Location
The Hayden Hill district is in northwestern Lassen County about 20 miles southeast of Bieber and 65 miles north of Susanville. It is the only important gold-mining district in the Modoc Plateau geomorphic province.
History
Gold-bearing veins were discovered here in 1869 by J.W. Hayden and S. Lewis. The camp, established in 1871, was originally known as Providence City, renamed Hayden Hill in 1878. A rush to the district lasted until 1883. There was considerable activity again from 1903 to 1910, when the Golden Eagle mine was worked on a large scale. During the 1930s the Hayden Hill corporation operated several properties on a moderate scale, and there has been intermittent prospecting since. The district has a total output valued at about $3 million.
Geology
The district is underlain predominantly by nearly flat-lying well-bedded rhyolite tuffs of Tertiary age, some silicified and brecciated. Patches of pliocene basalt lie to the east, and extensive beds of Miocene pyroclastic rocks lie to the west and north.
Ore Deposits
Several steeply-dipping veins and stringer zones range from one to 25 feet in thickness. These deposits consist chiefly of consolidated and cemented breccia of wall rock; only a small amount of quartz is present. The gold occurs in the free state in usually small round particles and is commonly associated with manganese. Appreciable silver is present but practically no sulfides. Nearly all of the ore has been recovered from above the 800-foot depth.
Mines
Brush Hill $400,000, Blue Bell $100,000, Evening Star $200,000, Golden Eagle $1,025,000, Hayden Gouge, Hayseed $150,000, Juniper $600,000, North Star $20,000, Providence $78,000.
Bibliography
Averill, C. B., 1936, Lassen County, Hayden Hill mining district: California Div. Mines Rept. 32, pp. 422-424.
Hanks, H. G., 1888, Lassen County: California Min. Bur. Rept. 8, pp. 329-332.
Hill, James M., 1915, Some Mining Districts in California and Nevada, Hayden Hill mining district: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 594 pp.
Preston, E. B., 1890, Lassen County, gold: California Min. Bur. Rept. 9, pp. 211-213.
Preston, E. 8., 1893, Hayden Hill mining district: California Min. Bur. Rept. 11, pp. 241-242.
Tucker, W. B., 1919, lassen County, Hayden Hill mining district: California Min. Bur. Rept. 15, pp. 229-235.
