There are six lode claims located on the Imperial vein, on all of which
considerable work has been done. Beginning at the east end, the vein
shows itself on the mountain side close down to the desert wash and not
far distant from the basalt flow on this side of the range.
The most easterly claim is called the Sampson, and from it has been
shipped some rich ore, the claim producing the highest grade ore, I am
told, of any mine on the vein. This claim is joined on the westward by
the Morning Star, a deep cañon separating them. From the bottom of this
cañon it is 800 feet to the summit of the mine, 1,500 feet farther west.
The Morning Star Mine has been quite extensively opened by tunnels and
shafts, but for several years past assessment work only has been done,
as the ore which was found was too low grade to make shipping
profitable.
The Meteor, Mammoth Chief, and Desert Queen succeed each other,
respectively, going west. On the Mammoth Chief and Meteor, a great deal
of work has been done; and it is claimed ore was shipped approximating
$40,000 gross value. At any rate the owners have developed their claims
and made a good living at the expense of the ore thus shipped from the
vein. On the Meteor a shaft has been sunk a depth of 100 feet, at the
bottom of which a drift 40 feet in length has been cut along the vein on
an ore shoot which was followed down from the surface. At another point
on this claim a shaft of 65 feet in depth has been sunk in ore. A drift
at the bottom of this shaft is also in ore, 8 feet of which is exposed
and the foot wall not yet reached.
The ore at this point is said to average 30 ounces. I was told that the
average of the ore throughout the mine was about 25 ounces, ranging from
12 to 75 ounces, and occasionally much more. Numerous cuts, shafts, and
drifts, some of them of considerable size, have been made along the vein
on the Meteor and Mammoth Chief for a distance of 800 feet, and although
these workings are not connected they have the appearance of being on
one shoot of ore. One fact is very evident from an examination of the
mine, and it is one of considerable importance. It is, that the ore is
of better grade and occurs in greater quantity in the vicinity of the
felsitic dike, which, though undoubtedly later than the vein itself,
seems to have enriched the ore very materially. The largest shoot of ore
I saw has formed very close to the point of intersection of the felsitic
dike with the main vein. On the Desert Queen a long tunnel and several
crosscuts have exposed ore bodies, some of which contained upwards of
200 ounces silver per ton.
The Imperial lode is one of the most promising veins of which I have any
knowledge, but it requires considerable capital to properly and
systematically open it. The rock is extremely hard, and the lack of wood
and water are drawbacks which prevent the owners from working the mine
as it should be worked. It would be difficult to find a vein offering
greater natural advantages than are found here, excepting as to wood and
water, both of which are obtainable under the usual conditions attending
that problem on the desert. Water can be found in the dry lake 3½ miles
distant by road, and 1,160 feet below the level of the cañons which cut
the vein.
Coal may be delivered at Lavic Station, 5 miles from the lake, for about
$9 or $10 a ton. The difficulties are no greater than at Calico, where
they seem to have been overcome quite easily. Tunnels may be run in on
the vein, getting average backs of about 350 feet above the bottom of
the cañons.
Should ever this great vein be worked on a larger scale with abundant
capital, a tunnel started at the lake will cut the vein at an average
depth of 1,500 feet. Such a tunnel would probably be about 12,000 feet
in length. The ore shoots seem to have an average width of about 5 feet
as far as exposed, and none of the workings in ore have ever reached the
bottom of a shoot. It is one of the most imposing looking veins I ever
saw. On the Desert Queen the soft hanging wall has been eroded, leaving
the vein standing exposed for fully 80 feet in height.