Today, we wrap up our visit to Nevada’s turquoise mines. Up to this point, we’ve focused on only a few per post, sometimes only one per entry — major mines, whether because of the quantity or quality (or both) of their output. Today’s entry will focus on a few of the remaining mines that I regard as at least somewhat major players. There are many, many more not covered here, both mines currently in operation and mines whose veins have long since been tapped out. If you know of a mine that I have not included, you shouldn’t necessarily read anything into that: Time and space are both limited resources, and my goal here is simply to provide people with information about the most important sources of turquoise that they’re likely to encounter in Indian jewelry. [In a few cases, of course, there is something to be read into their omission: Some mines do not produce turquoise, but other types of stone, yet the owners market the product as turquoise. Such practices are not enabled here.]
With regard to most of the remaining mines that we’ll cover today, we do not have photos of the type of stone produced. In some instances, this is because the veins are “dead” and/or the mines largely defunct. In others, it’s simply that we haven’t acquired any of the stones produced, at least not recently. And, as always with posts of this type, there are a few cases where we do have photos of unlabeled stones that might be from the mines under discussion: where the stone looks like what you would find from that particular deposit, but where the provenance is murky and we cannot guarantee it. When I post such photos for illustrative purposes, I’ll label them accordingly, as I’ve done thus far.
Because we have quite a few mines to visit today, I’m not going to follow our customary structure. Rather, the subheadings will break down by the names of the mines, in alphabetical order. Beneath each, I’ll include a brief summary of the mine’s location; its history, where available; and a description of the type of turquoise it produces and its general value. And we do have a lot of ground to cover today, so let’s get started.
AJAX
The Ajax Mine is located in southwest-central Nevada, in Esmeralda County, a bit north of Tonopah. It’s not far from the Royston mine — not surprising that it produces stone that is often similar in color and matrix. The mine is now owned and operated by Helen and Richard Shull.
The turquoise found at Ajax tends to range from light to medium blues and a wide spectrum of green shades. Matrices are much like that found in the nearby Royston area: plenty of golden browns, some reds, some darker colors that appear black to the naked eye. Old Ajax turquoise, from what I’ve seen, tends more often to be green. Some of that is no doubt due simply to age; blue turquoise tends to green at least a bit over time, particularly when it’s worn and handled regularly. What comes out of the mine currently is not especially expensive; as best I can tell, it runs roughly $3 per carat for gem-grade cabochons. That said, the value of old Ajax cabs that appear in vintage Indian jewelry will run significantly higher, not only because of the value of the silverwork itself, but because of the collectible value of the stone.
APACHE
Today, much confusion surrounds the name “Apache turquoise.” What was originally sold as Apache was generally dark green in color, with very little to no hint at all of blue in the stone, and with swirling layered matrices in black and white that often made the entire stone appear translucent. It didn’t really look like any turquoise that anyone had ever seen.
There was a reason for that. It wasn’t turquoise, but variscite. Oh, you’ll see some online references to something the proponents like to call “variquoise”; ignore it. It’s a way of trying to hint that what is actually variscite is somehow still, in some way, kind of sort of the more desirable turquoise.
If what you want from this region is turquoise, then you want the stone from the newer claim, called “Apache Blue.” It gets confusing, but not all sellers remember to add the “Blue” onto the name, and so it may appear that the stone is part of the old Apache Mine claim (which would, in fact, likely increase its value if it were actually the case, but it’s not). The owners of the Apache Blue mine have named it aptly, because it is turning out a beautiful bright-blue stone.
The Apache Blue mine is located in the Candelaria Mining District, reportedly some seven miles west of the Candelaria mine itself. Thus far, it seems to be producing stone that is similar to Candelaria at its finest: brilliant sky blue to deep near-indigo, intensely hued, often with fine red or black spiderweb matrices. It apparently was once known as the Turkey Track, and is now co-owned and mined by the Otteson family. You can see some stunning photos of the stone here and (as of this writing) here, where cabochons are running from a low of $8 per carat to an average of $12 to $16 per carat.
BLUE GEM
Blue Gem is one of those names that was popular for a number of different turquoise mines over the decades, but there’s only one truly significant Blue Gem Mine. It’s located in the same general area that we visited last week, in the Copper Canyon area south of Battle Mountain.
Mining operations at Blue Gem first launched in 1934, as an underground tunnel operation, by a man named Duke Goff. Thereafter, Doc Wilson’s American Gem Company leased the operation from its buyer, Copper Canyon Mining Company. At this time, the mine was thought to be one of the deepest turquoise mines in existence, running hundreds of feet below ground and reportedly producing veins up the three-quarters of an inch thick. Eventually, Wilson allowed the lease to lapse, and it appears that nothing was done with the operation until 1950, when it was acquired by Lee Hand, who we have met before, and his partner in the Battle Mountain operation, Alvin Layton. The claim underwent a number of name changes over the years, including the Contention, the Pedro Lode, and the Turquoise Tunnel, but it’s greatest production occurred under the Blue Gem name.
Like the stone from the other major deposits in that region, Blue Gem is typically a hard stone, sturdy and useful for jewelry. Unusually for turquoise from the broader area, Blue Gem looks much more like, say, Arizona turquoise: brilliant clear sky blues; occasional bright greens; sometimes with a golden-brown matrix; sometimes with virtually no matrix, or with only the sort of textured-looking hint of white common to a lot of Kingman turquoise. In terms of value, Blue Gem can be found in cabochon form for as little as $4 per carat, sometimes up to twice that. It makes it a good value for artisans and buyers alike.
BLUE MOON
The Blue Moon Mine is also located in Esmeralda County, in the Candelaria Hills district, not far from the Ajax Mine. The deposit reportedly sits at an elevation above 5,000 feet, and is said to be mostly unreachable in winter, but is still mined on a small scale during the warmer months.
The Blue Moon, like much of the other veins in the area, produces a clear, bright blue turquoise, ranging mostly from a robin’s-egg to a darker sky-blue shade. Matrices include the same warm brownish tones found elsewhere in the area and black chert spiderwebbing. In cabochon form, the stone appears to average between $4 and $8 per carat for standard-quality stone, but as of this writing, it’s possible to find high-grade cabs for $28 per carat.
CARLIN
Carlin turquoise comes from Elko County in the northern part of the state, from an operation some distance north of the town of Carlin. The mine has been closed for years now, but the broader area is subsumed under a corporate gold-mining operation.
Carlin was sometimes known as “Carlin Black Matrix,” because of its boldly distinctive matrix of black chert. The stone itself ranged from robin’s-egg to deep sky blue, but the matrix occurred in wide swaths of flat black mineral, making it, at the time it was produced, fairly easily identifiable. Some Carlin is quite modestly priced, but if you’re lucky enough to find old cabochons, you’ll find the price rises accordingly.
CROW SPRINGS
The Crow Springs Mine is another from the southwest-central part of the state, near Tonopah. It actually sits at the northern end of the Monte Cristo Mountain Range, and some in the field consider it a part of the larger Monte Cristo Mining District, while others regard it as its own, wholly separate district. First staked in 1909 as the Blue Bird, it still reportedly produces turquoise.
Crow Springs was originally known for classic robin’s-egg and sky-blue stone, but much of what I’ve seen in recent years tends toward the greenish end of the spectrum. Like most of the others in this area, it’s not terribly expensive (you can find cabochons as of this writing for as little as $3 per carat), but it’s a good stone, and thus a good value.
DARLING DARLENE
The Darling Darlene is another small mine in northern Nevada, a family operation. It was first launched in 1972 by Joe Barredo, who named the claim after his daughter. He and his family worked it on a small scale until the early 1980s, when he leased it to one Erman Blossom.
The stone produced at the Darling Darlene is widely variable in both color and matrix, but notable for color intensity. The blues range from the robin’s-egg end of the spectrum to a deep sky blue, but the greens are often a brilliant kelly green. Some of the stone produced contains both blues and greens together, the green often appearing the overlay the blue in an effect similar to that sometimes found in Fox and Royston turquoise. The matrix is also diverse, but often appears in a bold webbed pattern in bright golden-bronze and coppery-red shades. Today, it averages about $3 per carat in cabochon form.
EASTER BLUE
The Easter Blue is a popular mine in the southwest part of the state, northwest of Tonopah in Esmeralda County. Lew Cirac filed the first claim in 1907; he subsequently sold it fifteen years later, once again, to Lee Hand. Hand in turn leased it to one W.R. Gilbert, who extracted some 100 pounds of turquoise via surface mining. The mine changed hands a number of time in the following years; during one four-years stretch at this point, it reportedly produced some 300 pounds of turquoise per month. Eventually, Peter King of Manassa, Colorado (another area famed for its turquoise) bought the claim, operating it under the name Easter Blue. Throughout the course of its long life, it was also operated variously as another “Blue Gem” mine, and under the name Blue Mountain.
The turquoise itself reportedly appeared mostly in small, thin veins, originally in an intense blue color. Most of what it produced, however, tends toward a robin’s-egg blue color, with webbed or splotchy matrices, often in bronze to reddish-copper hues. Easter Blue is by no means an expensive turquoise — it’s possible, currently, to find it in cabochon form for as little as $1.10 per carat — but it’s a classic stone and a good value.
HARCROSS
The Harcross mine is located in Lyon County. It began life in 1908, under a claim filed by a man named Otto Taubert, who was actually searching for gold. Finding turquoise instead, he filed a number of claims in the area, which he subsequently sold to Walter Godber (who we have met before, and who for a time owned the Godber mine that would become known as the Godber-Burnham operation). What would become known as the Harcross operation was actually Godber’s first operation in Nevada, and he extracted some $50,000 of stone from it before abandoning it in favor of some of his other mines. In 1965, a new claim was staked by partners J.J. Harrison and F.B. Cross, under the name The Harcross Group (HARrison and CROSS).
Harcross ranges from sky blues to soft pale greens, sometimes with a bold golden-colored or dark reddish matrix, sometimes swirly, wispy white inclusions that appear more like smoke drifting over the surface of the stone. The old stone above was labeled “Harcross,” and is a good example of the wispy, swirling-smoke effect. Like much Nevada turquoise, it’s a hard, solid stone, good for cutting and cabbing and therefore for Indian jewelry. Most of it is not especially expensive on a per-carat basis; I’ve seen cabochons in the $3- to $5-per carat range.
MCGINNISS
The McGinniss Mine is another of those stellar little producers from Lander County. You’ll see the name spelled, variously, as McGinniss, McGinness, McGuiness, and virtually every conceivable permutation thereof. As nearly as I’ve been able to determine, “McGinniss” is the correct spelling, but there seems to be no consensus on it.
The claim itself was first staked in the 1930s by a man of the same name, Ed McGinniss, who arrived from northern California. He worked the mine into the 1940s, and sources disagree on the quality of the stone produced at that time. By the 1960s and into the 1970s, when operations became automated, what was being mined at the site reportedly was of very high quality. The stone itself tended to be dark and intense in color, mostly sky blue to teal and tending toward indigo, with swirly and mottled inclusions of other blues and greens (and occasionally some black and grayish swirls, too). It tends not to manifest in standard webbed matrix patterns, but rather, in a collection of wispy, smoky layers that are somewhat translucent but all part of the same stone. Again, it’s now hard to get a fix on any kind of standard pricing. If you come into possession of true McGinniss turquoise, you’ve acquired a wonderful stone.
MONTEZUMA
The Montezuma is one of the mines at the Pilot Mountain complex, which we have visited before. The other major mine in the area was the Mocqui-Aztec (also known as the S. Simmons Mine). The montezuma operation was first launched in 1905, by one William Miller of Tonopah. The mine is still producing today.
Montezuma turquoise is perhaps best known for one particular type of stone that it produces, one that differs substantially in appearance from the neighboring Pilot Mountain turquoise. Where Pilot Mountain is known for a range of stone shades and a wide variety of matrix colors and types, high-quality montezuma often manifests in one particular look: a clear, light robin’s-egg blue, with a dark coppery-red matrix that in some lights looks nearly black, and with large clear expanses of stone marked by delicate traces and bolder edges of matrix. Good-quality cabochons can average from $4 to $8 or so per carat; occasionally, exceptionally high-grade montezuma can run more.
RED MOUNTAIN
The Red Mountain Mine is located in Northern Nevada, in the same Lander County area we visited last week. It was mined significantly by owner prospectors until it was claimed by a man named Austin Turner, under whom it saw little actual mining. In 1982, Turner leased the operation to Erman Blossom and his partner (who also leased the Darling Darlene, above), who operated it for the next three years. In 2003, Turner sold the operation outright, and it is still worked on a small scale today.
Red Mountain turquoise is characterized by hard, deep blue stone with a very fine spiderweb matrix that manifests in a range of colors from red-bronze to near-black. It’s an exceptionally beautiful stone, and a quite valuable one. What’s shown above were labeled “Red Mountain,” but they were very, very old, natural, matched turquoise stones from Wings’s private collection. I honestly have no idea what large stones of this size would run today; these were used in pieces commissioned by a special client and friend. It’s possible to find contemporary cabochons for as little as $8 to $9 per carat, which seems to me to be extremely modestly priced for the quality, because it’s all high quality.
STONE MOUNTAIN
The Stone Mountain Mine is found in Lyon County, in northern Nevada. It is at least near the old Harcross mine, although sources disagree on whether it is the same deposit. It is now owned and operated by Canyon and Suzanne Cassidy, the same folks who own the Nevada Cassidy’s gemstone firm, who first began collecting stone from the area in the 1970s and were finally able to buy the claim in 1980.
Stone Mountain turquoise appears in a fairly broad spectrum of color, from lighter sky blues to deep forest green to light seafoam shades. Most of what I’ve seen tends solidly toward the green end of the spectrum. At the bluer end, matrices can appear as yellow-bronze or dark red, but the greens tend to be more distinctive, with a matrix spectrum on the yellow end that ranges from a bronzed color at the darkest end to a pale yellowish-white at the other end. Much of the matrix color is due to the presence of limonite, which is also found in turquoise from several other northern Nevada mines, such as Carico Lake. It is not a terribly expensive stone, running on average from $2 to $5 per carat at the upper end, but the stone is hard, of good quality, and beautiful for use in Indian jewelry.
STORMY MOUNTAIN
Stormy Mountain is another northern Nevada mine, this one in Elko County. Its stone was reportedly noticed in the 1970s, when workers employed by an existing copper mine in the area began building a new road to that mine. Once turquoise mining began, workers reportedly found that veins ran up to an inch thick. Some believe that it is in fact the same deposit as the old Carlin Black Matrix Mine, but there doesn’t seem to be consensus on that point. It’s also called by some, colloquially, the Edgar Brothers Mine, since it was worked during the turquoise heyday of the 1960s and 1970s by the Edgars, who we likewise have met before.
Stormy Mountain turquoise is another hard, dark blue stone with a spiderweb matrix, usually black chert. Some of the stone tends toward a teal shade; an example likely appears in the photo above, which Wings made with an old natural stone labeled “Stormy Mountain.” It’s hard to get a fix on an average price now, since I rarely see cabochons on the market unless they’re already set in a piece of jewelry.
There are, of course, dozens more turquoise mines in Nevada, both those currently in operation and historical mines long since tapped out, that deserve attention: the Blue Diamond, the Indian Blue, the Miss Moffett, too many others to mention. But time, like turquoise, is a valuable resource, and we need to turn our attention to our next mine grouping.
Next week: We head to Colorado.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
