The Lost Platinum Ledge of Death Valley

[Tiredman]

IF your old screen name was Fossis..."Trail Of Tears" is still up on this site...Just do an advanced search and it comes up on the last page of the search...

Ed T

Wrong name guess my story is gone

 

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[JohnWhite]

Wrong name guess my story is gone

Here is another one tiredman without the "the"... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/north-american-indian-artifacts/169859-trail-tears.html It must be a common subject...

Ed T

 

[Tiredman]

Not mine either, when I deleted my account over 20,000 posts disappeared.

 

[JohnWhite]

Not mine either, when I deleted my account over 20,000 posts disappeared.

It sounds like you were a prolific poster Tiredman...My old screen name was Ed T...I did not have many posts on this site but I have been around for quite some time...And I have posted or responded to a few topics and strings...

Those were the good old days...When one could delete their accounts and posts...I deleted a few posts of my own...lol

Ed T

 

[Tiredman]

They took the delete button away. If you deleted a thread you started every ones post went with it.

 

[JohnWhite]

They took the delete button away. If you deleted a thread you started every ones post went with it.

I don't remember everyone's post being deleted...I know that most of my posts were deleted...But Oroblanco quoted a few of my posts which were not deleted...Oh well...Things have change a bit Tiredman...

Ed T

 

[Oroblanco]

I don't remember everyone's post being deleted...I know that most of my posts were deleted...But Oroblanco quoted a few of my posts which were not deleted...Oh well...Things have change a bit Tiredman...

Ed T

Found a newspaper clipping mentioning diamonds found in Death Valley, and promptly forgot where I found it. If you would like to see it let me know and I will hunt it up again. No luck on the platinum yet however.

 

[JohnWhite]

Found a newspaper clipping mentioning diamonds found in Death Valley, and promptly forgot where I found it. If you would like to see it let me know and I will hunt it up again. No luck on the platinum yet however.

I am not really all that interested in prospecting for diamonds Oro...I have a little spot in mind near Reno where I found what I believe to have been a paragon white diamond...Too bad I gave the darned thing away...There is no way I can prove such claims..But after reading lots of materials about diamonds I am finding it hard to believe that I ever did find a diamond...At the current moment I do not have the funds to try to retrace my steps to continue to search for diamond or anything else for that matter...After all...By what I have read the odds of finding any diamond are pretty astronomical...So maybe I should give up on trying to find another one...

I too believe that I had read somewhere about platinum being found in Death Valley somewhere...I know that it is pretty common knowledge of said metal being worked in the Searchlight district of NV...Oh well...I don't know IF I will ever make it back to where I got my little silver ore from...And who can say IF anyone else will ever find the little coyote holeOnly time will tell...

The fact of the matter is...IT is out there waiting to be found...What ever the IT might be Oro...And where ever IT might be found...Is where IT will be found...lol...

Ed T

 

[Tiredman]

Diamonds have been found in Montana and on the border between Wyoming and Colorado. Platinum can be panned in Arizona, Bradshaw Mountains.

 

[Tiredman]

Oddly a fair sized diamond was found near Helena, Mt by a jogger who stopped to tie their shoe. I have this story in one of my books. Thomas Terry's book on Arkansas Diamonds has some good tips. Plowed ground, fresh rain, face into the direction of the sun. Once you spot a sparkle have your hunting buddy walk to it while you keep it in sight.

 

[JohnWhite]

Diamonds have been found in Montana and on the border between Wyoming and Colorado. Platinum can be panned in Arizona, Bradshaw Mountains.

One never knows where one might make an interesting discovery...When I stumbled upon the Tia Juana I was not looking for diamond at the time... After all...Who has ever heard of diamonds being found near Reno, NVMy prospecting buddies were laughing so hard at me...That is the main reason I gave the darned thing away...Oh well...

I have heard of a few places in CA and OR where platinum can be panned...I guess that all depends on where one tries their luck...I have it on good authority that Josephine County is pretty promising for one to prospect for said metal...

Ed T

 

[JohnWhite]

Oddly a fair sized diamond was found near Helena, Mt by a jogger who stopped to tie their shoe. I have this story in one of my books. Thomas Terry's book on Arkansas Diamonds has some good tips. Plowed ground, fresh rain, face into the direction of the sun. Once you spot a sparkle have your hunting buddy walk to it while you keep it in sight.

I have discovered after some research that there have been quite a few diamonds found in CA...I personally have never prospected in CA for diamonds...IF I were not as drunk as a skunk I probably would have never given my Tia Juana away...Don't drink and prospect...hahaha

Ed T

 

[Oroblanco]

Ed that story you had read, it was not about a mine named the Boss or Bossa mine right? There was a gold mine named the Boss in the Death Valley country that made quite a splash in the old newspapers because they had good values of platinum in their assay reports. Unfortunately the platinum did not prove to be nearly as rich as the first tests showed. Thanks in advance;
Oroblanco

 

[JohnWhite]

Ed that story you had read, it was not about a mine named the Boss or Bossa mine right? There was a gold mine named the Boss in the Death Valley country that made quite a splash in the old newspapers because they had good values of platinum in their assay reports. Unfortunately the platinum did not prove to be nearly as rich as the first tests showed. Thanks in advance;
Oroblanco

I have no idea Oro...It was so long ago...I just remember that it was in Death Valley and the ore was described as a cement...

I wonder IF my ore is self fluxingIf only I was more experienced in the art of smelting...

Thank God I have not dumped more of my cash into the search for lost mines...lol...Oh well...Maybe one day I can recoup some of my investment from the sale of my so called platinum ore...

Ed T

 

[Oroblanco]

I have no idea Oro...It was so long ago...I just remember that it was in Death Valley and the ore was described as a cement...

I wonder IF my ore is self fluxingIf only I was more experienced in the art of smelting...

Thank God I have not dumped more of my cash into the search for lost mines...lol...Oh well...Maybe one day I can recoup some of my investment from the sale of my so called platinum ore...

Ed T

OK amigo I am going to quit hunting for this article or book etc, have run out of places to look unless I can get to Nevada. That Boss mine is in the area of Goodsprings Nevada, not IN Death Valley but it is Death Valley country, and it caused some excitement when they found good platinum values in their assays - but the platinum did not prove to be there in paying quantities. Anyway thanks for sharing your memories, I will keep one eye out for anything related and will let you know if I should run across it again.

Side thing here but if you have some charcoal, a hair dryer and a good graphite crucible, you can do some small scale testing of any ore by building a really hot fire out of charcoal and using the blow drier to get it white hot. Also the original text book on how to do fire assays is available online free, just look up De Re Metallica, and the translation done by Herbert Hoover (yep that same guy who was president) it is a very good read. Besides, it is fun melting metals!

Good luck and good hunting to you all I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco

 

[JohnWhite]

OK amigo I am going to quit hunting for this article or book etc, have run out of places to look unless I can get to Nevada. That Boss mine is in the area of Goodsprings Nevada, not IN Death Valley but it is Death Valley country, and it caused some excitement when they found good platinum values in their assays - but the platinum did not prove to be there in paying quantities. Anyway thanks for sharing your memories, I will keep one eye out for anything related and will let you know if I should run across it again.

Side thing here but if you have some charcoal, a hair dryer and a good graphite crucible, you can do some small scale testing of any ore by building a really hot fire out of charcoal and using the blow drier to get it white hot. Also the original text book on how to do fire assays is available online free, just look up De Re Metallica, and the translation done by Herbert Hoover (yep that same guy who was president) it is a very good read. Besides, it is fun melting metals!

Good luck and good hunting to you all I hope you find the treasures that you seek.
Oroblanco

Thanks for giving it a shot Oro...I don't really know where it was that I read the story...I have read through a few sources and I can't recall the source of the story for the life of me...

As for finding an ore with a paying quantity of anything in this day and age is getting tougher and tougher...I am aware of the charcoal method Oro...Though it is much easier with a blowpipe or even a map gas torch...lol...Thanks for sharing though...

I believe that my little silver ore is much rarer that some choose to believe...IT is from an ancient mining real...I am just not sure of how ancient the district is...For some silly reason I believe that it may even be the fabled Ophir...I just might be some silly nut making crazy claims though...Who knowsSome claim that Solomon had platinum vessels in his temple...I wonder IF he got said metal from Africa or AtlantisCould Ophir have been an Atlantian mining districtNow that is a farfetched notion...

And thanks again for your help Oro...I guess that we may never know IF my memory of the platinum cement is not a blend of several tales...

Ed T

 

[Oroblanco]

Thanks for giving it a shot Oro...I don't really know where it was that I read the story...I have read through a few sources and I can't recall the source of the story for the life of me...

As for finding an ore with a paying quantity of anything in this day and age is getting tougher and tougher...I am aware of the charcoal method Oro...Though it is much easier with a blowpipe or even a map gas torch...lol...Thanks for sharing though...

I believe that my little silver ore is much rarer that some choose to believe...IT is from an ancient mining real...I am just not sure of how ancient the district is...For some silly reason I believe that it may even be the fabled Ophir...I just might be some silly nut making crazy claims though...Who knowsSome claim that Solomon had platinum vessels in his temple...I wonder IF he got said metal from Africa or AtlantisCould Ophir have been an Atlantian mining districtNow that is a farfetched notion...

And thanks again for your help Oro...I guess that we may never know IF my memory of the platinum cement is not a blend of several tales...

Ed T

It was my pleasure - and I WILL keep an eye open for an article on the lost platinum ledge of Death Valley too. It could have been in a magazine as you said, and there is no place that has a central bibliography on treasure stories that I know of so it is a bit like sex - a matter of poke and hope!

The only sad part of this is the way the laws are today. If you could find a rich vein of platinum in Death Valley national park you could not legally claim it or mine it! Thankfully the law DOES allow you to prospect for, claim and mine gold and silver inside the national park, or it would be totally hopeless today.

Good luck and good hunting amigo I hope you find the treasures that you seek. And remember, it doesn't take a lot of cash to go searching, camping on the public lands is still free, just need your food and water and the cost to get there!
Oroblanco

 

[Oroblanco]

PS I forgot to answer your question, funny you should mention the grindstone story! I was just reading that the other night, a group of miners had become angry with their local assayer, for they thought he was fooling them into continuing to mine worthless rock by giving them false high values on their samples. To catch him at it, one of the miners broke off a hunk of his grindstone, which he knew could not have anything valuable and paid for the assay - it came back fantastically rich in silver! The assayer nearly got tarred and feathered over this but he swore it was factual, and they had to get it tested again by another assayer in another town before it was realized that grindstone really was loaded with silver. Unfortunately the fellow who owned it could not remember where he had picked up the grind stone in the first place. Moral of the story, gold and silver are where you find it, and it can sure surprise you sometimes!

 

[JohnWhite]

PS I forgot to answer your question, funny you should mention the grindstone story! I was just reading that the other night, a group of miners had become angry with their local assayer, for they thought he was fooling them into continuing to mine worthless rock by giving them false high values on their samples. To catch him at it, one of the miners broke off a hunk of his grindstone, which he knew could not have anything valuable and paid for the assay - it came back fantastically rich in silver! The assayer nearly got tarred and feathered over this but he swore it was factual, and they had to get it tested again by another assayer in another town before it was realized that grindstone really was loaded with silver. Unfortunately the fellow who owned it could not remember where he had picked up the grind stone in the first place. Moral of the story, gold and silver are where you find it, and it can sure surprise you sometimes!

It sure can be surprising at times Oro...We never know what life has in store for us...

Ed T

 

[Oroblanco]

It sure can be surprising at times Oro...We never know what life has in store for us...

Ed T

May have found where to look for the article you might have read years ago amigo, a listing for a lost platinum lode, written by someone named Taylor, in the September 1972 issue of True West magazine, page 32. Unfortunately I do not have a copy, but will keep an eye out for it.