Golden Gem Mine, Cerbat, Cerbat Mining District, Wallapai Mining District, Cerbat Mountains (Cerbat Range), Mohave County, Arizona, USAi

Regional Level Types
Golden Gem Mine	Mine
Cerbat	Town
Cerbat Mining District	Mining District
Wallapai Mining District	Mining District
Cerbat Mountains (Cerbat Range)	Mountain Range
Mohave County	County
Arizona	State
USA	Country

GOLDEN GEM MINE.

Location, history, and production. The Golden Gem mine is located at Cerbat, on the hillside which slopes to the west. The mine was discovered and began to ship ore in 1871. Subsequently it lay idle for some time until it was acquired by T. L. Ayers, wh.i shipped a very large amount ($200,000 reported) of rich (5-ounce) gold ore. He also hauled some of the ore to the C. O. D. mill, and left over 2,000 tons of second-grade ($24) ore on the dump, much of which still remains. Later the property was bonded to the Golden Gem Mining Company, of New York, of which Senator Warner Miller was president. This company sunk the shaft deeper and drifted, but as the ore on the 300-foot level fell off in grade, the mine was closed in 1904. It remained idle until 1906, when it was sold for $75,000, and is now owned by the Golden Star Mining and Milling Company.

A 40-ton mill with four Nissen stamps, recently installed, is now daily turning out about $350 worth of concentrates from the ore formerly left on the dump. Twenty per cent of the gold is collected on the plates. Preparations are being made to unwater and retimber the old shaft of the mine, which at the time of visit was filled with water to the 200-foot level. This mine has produced good ore from the surface down, and the total production is said to have amounted to $190,000.

Development. The mine is developed principally by a two-compartment shaft, 435 feet deep, and four levels containing about 1,200 feet of drift, winzes, and stopes. The levels are located at 130, 230, 330, and 400 feet below the surface. The first level contains 350 feet of drift north and 135 south from the shaft; the second level 200 north and 355 south, the third level 200 north and 200 south, and the fourth level 246 north and 140 south. (See fig. 13.) The only stopes are on the 130-foot level. They extend 66 feet horizontally and from 62 to 81 feet vertically.

The principal surface equipments are the 40-ton mill above mentioned, a 34-horsepower hoist, and distillate engines, aggregating 79 horsepower, for operating the plant.

Geology and ore deposits. The country rock is the pre-Cambrian granite, gneiss, and schist complex. Fine-grained iron-gray gneissoid schist usually forms the hanging wall of the vein. The structure trends north-northeast and the rocks are intruded near by by diabase and granite porphyry or monzonite porphyry dikes. The much altered diabase occurs in association with the vein.

The vein strikes about N. 40° W. and dips about 78° NE. It ranges from 6 to 14 feet in width and usually carries from 2 to 6½ feet of pay ore running from $10 to the ton upward. The ore shoots are reported to be more regular in the deeper part of the mine than near the surface.

The gangue is chiefly quartz and altered rock and is imperfectly banded. Some of the quartz is similar to the Gold Road type described on page 158. The ore contains chiefly gold, but carries also silver in places as high as 60 ounces a ton. The ore minerals are galena (5 or 6 per cent), zinc blende, pyrite, and stibnite. The vein is banded and shows evidence of intradepositional faulting. The values usually favor the foot wall, but vary in position, and locally rich ore streaks 2 feet wide occur on both sides of the vein.

Southeast of the mine the vein is about 6 feet in width and, as shown by croppings, extends about one-fifth of a mile to Cerbat Wash, where there are some indications that it may be split. So far as opened in the mine and two surface prospects beyond, the ore is reported to run about $20 to the ton.

On the 130-foot level, 270 feet northwest of the shaft, the vein is faulted off diagonally along the schistosity on the south or foot-wall side of a 4-foot band of dark schist. The ore shoot from the shaft to this point looks well and is reported to average high in gold.

The face of the drift extending south of the shaft on this level is reported by the foreman who had charge when the mine was suspended to contain a 24-inch streak of $48 ore.