Desert Messenger

May 4, 2016 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 The adobe brick walls of the cabin were covered with rusted corru- gated metal, cardboard, old news- papers, and several layers of wall- paper. There were wooden shelves built into the wall in one corner, and wood paneling along one wall. It was both classy and crude at the same time. Well, what was left of it anyway. Nearby was another crum- bling structure made of the same adobe and metal, a cistern, and the remains of an animal pen. This little cluster of buildings about 30 miles outside of Kingman is just a reminder of the mining town that once was Mineral Park. At first glance, Mohave County looks desolate with vast expanses of desert surrounded by rugged mountain ranges, canyons, and towering cliffs. But beneath the jagged formations of volcanic rhy- olite and basalt, the Pre-Cambrian layers of granite and gneiss in the White, Black and Cerbat Moun- tains hold an abundance of miner- al riches. Gold, silver, copper, lead, and a multitude of other minerals By Jenn Jedidiah Free for RocksInMyHead™ Minerals & mining camps of Mohave County are found throughout the Weav- er, San Francisco, and Gold Basin Mining Districts. Mohave County is the second richest gold-produc- ing county in Arizona, with over 2,461,000 ounces being extracted until about 1951. The Gold Basin District, located about 60 miles north of King- man in the White Mountains, has been producing gold since 1870. The majority of Gold Ba- sin's richest ores come from the El Dorado Mine. The Gold Basin ores are also rich in copper, lead, molybdenum, and other second- ary minerals. These mines were worked periodically until 1942, but their development was in- hibited by their remoteness and the scarcity of fuel and water. Heading about 30 miles Southwest of Kingman, the San Francisco Dis- trict lies in the Southern portion of the Black Mountains and contains mining camps such as Oatman and Gold Road. Here gold is the princi- pal ore, and was first discovered in the Oatman area in 1863. Since that time, the deposits of the San Fran- cisco District have been worked pe- riodically, with over 2 million ounc- es of gold being produced from 1897 to 1951. The Gold Road mine was reopened briefly from 1995 to 1998, and produced 88,000 ounces of gold. Then in 2010, the Gold Road mine opened again, and the first gold bar in over 10 years was poured from its ore. Gold Road remains open and in production today. In the northern Black Mountains, in the Weaver District, gold was discovered in 1904. The ore of this district is primarily gold with some ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS ™ native silver. The Pilgrim, Mocking- bird, Pyramid, and Virginia camps of the Weaver District operated sporadically in this area until about 1959, with the greatest period of production being the decade from 1932 to 1942. Total gold produc- tion for this district was just over 63,200 ounces. The mineral-rich veins of the Wal- lapai District were discovered in the early 1860's. The Wallapai District in the Cerbat Mountains, 30 miles northwest of Kingman, includes the mining camps of Chloride, Mineral Park, Cerbat, and Stockton. Chlo- ride was founded in 1862, with the discovery of a rich silver ore in the mountains behind the townsite. Mineral Park was founded in 1861. Unlike the other districts where gold is the principal metal, in the Wallapai District, lead, zinc and copper are the primary ores,and gold and silver are byproducts. Mo- lybdenum is prevalent here, and the rare mix of zinc and copper in the Mineral Park area of this district creates the world famous beautiful Kingman turquoise. The Mineral Park Mine still operates today, and produces over 37 million pounds of copper, 9.4 million pounds of mo- lybdenem, and 544 ounces of silver. Turquoise is still mined today from Ithaca Peak and Turquoise Moun- tain in the Mineral Park deposit. There is amazing beauty and an abundance of treasure hidden in the rugged mountains of Mohave County. The mountains around Kingman are full of old mining towns, mines, and history. While in the Kingman area, in addition to visiting Chloride and Oatman, take some time to explore the lesser known sites. Stop and explore for a while on your way to Quartzsite. It will be worth the trip. RocksInMyHead is on the road, and also open in Kingman through September. We carry Kingman Tur- quoise and maps of the mining dis- tricts and ghost towns in Mohave County, as well as complete lines of rockhounding, gold prospecting, lapidary, and jewelry making equip- ment, tools, and supplies, plus rocks, fossils, minerals, gemstones, gold, silver, copper and more. We will be open in Quartzsite at A37 in Rice Ranch in November, but meanwhile, you can visit us online at www.RocksInMyHead. com and on Facebook, or call us at 605-376-8754. Don't forget to sign up for our Awesome Email Newsletter for lots of tips, info, videos, tutorials and more for all your rockhounding, prospecting, and lapidary adventures. Sign up today at www.RocksInMyHead- World.com. © 2014 Jenn Jedidiah Free for RocksInMyHead™ and Adventures With Rocks™. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution strict- ly prohibited. RocksInMyHead™ (Nov.- April) Rice Ranch Marketplace A37 Quartzsite, AZ 85346 (May-Sept) Patsy Dr. & Thompson Kingman, AZ 86401 (office only) 848 N. Rainbow Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89107 www.RocksInMyHead.com www.AdventuresWithRocks.com www.JennJedidiahFree.com 605-376-8754 DEADLINE : WED. MAY 11 TH for the may 18 Th edition Desert Messenger News Email: editor@DesertMessenger.com 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com

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