Location and History
The Ivanpah mining district is in northeastern San Bernardino County about 35 miles northeast of Baker and south of the Mountain Pass-Clark Mountain area. The district includes the mines in both the Ivanpah Range and the Mescal Range, which is just to the west. Gold mining began here at least as early as 1882, when the Mollusk mine was opened. Moderate mining activity continued in the district until about 1915, and there was some work again in the 1930s.
Geology and Ore Deposits
The western part of the district is underlain predominantly by limestone and dolomite, with smaller amounts of shale, sandstone and dacite. To the east is granite and gneiss, and to the south is quartz monzonite. The gold deposits are in quartz veins or mineralized breccia, which occur chiefly in granitic rocks or gneiss, although the Mollusk vein is in dolomite. Other mineral commodities in the district are silver, copper, tungsten, tin, barite, fluorspar, and rare earths. As in the Clark mining district to the north, the metal-bearing deposits are associated with several major thrust fault zones.
Mines
Kewanee, Mollusk $250,000, Morning Star, New Era, Teutonia.
Bibliography
Hewett, D. F., 1956, Geology and mineral resources of the Ivanpah quadrangle, California and Nevada: U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 275, 172 pp.
Tucker, W. B., and Sampson, R. J., 1943, San Bernardino County, gold: California Div. Mines Rept. 39, pp. 438-465.
Wright, L. A., Stewart, R. M., Gay, T. E., Jr., and Hazenbush, G. C., 1953, San Bernardino County, gold: California Jour. Mines and Geol., vol. 49, pp. 69-86.
