Root Mine, Southern Nevada

[Joanne]

Well I rounded up a friend and headed back out into the desert to do some more exploring in the Sultan mine. The track that leads to the Sultan passes by the Root mine. This time we paid a bit more attention to the entire hillside and noticed that there are portals dotting the entire hillside. It appears that there is some structure higher up on the hillside. I can't tell if it's a headframe or possibly a tram tower. This area is going to need to wait for cooler weather before I start hiking around to see what there is to see. Yesterday in Vegas we matched the record at 110° and we were hiking up and down the steep hillside at the Sultan with no shade anywhere to be found and not breeze to be had. Believe me when I say it was HOT! I was thinking I was just out of shape (and I am) but the heat was just brutal.

Anyway, here's a couple of photos of the hillside just above the area where I've taken all the photos so far. In this photo you can make out what looks like possibly a tram tower.



The adit that my photos came from is at the lower left. Dotting the hillside are other tailings that indicate some workings at those levels.



Along with some of the gear I want to buy for mine exploration, I think I need to pick up a decent pair of binoculars so I can get a better feel for the area before I start playing mountain goat.

Joanne

[Derek]

Man my hat is off to you for hiking around this time of the year down there it is too friggin hot for me.

[Joanne]

Joanne,

Nothing like a little mine maintainance! I'd just measure those notches and the outside width of the ladder at the bottom and at the top... figure what the average width of each one should be and go to Home Depot and get new wrungs cut. It would be easier to re-install back in place than trying to climbing up those notches... If I were comming down any time soon I'd be more than happy to do it for the safety of others who will no doubt go there.
Hope you can make it up here at some point...

Here it is... There's a whole lotta diggins to explore around there! They did too much diggin not to have found something... I'll be down there this fall to check it out.! Nothing better then a cool place to explore in the middle of no where...

Unknown Mines

Mark

Let me know when you are heading down this way and maybe we can meet up to do some mine exploration. These mines are easy to get to and there are a bunch more close by.

Joanne

[Mark1955]

Probably in the fall and thanks for the offer. I'll probably take you up on that!

[Dawn_CL]

Hi Joanne,

I wouldnt mind laying a claim on that Root Mine... IF its a gold or silver mine. But then again theres ALOT of old mines id just love to claim but then theres one thing of laying a claim then theres the other thing of working the mine on that claim. LOL

I got to wondering why you dont do some claiming over there? Even if its nothing more than keeping the BLM form closing them off or destroying them in some way. I am all for mine preservation, unless the particular mine is just too far wasted to try to preserve or save.

Even though my wish to claim that is just a bit of wishful thinking, i, at least wouldnt mind touring that. And one guy was right on here as i was thinking the same thing but he beat me to the punch in posting it and that is just replacing the ladder rungs. I think all you would need is a couple of (well the cutouts look to be) 1 by 2's, which is what the ladder rungs are in my mine, a few nails or screws and a good hand saw or battery operated saw or just measure the rungs as he was mentioning and just cut them at home. Most ladders are no wider than 16 inches wide by maybe anywhere from 14 to 16 inches from top of ladder rung to top of next ladder rung (or at least my ladders are). Anyways, just a thought.

Dawn

[Joanne]

Dawn,

I believe that the mine currently has a claim on it. Last time I was in that area I saw a big "For Sale" sign on the tailing pile. Seemed out of place way out there in the middle of nowhere. From what I read, there was some gold and silver pulled out of these mines as a by product of the lead and zinc that they were mining. With the price of gold going up like it is, some of these old claims might be worthwhile for someone with the time and money to work them.

I haven't even thought about claiming any of these mines. I know that the BLM is closing a lot of southern Nevada to mining in the name of the environment.....

Joanne

Hi Joanne,

I wouldnt mind laying a claim on that Root Mine... IF its a gold or silver mine. But then again theres ALOT of old mines id just love to claim but then theres one thing of laying a claim then theres the other thing of working the mine on that claim. LOL

I got to wondering why you dont do some claiming over there? Even if its nothing more than keeping the BLM form closing them off or destroying them in some way. I am all for mine preservation, unless the particular mine is just too far wasted to try to preserve or save.

Even though my wish to claim that is just a bit of wishful thinking, i, at least wouldnt mind touring that. And one guy was right on here as i was thinking the same thing but he beat me to the punch in posting it and that is just replacing the ladder rungs. I think all you would need is a couple of (well the cutouts look to be) 1 by 2's, which is what the ladder rungs are in my mine, a few nails or screws and a good hand saw or battery operated saw or just measure the rungs as he was mentioning and just cut them at home. Most ladders are no wider than 16 inches wide by maybe anywhere from 14 to 16 inches from top of ladder rung to top of next ladder rung (or at least my ladders are). Anyways, just a thought.

Dawn

[Dawn_CL]

Hi Joanne,

Did you notice if these mines had proper placement of claim pperwork or 'location monuments' around the mine? If not then its not considered a legal claim. Also look for any end posts and centerline markers that mark off the claim boundaries, if there are none of these or no indication of any then the BLM will also see those as invalid claims. Im sure Nevada has the same laws as Arizona does regarding location markers and im quite sure that the laws regarding the corner and centerline monuments are the same everywhere that allows claiming. Another way to find out is by visiting the BLM's GeoCommunicator site and zero in on the particular mine that you are interested in to find out if its claimable or already has a claim on it. On there you will be able to veiw a full report on who owns the claim and if the claim is 'active' or not, meaning if its a valid claim or not.
Another thing that might be considered that the corner and centerline markers wont have to be there on is if the mine property has a patent on it and if it does then the BLM's claim rules usually dont apply since once you patent, all it is is a land sale from the government, which they dont patent anymore because of the economy. Might just be something to look into when and if you have free time.

Dawn