The Plomosa Mining Claim is a relatively well-developed property located on the western slope of the south end of the Plomosa Mountain Range. The mine is not documented by any official sources. Gold Rush Expeditions, Inc. expended tremendous effort to locate information regarding the property, that information is contained in the GRMP-43 Report.

The Mines are located in the southwest quadrant of the Plomosa Mining District, near the head of a short canyon just below a local feature known as “Dripping Spring”. There is a substantial amount of development on the property, this relative to other properties in the area.

The Mine is known to be primarily a gold deposit, which was further confirmed by surveyors who reported small flakes of gold with no visible sulfides in the ore dumps.

There was no evidence of any recent work or development on or around the claims. It is estimated that the mining claim may have been unworked since before the 1940 War Act shut them down.

There is very little known about the mines and some small-scale rehabilitation will be required to safely access the workings and explore the deposits.

Easy 4WD Access located just outside of Quatzite Arizona

The Plomosa Mining Claim is reached from a long but relatively flat dirt road directly out of Quartzsite. The road runs roughly 9.2 Miles before a short spur which leads up a short canyon to the Plomosa Mine.

The mining claim consists of a series of small cuts along an upraise that is a part of the Plomosa Mountain Range. The largest of the cuts is on a vertical quartz lode that outcrops on the edge of a ridge. On this outcrop, a shaft was cut that is estimated to be 80’ deep. There are two drift levels that can be seen from the collar of the shaft. There is a good amount of workings estimated by the discarded quartz rock and the evidence of large machinery and water and air lines being utilized.

There are foundations of a winch near the edge of the shaft and a concrete footing for a boiler farther back from the shaft, cut into the side of the hill.
It is apparent that the old miners worked down directly on the quartz body and then drove drifting, likely on exposed ores on several levels in the workings. The workings are not accessible due to their location in the shaft but are open and accessible.

The waste dumps give the largest indicator of the mine workings and development. There is an estimated 30-50k tons of waste dump around the shaft. The waste dump shows granordite type host rock, with broken quartz and some blue coloration indicating small presence of copper. The most interesting aspects of the dumps are above the shaft, where it is assumed the ores were hand sorted. There are broken chunks of quartz, about the size of a fist, indicating there was some rudimentary crushing being done. Some of these quartz chunks show small flakes of native gold, which is a good indicator of the actual ores that were being extracted and developed.

There are other short walls built up in the wash below the mine and most interesting is a small furnace of sorts that is built into a hard rock section just above the water line of the old river. It is assumed this was being used for smelting out the final product that had been crushed and or roasted out of the harder quartz lode.

Contact Gold Rush Expeditions for a GRMP-43 report that details the geology of the mineral property

Contact Gold Rush Expeditions for a GRMP-43 report that details the history of the mineral property

Rare mining claim near Quartzite Arizona. Flake gold seen in hand sorted piles. Contact Jason with any questions or for more information regarding the mineral property