Lost Mine Trek, 2004

Lost Mine Trek, 2004

Mica Cut

In 1930, R.J. Sampson of the California Division of Mines visited Wheeler’s mine, and left an interesting report:

“The property at present may be reached on horseback over a rough and in places, precipitous trail from Chihuahua Valley, which is some 12 miles northwest of the claims. It is stated however that there is an old road at the foot of the mountain below the mill site which leads into Temecula, some 30 miles northwest. This will eventually form the outlet from the property.

“The country rock of the entire district is granitic. In this granite there are numerous pegmatite dikes, out of which, in places, the mica, feldspar and quartz have crystallized into lenses which are more or less distinct from each other, at least, to depth which have now been attained.

“In this particular area the surface is completely covered by a thick growth of brush which makes it difficult to distinguish outcrops....

“At the present time, the low price paid for feldspar and silica, and the inaccessibility of the region make these deposits of little commercial value. The greater value per ton of the mica, however, offsets the disadvantages of its location, to such an extent that it would appear to have good possibilities for profitable exploitation.

“On the Carlsbad claims, two principal dikes or zones have been partially prospected. ... An open cut on the first one of these dikes exposes a width of some 30 feet. ... The average space between individual [mica] seams probably does not exceed four inches and the thickness varies from a fraction of an inch to about four inches. To date only two small books have been found. They were approximately 6x4 inches thick but the smaller flakes also occur in book form.

“The open cut here is about 80 feet long across the formation by ten feet wide and from five to 15 feet deep.

“In a canyon some 1,000 feet northwest of this open cut and about 250 below it, is a prominent outcrop of feldspar and quartz....

“On the dike ... a shaft 25 feet deep has been sunk in the granite wall near the face of an open cut which is 30 feet long and about seven feet wide and up to nine feet deep. The occurrences of mica here are similar to that described above. Some quartz crystals have been taken from these workings but no sales have yet been made….

“The mill site is reached by one and one quarter miles of rough trail. The stream on which it is located appeared at the time of our visit (Oct. 24, 1930) to be flowing at the rate of from 100 to 150 gallons per minute.

“The owner plans to erect a plant here, transporting the mica by burros to the mill. After treatment, he expects to drop it down the mountain in a chute to the old road mentioned above.

“He estimates that by working in some six different places he can produce about one ton per day.”

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