I think you are confused. We may be talking about the same thing but you seem to think Elk mountain only has a western (Pecos) side? The Blue, Tecolote, Gallinas and Porvenir creeks all drain the east flank of Elk Mountain. Bear mountain, Johnson Mesa, El Cielo and Hermit peak all sit on the east flank of Elk mountain.
There is pretty good access to the top of Elk mountain from the Pecos side but the Elk Mountain mineral district, where the Mica mines are, can only reasonably be accessed from the Las Vegas side.
All over the earth you will find short shafts dug to explore for minerals. Most vein deposits (98%) "pinch out" at depth and aren't worth mining. Although a 100 foot shaft may be an indicator of decent mineralization it doesn't mean someone found minerals that were profitable to mine. The entire history of hard rock mining is all about thousands of prospects dug to find just a few good paying strikes. You may find some overlooked mineralization in one of these shafts but the short length is more likely an indicator of failure to discover a paying prospect.
Keep looking and you may find something of value. The old miners were very clever and the chances of finding an old shaft with profitable gold or silver just waiting for you to mine are slim to none. There is an opportunity to find mineral specimens and rare stone types that might have some value because the old time miners didn't have a market for rare or pretty minerals.
Look further away from the Mica mines and you might find some nice Tourmaline or Beryl. The area where the Mica is mined are the edges of the quartz core of the Pegmatite dike that is the basis for the Elk Mountain mineral district. Moving away from the center of the pegmatite will bring you into the zone of mineralization where you could find gem deposits the old time miners had no interest in. Look between the area where you found the "granite" and the Mica deposit and you could have some luck finding gems.
Blue Haven sits on private property. They may have a lease but it's not from the Forest Service. You have to cross over the Las Vegas Grant to get into the areas you are exploring - some grantees still insist on enforcing their rural community grants as well as the private grant portions. Try looking at the Land Matters Land Status maps for the area. Download the Master Title Plats and supplements and you can see that a good part of that area is private property. There are a lot of private property inholdings in those canyons.
Be safe up there, always take a friend and stay out of the underground workings. If you don't know what a winze is you shouldn't be anywhere near a lode mine. If you do know what a winze is you already know why you shouldn't go into these old mines.
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