A gemstone mine located in the S½NW¼ Sec. 13, T9S, R3E (SBM), situated southwest of the crest of Aguanga Mountain. The property consists of a single unpatented lode mining claim aggregating 20 acres, more or less.
The Maple Lode is a gem-bearing pegmatite deposit first discovered by Bert Simmons around 1902, and later claimed by Bill Dyche. The deposit was worked by Dyche and his men for gem-quality blue tourmaline and blue topaz. The main working face consisted of a shallow adit which extended nearly 27 feet into the ledge following a series of pockets.
The deposit was claimed again in 1915 by Fred Rynerson who briefly worked the ledge with Henry Stenbock. Rynerson discovered one exceptionally fine blue topaz crystal which measured 1 inch tall by one half inch wide, associated with blue tourmaline, about 10 feet back along the east wall of the underground workings.
The mine was later claimed as the Maple Lode, and worked for several years by Mr. MacMillan of Sunshine Summit. MacMillan was said to have developed a second adit about 8 feet above the original underground workings, producing a small quantity of gem material. This new adit was described as an irregular, partially gophered working which extended back nearly 20 feet from the surface, and was connected to the lower main adit by a short raise. The main adit was also extended an additional 23 feet underground, although these workings were said to have partially caved afterward. MacMillan sold his claim to Del Flatz of San Diego in 1959.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's, Roland Reed and several partners worked the deposit using heavy equipment to strip overburden and develop a large bench cut along the pegmatite exposure, removing most of the old underground workings during the process. A claim to the deposit was located by Roland Reed and John E. Gregory of Alpine on November 2, 1985. Work by Reed and others produced several topaz crystals ranging in color from medium blue to pale green, and a few small matrix specimens of topaz on lepidolite and albite were also recovered. Additionally, numerous blue and blue-pink bicolor elbaite crystals were discovered, usually occurring as slender gem pencils up to 5cm long, some of them being a bright sky-blue color. A few pinkish-red colored apatite crystals were also found, up to 7.5cm in size and displaying a tabular habit. Reed later transferred his interest in the claim to Gregory on July 28, 2000.
References:
Sinkankas, J. (1959), Gemstones of North America. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 675 pp.: 103.
Weber, F. H. (1963a), Geology and mineral resources of San Diego County, California. California Division of Mines and Geology, County Report 3: 89, 107, illus., maps.
Rynerson, F. J. (1967), Exploring and Mining Gems & Gold in the West; Ch. 17-18, p. 122-126: Naturegraph Publishers, Inc., Happy Camp, California.
Sinkankas, J. (1976), Gemstones of North America II. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York: 45.
Pemberton, H. Earl (1983), Minerals of California; Van Nostrand Reinholt Press: 427, 454.
Fisher, J. (2002), Gem and rare-element pegmatites of southern California. Mineralogical Record 33(5): 371-373.
Bureau of Land Management (2008), Maple Lode Claim, San Diego County, California: Serial Number Index of Claims, United States Department of Interior; Dec.
Slak, G. (2009), Personal communication with S. L. Ritchie, SDMC, Jan.
Cordova, E. M. (2009), Personal communication with S. L. Ritchie, SDMC, Feb.
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Map Reference: 33°19'26"N , 116°45'57"W
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Mineral List:17 entries listed. 10 valid minerals.
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