Geology and Mineralization of Old Dad Mountain

February 2017

Larry M. Vredenburgh U. S. Bureau of Land Management, 3801 Pegasus Dr., Bakersfield, CA 93308, lvredenb@blm.gov

Geology

No single rock type dominates Old Dad Mountain and its surrounding area, rock types include Early Proterozoic gneiss and granitoid rocks (Xg), Jurassic Aztec Sandstone (Ja), Mesozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks (Mzv), Late Proterozoic and Cambrian siliciclastic rocks (_Zs), and Tertiary volcanic rocks (Tv1). Old Dad Mountain is underlain by a resistant knob of limestone which is part of the Devonian to Permian limestone (PDl).

Hewett (1956) reported the presence of granite, schist, and quartzite intruded by syenite dikes in the Proterozoic rocks in this general area (Theodore, 2007, p. 111). The oldest structure is a Lower (?) Jurassic unconformity overlain by Aztec Sandstone. The northwest-trending Powerline Canyon shear zone is exposed just south of Jackass Canyon. The Playground thrust fault truncates these older structures. Extensional tectonics during Miocene time resulted in the Old Dad normal fault. The steep slopes that formed on both sides of the Old Dad Mountain fault block by erosion or downfaulting became the source of numerous landslides of brecciated rock, as well as glide blocks during Neogene time (Dunne, 1977). Hewett (1956, p. 113) surmised gold mineralization at mines in the north of Old Dad Mountain may be related to the intrusion of the Sands granite. At the Paymaster Mine, a massive quartz vein occurs in pre-Cambrian gneiss. Gold bearing quartz veins at the Brannigan and Oro Fino Mines occur in quartzite, shale, and dolomite of the Upper Precambrian to Lower Cambrian Wood Canyon formation, Stirling quartzite and Johnnie formation (Hewitt, 1956, p. 38).

Preliminary geologic map of the East Mojave National Scenic Area, California, U.S. Geological, 1991

Mining History and Economic Geology

During the 1850s, an Indian foot trail that evolved into the Mojave Road first crossed the middle of Old Dad Mountain, then went around it (Casebier, 1975, p. 54, 86, 90). During 1853 and 1854, Lieutenant Amiel Weeks Whipple conducted a survey along the 35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Los Angeles, California. He crossed the range, with the aid of Mohave Indian guides, at Jackass Canyon and Rocky Ridge (35.111n, 115.794w). This canyon, now traversed by powerlines that originate at Hoover Dam, is in the middle of the range. The difficult route over Rocky Ridge wasn’t used after the fall of 1859 in favor of an easier route around the north end of Old Dad Mountain at Seventeen Mile Point (Casebier, 1988, p. 294-295).

The Solo Mining District was established February 18, 1889 (May Queen Mine, Mineral Survey 2814, Notes) during a time of mining activity in the Soda Mountains. As created, the district extended eastward to encompass Old Dad Mountain.

A portion of Crowell’s Miner’s Map. 1903 Edition Showing the Solo Mining District

In April 1902 Bob Yancey, “an old and well known desert prospector,” is credited with discovery of rich gold ore near Seventeen-Mile Point. An article in the San Bernardino Evening Transcript screamed “A stampede of miners, Bob Yantzey’s [actually spelled Yancey] Discovery is filling up the desert with men – the ledges are large and extensive.” Within a month of this report, former mayor of Los Angeles, Fred Eaton, had “secured 21 mining claims here.”

Nearly a year later, in January 1903, a Nevada cattleman named Greeley, purchased a claim from Nathaniel Mount and several other business men of Barnwell. Of course, this purchase aroused new

interest. In April 1903, an article stated “Mr. E. E. Palmer, Mr. Geo. Rose, Mr. J. J. Brady and Mrs. U. J. Stewart” had staked several claims at Seventeen-Mile Point.

Fred Eaton had acquired the claims under a $30,000 bond, spent $7,000 on building trails and sinking a shallow shaft, but he was caught in the financial panic of 1907 and abandoned the bond.

In March 1909 the “Eaton group” of four claims, was sold by Henry Ward and A. L. Buys to a group of men from Los Angeles doing business under the name Precious Metals Development Company. These men included John L. Witney, former manager of the McCracken mine located in Arizona; Dick Ferris, a well-known actor and Harmon D. Ryus, former manager of the White automobile dealership in Los Angeles. A couple of months later they were reported to have purchased the Ward mine for $18,000.

Soon they began surveying the site for a mill, and the route for a pipeline to Indian Spring, located 5 miles away to the northeast. Also, they began work on a 700 foot long cross-cut adit, and sinking two shafts.

A four-stamp mill finally was installed in August 1910. About this same time the mine started being referred to as the Witney. The cross-cut had been completed as well as 140 and 85-foot deep shafts. All together some 2,000 feet of drifts and other underground had been driven.

The mill seemed to have been successful in recovering gold from free milling ore. On January 19, 1912, the Barstow Printer reported, “J. T. Keough, manager of the Precious Metals Development Co., at Seventeen mile Point, came in Monday with a gold brick weighing 32 ounces, the result of a 72-hours run with their two stamp Nisson mill.” Apparently “2-stamp mill” was a typo, since just a month later it is again referred to as a 4-stamp mill.

In November 1912, the final reference to this period of operation stated the Precious Metals Development Company, “is figuring on starting up its four stamp mill again.”

This mine, known as the Eaton, Witney, or Whitney – and later as the Paymaster, was not the only mine in the vicinity. Other mines mentioned during this 10-year period include the following; unfortunately their locations are unknown.

• The Palmyra group of four claims owned by William Yeoman and Bob Yancey, “from which many years ago, beautiful free gold specimens were obtained and exhibited” (Mining World, April 11, 1908).

• The Paymaster, Red Boy and California groups owned by J. V. Robison and Henry Ward (Mining World, April 11, 1908)

• Bell Mine, owned by Julius Myers, “Has free gold rock. . . it is jewelry gold” (Barstow Printer, Jan. 12, 1912).

• The Stillwell brothers have sent forward a carload of twenty-four tons from Seventeen-Mile Point of an estimated value of 60 percent lead and about half an ounce of silver to each unit of lead (Los Angeles Mining Review, June 5, 1909, p. 19)

• The Big Bonanza group of four claims has about 350 ft. of tunnel development. The vein is quartzite, about 32 ft. in width and gives assay values across its entire width of $18 in gold to the ton (Mining World, Apr. 11, 1908)

In 1912 the Big Bonanza mine attracted the attention of the San Francisco Call, (April 14, 1912). The newspaper reported, “J[oel] V[aughn] Robison, formerly superintendent of the Yankee Girl; mine in the Bullfrog district of southern Nevada, came into Randsburg from the Big Bonanza group, a property, which he owns and is operating at Seventeen Mile Point in the northern part of San Bernardino county.

He brought several samples of ore, which attracted general attention. These samples, to use the favorite expression among mining men, are, literally "shot full of gold," and will assay at a conservative estimate between $700 and $800. They are selected, however, and do not represent an average of the ledge which Robison says will yield about $8 through the, entire width of 40 feet. The property is situated in the Silver lake country, 17 miles, east of the Tonopah and Tidewater railroad. Robison says that he has completed 600 feet of development work on the Big Bonanza claim. This consists of a 225 foot crosscut to the ledge which was reached, at a depth of 275 feet; and drifts in both directions. The ledge is between well-defined walls and the ore; is easily mined. Robison has a deal on to turn the property over to eastern people who propose to work it on a more extensive scale.”

Ore car at the Brannigan Mine, 1976. Photo by the Author.

Due to increased mining activity in the area, in 1931, W. B. Tucker, with the California Division of Mines, prepared a special report on the Halloran Springs Mining District. Two important discoveries were catalysts for activity in this district. Just south of Seventeen Mile Point, on March 11, 1930, M. A. Sisley and John Herrod discovered high grade gold quartz on the Brannigan Claims, and on November 19, 1930 A. A. Brown and Ralph Brown, discovered high-grade gold quartz at what became known as the Telegraph mine, located at Hollaran Springs.

Following the discovery of gold at the Brannigan mine, between 1938 and 1940 the mine yielded 51 tons of ore which contained 59 ounces of gold and 20 ounces of silver, which was milled nearby (Hewett, 1956, p. 122).

The Oro Fino Mine was active in 1902, between 1937 and 1941, and in 1948. US Bureau of Mines records (Hewett, 1956, p. 122) show 528 tons which yielded 400 ounces of gold and 20,594 ounces of silver. Prior to 1943, (Tucker and Sampson, 1943, p. 457) report the mine yielded 4,000 tons which averaged $50 per ton.

According to Wright et al, (1953, p. 78) the Paymaster yielded between $50,000 and $100,000 between 1900 and 1953.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Chris Ervin, Archivist for the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association, for assistance researching the Mojave Trail.

References

Barca, R.A., 1966, Geology of the northern part of the Old Dad Mountain quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California: California Division of Mines and Geology, Map 7, scale 1:62,500

Casebier, D. G., 1975, The Mojave Road (Tales of the Mojave Road Publishing Co.: Norco, CA).

Casebier, D.G., 1988, Guide to the East Mojave Heritage Trail, Ivanpah to Rocky Ridge (Tales of the Mojave Road Publishing Co.: Norco, CA), p. 294-295

Crowell, R. A., 1903, Miners Map of Death Valley and the Proposed Salt Lake R. R's

Dunne, G.C., 1977, Geology and structural evolution of Old Dad Mountain, Mojave Desert, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 88, p. 737-748.

Hensher, Alan, 1988, Silver Lake, in Casebier, D.G., 1988, Guide to the East Mojave Heritage Trail, Ivanpah to Rocky Ridge (Tales of the Mojave Road Publishing Co.: Norco, CA), pp. 161 -166.

Hewett, D.F., 1956, Geology and mineral resources of the Ivanpah quadrangle, California and Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 275, p. 120 – 122.

May Queen Mine Mineral Survey 2824, Notes Vol. 22-20.

Miller, David M., Miller, Robert J., Nielson, Jane E., Wilshire, Howard G., Howard, Keith A., and Stone, Paul, 1991, Preliminary geologic map of the East Mojave National Scenic Area, California, U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 91-435

Theodore, Ted G., editor, 2007, Geology and Mineral Resources of the East Mojave National Scenic Area, San Bernardino County, California, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2160

Tucker, W. B., 1931, Halloran Springs Mining District, California Division of Mines Report 27, p. 321 - 333.

Tucker, W. B., 1943, Los Angeles Field Division, Mineral Resources of San Bernardino County: California Division of Mines Vol. 39, No. 4.

Vredenburgh, L. M., Shumway, G.L., Hartill, R. D., 1981, Desert Fever, an overview of mining in the California Desert (Living West Press: Canoga Park, CA).

Vredenburgh, Larry M., 1994. Fort Irwin and Vicinity: History of Mining Development, in Robert E. Reynolds, Off Limits in the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County Museum Association Special Publication 94, p. 81 - 90.

Wilshire, Howard G., 2002, Digital Version of Open-File Report 92–181: Geologic Map of the Indian Spring Quadrangle, San Bernardino County, California, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OF 02-272.

Wright, L. A., Stewart, R. M., Gay, T. E., Hazenbush, G. C., 1953, Mines and Mineral Deposits of San Bernardino County, California, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 49, pp. 72, 76, 78, 98; Table pp. 47, 52, 53, 68, 72, 75, 82

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In 1906, drivers raced from Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Mountains http://www.sbsun.com/events/20150112/in-1906-drivers-raced-from-los-angeles-to-the-san-gabriel-mountains San Bernardino Sun. Accessed Feb. 10, 2017.

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