Ivanpah Valley, Goodsprings trip to the Linco1n Mine
Mar 30, 2019 8:07:04 GMT -5
quartz, vegasjames, and 7 more like this
Post by NevadaBill on Mar 30, 2019 8:07:04 GMT -5
Yesterday my back went out on me. Today, not one to let another day with great weather slip by, I headed South to Goodsprings, Nevada.
The hills surrounding the town have a particularly rich history with Copper mining. My planned destination would be the Linco1n mine; which is also known as the "Ajax", located only a few miles South of town.
There are really two roads which can take you there. After some exploring I found that the shorter route (or powerline roads) was the more troublesome of the two.
Soon I arrived at the mine site.
I could sort of make out an opening to the mine on the right side. I think this entrance might be an "adit". It is currently open. I didn't go in. The tailings didn't contain much interest to me.
Climbing to the top of the hill gave me a look back down the expansive Ivanpah desert valley.
Below me, I could also see what appeared to be another (main) entrance to the mine. I didn't walk very far in. I didn't really plan to. But it is completely open. And the walls and ceiling are lined with pockets of Chrysocolla and Azurite all the way in.
But the mine has a pitch (grade) to it. About 15 degrees right off. And if you are interested in investigating this mine shaft further, just know that the pitch gets much more exaggerated (up to 35%). Here is the map:
Outside the entrance is a nice pile of tailings. And one quick look at it tells you how it probably got its nickname 'Ajax':
Actually, a lot of it all looks like this.
The thing though, is that much of the rock is extremely brittle and fractured. I believe that an experienced eye can find good rock though. The tailings have been visited recently by others, but the rain recently has exposed a lot more material. It is hard to make a dent in this pile. Just bring your favorite digging tool and a squirt gun and you are in business. There are chunks of Malachite, Azurite, or Chrysocolla to be had.
But I wasn't after any of that. I tried my best to find some material that I could actually tumble. I didn't stay too long and only grabbed about 10-15 pounds to test with. I hope some of it tumbles. Some is a bit druzy though. Here is a short video:
Whether you are after mineral samples or gems, I think this is the kind of place you might want to bring the kids and spend a couple hours. This site is so target rich, that kids will probably be interested in finding the "best rock" for at least a couple hours , before they get tired and start throwing them at each other.
At any rate, it was really a nice way to spend part of my day. As with all field trips, maps available upon PM request.
The hills surrounding the town have a particularly rich history with Copper mining. My planned destination would be the Linco1n mine; which is also known as the "Ajax", located only a few miles South of town.
There are really two roads which can take you there. After some exploring I found that the shorter route (or powerline roads) was the more troublesome of the two.
Soon I arrived at the mine site.
I could sort of make out an opening to the mine on the right side. I think this entrance might be an "adit". It is currently open. I didn't go in. The tailings didn't contain much interest to me.
Climbing to the top of the hill gave me a look back down the expansive Ivanpah desert valley.
Below me, I could also see what appeared to be another (main) entrance to the mine. I didn't walk very far in. I didn't really plan to. But it is completely open. And the walls and ceiling are lined with pockets of Chrysocolla and Azurite all the way in.
But the mine has a pitch (grade) to it. About 15 degrees right off. And if you are interested in investigating this mine shaft further, just know that the pitch gets much more exaggerated (up to 35%). Here is the map:
Outside the entrance is a nice pile of tailings. And one quick look at it tells you how it probably got its nickname 'Ajax':
Actually, a lot of it all looks like this.
The thing though, is that much of the rock is extremely brittle and fractured. I believe that an experienced eye can find good rock though. The tailings have been visited recently by others, but the rain recently has exposed a lot more material. It is hard to make a dent in this pile. Just bring your favorite digging tool and a squirt gun and you are in business. There are chunks of Malachite, Azurite, or Chrysocolla to be had.
But I wasn't after any of that. I tried my best to find some material that I could actually tumble. I didn't stay too long and only grabbed about 10-15 pounds to test with. I hope some of it tumbles. Some is a bit druzy though. Here is a short video:
Whether you are after mineral samples or gems, I think this is the kind of place you might want to bring the kids and spend a couple hours. This site is so target rich, that kids will probably be interested in finding the "best rock" for at least a couple hours , before they get tired and start throwing them at each other.
At any rate, it was really a nice way to spend part of my day. As with all field trips, maps available upon PM request.