Golconda Mine - Mohave County
Where: Located in the Cerbat Mountains in Mohave County
Travel Conditions: Rough Dirt Road Requires High Clearance 4WD
Operation Dates: Early 1900's with sporadic operation later and ending around 1957.
Description: Almost the entire production dates from 1908 to 1917, but by far the greatest amount of zinc was produced between 1914 and 1917. In October 1917 a fire destroyed the mill and most of the other surface equipment. Only a few intermittent and very small scale attempts to resume operations have been made since the fire. The main shaft has caved, and most of the other workings are inaccessible owing to caving or flooding. Reliable information on the underground workings is scant. The main shaft is on the Golconda, or Prosperity, vein at an altitude of about 4,375 feet. It is inclined to the northeast and is reported to have reached a depth below the surface of 1,400 feet, following down, or approximately down, the dip of the vein. The mine has 12 levels, and drifts along the vein are commonly about 600 to 1,400 feet long, 1951 roughly the same distance northwest and southeast of the shaft. The 600-foot level, however, extends northwestward from the main shaft along the vein, intersecting the surface at a point about 2,400 feet beyond the shaft. Southeast of the shaft this level is reported to extend for 400 feet. No drifts are reported between the 1,200-foot level and the bottom of the shaft (1,400-foot level). The Golconda vein strikes northwest and dips to the northeast (pi. 18). The angle of dip varies, but it is reported to average about 65° in the underground workings. The vein pinches and swells, ranging in thickness from 2 to 7 feet. On the surface the vein can be traced, chiefly by small prospect pits, for about 4,000 feetr Near its northwest end it splits into several branches, two of which form approximately parallel prongs and have opposing dips. The Oro Plata mine is located on the southwest prong. A branch, about 1,700 feet long, trending in a more northerly direction, is known as the Primrose vein. (Wallapai Mining District - Geological Survey Bulletin 978-E)
Golconda's post office was established December 8, 1909 and discontinued February 28, 1918. The Golconda mine was discovered in the 1860's and worked without a town at the site until John Boyle bought the mine around the turn of the century. Then in 1917, oil in one of the mill's flotation tanks boiled over and started a fire that, together with the drop in the price of lead and zinc, spelled doom for Golconda. Today there are scattered remains in the Cerbat Hills. (Ghosttowns.com)
Mining camp in Cerbat range. "Named for the Golconda rich mine owned by John Boyle Jr. Mill burned and the closing of the mine was the end of the camp." Letter J. R. Livingston, Chloride. P.O. established Dec. 8, 1909, Wm. Pound, Postmaster. (Arizona Place Names)
Total production of teh Golconda mine up to the mill burning in 1917 was reported at $6,500,000 in lead, gold, and silver. The workings are badly caved, and the mine is reported to be filled with water. (Examination of Zin-Lead Mines in teh Wallapai Mining District, Mohave County, Ariz.)
What you will see today: Today you will see old tailings piles and a collapsed mine shaft. There are some old wood structures fallen over and concrete foundations near the mine shaft location. Other small workings near the Golconda mine.
Comments: There is more information out there on the Golconda mine with a little research more details can be obtained.
Minerals Mined: Zinc was the primary mineral mined with Gold, Silver, Lead, and Copper being secondary.
People: R. B. Jordan, well known in Kingman and the mining camps of this county, is reported to have died at Jerome about two weeks ago. His family was with him at the time of his death. Mr. Jordan was employed at the Golconda mine in this county for several years, the closing of the property causing him to remove with his family to Jerome. He was a fine fellow and well liked wherever known. (The Mohave County Miner and Our Mineral Wealth – Saturday December 14, 1918)
Acknowledgement: Arizona Place Names, Ghosttowns.com, and Western Mining History, Examination of Zin-Lead Mines in teh Wallapai Mining District, Mohave County, Ariz.(By P.S. Haury August 1947)