Death Valley Lone Star Mine (Lone Star group), Chloride Cliff Mining District (South Bullfrog Mining District), Funeral Mts (Funeral Range), Amargosa Range, Inyo County, California, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
36° North , 116° West (est.)
Estimate based on other nearby localities or region boundaries.
Margin of Error:
~1km
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Mindat Locality ID:
257845
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:257845:6
GUID (UUID V4):
dd497331-cc0e-47eb-b3d3-0a240fa6a593
The first claims of the Lone Star group were located in the summer of 1904, shortly after the Keane Wonder strike had stirred interest in the area. Little is heard of them, however, until December of 1905, when the Death Valley Lone Star Mining Company was organized. The organization was rather typical for the time, with a capital stock of 1,500,000 shares being created, 750,000 of which were designated as treasury shares for sale to the general public. The officers, who kept the rest of the shares to themselves, were headed by S. R. Phail, president, and Victor O'Brien, vice president. The company had six claims, described as being just below the Keane Wonder Mine, and two claims in another part of the district. Stock was immediately offered for sale at 104 per share, and large full-page advertisements appeared in the Rhyolite newspapers. Early in 1906, the company began work on its claims.
Small strikes were found from time to time, but nothing good enough to warrant calling the Lone Star a real mine. As the Bullfrog Miner, put it, the developments at the property were "interesting, if not sensational." Four men were employed at the mine in April of 1906, and despite the financial distress caused by the San Francisco earthquake and fire, the company reported that it would- "continue work for an indefinite period.". S. R. Phail, the president, tried all the usual tricks to publicize his mine, such as bringing in specimen ore for display at the Southern Hotel in Rhyolite. But despite these efforts, and the fact that Lone Star stock was listed for sale on the San Francisco, Goldfield and Rhyolite stock exchanges, interest in the mine never developed. The Rhyolite papers never reported any trading activity in Death Valley Lone Star stock, and towards the fall of 1906, work at the mine was stopped, probably due to financial reasons.
Early in 1907, the Rhyolite Herald reported that the Lone Star had excellent ore in its mine, and that the company "expected that work will soon be resumed on the Lone Star." The company held its annual meeting in February,. which resulted in new officers being elected. J. P. Nelson, the new vice president, went out in March to examine the property "with the view of resuming operations." Nothing had been done at the property lately, said the Bullfrog Miner, "due to friction of management." But despite the reorganization, work was not resumed until late in December of 1907, when a force of men and supplies were sent out to the mine. Although the immediate purpose of the men was to perform the necessary annual work to enable the company to retain title to its ground, the company announced that it was "the purpose of the management to continue work with a view to placing the property on a paying basis as soon as possible."
But the hopes were soon demolished. The annual work on the property uncovered no new ore leads, and although the Rhyolite Daily Bulletin announced on January 22nd that the mine "has been amply financed and development will be rushed," work stopped in late January and no further work was done on the mine until November of 1908, when Sam R. Phail returned to the property to perform the annual assessment work. Despite the lack of work on the property for over two years, John A. Moffat & Co., one of Rhyolite's leading stockbrokers, felt able to write in October of 1908 that "We recommend this stock as a good speculative purchase." By the fall of 1908, the South Bullfrog Mining District had numerous stocks for sale which could only be described as "speculative."
Although the mine was dead in all reality by the end of 1907, efforts were made from time to time to revive its prospects. The Death Valley Lone Star Mining Company continued to hold its annual meetings as late as January of 1910, and presumably someone attended. Not until January of 1912 did the Rhyolite Herald feel safe to say that "no work has been started, nor does it appear that any is in contemplation on the Lone Star property." Like many others, the Death Valley Lone Star had not made that important transformation from a promising prospect to an actual mine. The transformation was difficult to make when there was no ore in the ground. The Death Valley Lone Star Mine has no historic significance.Latschar, 1981.
List of minerals for each chemical element
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Antler Foreland BasinBasin
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mojave DomainDomain
USA
- Death Valley National ParkNational Park
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References
