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Ruth Mine
In 1899, Doug Graham and Smiley Jones found some gold float in the canyon, followed it up to the source and founded the Graham-Jones mine. After 18 years Jones left the mine and Graham worked it alone. In 1930 Graham sold half ownership for stake money. Graham was robbed and died a few days later. In 1937 the mine was leased to the Burton brothers who changed the name to the Ruth Mine, brought in equipment boosting production to 70 tons of ore per day and continued operation until WWII.
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Zoom out to Searles Valley
Mining History :
Argus-Slate Ranges
Dennis Searles began making plans for a second expedition to the Mojave. On this trip, Dennis took along his brother, John, and they ...Argus
Location and History. This district, in southern Inyo County in the Argus Range about 10 miles north of Trona, has also been known as the Kelley or Sherman mining district. The mines here apparently were first worked in the 1890s, although gold may have been discovered earlier. Considerable mining activity during the early 1900s and again in the 1930s was followed by intermittent prospecting and development work until the present time.Geology. The rocks that underlie the district range from quartz monzonite to gabbro in composition, but the acidic intrusives predominate. The ore deposits occur either in quartz veins or in zones consisting of cemeited, silicified breccia containing jasper, quartz veinlets, calcite, and abundant iron oxide. The gold is usually in a very fine state; sulfides are present only in some of the deposits.
Mines. Arondo $200,000, Davenport, Mohawk,
Ruth $700,000+, Star of the West, Stockwell.
Bibliography
Norman, L. A., Jr., and Stewart, R. M., 1951, Inyo County, Arondo, Mohawk, ond Ruth mines: California Jour. Mines and Geology, vol. 47, pp. 38-39, 46, and 49-50.
Tucker, W. B., 1938, Inyo County, gold: Colifornia Div. Mines Rept. 34, pp. 379-424.
GOLD DISTRICTS OF CALIFORNIA
By William B. Clark
Geologist, California Division of Mines & Geology,
Sacramento, California
Sixth printing 1992
