Digital-Desert : Mojave Desert

Desert Gazette --- Visit us on Facebook ~

ecology: wildlife - plants - geography: places - MAPS - roads & trails: route 66 - old west - communities - weather - glossary

ghost towns - gold mines - parks & public lands: wilderness - native culture - history - geology: natural features - comments

Gold: Gold Mines
Desert Mining History

Gold and Silver Ore Milling & Processing

Gold

Smelter

Recovery of silver from ore was a different process from that of gold

Charcoal Kilns

Finding the metal was only part of the process. After the discovery was made the next step was to bring the ore out of the ground. In the dry Mojave, hard rock miners dug and blasted, sinking shafts and tunnelings into the mountainside. Next, the ore would have to be crushed into a workable size before the metal could be extracted.