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Arbuckle Mine
The Arbuckle Mine is an old magnesite (magnesium) mine perched high on the cliffs of Afton Canyon. A large piece of timber at the site bears the inscription "Arbuckle Mine 1894," indicating early operations, though the mine also saw activity during World War I. To transport the ore from the rugged cliffs down to the railroad siding across the Mojave River, miners constructed an aerial tramway-a dramatic setup for an already precarious location.
At one point, the mine was also known as the Cliffside Mine. Nearby, Arbuckle Camp, situated west of the mine at the base of the cliff, served as the miners' living quarters. As with most isolated mining camps, it would have been a tough life, but the potential for finding valuable ore kept it alive.
Today, the mine and the district serve as reminders of the harsh environment where the miners worked and the creative ways they removed minerals from some of the most inhospitable terrain in the Mojave Desert.
