Both mines are located on a tributary of the Salmon River in Siskiyou County, Calif, not far from the “town” of Sawyers Bar. The main tunnel is approximately 1100’ long. There are 4 areas where extensive mining was done, including the main stope where the vein was said to be Ribboned with gold, and several more with lesser excavations, plus the tailings at the mill site.

A detailed description of each is available by e-mail, as well as past production records and an extensive history.

The Lanky Bob is listed in mining reports as far back as the early 1900’s. Estimates of production in those early days vary, but the most reliable figure seems to be the report of 3000 oz. taken between 1927 and 1933, 6 years, or an average of 500oz. per year. If you apply that figure to production from about 1880 to 1927 that would be 46 years X 500 oz. = 23,000 oz. With the 3000 oz. from 1927 to 1933, and the production from them until Roosevelt closed all the mines in 1942, or about 4500 oz, the total is over $82 million in gold taken before the mine was closed, at 5/8 /21 closing price of $1838 per oz. As for remaining gold, the distance from the tunnel to the mill site is about equal to the distance to the cut above, so remaining gold should equal prior production (82 million), plus all the ore in both domes. Add to this the compressor pool which was only worked for 24 feet before all the mines were closed, plus the value of the tailings, and a conservative estimate would be an additional 15 to 20 million. Sinking on the pay chute below the mill site should add substantially, for a total of over $100 million reserves, at the current price of gold. That’s probably the top, but even at half there is a lot of gold left.

The following is from the 6 page summery of the book about the mine, available by e-mail:

A Pay Chute of Gold, the one said to be “ribboned with gold” (as confirmed to me by Mel, who worked in the mine before it closed, see book page 8), was discovered in a vein of quarts where the dike in which the vein was included crossed the ridgeline (page 7, book). It was first worked in the late 1800’s. A trench was cut across the ridge and the ore on either side of the chute was reported to run $40 per ton (when gold was $20 an ounce ----).
After the easy ore was removed, the miners dropped down the hillside about 75’ and dug a tunnel along the vein to the pay chute and then stoped up to the cut above.

Next, they again dropped down-mountain about 200’ and ran a new tunnel to the pay chute and again stoped up to the tunnel above, taking the ore down to the mill in ore cars rigged so that the descending car pulled the empty one up. This tunnel was said to be as much as 900’ long, and is the tunnel in the pictures that follow. E-mail jimwerhart@gmail.com or phone 707-653-3218