Across the Mojave Desert

[tamrock]

This last week we took the grandson to Disneyland. We flew home out of Long Beach and I like to take shots of what's below and try and identify the various landmarks. These are sites across the Mojave Desert. 1st is known as Cima Volcanic Fields. 2nd is the abandoned Coliseum Gold mine. The 3rd is what's called the Ivapah Solar Generation Plant. I've only ever visited the eastern edge of this desert and I'd like to sometime explore more of it. Gotta be some undiscovered treasure down there somewhere.

 

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[robertk]

That looks like so much fun to explore. Nice photos!

 

[Clay Diggins]

The Coliseum Gold Mine is not abandoned Tamrock. It's been mined since 1865 and it's got a lot more years to go. Barrick sold the mine in 2021 to Dateline and they are drilling this month. Resources are ~813,000 oz gold and the drilling is for exploration of a REE body. It's still a very rich deposit. I suspect we will see full scale mining resume in some form at Coliseum within the decade.

 

[tamrock]

The Coliseum Gold Mine is not abandoned Tamrock. It's been mined since 1865 and it's got a lot more years to go. Barrick sold the mine in 2021 to Dateline and they are drilling this month. Resources are ~813,000 oz gold and the drilling is for exploration of a REE body. It's still a very rich deposit. I suspect we will see full scale mining resume in some form at Coliseum within the decade.

Ok, Yeah I was thinking it still had a bunch of environmental issues still left on its plate. It did look as though there's some activity going on.

 

[ArfieBoy]

I think the same things you do whenever I fly over that country, too. Unfortunately, my old body wouldn't hold up to the rigors of on the ground exploration anymore! Thanks for posting.

 

[1637]

i spend allot of time out there, lots of country to still see. the area on both sides of hwy 395 is just full of history

 

[tamrock]

i spend allot of time out there, lots of country to still see. the area on both sides of hwy 395 is just full of history

It seems long ago before the internet, I'd pick up the Lost Treasure magazines. In one issue probably in the early 1980s, some guy found at an old mining district in the Mojave a gold ingot that was covered in tar. It was like a 3"x1"x1" slug of gold alloy.

 

[tamrock]

I think the same things you do whenever I fly over that country, too. Unfortunately, my old body wouldn't hold up to the rigors of on the ground exploration anymore! Thanks for posting.

Yeah age does have a way with ya. My wife has an app on here phone that keeps track of how far you walked. We did over 7 miles of walking for each of the 3 days at Disneyland. I can feel it more than the last time we visited.

 

[DizzyDigger]

i spend allot of time out there, lots of country to still see. the area on both sides of hwy 395 is just full of history

It sure is full of history..

There's nothing much there anymore, but one favorite spot of mine is Little Lake, which is right off 395 between Olancha and Bradys. There was a cool old hotel there that was a favorite destination of many Hollywood celebs back in the 1920's and 30's.

Not sure if it is still accessible, but there was a dirt road that went off to the East right by the hotel, and went up to the maintenance road for the aqueduct that runs through there. Miles of canyons and rimrock country to explore back in the 80's.