Gunmetal Mine

I visited this mine on a trip in 2002 with Lewis, John, and Werner. And although I’ve been in the area many times over the years, it wasn’t until recently that Dan and I stopped by again in 2010 to take a few more photos. I should also mention that the road from the camp up to the mine itself is a little rough with ruts and washouts. 4wd is certainly needed.

This is a tungsten mine (it also produced some minor amounts of silver and gold) first discovered in 1916. The early years of production records seem to be lost to history. A small mine camp with a few buildings is below the mine and there was a mill farther down the hill. (Nothing remains of the mill.)

The mine isn’t that big or interesting and the real star of the show is the ore bin. Taking ore from two levels, it has three bins with a trestle. It is a fantastic old structure and deserves preservation.