Nashville Mine (Havilah claim; East Havilah claim; Northeast Nashville claim; Tennessee-Nashville), Nashville (Quartzburg), Nashville Mining District, El Dorado County, California, USAi

Regional Level Types
Nashville Mine (Havilah claim; East Havilah claim; Northeast Nashville claim; Tennessee-Nashville)	Mine
Nashville (Quartzburg)	Unincorporated Community
Nashville Mining District	Mining District
El Dorado County	County
California	State
USA	Country

A former lode Au-Ag mine located in the SW¼NE¼ sec. 2, T8N, R10E, MDM, 0.4 km (0.2 mile) E of Nashville, on the E side of the North Fork Cosumnes River, on private land. The claim was 14 acres. Owned by Daisy Hayward (1938). Operated during the periods 1851, 1868 to 1871, in the 1880's, 1894, 1903 to 1906 & 1934 to 1936. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 1,000 meters. Placed in the NE¼NW¼ of the section Pl. II This mine is connected with the Moctezuma workings to the N and worked with it after 1904.

The Nashville Mine is located in the famous Mother Lode Gold Belt of the Sierra Nevada foothills. It lies in southwestern El Dorado County about 2 miles north of Amador County, and just east of Highway 49. Having first been worked in 1851, and intermittently worked until its closure in 1936, it is said to be the earliest quartz lode mine to be worked in El Dorado County. However, surprisingly little specific information on the mine is available. Clark (1970) reported the Nashville Mine produced about $2 million.

The Nashville Mine, comprising three claims (Havilah, East Havilah, and Northeast Nashville claims) was first worked in 1851 and was credited with an output of $150,000 from its shallow workings. Early ore was worked in arrastras (Logan, 1934). The mine is claimed to be the first quartz mine worked in El Dorado County. The first "systematic" work was done in 1868, with the first three years work reportedly having paid for all development work, a $100,000 plant, and paid $50,000 in dividends (Logan, 1934). Litigation closed the mine in 1871, after which a Joshua Hendy took over the mine in 1880. By 1882, he had deepened the shaft to a depth of 642 feet. Ore from the lower 100 feet of the shaft was reportedly averaging $8.50 per ton.

The mine lay idle until 1894 when a 20-stamp mill was erected. Between 1895 and 1896, G.E. Williams and Hendy produced $20,000 from ore mined between the 500 and 600 foot levels. No further work was done until 1903. Between 1903 and 1906, the shaft was deepened to the 1,200 foot level with drifts 500 feet south and 1,285 feet north from the shaft crosscut on that level. The only reported production for this 3 year period is for 1904 (by which time the shaft was 1,000 feet deep), and during which 4,000 tons of ore yielded $15,325. If there was production in 1905 and 1906, the separate figures are not available as the mine was being jointly operated with the Montezuma Mine. No further work was done until 1934, with the exception of milling part of the mine dump. The Montezuma-Apex Mining Company operated the mine from 1934-1936 and the ore was treated at the neighboring Montezuma Mill (Clark and Carlson, 1956). The mine has been idle since 1936.

Nashville District deposits occur in several long north-striking massive quartz veins in black slate of the Mariposa Formation (Clark, 1970). Some veins are up to 25 feet thick. The veins contain large, but low to moderate grade ore bodies (1/7 to 1/4 ounce of gold per ton). Little specific information is available about the geology of the Nashville Mine. The gold quartz vein was reported to strike N 10? E, dip 60? E, and average about 20 feet thick. The ore is free milling with 2% pyrite (Tucker and Waring, 1916).

Mineralization is a vein deposit (Mineral occurrence model information: Model code: 273; USGS model code: 36a; Deposit model name: Low-sulfide Au-quartz vein; Mark3 model number: 27) hosted in Late Jurassic Mariposa slate. The ore body strikes N10E and dips 60SE at a thickness of 6.1 meters. It is tabular in form with erratic ore shoots within fissure-filling mesothermal gold-bearing quartz veins. The vein is 5 to 20 feet thick and is the same vein as in the Moctezuma workings. Ore materials included free-milling quartz ore yielding about 1/7 to 1/4 ounce of Au per ton and carrying 2% auriferous sulfides. Gangue materials include slate, calcite and chlorite. No alteration was described. Local rocks include Jurassic marine rocks, unit 1 (Western Sierra Nevada and Western Klaath Mountains).

Local and regional geologic structures include the Melones Fault Zone.

Workings include underground openings with a length of 609.6 meters and comprised of a 1,200 inclined shaft with levels at every 100 feet. The 1,200 foot level was driven 1,500 feet N onto the Montezuma claim to connect with the neighboring Montezuma Mine. A system of modified shrinkage stoping was used. The last ore from the 1,000 foot level, stope 6 to 15 feet thick and 80 feet long.

Production data are found in: Clark, Wm. B. & D.W. Carlson (1956).

The Nashville Mine produced generally low-moderate grade ore carrying 1/7 to 1/4 ounce of gold per ton in free-milling gold and auriferous pyrite. Clark (1970) reported the Nashville Mine produced about $2 million .

Analytical data results: Contained 2% pyrite. Some ore mined during the 1930's averaged $5 (period values) per ton Au. Ore in 1868-1871 averaged $3 to $15 (period values) per ton Au.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10029843

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References