Silver Bell Mine
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C&SL
N 33° 55.566 W 115° 57.516
11S E 596256 N 3754450
The Silver Bell Mine is the most obvious mine in the park, with two ore bins clearly visible from milepost 8 on the Pinto Basin Road.
Waymark Code: WMJW18
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/05/2014
Views: 4
The Silver Bell Mine is on the east end of the Hexie Mountains. It is the most obvious mine in the park, with two ore bins clearly visible from milepost 8 on the Pinto Basin Road. The site is accessible by walking cross country a short distance until joining the obscure abandoned mine road. Following the road-trail about 0.5 mile brings one to the site. Remains of buildings and various artifacts exist along the road trail.
Years of Operation
1934 – 1962 (Emerson, 2000)
Production
Known production 1934-1954, 219 oz. gold, and 53 oz. silver (Emerson, 2000).
Geology
The workings follow a N60W trending 4-ft wide fault zone and several minor faults containing oxidized gold-bearing quartz veins within Augustine Gneiss. Assays in 1958 revealed low values of silver and gold but copper values at ~$90 per ton
(Ruff, et al, 1982, p. 229; Emerson, 2000).
History
Little is known about the history of the mine. In the 1930s it was a gold mine. Upon closure of gold mines by the Federal government during World War II in order to release miners for work directed at the war effort, the Silver Bell became a lead mine. From 1956 to 1962 it was operated by the Farrington-Mann Company as a copper property
(Emerson, 2000).
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