Volume 8-2 Fall 2010 Tonopah Historic Mining Park Presents

Tailings
Tonopah Historic
Mining Park
Presents
Volume 8-2
Editor’s Note: This article is a
continuation from our Spring 2010
Tailings cover page article on the
history of the park.
Following the official opening of
the Tonopah Historic Mining
Park’s Dedication Ceremony on
July 25, 1998 the park started with
a wonderful History of Mining
exhibit on loan from The Nevada
State Museum Carson City. John
Livermore donated his fantastic
mineral exhibit, a collection of the
late John Heizer as well as his own
collected minerals and artifacts.
This constitutes one of the finest
mineral collections in the country.
In 1999, Public
Resources
Foundation underwrote the salary
of a Mining Park Curator for three
years. This was a tremendous gift
to really start the park’s
management
of
cultural
resources. A new board, the
Tonopah Historic Mining Park
Foundation was organized to help
the Town of Tonopah with the
establishment and operation of
the facility. The Tonopah Historic
Mining Park Foundation raises
money, assists with direction,
operates the Visitor’s Center Gift
Shop, manages membership,
writes the Tailings Newsletter as
well as generates publicity and the
additional development of the
park.
The Foundation is
comprised of eleven trustees
coming from all corners of the
state. The park has received
grants from the Department of
Cultural Affairs, the Nevada State
Tourism Office, Nye County, the
Nevada State Mining Association
and Nevada Humanities.
The
Nevada Commission on Mineral
Resources Division of Minerals
gave a most generous contribution
to safely fence the perimeter of
the park and to mark and fence
glory holes within the property.
They have continued to support
the park by assisting with signage
within the park, especially the
Abandoned Mines Stay Out and
Stay Alive Program.
Kinross Gold Corporation, Round
Mountain Gold donated gold for
our gold panning. Nancy Stehle
gifted the park with three pure
silver bars.
Conservation Camp Crews have
given us countless hours and are
to be commended for their
Fall 2010
beautiful rock work throughout
the park. The Dunkerley family
donated a Polaris Ranger Crew all
terrain vehicle for park tours
which helps with our American
with Disabilities Act requirements.
New trails have been graded
enhancing hiking and bike riding.
Our intern program helps with
staffing the park and at the same
time giving a post graduate
student hands on experience.
The park initiated blacksmithing
classes with certified teachers and
will continue to do so. We also
encourage Hammer Ins for those
who want to perfect their skills.
E Clampus Vitus or Clampers
added an important historic
marker. A Cornerstone and Time
Capsule was dedicated by the local
Masonic Lodge, Daughters of the
American Revolution continue to
have their annual summer
Continued on page 12
M
Meet
Heatther Ingallls
For those
t
of you
u who I have
e not
had the opportu
unity to mee
et or
talk to, I have been
b
workin
ng at
the
Mining
Park
Septtember of 20
008.
since
Sincee I started working he
ere I
havee redone the
t
black light
l
displlay.
Last winter I was
fortu
unate enou
ugh to havve a
wonderful Geo
ologist, Geo
orge
Diverse, volunteeer his time
e to
help me go through the min
neral
displlays in the LivermoreHeizer Mineral Exhibit
E
Hall. We
perly identified and labeled
prop
mostt of the minerals.
m
I also
clean
ned and re--arranged all of
the minerals in
i their caases.
Receently I haave been rearran
nging sevveral of the
displlays we havee set up botth in
the gift shop, in the min
neral
room
m and outsid
de.
Foun
ndation Member,
M
Mimi
M
Rodd
den and I have been
b
workking togetheer to order new
direcctional and interpre
etive
2
ssigns for the park an
nd have
t
them
posted
d. I helped organize
o
o
our
Augu
ust
Blackssmithing
c
classes.
Following
the
blacksmithin
ng class I attended
a
t Nevada State Fair and set
the
up our mining park display
on with
booth in cooperatio
Kinross Rou
und Mountaain Gold
C
Corp.
Our display showed
mining then
n and now. It was
q
quite
the prroduction. I am very
e
excited
to reepresent thee Mining
Park and thee history of mining.
m
My hopes are
a to get the
t local
s
schools
m
more
involvved in
v
visiting
the park and ed
ducating
t
them
on th
he local histtory and
t safety of
the
o living aro
ound an
a
area
such as this wheere one
might comee across opeen mine
s
shafts.
Hop
pefully all of you will
have the op
pportunity to
t come
up to the Mining
M
Park and see
w
what
we haave been do
oing and
how things have changged and
c
continue
to change.
Meet Maariah Rive
ero
Hi. My namee is Mariah Rivero. I
a a native of Tonop
am
pah, NV.
For the lastt four yearss I have
been
a
attending
UNLV
(University of Nevad
da, Las
V
Vegas)
and graduated last
l
May
w
with
a dual degree in
a
anthropolog
gy and historry.
I am taking a break from
m school
f a whilee and takin
for
ng some
time to
o earn money and gain
n
valuablee experiencee in both o
of
my fieelds beforee I attend
d
graduatte school.
There are
a many things I would
d
like to achieve
a
whilee I am at thee
park. Fo
or most of th
he summer I
have worked
w
on reorganizingg
the reseearch library as well ass
worked to incorporrate the new
w
books and artifact donationss
we havve received from Judgee
John P. Davis. I am
m hoping to
o
finish th
his while I am
m here. Oncee
I have finished
f
with
h the libraryy,
I hope to
t work on various
v
other
projectss including conductingg
more research
r
on a paper
about women
w
in the miningg
camps of
o Central Nevada which
h
I starteed while stiill attendingg
UNLV. I am exccited about
workingg here an
nd I lookk
forward
d to the fu
uture of thee
Tonopah Historic Mining
M
Park.
New Foundation Trustees:
Tinker Evans
Tinker Evans
A Nevada native, graduated from
Tonopah High School, I have
worked in mining for twenty four
years, from running equipment to
blasting.
I have served as
Executive Secretary of Round
Mountain Gold Corporation for
the last ten years. I am the
Secretary of the Winnemucca
chapter of Women in Mining and
long time member of Women’s
Mining Coalition. I am currently
on the Nevada Mining Association
Public Outreach Committee. I look
forward to working with the
Foundation and look forward to
broadening the story of mining in
the west.
The park is an
outstanding cultural resource of
great value to Nevada.
Joan Kerschner Tinker
Following securing her Master’s
in Library and Information
Science, Joan taught in
Montana,
South
Carolina,
3
Indiana and Nevada. She began
her career in Nevada at the
Nevada State Library and
Archives as a Government
Publications
and
Archives
Researcher for the executive
and legislative branches. She
has held many administrative
positions and was appointed
Nevada State Librarian in 1986.
Joan was later appointed
director of the newly organized
Department of Cultural Affairs
which includes the State
Museum System, the Arts
Council and the State Historic
Preservation Office, as well as
the State Library and Archives.
Joan served on or directed
boards, committees and special
assignments at the federal,
state and local levels. She
worked on a number of
community
development
projects, one of which was the
creation of Henderson’s Paseo
Verde Library. Joan received
many special honors, citations
and plaques for meritorious
service. After having worked all
over the State of Nevada Joan
brings to the Foundation a
special knowledge of Nevada’s
history and needs. She has
both professional and personal
contacts statewide.
Judge John Davis
Judge Davis, a graduate of the
Colorado School of Mines,
received his law degree from
U.C. Davis. He is a member of
the State Bar of California and
Nevada and is admitted to
practice in the Federal District
Court for the State of Nevada
and California, as well as the
U.S. Supreme Court. He has
served as Justice Court Judge
and has been elected to the
Fifth Judicial District Court.
Judge Davis is a registered Land
Surveyor in California and
Nevada and a State’s Water
Rights Surveyor in Nevada as
well as a U.S. Mineral Surveyor.
He has served as a Civil
Engineer in California and a
Mining Engineer in Nevada,
Utah and Colorado.
Tonopah Historic
Mining Park
memberships make
great Christmas
gifts! Park members
receive 10% discount
on all items
purchased in the gift
shop.
Memberships are
tax deductible.
Events this Year
As always, the Tonopah
Historic Mining Park welcomes
groups and activities. This year
we have had several groups and
activities come to the park.
Over the Memorial Day
weekend in May, the Mining
Park again hosted the Nevada
State Mining Championships.
This event brings many people
to the park and allows them to
see the unique mining history of
the area and gain information
that they are able to take back
with them.
On June 27th twenty-two Girls
Scouts descended on the Park
for a tour. After braving the
intense desert sun for about an
hour, the girls were able to
come back to the cool
comfort of the Visitor
Center for some well
earned shopping.
We
are
pleased
to
announce a very unique
event held in the Mining
Park. As a result of Conrad
Baker’s
Eagle
Scout
project,
a
blacksmith
exhibit, the park hosted its’ first
official blacksmithing classes
on August 14th and 15th . These
classes were funded in part by a
grant from Nevada Humanities.
The class garnered much
interest and we will continue to
host additional blacksmithing
classes.
Participants
were
encouraged to bring their own
tools, supplies and
forges, if they had
them.
California
Blacksmith
Association (CBA)
Instructors
Josh
Buhlert,
Anne
Monroe and Eden
Sanders taught our
classes.
Eden
generously donated
4
a forge to the park. Those who
participated in the class had a
wonderful time and asked when
the next classes would be held.
Following the enthusiastic
reception of our first class, the
park hosted a Blacksmithing
“Hammer In” on November 14
and 15. A “Hammer In” is
when
blacksmiths
come
together
without
formal
instruction to work on their
craft and share ideas.
On
August 21st the Daughters of the
American Revolution again
revisited the park. After their
annual
meetings,
DAR
members adjourned to the
Visitor Center for a reception.
DAR presented Town Manager,
Chris Branwell and his Old
West chuck wagon. After
dinner DAR members were
welcomed to participate in a
little star gazing. It was
a wonderful evening.
We look forward to their
annual visit next year.
We truly enjoy
groups and events
come to the Park to
its rich history
unique displays.
the
that
tour
and
James Eason with a donation of
the book All for God, Home,
and Country: A History of the
First One Hundred Years of the
Daughters of the American
Revoultion. This meeting was
the cumination of the one
hundred year anniversary of
DAR in Nevada which started
in Goldfield.
The mission of DAR is historic
preservation, education and
patriotism. Their goals and the
park’s goals compliment one
another and fifteen DAR
members joined the park.
Following the reception and a
brief history of the park and
town by James Eason, DAR
members made their way to the
Mizpah Hoisthouse for a
wonderful dinner, catered by
Remember that the park is
available
for
reunions,
receptions and weddings too. If
your group would like to tour
the Tonopah Historic Mining
Park, please contact the
Museum Office at (775) 4829274
or
email
us
at
[email protected]
m. For more information about
the park visit our website at
http://tonopahhistoricminingpar
k.com or find us on Facebook at
Tonopah Historic Mining Park.
What is Women in Mining?
WOMEN IN MINING (WIM) is a
nationwide
organization
composed
of
individuals
employed in, associated with, or
interested in the mining industry.
Members include engineers,
geologists, land men, secretaries,
lobbyists,
mine
workers,
educators and concerned citizens.
Many WIM members are business
and civic leaders extending their
influence and expertise into their
local communities. Such varied
backgrounds
are
extremely
beneficial to the organization and
members are encouraged to share
this expertise and experience
both formally and informally. The
overriding goal of WIM is to
educate both the members and
the public about the mining
industry. WIM’s stated objectives
are to educate members of the
technical and other aspects of the
mineral resource and related
industries through informative
and educational programs, to
institute and promote such
educational, scientific, legislative
and other programs as well as
foster public awareness of the
economic
and
technical
interrelationship
of
mineral
production with the national
economy and the public good and
to preserve the heritage, and
maintain the history of mining
and mining people.
© Women In Mining, Battle Mountain Chapter
5
sturdier signs around the park. These signs are
easier to read, and, in some instances, more
informative. Included are signs showing trail
directions, providing a note of caution about steeper
trails, providing general information about park
policies, and recognition for the Nevada Division of
Minerals, which runs the “Stay Out and Stay Alive”
Mine Safety Awareness Program.
Improvements to the Mining Park
For the past several years, anyone who has visited
the park may have noticed the rather sad state of the
sign at the entrance to the park as well as too few
signs around the park which have gone missing or
were damaged. This year, however, all that has
being remedied. Throughout the summer, members
of the town maintenance staff worked with the town
manager and the park curators to place new and
We also have several signs created by Gold Creek
Productions providing additional historical
information. Some of the larger signs include “The
Discovery that Revived Nevada” and “A Two
Billion Dollar View!” These signs provide
information about the importance of the silver
discovery in Tonopah as well as how much ore was
mined from the Tonopah area. Our smaller signs
include information on the Mizpah Mine, Muckers,
and Powder Monkeys. These signs are both
informative and fun to look at with recreations of
photographs from the time.
In addition to the new signs, the wooden sign at the
original entrance to the Mining Park on McCulloch
Avenue has been repainted and the metal frame has
been rebuilt. We have utilized the talents of Jacob
Drake, a local high school artist, who worked for
the town and the park during the summer. Jacob
repainted this sign and painted additional signs for
the new entrance to the park on Burro Avenue,
directly behind the Mizpah Hotel.
6
PLEASE NOTE:
We have a beautiful new entrance to the
park directly behind the Mizpah Hotel. The
official address is 110 Burro. The entrance
has improved the traffic flow for the park
and at the same time provided additional
parking for busses, campers and other large
vehicles. We no longer use the McCullough
Street address. The sign below designates
the old Power Building as the Visitors
Center and main exhibit hall.
The Visitors Center houses our park store
where gift items relating to mining and to
the area may be found. We have the best
collection of books on mining, geology,
minerals and other appropriate subjects in
the state of Nevada.
Now is the time to plan that trip, bring
your mountain bike, hiking boots, running
shoes and camera. Plan to spend the day
at the mining park. Self guided walking
tours are available. The maps are free in
the office. A personal guided tour for up
to five people can also be reserved at the
Visitor’s Center. Our Polaris Crew seats
six and can provide a true off road
adventure for those with limited mobility.
For them the ride is without charge, but
prior arrangements must be made with
the office at 775-482-9274.
The park is known for excellent star
gazing and has been voted the best clear
skies for viewing in the nation.
7
New Acquisitions
library in the Old Courthouse. Judge Davis has
donated his personal mining library for research.
Displays are reorganized in order to more
completely tell the story of mining and geology.
With blacksmithing classes taking place at the
mining park new donations include a forge from
California
Blacksmith
Association
(CBA)
Instructor, Eden Sanders, a leg vise from Mike
Stanton and a buffing and grinding wheel from
Mimi Rodden. Mike Barth graciously replaced the
handles on many of our blacksmithing hammers and
donated tools and fire bricks towards our new forge.
The forge still needs a blower before it can work.
The park needs additional implements in order to
expand our blacksmithing program. The mining
park is a 501(c)3 non profit organization and all
donations are tax deductible. We are continually
working to improve the Mining Park experience.
Among the many new donations the mining park
has received are: A large collection of arrowheads,
pottery pieces, and other stone points donated by Ed
Slavin. Mr. Slavin had previously donated a Rescue
Vehicle and countless pieces of rescue equipment.
Several new pictures have been added to our
exhibit.
Our black light display has gained a new addition: a
scorpion (Yes, folks they do glow under ultraviolet
light and it is pretty neat to see). We have also
received an antique standing desk from the law
8
Blacksmithing History
By Corolynn Heizer Vogt
Blacksmithing began with the
Iron Age. The first formed and
shaped pieces of metal
discovered at archaeological
digs dates back almost 5000
years. The Iron Age began
when some primitive person
noticed that a certain type of
rock yielded iron when heated
by the coals of the hot campfire.
The persons who knew how to
heat and shape metal into arrow
and spear heads and make iron
implements for tilling the soil
were the first technicians of the
human race.
It took three thousand years for
man to learn the science of
metallurgy. Long after man
made the first simple tools,
blacksmiths began to
understand the magnetic
properties of iron. By forging
an iron needle that floated in a
round vial, the blacksmith
aligned the molecules in the
iron and from that point on;
sailors could plot their courses
without the need of stars or the
sun but by the use of a compass.
Christopher Columbus, Leif
Ericson and all the other
European discoverers brought
blacksmiths on their travels to
the New World. Every ounce
of iron had to be transported
9
here until ore deposits were
discovered and the settlers in
the interior of North America
developed a metal industry.
Blacksmiths were forced to
keep refining their skills to meet
the demands of the increasingly
more sophisticated early
American settlers needs. The
blacksmith was responsible for
making everything from
weapons, farm and mining
equipment, Conestoga wagons,
nautical items, building
materials and kitchen utensils.
His shop was the local hardware
store. He also repaired log
chains, put rims on wagons,
shoes on horses and fixed the
axes and picks. The town could
not survive without the
blacksmith. Almost every town
had at least one blacksmith
shop. From the saws that cut
the timbers and the hand forged
bolts and nails used to construct
the mining tunnels, to the picks
and shovels and wagons and
horses with shoes used to haul
the heavy material to the
railroad points, to the cells in
the jailhouse and the intricate
iron staircase in the mansion of
the new millionaire, the
blacksmith was responsible for
all of it.
Over time, blacksmiths
experimented with iron and
other metals in their search for a
more durable metal. The
hardening and tempering
processes were invented. They
also learned different ways to
modify the carbon content of
the iron, thus allowing iron to
be used for even more purposes.
A blacksmith needed so many
different tools with differing
hardness that he was always
trying to improve the properties
of available iron; punches
needed to be hard but not
brittle, knives needed to hold an
edge but not be so hard that it
took too long to sharpen them.
All of this led to the
development of the tool steels
and alloyed metals that we have
today. Blacksmithing prospered
until the Industrial Age made
small enterprises all but
obsolete. The railroads had
linked the country. Hardware
was manufactured at plants and
sold in hardware stores for the
most part.
I do know that there was a
blacksmith shop in Lovelock,
Nevada in business in the
1950’s. I remember that
“Smitty” was able to repair the
metal rims on the horse drawn
wooden cart that my mother
drove around town; he also put
the shoes on the old grey mare,
Snowball.
Join the
Tonopah Historic Mining Park
Individual …………………….$20
Family ………………………….$25
Business……………………….$50
(Individual)
Life………………….………….$250
(Family/Business)
Life…………………………..…$350
(Individual/Family Life)
Benefactor……………….$1000
(Business Life)
Benefactor…………..….$1500
----------------------------------
Name_____________________
Address___________________
City ______________________
State_____ Zip _____________
E-mail
Address___________________
Mail your Membership to
Tonopah Historic Mining Park,
PO Box 965, Tonopah, NV 89049
Elements of Mining
Courtesy of
Corporation.
Barrick
Gold
Adit: A tunnel driven into the
side of a mountain to access a
mineral deposit.
Assay:
sample.
Testing of a rock
Base Metal: Metals such as
Lead, zinc and copper.
Bedrock:
The solid rock,
comprising the crust of the
earth
upon
which
lies
overburden in the form of soil,
pebbles, gravels, water, etc.
Beneficiate: The treating of
ore which results in a more
concentrated form of the
product.
Claim: a normal claim is an area
of land or water approximately
40 acres in size which carries
the mineral rights and must be
recorded in a government claim
recording office.
Concentrate: The treating of
ore in a mill to remove much of
the waste prior to shipment to
the smelter.
Core: The resulting test sample
from a diamond drill.
10
Crosscut:
A
horizontal
underground tunnel driven
from a shaft or drift toward an
orebody or vein and cut across
the direction of the orebody.
Depletion: When an orebody is
mined, it is depleted.
Dilution: The lowering of the
grade of an orebody being
mined by the addition of lower
grade or waste rock to the mill
feed.
Drift:
A
horizontal
underground opening driven
alongside or through an
orebody to gain access to the
deposit.
Drill: There are various types
of drills for exploration such as
a diamond drill or reverse
circulation drill. Other types of
drills are used for the mining
process which do not produce a
core, but are used to make
circular holes in the rock which
are filled with explosives.
Fault: A crack or break in the
bedrock of the earth where one
side has slipped in relation to
the other.
Flotation: A separation process
used in milling ore in which the
valuable minerals cling to
bubbles and float to the surface
while others sink.
Glory Hole: A colloquial term
for a pit or large hole made
from surface to mine a mineral
deposit.
Grab Sample: A randomly
selected sample of rock to be
assayed. A grab sample will not
give a realistic picture of the
value of a deposit, only an
indication.
Grade: The value of a
mineralized deposit. Precious
metals are usually expressed as
ounces per ton or tone. Base
metals are expressed as a
percent.
Level: An underground mining
term denoting a horizontal
tunnel leading away from the
shaft. Levels are usually at
regular intervals of depth.
Matte: The metal-bearing
product from the smeller which
is sent to the refinery.
Mill:
The
plant
which
concentrates the raw ore by
separating the waste from the
valuable metals. Concentrate
from the mill is sent to the
smelter.
expressed as a percentage per
tone of ore treated.
containers for bringing up ore
or waste.
Muck: A slang term for broken
rock or ore.
Refining: The final purification
process of a metal or mineral.
Outcrop: Bedrock which is
exposed on the surface of the
earth.
Reserves: Tonnes of ore in
place- the measurement of the
size of a mineral deposit. Ore is
usually classified in one of
three categories:
Smelting: The partial recovery
of metal from processed ore.
The latter will have been
treated and concentrated at a
mill, but smelting is required to
actually recover the metal
content and convert it to a
form that is ready for refining.
Overburden: The sand, gravel,
soil, swamp, water, etc., which
lies on top of the bedrock.
Pilot Plant: A small-scale mill
set up on the mine property to
test recovery techniques before
building a large mill.
Placer: A deposit of gold or
other metals which are
contained in a sand or gravel
bar in a river or beach.
Precambrian Shield: A Ushaped
area
surrounding
Hudson Bay consisting of older
rocks of the Precambrian age.
The Shield contains many areas
of mineralization, some of
which have become producing
mines.
Prospect: a geology favorable
area for minerals to occur.
Raise: An underground tunnel
that has been driven upwards,
either at an incline or vertically.
Recovery: The amount of
mineral in ore that is separated
and recovered in a mill usually
Proven Ore: (Also known as
blocked out, measured and
positive ore) – developed by
underground work or definitive
drilling from the surface (for a
pit); usually blocked out on at
least two or three sides by
drifts and raises in the ore
body.
Probable or Indicated Ore:
Outlines by diamond drilling
and development on one side
only, but not confirmed by full
development work.
Possible or Inferred Ore:
Inferred
from
geological
projection and more general
exploration drilling.
Shaft:
An
opening
cut
downward from the surface for
transporting
personnel,
equipment, supplies, ore and
waste. It is also used for
ventilation and as an auxiliary
exit. It is often equipped with a
surface hoist system which
lowers and raises a cage in the
shaft as well as “skips” or
Staking: The measuring of an
area and marking with stakes or
posts to establish and acquire
mineral rights.
Stope:
A
mining
area
established on an underground
level where ore is blasted and
broken.
Tailings:
Waste
material
from a mineral-process mill.
Vein: An opening, fissure, or
crack in rock containing
mineralized material.
Vent Shaft: An opening cut
downward for circulating fresh
air throughout the mine
workings.
Winze: A vertical or inclined
internal shaft sunk from one
level to another in a mine.
Special thanks to Mariah Rivero and
Heather Ingalls for their help with this
issue of Tailings. Photo credits to
Teresa Madsen and Marti Barth.
Mimi Rodden, Editor
11
NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS:
TONOPAH HISTORIC MINING PARK
PHYSICAL ADDRESS - 110 BURRO, TONOPAH, NV 89049
MAILING ADDRESS - PO BOX 965, TONOPAH, NV 89049
WWW.TONOPAHHISTORICMININGPARK.COM
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seminar in Tonopah with a
reception and dinner at the
Mizpah Hoist House. The Nevada
State Mining Championships are
held annually in May on Jim Butler
Days. A Halloween Spooktacular
Event was a regional happening
enjoyed by all.
Noted local
photographer, Jim Galli held
photography classes. The Nevada
State Mining Association hosted
their Earth Science Education
Teacher’s Workshop.
The park has been nominated for
several years as the Best Rural
closely with many state and
private organizations in order to
tell the story of the history of
mining in the west. Tonopah
Historic Mining Park serves as
an example of mining heritage,
Museum in Nevada.
THMP
continues to go through a series of
improvements and changes to
make it a challenging and
educational experience for all.
The park is a private development,
not associated with any state
agency.
We
enjoy
our
independence and yet work
economic development and a
place for cultural tourism. With
visitors and members representing
the national and international
market the park is becoming a
museum worthy of serious
recognition.
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