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Home > California > CA - Quarry Links & Photographs > Inyo County
Inyo County Mines and Mineral Resources (circa 1915-1916) - Excerpts from Report XV of the State Mineralogist, Mines and Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist's Report Biennial Period 1915-1916, Part I. Alpine County, Inyo County, Mono County, California State Mining Bureau, 1919, pp. 28-134. (Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
Introduction.
"The field work for this report was carried on during the months of March and April of the year 1916. The expedition made use of a light automobile, which proved a very rapid and efficient instrument for covering the great wastes of desert gravel and sand, as well as the steep mountain roads."
Location and Description (of Inyo County)
"Inyo County lies along the eastern border of California and is bounded on the north and south by Mono and San Bernardino counties respectively. The western boundary extends to the Sierran divide. The county has an area of 10,224 square miles, being the second largest county in California. Independence is the county seat, while Bishop, with about 2000 inhabitants at present (circa 1915-1916), is the center of the population. Since the great increase in mining activity during the last year the population has increased considerably, so that at present there is probably an average of one inhabitant to each square mile of territory. Within the borders of the county are both the highest point and the lowest point in the United States. Mount Whitney has an elevation of 14,501 feet, while the lowest point in Death Valley, at Salt Flat, is 280 feet below sea level."
Hints for Travelers in Machines (in Inyo County circa 1916)
"Since so much prospecting is now being done in automobiles (circa 1915-1916), it is deemed fitting to include a few suggestions which may be of help in desert regions.
"The best months for traveling in eastern Inyo County are from March to June, inclusive. During the summer months the heat is intense, water scarce and the sands dry and loose. The winter months are very cold and storms sudden and severe, but the sands are often moist, or west, and hard. When traveling, even in a light machine, one should have a helper, and carry extra water, gasoline, oil, castings and inner tubes. For the tool kit, a small shovel and set of differential pulleys, such as the 'Pull-U-Out,' is often a 'life-saver' when attached to a 'deadman' or plant 2"x6"x6' long, buried in a trench 2 feet deep. For deep sand or gravel, soft or deflated tires often enable the machine to pull through, or twigs of brush laid across the sand to corduroy the road are often essential. When the machine is stuck in the sand, it may be cranked out, if the spark plugs are removed to relieve the cylinder compression, and the low gear used...."
Railroads (in Inyo County)
"As yet Inyo County is only partially served by railroads (circa 1915-1916). The Southern Pacific Company has a broad-gauge line from Mojave to Owenyo, where it connects with their narrow-gauge line from Keeler to Tonopah Junction, Nevada...."
Economic Geology (in Inyo County)
"During the year 1915, the following minerals were being produced in Inyo County: antimony, borax, copper, dolomite, gold, gypsum, lead, marble, pumice, silver, zinc, salt, soda, talc, and tungsten. Deposits of iron, molybdenum, niter, potash, quicksilver, and silica also occur but have not as yet been developed...."
Economic Conditions
Transportation (in Inyo County)
Mines located in the region of Owens and Amargosa valleys are easily accessible from the Southern Pacific and Tonopah and Tidewater railroads. Roads and trails make the interior of the county accessible, but hauling is difficult because of steep grades and deep sands."
Power (in Inyo County)
"Electric power, generated in the Sierras west of Bishop, is available in the northern and western parts of the county. The eastern, southeastern and central portions of the county are dependent on internal combustion engines, and these are often prohibitive because of high freight rates...."
The table* after page 56 states that the totals for stone products were: (1) Soapstone: 3,953 tons, $25,710, and (2) Marble: 78,400 cubic feet, $219,300. The combined Total for all minerals for the 1880-1915 period was $23,039,146. Soapstone statistics began in 1912, and statistics for marble began in 1894.
(* Inyo County - Table of Mineral Production (by year) 1880-1915. This table will not be presented in this document.)
Marble (in Inyo County)
"The marble deposits of Inyo County occur on the southwestern flank of the Inyo Range and extend for about 6 miles northeastward from Swansea station. The mountain range here consists of folded and faulted sediments of Carboniferous and Triassic age, altered by regional metamorphism to slates, quartzites and marbles, intruded by occasional basic dikes. The marble outcropping along the base of this range shows a thickness of at least 500 feet. The beds are tilted at a high angle, dipping northwestward into the mountain. They are fractured and faulted, so that the marble is considerably shattered at the surface. The marble is dolomitic, generally fine-grained, hard, and very resistant to weathering, as indicated by the sharp corners and fresh surfaces of the talus blocks. Three varieties are found, a pure white marble, a beautiful yellow marble and a variegated marble of white ground mass, penetrated by dendritic markings of manganese. The white marble is the one upon which most of the quarrying has been done. This takes a beautiful polish, as is exemplified by its use in the Mills Building, of San Francisco.
"These deposits were first quarried in 1888 by the original Inyo Marble Company, of San Francisco, of which M. J. McDonald was president. The quarries lay idle for a number of years due to the shattered condition of the marble and the expense in obtaining large blocks. Assessment work was not kept up and the claims were relocated by the present owners, now known also as the Inyo Marble Company."
Area: 10,019 square miles.
Population: 7,031 (1920 census).
Location: Lies on eastern border of state, north of San Bernardino County."Inyo, the second largest county in the state, and containing less than one inhabitant per square mile, is extremely interesting from a mineralogical point of view. It is noted because of the fact that within its borders are located both the highest point, Mount Whitney (elevation 14,502 feet), and the lowest point, Death Valley (elevation 290 feet below sea level), in the United States. In the higher mountainous sections are found many vein-forming minerals, and in the lake beds of Death Valley saline deposits exist.
"Inyo's mineral production during the year 1919 reached a value of $2,674,835, standing twelfth among the counties of the state in this respect. The 1918 value was $5,177,676, the decrease being due mainly to lead, silver and tungsten. Its mineral resources include antimony, asbestos, barytes, borax, copper, gems, gold, gypsum, lead, marble, molybdenum, mineral water, nitre, pumice, quicksilver, salt, silver, soda, sulphur, talc, tungsten, and zinc.
"Commercial production for 1919 was as follows:"
(Headings for the information below are: Substance, Amount, and Value.)
Copper, 169,713 lbs., $31,567
Gold, ---, $90,000 (estimated)
Lead, 3,643,485 lbs., $193,105
Limestone, 2,360 tons, $12,000
Silver, ---, $156,000 (estimated)
Stone, miscellaneous, ---, $7,850
Zinc, 1,192,353 lbs., $87,042
Other minerals,* ---, $2,097,271
(Total value) $2,674,835(* Includes borax, dolomite, marble, pumice, salt, soda, talc, and tungsten.)
| Inyo County, 1916 Map, from California Mineral Production for 1919 (with County Maps), Bulletin No. 88, by Walter W. Bradley, California State Mining Bureau, San Francisco: California State Printing Office, 1920, pp. 193. |  |
Inyo County Limestone Industry and Deposits (through 1947) - Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. (Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Limestone and dolomite occur abundantly in Inyo County, but so far their commercial utilization has been limited. One area is immediately east of Shoshone, in the southeast corner of the county. Although the sections here indicate thousands of feet in thickness of limestone and dolomite (Hazzard, J. C. 37a),* there is no production of either from the district. This area, which is small in comparison with others further north and west in the county, is about 30 miles long. An area extending over 50 miles northward from the vicinity of the Inyo Marble Company deposit near Swansea at the north end of Owens Lake, contains large quantities of limestone and dolomite ranging in age from Cambrian through Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous, into the Triassic. This region ranges in elevation from 4000 to over 10,000 feet and is served by a narrow-gauge railroad running from Keeler northward to Laws along the east side of Owens Valley within a few miles by road from much of this limestone. At Owenyo, 10 miles north of Owens Lake, this railroad connects with the Southern Pacific broad-gauge railroad running south to Mohave. Such shipments of limestone and dolomite as have been recorded during the past 20 years have come from Zurich and Cartago in this region. However, the limestone here has been of more interest commercially as the site of lead-silver ores, for example, occur in Devonian limestone which has been intruded by monzonite porphyry, diabase, and quartz diorite porphyry, according to W. B. Tucker and R. J. Sampson (38, p. 432).**
(*John C. Hazzard, "Paleozoic Section in the Nopah and Resting Springs Mountains, Inyo County, California," California Division of Mines Report 33, pp. 289-339, 1937.)
(**W. Burling Tucker and R. J. Sampson, Los Angles Field Division, "Mineral Resources of Inyo County," California Division of Mines Report 34, pp. 368-500, 1938.)
"Other extensive areas where limestone is plentiful and is important as a wall rock for lead-silver ores include the Darwin district, where Pennsylvanian limestone occurs; the Panamint district, where different ages of Paleozoic limestone and dolomite marble of varying degrees of purity are found, and several other mountain ranges. Only the first two districts are near enough to railroads to be considered now as possible commercial sources of limestone and dolomite.
"The latest published geologic work on the region is that of Richard G. Hopper (47). His section was taken across the south half of Inyo County. The article summarizes previous information on the limestones and dolomites and adds new details all tending to emphasize the tremendous volume of such rocks in the region."
(* Please note this list does not include sand or gravel quarries.)
Ballarat (southeast of), Inyo County, California - Doodlebug and Dolomite Groups (Marble/Dolomite) (Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Doodlebug and Dolomite groups of claims are in the South Park district 30 miles east of north from Trona and about 8 miles southeast of Ballarat. The owners are Ernest A. Slafter, Box 362, Trona; F. Zerby, Wilbur Harrison, and Harry Willey. Doodlebug group comprises 11 claims and Dolomite group 18 claims, a total of about 600 acres. The elevation is from 4000 to 5000. Up to 50 gallons of water per minute is said to be available.
"Slafter has been prospecting a seam of lead and silver ore on Doodlebug Nos. 1 and 2 claims. Equipment in 1945 consisted of an air compressor and drills, and a tramway was being installed. These claims are probably examples of many others that have been located primarily for metals, but which contain immense quantities of limestone or dolomite. This property has not been visited by the writer, and the geology has not been mapped in detail. The owner claims there are several hundred million tons of dolomite with few intrusions and no overburden; much of it is marble. The report MgCO3 content is 45 to 45.32 percent."
Big Pine (west of), Inyo County, California - Blue Star Mines, Limited (Limestone/Talc) (Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Blue Star Mines, Limited, Room 510, 810 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, has been producer of limestone since 1938. The limestone is mined in connection with their talc-mining operations from their claims on Blue Pine Creek, 9 miles west of Big Pine.
"Talc occurs in masses in serpentine or on the contact of serpentine and crystalline limestone. The limestone is quarried nearby, lowered on a tram down the mountainside to a bin and hauled 11 miles in trucks to the grinding plant at Zurich on the railroad."
Cerro Gordo, Inyo County, California - Cerro Gordo Deposit (Limestone) (Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Cerro Gordo Deposit. For some time about 1926, limestone was produced from underground workings of the Cerro Gordo lead-silver mine, 8 miles east of Keeler, and was sent over a tramway to Keeler for railroad shipment to the plants of Natural Soda Products Company, 2 miles south of Keeler and to Clark Chemical Company, then at Bartlett, near the north end of the lake on the west side. Limestone and dolomite have been used to generate CO2 gas for making sodium carbonate from the desert lake deposits in Owens Lake and Serles Lake."
Inyo Mountain Range, Inyo County, California - the Inyo Marble Company Quarries (From The Structural and Industrial Materials of California, Bulletin No. 38, California, State Mining Bureau, San Francisco, California, 1906.)
"Inyo Marble Company; M. J. McDonald, Mills Building, San Francisco, president. The quarries are situated at the base of the Inyo range, between Keeler and Lone Pine. They are scattered along the base of the range for several miles, but the point at which most of the work has been done is about 5 miles north of Keeler. The marble from these quarries is a dolomite, is generally fine-grained and quite hard, takes a good polish, and is a durable and handsome stone. A specimen of the pure white dolomite was analyzed, with the following results: carbonate of lime, 54.25 per cent; carbonate of magnesia, 44.45 per cent; iron and silica (clay), 0.60 per cent. A little south of the original quarry face a bed of fancy and variegated marble was opened. It is mottled (white, yellow, gray, and black), and is penetrated by beautiful dendritic markings of manganese. The white quarries furnish any desired size of blocks; pieces of from 15 to 18 tons weight have been obtained. There is a quarry of beautiful yellow marble about half a mile north of the main workings. A deposit of black marble is utilized for floor tilings. The company ships the rough-dressed marble to its mills on the Truckee River, 18 miles west of Reno, where it is sawed and dressed ready for shipment. This company furnished the stone for the Mills Building, both inside and out, and many other buildings in San Francisco."
"Inyo Marble Company, D. H. Dunn et al., of Los Angeles, have filed locations on twenty-four 160-acre claims, along the total length of the marble outcrops, including the property of the old Inyo Marble Company. A spur track of the California and Nevada Railroad runs to the quarry. Water for working purposes is obtained from artesian wells. There are three openings along the outcrop, the largest and most important of which produces the white marble. When visited, large talus blocks of this white marble were being hand broken and shipped 7 miles south to the plant of the Natural Soda Products Company for generating carbon dioxide. (See Dolomite.) A number of large blocks of the white marble were lying at the base of the quarry, ready for shipment, but no further work was being done.
Bibl.: Rept. X, 215; Rept. XII, 392; Rept. XIII, 628; Bull. 50, pp. 99, 100; Mining and Sci. Press, July 20, 1912.
| Photo No. 74. Marble Quarry of the Inyo Marble Co., north of Keeler. |  |
"Inyo Marble Company's deposits have been described in many Division of Mines reports since 1888, when the original company of this name began work. The marble is found on the southwest side of the Inyo Range from just east of Swansea on the narrow-gauge Nevada & California Railroad on the northeast side of Owens Lake, northwestward for several miles, rising steeply on the northeast from an elevation of 3700 feet. The railroad runs along the east side of the valley within less than 1 mile of the deposit for the entire distance.
"Work by the original Inyo Marble Company began in 1888. Near the surface the marble was found to be shattered, but later work made it possible to take out blocks weighing from 15 to 18 tons each. The early work was on a dense, white marble, about 3 miles northwest of Swansea. A little south of this a bed of white, yellow, gray, and black marble was found. About half a mile north, a quarry was opened in yellow marble, and a quarry of black marble, used for floor tiling was also worked. Marble production in Inyo County was recorded in Division of Mines reports from 1894-98; from 1903-07 inclusive, and in 1913-14. The total for these periods was 78,400 cubic feet valued at $219,300, all believed to have come from this property. Later production of marble in the county continued irregularly until 1930, but details are concealed. During the early periods of production at least up to 1908, the rough marble was shipped north over the railroad to Truckee where the old company had a marble sawing and dressing plant. The marble was used in the Mills Building and others in San Francisco.
"Sometime later, prior to 1916, the claims were idle and were allowed to lapse. They were relocated by the present owners who also took the name Inyo Marble Company. They filed on 24 association claims of 160 acres each. Of these, they have obtained patents for 320 acres in sections 10 and 11, 120 acres in section 24, and 40 acres in section 25, all in T. 16 S., R. 37 E., M. D.; also 200 acres in section 19 and 120 acres in section 30, both in T. 16 S., R. 38 E., M. D.
"Most of the marble production here has been white dolomite, fine grained and dense. W. A. Goodyear who wrote of the deposit in 1890 (see De Groot, H. 90, pp. 215-218)* considered that it had possibilities as statuary marble because of its uniform white color and texture where opened 200 feet above the foot of the mountain. Analysis made in 1890 by the State Mining Bureau showed 54.25 percent CaCO3, 44.45 percent MgCO3 and 0.60 percent iron and silica, indicating a nearly pure dolomite.
(* H. De Groot, "Inyo County," California Mining Bureau Report 10, pp. 209-218, 1890.)
"From 1915 until recently (circa 1947), dolomite has been produced and sold to soda plants around Owens Lake, and some has been shipped to Los Angeles for use in steel furnace lining and flux, and for stucco dash and terrazo. Due to expiration of patent rights to another process for making sodium carbonates, firms that formerly used dolomite and limestone to produce CO2 gas for carbonation are said to have been turning to the use of the formerly restricted process, and are no longer burning limes. The quarry that served these plants reached a length of 1000 feet or more, and employed 35 men 20 years ago. At that time, considerable work was also done on the Golden Yellow quarry. This marble is golden yellow, brown, and white. It was exposed for a distance of 150 feet and a height of 200 feet. Six quarries in all were opened. Besides an air compressor and crushing plant, the main (Alco) quarry was equipped with derricks and marble saws."
Inyo County, California - Inyo Pit and Mill (Limestone) (active ca 1996) (active ca 1996) (From Mines and Mineral Producers Active in California (1994-1995), Special Publication 103 (Revised 1996), California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology, in cooperation with California Department of Conservation, Office of Mine Reclamation. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
Mine name: Inyo Pit & Mill; Operator: F. W. Aggregates, Inc.; Address & County: P.O. Box 732, Lone Pine, CA 93545, Inyo County; Phone: (619) 876-4410; Latitude: 36.57, Longitude: -117.96, and Mine location number: Map No. 195; Mineral commodity: Limestone.
Inyo County, California - Panamint Valley Limestone (Limestone) (active ca 1996) (From Mines and Mineral Producers Active in California (1994-1995), Special Publication 103 (Revised 1996), California Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology, in cooperation with California Department of Conservation, Office of Mine Reclamation. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
Mine name: Panamint Valley Limestone; Operator: Intermountain Mine Services; Address & County: P.O. Box 66, Trona, CA 93592, Inyo County; Phone: (619) 372-2113; Latitude: 36.16, Longitude: -117.41, and Mine location number: Map No. 203; Mineral commodity: Limestone.
Keeler District (north of), Inyo County, California - Badgley Quarry (Marble/Dolomite) (Excerpts from Report XV of the State Mineralogist, Mines and Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist's Report Biennial Period 1915-1916, Part I. Alpine County, Inyo County, Mono County, California State Mining Bureau, pp. 5-175. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Badgley Quarry, Swansea (Keeler) district. Four miles north of Keeler, at the western base of the Inyo Mountains. Eighty acres patented, formerly owned by the original Inyo Marble Company (See Inyo Marble Co.). The marble beds here are folded and shattered. Quarried for use as dolomite. Hand drilling; one man employed. Spur track of the California and Nevada railroad to quarry. Approximately forty tons of dolomite per week are shipped to the California Iron and Steel Company at Los Angeles, Cal. Owned by W. O. Badgley, Monadnock Bldg., San Francisco, Cal."
Keeler (north of), Inyo County, California - Badgley Quarry (Marble/Dolomite) (Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Badgley quarry, about 4 miles north of Keeler in sec. 24 (?), T. 16 S., R. 37 E., M.D. was worked about 1915-16. About 40 tons of dolomite was shipped weekly to the California Iron & Steel Company, Los Angeles. The dolomite here is shattered and only one man was employed to break up the blocks. This was part of the old Inyo Marble Company holdings and contained 80 acres, patented. A spur track from the narrow-gauge California & Nevada Railroad served the quarry. Present ownership is not known, but may be part of Inyo Marble Company."
Keeler, Inyo County, California - Natural Soda Products Company (shipped and processed dolomite) (Excerpt from Report XV of the State Mineralogist, Mines and Mineral Resources of Portions of California, Chapters of State Mineralogist's Report Biennial Period 1915-1916, Part I. Alpine County, Inyo County, Mono County, California State Mining Bureau, pp. 5-175. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Natural Soda Products Company, of Keeler, are shipping about 20 tons daily of the pure white dolomite from the quarries of the Inyo Marble Company to their soda plant south of Keeler. Seven men employed at $3.00 per day. The dolomite is used for generating carbon dioxide...."
Laws (northeast of), Inyo County, California - Rogers Limestone Deposit (Limestone) (Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Rogers limestone deposit is 7 miles northeast of Laws, in Silver Canyon on the west side of the White Mountains. This quarry produced high-calcium limestone which was hauled by truck to the narrow-gauge railroad and shipped to soda plants on Owens Lake for production of CO2 gas used in carbonation. No recent activity has been reported."
"A soft volcanic tuff occurs in Sec. 14, T. 6 S., R. 32 E., M. D. M.; A. M. Strong et al., Bishop, owners; 6 miles from Laws, on the Carson and Colorado Railroad. It has been used for building purposes in Bishop and Independence."
Owens Lake (the south end of), Inyo County, California - Cartago Company (Limestone/Dolomite) (Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"Cartago Company, 8317 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, has at Cartago a dump of dolomite and quicklime and air-slacked lime made from limestone which was burned some years ago to produce CO2 gas for use in alkali works. According to J. C. Fryer of Cartago Company, some sales have been made for metallurgical use at mines in Inyo County, as well as for other purposes. The dump contains 50,000 to 75,000 tons. Cartago is a railroad point near the south end of Owens Lake. Inyo Chemical Company formerly operated a plant there for making sodium carbonates."
"Inyo Chemical Company shipped lime from Cartago in 1927-31. The company was one of those engaged in making soda ash and sodium bicarbonate from the Owens Lake deposits, and the lime remained from limestone or dolomite which has been burned to obtain CO2 gas for use in carbonation."
Trona (northeast of), Inyo County, California - West End Chemical Company (Dolomitic Limestone) (Excerpt from "Limestone in California," by Clarence A. Logan, California Journal of Mines and Geology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 1947, California Division of Mines, San Francisco, California, pp. 175-357. Used with permission, California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey.)
"West End Chemical Company, Trona, has operated a quarry on a deposit of dolomitic limestone in the Slate Range, Inyo County, 12 miles northeast of Trona. The stone has been hauled in trucks to the company's plant on Searles Lake and burned to furnish CO2 gas for use in making sodium bicarbonate and soda ash."
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