Click to read more...

Property Overview

The Cole Springs Camp is a gold mine and mill located in the Repbulic Mining District of Nevada. The mine is noted for gold recovery from quartz veins which cut altered lava and rhyolite. The gold recovered is reported to be native, or free-milling, and was efficient to process with a simple gravity mill using crushers and shakers.

There are at least 4 open shafts on the property and 3 adits which have mostly sloughed and are in need of being dug out and secured. The mines feed an old mill that is in excellent condition and looks to have been in use in the 1970s. It will need extensive rehabilitation to be functional again but is estimated to be a 25 ton per day operation. The last suggested operation of the property is 1990 as taken from old newspapers on the claim.

There is also housing and workshops on the claim which has been inhabited recently and could be utilized as a part of the mining operation. This would allow miners to work the site at least 5 days a week and still be comfortable and sheltered.

There is a substantial amount of unprocessed ore staged near the top of the mill building. An estimated 40 tons of high-grade gold ore that was never worked for an unknown reason.

The primary haulage portal on the property is a timbered single compartment shaft which descends an undetermined depth. There is water piping and air ventilation leading into the mine indicating some substantial size. A short distance away, a clean manway shaft is cut on a quartz outcrop and is estimated to lead to the same workings. The timber work on this main portal section is intact and appears stable, but rope and other precautions should be taken prior to entering the workings.

The other adits, shafts, and cuts are in poor condition and will need rehabilitation before entering. There is a tailings dump of roughly 10k tons below the mill. There are at least 5 waste dump piles around the property totaling an estimated 40k tons. Both the dumps and the tailings were sampled and assayed by surveyors and valuations are reported further on in this report.

The Cole Springs Gold Mine is rare in the fact that the mining camp and mill have been left nearly untouched. The property contains an intact and very usable cabin. There is also a water tank, a bunkhouse, a workshop, an outhouse, a mill, and an old forge. All of which have been maintained up until 1990 or so, and are in excellent repair.

The mines in the camp have been worked for gold. There is a documented gold trend that the mines have been cut on. It is apparent that the mines have been consistently worked, at a minimum by small miners, since the 1920s. Native gold appears on quartz with iron and iron staining.

Mines appear to be quite substantial along epithermal veins through the western slope of the mountain. The mill shows some equipment for gold processing and will need rehabilitation and a few pieces added to be functional.

It is estimated that the last (unpermitted) work done at this site was in 2010, this noted from various artifacts around the camps.

As fully intact and functional gold mine, mill and housing as can be found. This site is very close to turnkey and ready to go. It is vital that the owner/operator of the claim file a notice of operation. This will allow the claim owner to take control of and utilize/repair the mine buildings. Buildings do not appear to have been touched since they were left. Only in need of slight cleanup and repair to be inhabitable. Very much a one of a kind unmolested site.

There is excellent road access to the claim and most any high clearance 4WD should be able to drive directly up to the buildings and the mines. There is parking and staging and room for multiple vehicles on multiple levels.

This is ideal for a small company or group of miners who can afford to post a Plan of Operations. The gold in the mines could be high graded while raising capital for expansion of the mines. This is not a good spot for a single miner or a casual use operation.

Gold Rush Expeditions, Inc. does offer mining consultation services and assistance with permits for a small fee.

Training courses for underground work and exploration can be found here: https://stayoutstayalive.com/training/