
deposits are located south and a little west of the main silver mining area. Several small
prospects have been found and worked, including the Copper Blue, Zabrisky and
the No Name No. 2.
BLUE GEM (CONTENTION,
BATTLE MOUNTAIN) -
TURQUOISE
The Blue Gem mine was located about one mile
north - northeast of Copper Basin, which is several miles south of the town of Battle Mountain in Lander County. It was discovered in 1934
and was developed by underground workings over 800 feet deep with an open pit on the
surface. It was the deepest turquoise mine in the state as most other underground mines
for turquoise were fairly shallow. High quality blue to blue green turquoise occurred in
veins up to one inch thick that were associated with quartz pyrite veins. Some of the
material is partly translucent and has a "glassy" type of appearance. Total out
put from the mine has been estimated at more than one million dollars in rough turquoise,
making it one of Nevada's
larger producers. The Battle Mountain area has produced a considerable amount of gold and other metals,
and the Blue gem property (originally called the Contention Mine) became incorporated into
those operations. In the 1980s, the location of the mine site was excavated out as a part
of a large open pit gold-copper mine. Turquoise was not saved during this operation, and
much good material was either processed as ore or went out onto the mine dump, was buried
and lost forever. The surface site of the mine is now an open pit hole in the ground and
is still owned by a well known gold mining company. The Turquoise King
and Myron Clark mines are located in the same general area, both have
produced some fine quality turquoise. All of the property in the area is controlled by
gold mining companies, and no future production is expected. The Sacred
Buffalo turquoise mine which produces light blue colored spiderweb
material is also located in the Battle Mountain area.
BLUE DIAMOND AREA -
TURQUOISE
The Blue Diamond mine is located
In the Iowa Canyon area, about 50 miles north of Austin, Nevada. The Blue Diamond Mine was extensively worked in the 1970s, and
continues to be worked on a small scale by its owners each year, and produces some very
high quality turquoise of deep blue color. It is known for material with angular and
blotchy black matrix contrasted against a hard, deep blue colored turquoise.
BLUE SHAH (LITTLE
CEDAR, TONOPAH) - TURQUOISE
The Blue Shah mine is located about
6 miles north of Tonopah in what was once known as the Rays mining area. It is marked by a
series of small bulldozer cuts which were excavated in the 1960s. It has produced some
turquoise of good blue color.
CARICO LAKE DISTRICT -
TURQUOISE / FAUSTITE
Although the first turquoise discoveries were made in the
Shoeshone Range on the west side of Carico Lake Valley in 1909, only
comparatively small
amounts were produced in the early days. However, since 1970, the Carico Lake area has become the most
important turquoise mining district in Nevada. The district is named after its location near Carico Dry Lake in the central part of Lander County, Nevada. There are actually a number
of important turquoise mines located in the Carico Lake turquoise mining district,
including the Red Mountain, Blue Elephant, Nevada Blue (Pinto/Watts), Aurora and
Northern Lights mines. By far the largest producer of these mines has been the Aurora. Active exploration for gold
deposits continues in the area.
Aurora Mine: The Aurora mine lies in the foothills of the Shoeshone Mountain Range on the
west side of Carico Lake Valley. The original Aurora Claim
was staked in 1930, by August Stenich, but no significant amount of turquoise was mined at
that time. However, in the mid 1970s when prices were high, large scale mining was
initiated, and huge quantities of turquoise and faustite were produced from the Aurora mine. This mine is the
source of the material most commonly considered as "Carico Lake turquoise". Its clear, bright spring to mint green color is due
to its elevated zinc content and is both beautiful and collectible. Aurora mine turquoise is also found
in a dark blue to green colors with a black, spider web matrix, as well as a range of
pastel blue to green-blue colors. Most of the blue material is in the light to medium
color range. Turquoise from this location has also been marketed under the names
"Stone Cabin" and "Aurora". The majority of the material from the mine is found as nuggets, which occur
in breccia (fault) zones as well as along bedding planes in the sedimentary host rock. The
mine is also known for fossilized clams which have been replaced with turquoise. The Aurora is probably the largest mine
in the US excavated
primarily for turquoise. It is also the most productive turquoise mine in Nevada, with a
staggering estimated past
production of nearly 400 tons of turquoise. The surrounding region has been explored for gold, but
none has been produced. In spite of strong demand, production during the last 20 years has
been small and sporadic, though the property has now been re-opened by new owners and is
currently once again producing turquoise.
Red Mountain: The well-known
Red Mountain Mine (originally known as the X-15) lies part way up the south slope of Red Mountain on the east side of Carico Lake Valley. Turquoise is found in a
series of breccia fault zones. It was heavily worked in the 1970’s by bulldozer. It
has produced beautiful some gem quality blue stones some including some with a red spider
web matrix, as well as some with a very tight spiderweb pattern similar to the material
produced at the Lander Blue. Although it is located at Carico, it is not known for
producing the bright green shades of turquoise most commonly considered as "Carico Lake" turquoise. The estimated
value of the mine's production is about $250,000 worth of turquoise.
Northern Lights: The Northern Lights (Sylvia) mine lies on the eastern side of the Carico Lake Valley at the western foot of Red Mountain, and about a mile west of
the Red Mountain (X-15) mine. It produces a
wide number of grades of turquoise in deep blue to greens, but a large portion of the
production is a light blue colored material, in both clear and spider web forms.
Nevada Blue: Is a smaller mine in the Shoeshone range high on the ridge
to the west of the Aurora. It produces some nice deep blue material including some
with a nice spider
web pattern. It is still worked periodically by its owner, but access is very poor for most of the
year because of the high elevation.
A number of other smaller turquoise mines beyond those noted
above have also operated in the district, including some on the west side of the Shoeshone
Range. The unusual beauty and limited amounts of Carico Lake turquoise available combine to make Carico Lake turquoise very desirable.
CLARK COUNTY -
(SEARCHLIGHT) - TURQUOISE
Crescent Peak (Simmons, Aztec, Searchlight)
- This mine is located about 12 miles west of the town of Searchlight, along west flanks
of Crescent Peak. It was extensively worked by the native Americans of the area long
before the arrival of European emigrants. It is estimated that the site was worked for
centuries by Native Americans, and was home to an extensive turquoise mining and stone
processing community. When the site was first found, the stone chisels, hammers and wedges
of the original miners were still left at the mine site, together with the remains of the
mining village of the peoples who worked the deposit. It was worked extensively and was
very productive of high quality blue turquoise in the decades after Mr. Simmons first
"re-discovered" the deposit in 1890, however, it has not been productive for
many years. Two other smaller mines, the Morgan and Smithson-Phillips
are close by. The Sullivan or Yellow Diamond mine is
located near the town of Boulder.
COLUMBUS / CANDELARIA
DISTRICT - TURQUOISE / VARISCITE
The Columbus and Candelaria area is the site of the first
turquoise discovery by European heritage miners in Nevada. The area first attracted the
attention of the local miners because of the nearby veins of high grade silver ore. The District
is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. A very large open pit silver mine was
excavated here in the 1980s and early 1990s, and although a considerable quantity of fine
turquoise was put into the mine dump, some fine material was recovered by workers from the
walls of the pit. The Columbus/Candelaria district is also the home of a number of small
turquoise and variscite mines that are still occasionally worked by their owners. Some of
the old underground Gold / Silver mines in the area, including the Potosi mine have also
produced small amounts of turquoise.
Ajax: The
small Ajax mine is
located in south central Nevada in the Columbus/Candelaria area of Esmerelda County, not far from the site of the first Nevada turquoise discovery. The
owner still occasionally works it on a small scale. The mine is best known for bright
yellow-green material, but also yields stones from light blue with darker blue veins to a
predominate dark green with light blue areas. This latter coloration is considered quite
unusual for turquoise.
Some of the additional small mines in this area include the Blue Moon, Miss
Moffet, Ruth, Blue Boy, Pirate, Broken Arrow, Candelaria
and the Sigmund.
DAMALE -
VARISCITE /
FAUSTITE & PAIUTE - TURQUOISE
The Damale mine is located 30 miles east of
Austin, Nevada on the east side of Damele Mountain at the south east end of the Simpson
Park Range. The site is about a mile southwest of the Dry Creek (Godber)
mine. Damale turquoise is distinctive because of the unusual colors the gems in
a
yellow-green to bright mint green with excellent hardness. The Damele deposit
produces very little material of the standard blue colors most people commonly associate
with turquoise. Mineralogically, most of the material produced here is likely
Variscite,
Chalcosiderite or possibly
Faustite. The mine consists of a single medium sized open pit
excavation. The adjoining Paiute turquoise deposit shares the
same hill with the Godber mine, produces material of a
standard good blue color. The Damale material is mostly in nugget form, with a
webbing consisting of a dark brown to black matrix. Its availability is limited because
the mine is fairly small and considerable laying back of the steep pit walls
will be required for further production. The mine is worked only sporadically by the owner on a small scale. Due to its rare, bright and attractive colors, Damale is considered a collectible
gemstone.
DARLING DARLENE -
TURQUOISE
The Darling Darlene mine is located
at the far northern part of the Tenabo/Gold Acres/Bullion area. It was discovered by Joe
Barredo in 1972 and named for his daughter. It produced turquoise in both vein and nugget
form in shades of both blues and greens. It is no longer being worked, and is unlikely to
be producing any turquoise in the near future, as the property is now held by a gold
mining company.
DRY CREEK (WOODS,
GODBER, BURNHAM) - TURQUOISE
The Dry Creek (Godber) mine, which has also
been known as the Godber or Burnham mine is located
about 5 miles north of Hickison Summit on Highway 50, about 30 miles east of Austin. It
is
noted for high quality deep blue turquoise, often with a dark colored spider
web type matrix. Considerable confusion has
been caused with another mine with the same name of "Dry Creek" near Battle Mountain that produces a very pale
blue turquoise material. The Woods/Godber mine shares a similar name but does not produce
this product, which is also sometimes called "sacred buffalo". The matrix of
this Dry Creek Turquoise is typically light golden or brown-gray to gray-black. This
turquoise is beautiful alone in a piece of jewelry and is especially striking when
juxtaposed with other colors of turquoise in a single creation. The owners of this mine
continue to work it and produce fine quality turquoise on a small scale. The owners sell
some finished jewelry from the Dry Creek mine at their web site. The Windy Ridge
mine is located close by. The Piaute and Damele
turquoise mines adjoin on the southwest.
DYER - TURQUOISE
This little known turquoise area is located just
east of the small community of Dyer in Esmerelda County. It was reported by Nevada Bureau of Mines Geologists. There has
been only a little production from these deposits.
EASTER BLUE - TURQUOISE
The Easter Blue Mine is located in
Nye County about 32 miles NW of Tonopah, and about 8 miles NW of the Royston Turquoise
area. It was discovered in 1907 and has been owned and worked by a number of different
operators. Much of the original work was done by Lee Hand, a well known old time Nevada
Turquoise miner. Production here has come from both surface pits and underground workings,
and the turquoise occurs as both nuggets and veins. Total production is estimated at
nearly 8 tons of turquoise of all grades. Most of the material from the mine is a good
blue color, hard and of good quality. Blue colors are predominant over green at this
location. A few additional deposits, including the Smokey Valley Mine,
which was worked in the 1960s by Menless Winfield, lie nearby in the same mountain range.
FOX (WHITE HORSE,
CORTEZ) - TURQUOISE
This very productive mine is located about 1.5 miles south of
the mouth of Cortez Canyon on the east side of Crescent Valley. It has also been known as
the White Horse mine. Native Americans worked this deposit extensively,
and it is said a century ago that nearly every one in the area had at least a little of
the turquoise from this location. One of the local Native Americans showed it to Charles
Schmidtlein, who first developed it into a mine in 1914. The mine has been extensively
worked by open pit mining, and it is estimated that the Fox Mine has
produced about 275 tons of rough turquoise, making it the second most productive mine in Nevada. It was extensively worked
by bulldozer in the 1970s, but has not been in major production since the end of the boom period
around 1980. Though the mine produces some excellent turquoise of large size that is
usable without further treatment, much of the rough that is produced here requires
stabilization for jewelry use. Much of the turquoise is a blue/green color and found in
nugget form. Gold mining companies are currently mining and extracting gold on a large
scale at Cortez, and exploring around the Fox mine site for additional gold deposits. The Pixie
turquoise / faustite mine was also located in the same general area around Cortez, but is
considered to be mined out. The green Pixie
material was mined for only 18 months during 1973 and 1974. Gold mining companies forming
the Cortez Joint Venture now hold the Pixie claim group.
INDIAN BLUE - TURQUOISE
The Indian Blue mine is located in Northern Nye County about 1.7 miles south of the
county line on the east slope of the Toquima Range. The was originally worked by the native Americans of the area and
produces small sized nuggets of very hard deep blue turquoise. A small amount of dozer
work was done at the site during the period of high turquoise prices in the 1960s and
1970s. The nuggets tend to be coated white and are hard to see unless broken and the deep
blue interior exposed. Only nuggets are produced, and they occur along the bedding planes
of the host shale rock.
INDIAN MOUNTAIN -
TURQUOISE
The Indian Mountain mine is located
on the southern slope of Bald Mountain, about 14 miles SW of Cortez, about 15 miles south
and a little west of the Fox Turquoise Mine and about 10 miles west of the Red Mountain
Turquoise mine at Carico. The deposits here were discovered by a local Native American
Shepherd in the early 1970s. The deposits are located high on a mountain side and are
inaccessible during the winter months. It produces some very fine quality spider web
turquoise with good blue color. It is considered by many as one of the "classic"
western turquoise locations, and has been featured in a number of publications. Gold
mining operations were carried out a few miles to the west in the 1980s, but as yet have
not encroached on the turquoise area. The Blue Goose Mine, which has
produced small amounts of very high quality material, is located at the south end of Hot
Springs Point about 6 miles south of Bald Mountain peak.
LANDER RANCH -
CHALCOSIDERITE
Located just south of Indian Creek in the Bullion District, the
Lander Ranch (New Lander) mine was discovered in the
early 1970's. A series of open pit excavations have produced high quality whitish to light
green chalcosiderite with a dark colored spiderweb pattern. It is owned and worked by
Eddie Mauzy of Battle Mountain.
LINCOLN COUNTY - TURQUOISE
Several little known small turquoise deposits are
located in Lincoln County, some of which were
originally worked by the Native Americans of the area, including the Anasazi. Pough
references the Crescent
Peak deposit as being
in Lincoln Co., but that particular location is now a part of Clark Co. as the boundaries have
changed since the book was written.
LOMBARDO (SHOSHONE) -
TURQUOISE
The Lombardo or Shoshone
mine is located in the New Pass area of the Desatoya Range astride the border of Lander
and Churchill Counties about 20 miles east of Austin. Considerable surface work was done
by bulldozer in the 60s and 70s, but when the turquoise bearing zone got too deep, the
owners were forced to begin work underground. The quality and hardness of the turquoise
improved as the miners moved downward below the weathered surface zone in the underground
mine. This is probably the only turquoise mine in the US to begin new underground
turquoise mining in recent decades, as almost all modern turquoise work in the US has been
done with bulldozers working surface pits. A significant amount of high quality turquoise
was produced, but the deposit is no longer being worked. The company formerly operated a
shop to sell the turquoise they produced in Austin.
LONE MOUNTAIN -
TURQUOISE
The Lone Mountain turquoise mine near Tonopah, Nevada has been one of the larger
producers of fine turquoise in Nevada. It was discovered by Lee Hand in 1920 and filed under the name of
Blue Jay Mining Lode. At first it was called the Blue Jay Mine on Lone Mountain and later just the Lone Mountain. It is presently closed.
As with many turquoise mines it was first operated as an underground tunnel and shaft
operation, including over 1500 feet of underground workings, reaching a depth of 250 feet
below the surface. However, when Menless Winfield bought the mine it was made into an open
pit operation. Considerable surface mining was done here in the 1970s and quite a bit of
turquoise recovered. A large but long and narrow open pit oriented in a north-south
direction now marks the primary mine excavation. The turquoise from this mine is mostly
good to high-grade and is usually in the form of nuggets although there is good a quantity
of vein material as well. A very interesting occurrence of turquoise found here is a
condition where the turquoise was deposited in cavities or molds left when parts of fossil
plants were dissolved out of a harder rock. The turquoise is graded into golden matrix,
black matrix and spider web. In the past most of it was cut and polished or the nuggets
drilled and polished at the mine and very little rough was sold. No material is currently
being mined. It is considered a very collectible turquoise, probably second only to the
Lander Blue. The nearby Blue Silver turquoise mine is located about 1
mile north of the Lone Mountain Mine. The Livesly turquoise mine is just
east of Paymaster Canyon, a few miles to the south,
but not far away.
MCGINNESS MINE AREA -
TURQUOISE / VARISCITE
The McGinness turquoise area is located on the East slope of
the Toiyabe Range in Lander County about 15 miles North East of Austin. The McGinness
mine, which was the first discovery in the area, was located in 1930. After the
initial work, the property was purchased and worked on a small scale by Mr. George
McGinness of Oakland, CA. This was done during the
1930s and 1940s. Later, it was worked on a much larger scale by mechanized equipment in
the 1960s and 1970s. This larger scale operation occurred during the time when turquoise
was at the height of popularity and prices were very high. Some
older turquoise publications state that much of the McGuinness material is only of
"fair" grade. While this may have bee true of some of the earliest production,
the much of the material produced since 1960 has been of very fine higher grade material.
Two fairly large open pits were
excavated and the mine produced a considerable amount of turquoise at that time, with the
top grade material being a bold blue color with a black matrix. The black matrix present
in the gem material consists of small angular fragments of the black chert host rock that
the turquoise forms in at this location, and produces an attractive and somewhat unusual
gem with the black matrix contrasting the bold blue colors. The turquoise here is spread
over a wide area, coating many of the rocks in the mine area. There are a very few nuggets
produced here and little if any true spiderweb, but both the glue and green colors from
this location tend to be deep and full. There are also a number of other turquoise
properties in this area that have been productive in the past. These properties are all
located within a few miles of the McGinness Mine. Most of these were productive in the
1970s, and in total as a district, the mines at this location have produced quite a bit of
turquoise over the years. Property names for these other mines include: the Green
Tree, Moonglow, Blue Line, Lucky Day, Cold Day, Tina Gem, Blue Boy, White Owl and Xmas Tree.
MONTE CRISTO RANGE
DISTRICT - TURQUOISE AND VARISCITE
The are a good number of turquoise and variscite
deposits located at various places all across the Monte Cristo Range in central Esmeralda County. The following are the more important producers in the area:
Carrie Mine - The Carrie Mine (also know as the Meyers & Bona)
is located 2.5 miles southeast of the old Gilbert ghost town site. The mine produces a
variety of grades from soft and pale to hard, deep blue material that is the equal of any
turquoise mine for color and hardness. The thicker veins tend to be poorer in quality. The
historic production from this mine has been fairly large. There are several turquoise
prospects in this general area close to the main mine.
Crow Springs - In some reports, the Crow Springs area is considered as a
separate district, but because it is located at the northeast end of the Monte Cristo Range, it can be considered a part
of the Monte Cristo area. It is not just one mine, but series of a number of open pit
mines that have been worked on several properties. All are generally north and west of
Crow Springs, but with a couple miles distance. A considerable quantity of good quality
turquoise has been produced from the combination of these properties. They were heavily
worked through surface pits in the 1960s and 1970s. Properties here include the Petry,
Blue Friday, Annjax, and Crow Spring
Mines.
Monte Cristo - The Monte Cristo mine is located about 8 miles NE of
Coaldale, and was discovered in 1951. Both solid blue and spiderweb material occur here.
Some limited work by dozer has been done here. More extensive work was done at the
adjoining Spiderweb mine.
A large number of smaller turquoise prospects are
spread across the Monte Cristo Range
and have been worked for
turquoise and/or variscite at various times since the early 1900s. These include the Spiderweb,
the Original Gilbert, Carr-Lovejoy and the Reik
& Botts Mines. Another historic
turquoise mine in this area is the Marguerite Mine, located about 2 miles east of Crow Springs. Some very high quality
green variscite has also been produced from the Monte Cristo Range.
NUMBER EIGHT -
TURQUOISE
The Number 8 Turquoise mine in Eureka county, north of Carlin, Nevada, was discovered in 1925 and
first mined in 1929. It has been one of the more productive turquoise mines in Nevada. Historically, the mine
produced some of the largest nuggets of turquoise ever discovered, including one over 150
pounds in weight. In the 1960’s gold was discovered in the rocks surrounding the
mine. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the Number 8 area was excavated out as a part of the
Blue Star open pit gold mine. The place where the mine was is now a large hole in the
ground. During the excavation of the Blue Star gold pit, a 12 inch wide vein of
solid spiderweb turquoise was discovered in 1990. Only one large 25 pound nugget/vein
section was saved from this discovery. Because the mining company was only interested in
the gold content of the ores, all the rest of the turquoise excavated in this operation
went into the mine dump and was buried. Nearly all the turquoise which was produced at the
No. 8 is of the spider web-type, with the matrix varying from golden brown to black. Much
of the material was of a high quality gem grade. The colors grade from very light blue to
very dark blue, some with interesting hints of green. Gem material from this location is a
very collectible turquoise – as no more can ever be mined! The August Berning
Mine was also located nearby.
ORVIL JACK / BLUE RIDGE
– TURQUOISE / FAUSTITE
The Orvil Jack (Blue Ridge) mine is located
about a mile north east of Gold Acres on the west side of Crescent Valley. Orvil Jack
discovered and developed the mine that bears his name. This property is actually two
mines: when the blue turquoise is mined, it is called the "Blue Ridge Turquoise
Mine." When the yellow-green 'faustite' is mined, it is referred to as "Orvil
Jack Turquoise Mine." The rare yellow-green color of the turquoise/faustite comes
from the zinc content of the material produced here. Mr. Jack is now deceased, but his
daughter Grace Jack Wintle and her family continue to manage and work the mine on a part
time basis. Only a small amount is now being produced each year, and the turquoise is considered
very collectible due to its rare color and scarcity.
PARADISE RANGE (GABBS) – TURQUOISE
A Turquoise discovery was made in the 1970s in the Paradise Range east of Gabbs, Nevada in Nye County. The exact location of this
mine has not been made public and little was ever published on it. Rough turquoise from
this locality was offered for sale in the 1970s in various trade magazines including the
Lapidary Journal. It was advertised as Gabbs turquoise. The
deposits was found as a result of searching for other metallic mineral deposits. It has
recently been reclaimed and the new owners are recovering material off the old
dump. The turquoise produced is green and blue and is similar in appearance to
the turquoise produced in the Royston district.
PILOT MOUNTAIN DISTRICT
- TURQUOISE
The Pilot Mountain Turquoise district is located along the
southern slopes of the Pilot Mountain range, about 30 miles east of Mina, Nevada in Mineral County, near the border with
Esmerelda. The first discoveries were made in the area in 1908, but a number have been
made since. In addition to the mines below, the High Blue area is also
along the south side of the Pilot Range, about 5 miles west of the Blue Eagle area. Most
of the turquoise from the Pilot Mountain district is found in vein form.
Pilot Mountain - The Pilot Mountain mine is one of Nevada's more productive turquoise mines. It is located in Mineral County in west-central Nevada east of the town of Mina. Originally discovered in
1908, and worked as the Montezuma or Troy Springs mine,
it was heavily worked by bulldozer in the 1970s, by a series of small open pits and was
very productive at that time. It continues producing on a small scale - the work being
accomplished by one family. The stone is highly admired for its deep blue-green colors. In
addition, it can show light blue to dark green colors on the same stone. This graduation
in color is unusual and makes the turquoise very collectible. The matrix is black to
golden brown. Pilot Mountain turquoise is a hard stone
and takes a good polish.
Moqui-Aztec - The Moqui-Aztec mine was a turquoise occurrence near the
pilot Mountain mine, about 1.5 miles west of Troy Springs. It was worked many years ago,
and has not produced much since.
Turquoise Bonanza - The Turquoise Bonanza mine is located on the west
side of Pilot Mountain about 2.5 miles north of
the Pilot Mountain mine in Mineral County in west-central Nevada and east of the town of Mina. The first discovery here was
made in 1908, but significant mining did not begin until 1943. Ted Johnson and others did
considerable work mining here from the 1950s through the 1970s. Total turquoise production
is estimated at about $400,000 worth of rough. The mine has produced a wide range colors,
including blue, blue-green and green. The turquoise occurs in veins up to 2 inches wide in
an altered, fractured quartzite. Much of the vein or slab material has an attractive
matrix pattern, and spiderweb material does occur here. Nuggets of turquoise are rare at
this location. The turquoise is hard, of good quality, and takes a good polish. There are
more than 20 individual deposits on the property and each contains a distinct variety of
turquoise.
Blue Eagle - The Blue Eagle area is located about 2 miles west of the Pilot Mountain mine. A series of moderate
sized open pit excavations were worked by bulldozer during the period of high turquoise
demand in the 1960s and 1970s. The area was little worked before that time. One of the
Mines here produced very unusual turquoise psudomorphs where the material assumes the form
of another mineral crystal (usually apatite).
The Halley's Comet Mine is located near to the Pilot Mountain area at the
southern end of the Excelsior Range about 10 miles SW of Mina. It has produced a small
amount of both varicite and turquoise, much of the material is very bright green in color.
RAVENSWOOD - TURQUOISE
Located in Lander County near the old Silver district of Ravenswood, a small
amount of turquoise occurs within a commercial Barite deposit. It is not known if any
turquoise was saved during the mining of the Barite from this locality. The Ralph
King turquoise mine is located in the same general area of the Shoeshone Range, roughly 14 miles NW of
Austin.
ROYSTON DISTRICT -
TURQUOISE
Royston is a mining district in Nevada with of a number of
turquoise mines, including a number of small prospects. Tuquoise was mined here by the
Native Americans, but the first discoveries by local prospectors were made around 1902.
The turquoise occurs in cracks and crevices in an altered volcanic rock along certain
fault zones, most of which trend in a east - west direction. The District straddles the
Nye/Esmerelda County line about 25 miles NW of Tonopah. The largest and most productive
mines are in Esmerelda
County and include the
Blue Bell, the Bunker Hill, the Oscar Wehrend, and the main producer, the Royal
Blue. The Royal Blue was worked heavily by a series of underground excavations
early in the 1900s, and produced considerable fine turquoise. The Royal Blue and several
adjoining deposits to the southeast were worked on the surface by bulldozer, creating a
series of fairly large open pit excavations in the 1960s and 1970s, and the region
produced many tons of fine turquoise. Unfortunately, the claims have produced very little
since. The properties that make up the Royal Blue mine have produced more than 5
million dollars worth of turquoise, and together with the adjoining properties, this
district has probably produced more than 100 tons in total gem production, making it
Nevada's third most productive turquoise mine. Royston turquoise is known for its wide
pallet of beautiful colors ranging from deep green to rich, light blues set off by a heavy
brown matrix. Much of the material is hard and takes a fine polish. Royston is also known
for stones which combine both blue and green in the same piece, with one color fading into
the other. Aqua blue material with a slight green cast is also quite common. The Royston
mines are currently in production but he work is done on an extremely sporadic and small scale
basis, and as a
result, gem quality material from this location is a very collectable turquoise.
The Otteson family have staked a number of claims here and begun work on a number
of these claims around Royston area. This may lead to an increase in the District's potential
for future turquoise production. There are a number of smaller turquoise prospects out of
Royston, including some north between Royston and the the Easter Blue area, Southwest from
Royston toward Crow Springs, and north of the Royston area,
SMITH BLACK MATRIX MINE
- TURQUOISE
Located just east of the Klondike mining area in
Esmerelda County, the Smith Black matrix mine has produced a small
quantity of turquoise of a blue to greenish blue color with contrasting black silicious
matrix. Virtually all the material shows at least some matrix, and in some stones the
black matrix predominates over the turquoise. The mine is small, and very little turquoise
as been produced here since 1910.
STAMPEDE MINE -
TURQUOISE
The Toe Jam or Stampede
Mine is located about 10 miles SE of the town of Tuscarora in Elko County. It was worked heavily in the turquoise "boom" of the
1960s and 1970s. An open pit mine 100 feet long and 40 feet deep was excavated for
turquoise at this location. The mine produces nuggets and seams of turquoise in a good
spider web pattern. There are several other turquoise prospects in the area.
STORMY MOUNTAIN MINE
(CARLIN BLACK MATRIX) - TURQUOISE
The Stormy Mountain mine is located
northeast of Carlin, on the south side of Swales Mountain near the summit. This mine is likely the same as the Carlin
Black Matrix mine noted in some earlier publications. It produces strong blue
stones with a blotchy, sometimes angular black matrix, generally similar in appearance to
the turquoise from the Blue Diamond and McGinness Mines. It was worked by bull dozer in
the 1960s and 1970s by members of the Edgar family and is sometimes known as the Edgar
Brothers mine. A gold mining company currently holds the property and no further
production is expected in the near future.
TAUBERT/ STONE MOUNTAIN ( YERRINGTON) - TURQUOISE
The Taubert turquoise deposit is located about
7 miles W-NW of Yerrington, near Mason Valley Pass. Historically, a considerable amount of
copper ore has been mined in the Yerrington area - and several of the copper mines here
have produced some small amounts of turquoise. The turquoise at the Taubert property
occurs in altered zones in quartz monzonite. A variety of grades of material in both blues
and greens with some translucent material occur here. Some of the material has attractive
brown dendrites of limonite, an iron oxide. It was discovered in 1908 by Otto Taubert, who
also discovered some other turquoise prospects in this area. The deposit is still being
worked on a small scale, and is now being worked by the current owners as the Stone Mountain mine. Both
rough and cut turquoise gems are sold over the internet. The Harcross
Mine, also originally discovered by Otto Taubert is also located in the Yerrington area.
The Concho Springs mine is also located in this
area, a few miles north of the old ghost town site of Ludwig.
TENABO / GOLD ACRES /
BULLION DISTRICT - TURQUOISE / FAUSTITE
This mining district is host to a large number of turquoise
mines, including the Darling Darlene, Orvil Jack, and Lander
Ranch, each previously described in more detail above. The Native Americans of
the region had known for years that there were turquoise deposits in the area around
Indian Creek, but mining by Americans of European decent did not take place until
turquoise deposits were discovered in place (still in the mountainside host rock) in 1938.
Many of the mines here have been historically significant producers of very high quality
turquoise. Most of the turquoise mines lie in a zone north of Indian Creek and west of
Gold Acres and Tenabo. However, there are a some deposits that lie south of Indian Creek.
A large number of properties have been productive here, and there are many more deposits
in this district than the few listed below. Active gold mining has occurred here since the
1930s, and exploration is continuing throughout the area and this limits the future
potential of the district for turquoise production.
Badger - The Badger was the first deposit discovered in the area. It has been
worked extensively by open pit methods. A considerable amount of bulldozer work was done
here in the 1970s, which produced some good material.
Super X - The Super X mine is located just north of Indian Creek and is known for
its very high grade deep blue spider web turquoise. It has not been productive for
many years.
Color Back (Turquoise Boy) - Located a few miles north of Indian Creek, this mine
was periodically worked at times when turquoise prices were high from the late 1930s
through the 1970s. A significant quantity of turquoise has been produced. It has produced
little since the 1970s.
Lander Blue - Considered by many as the finest American turquoise yet produced, the
Lander Blue deposit was found by accident in 1973 by an area resident having a picnic
along Indian Creek. It is famous for dark blue turquoise with a very tight (small grained)
black spider web pattern. The deposit was very small and is considered to be worked out.
Little Chief - This deposit is located along Indian Creek just north of the Lander
Blue mine and has yielded both turquoise and Barite (drilling mud). Unfortunately, the
barite mining operations in the early 1980s essentially obliterated the turquoise
mine, and little if any turquoise is exposed at present.
Stenich - Named for August Stenich, who discovered turquoise here in 1929,
this mine is located very close to the Orvil Jack property. Like that property, it has
produced both bright green as well as standard blue colors of turquoise, in both nugget
and vein form.
There are a large number of other turquoise mines in this
area, some of which include the Blue Eagle, the Blue Fern, the Blue
Nugget, the Blue Matrix, the Little Gem, the
Old Campground, House Rock, No Name #1, Turquoise Bonanza, Turquoise 50, New Blue (Blue
Gem), Rufan and Tom Cat mines. Although a few of the locations
are still being worked, most of the mines in this district are no longer being worked and
many have been claimed over by various gold mining companies looking for gold ores.
TIMBERLINE MINE -
TURQUOISE
The Timberline Turquoise mine is
located in the far northern part of Elko County, almost to the Idaho state line. It is the furthest north turquoise mine in the
state. It was discovered in 1967 and in the years
afterward produced a good quantity of fine spider webbed material of a good blue color
during the turquoise "boom" of the late 1960s and 1970s. It is no longer being
worked.
WARM SPRINGS MINE -
TURQUOISE
The Warm Springs Turquoise area is
located near the old Warm Springs stagecoach station site, about 50 miles east of Tonopah,
in Nye County, There are several small mines here, including the property known as the
Valley View mine. The majority of the turquoise found here is of the spiderweb
type, but most tends toward light to medium blue tones. This mining area is not described
in any existing publication, it was first worked in the mid 1970s.
WHITE PINE / ELY COPPER
MINE - TURQUOISE
Small amounts of Turquoise were produced from the
oxidized capping of the Ruth Copper pit deposit when it was worked during
the early 1900s. While it is likely considerable amounts of turquoise were present originally,
much of the material was processed as copper ore and turned into metallic copper. The oxidized zone at
the Ruth pit is almost completely mined out and little of this material ever made it into
the general turquoise trade. The area is located west of Ely, Nevada in White Pine County. Work on the old pit recently re-started, but
little in the way of turquoise production is expected.
--------------------
**A Special Note on the White Buffalo
"Turquoise" mined near Tonopah, Nevada that is sometimes seen for sale.
Considerable confusion has been caused by the sale of a white material called White
Buffalo "Turquoise". Although the can be confusing, this material is
probably not turquoise at all but is another,
completely unrelated mineral called magnesite. It does have a look superficially similar
to some turquoise in appearance, except for the white rather than blue or green
coloration. Sale of
this material as "Turquoise" is highly misleading. White Buffalo is a great marketing name for this product,
but to call it "turquoise" is simply wrong and very unfair to the buyer.**
NEVADA OUTBACK TURQUOISE
Published
References concerning Nevada TURQUOISE Deposits
1. Nevada Bureau of Mines Mining District Files - Various authors
2. Turquoise Deposits of Nevada, Report 17 - Morrissey
3. Turquoise Unearthed - JD Lowry, JP Lowry
4. Turquoise - Gem of the Centuries - Branson
5. The Turquois - Pough
6. BLM Nevada Mining
Claim Records
7. Minerals of Nevada
- Nevada Bureau of
Mines Special Pub. 31
NOTE: All Copyrights to this article
are retained by Chris Ralph - Do not
copy or quote without written permission
