Bonny Mine (Bonnie Mine; Bonnie pit; Bonny claim; Bonny No. 1 claim; Bonny No. 2 claim; Bonny millsites No. 1 & No. 2 claims), Gold Hill, Gold Hill Mining District, Carbonate Mining District, Panamint Mts (Panamint Range), Inyo County, California, USAi
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
36° 0' 52'' North , 116° 54' 55'' West
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Köppen climate type:
Nearest Settlements:
| Place | Population | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Searles Valley | 1,739 (2011) | 51.9km |
Nearest Clubs:
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
Local clubs are the best way to get access to collecting localities
| Club | Location | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Society, Inc. | Trona, California | 50km |
A former talc-soapstone mine located in sec. 18, T22N, R1E, SBM, 5.2 km (3.2 miles) E of Gold Hill (summit), S side of Galena Canyon, eastern slope of the Panamint Range, on National Park Service wilderness land (Death Valley National Park/Death Valley Wilderness). MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 100 meters.
The three adjacent claims comprising the Bonny Mine are located at the mouth of Galena Canyon on the south side of the road, their waste dumps glaringly visible from anywhere below Badwater. The claims were originally owned by Southern California Minerals Company of Los Angeles, whose only mining operations here occurred during 1954 to 1955, yielding approximately 2,300 tons of talc. The area was mined by dozer cuts on the surface and through adits and drifts underground. The Bonny and Bonny #2 lode mining claims were subsequently patented by Pfizer, Inc., on 2 February 1976, and the Bonny #1 claim was acquired by them on 14 February 1966, but is not patented. The Bonny Millsites Nos. 1 and 2 were located on 3 November 1975.
Since 1970 these pit and stripping operations have produced about 30,000 tons of talc from the mine, for a total value of over $1,600,000. Although there is no record of ore production for 1975, the site was being worked by dozers in 1977 and 1978. In January of the latter year Pfizer began implementing its Proposed Plan of Operations by removing waste rock overburden in order to expose additional talc. The mine is currently an open-pit operation that is estimated to produce 9,000 tons annually. Underground development (room and pillar) is proposed to begin near the time of completion of the pit operations (projected at 1981). Twenty-five-ton trucks will be used to haul the ore to the company stockpile and mill at Victorville, California.
Dozers at the Bonny Mine site today (circa 1980) are continuing pit operations and are carving out terraced benches on the ridge at the mouth of Galena Canyon. This work is scheduled to continue until the depth of the ore bodies becomes excessive, necessitating mining by underground methods.(Greene, Linda I. (1981): III.A.13.a)(1)(a & b)
Local rocks include Precambrian rocks, undivided, unit 1 (Death Valley).
Workings include unspecified surface openings (topo map reflects "open pit mine").
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsGallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Talc | 9.EC.05 | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Talc | Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 |
Other Databases
| Link to USGS MRDS: | 10139303 |
|---|
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Basin and Range BasinsBasin
- Mojave DomainDomain
- Southern Basin and RangeWide Rift
USA
- Death Valley National ParkNational Park
- Sierra NevadaMountain Range
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References
(n.d.) Minerals Availability System (MAS), U.S. Bureau of Mines.file ID #0060271249
