Eastern Mojave Vegetation
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Eastern Mojave Vegetation
| Eureka Mining District, Eureka County, Nevada. |
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Gazetteer Query: G.N.I.S. See also: Ruby Hill. |
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In 1864, a group of prospectors from Austin, Nevada discovered rock containing a silver-lead mixture on Prospect Peak. Since then, miners have struggled to reach minerals deep within these hillsides of the Eureka Mining District--a vital part of Nevada's mining heritage and future. By 1878, the population of Eureka and nearby Ruby Hill was over 9,000. The Eureka Mining District ranked as Nevada's second richest mineral producer (the Comstock ranked first). Ore veins of silver, lead, and other base materials were rich enough to justify enormous underground mine development and financial risk. Eureka's greatest production was from 1870 to 1890. By 1900, changing market conditions reduced demand for the District's materials. Many of the mines closed. A few smaller mines remained in operation until the 1920s, but it was nothing like the early days. Revival of the Eureka Mining District has recently occurred with the introduction of a mining technology called heap leaching. This method allows for profitable and more efficient processing of rock containing trace amounts of gold. Examples of old and new mining operations can be seen from here. At the base of the hill is the heap-leach pad and rock piles of a modern mining operation. Near the top of the hill is the Fad Shaft, a remnant of earlier mining days (Nevada Historical Marker 254).
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| No collections made at this location. | ||
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M, Date and time this article was prepared:5:36:13 PM, 11/3/2024. | |