Round Mountain Auction
A few months ago The Collector's Edge Minerals Inc. participated in an auction of gold specimens at the Round Mountain gold mine. Fifty six lots were available to bid on. The lots varied in size from 9.0g to 796.5g parcels. The Collector's Edge was able to obtain many top quality specimens from thumbnail in size to small cabinet. This is an exciting opportunity for collector's to own a well crystallized gold specimen from the Round Mountain mine.
The Round Mountain mine is located in a very remote area of the state of Nevada. It is located in the very center of the state in The Big Smoky Valley. Abandoned mine sites dot the high mountain desert. Mining activity in this region dates back to the mid 1800's. Gold was discovered at Round Mountain in 1905. Early in 1906 more substantial discoveries aroused interest in the area. By mid-year the population grew to close to 400. Daily stages began to run between Tonopah and Round Mountain in 1907. The first two mining companies were the Round Mountain Mining Company and the Fairview Round Mountain Mines Company. The value of the ore produced during the first ten years of operation was a little more then three million dollors.
Traveling to the mine you find yourself on highway 50. In Nevada that highway is known as "the lonliest road in America". It was named that in an article by Life magazine in the mid 80's. A name earned due to its long stretches with little or no service available. It is routed along the old Lincoln Highway and the path of the Pony Express. Old buildings that were used as stations on the Pony Express are still preserved today. The highway cuts across the Great Basin, which encompasses much of the state. Snowmelt from the mounains never reaches the sea. It runs down into landlocked lakes and marshes where it eventually evaporates. Be sure to have your "highway 50 survival kit" with you before you set out. Locals capitalized on the Life magazine story selling them to travelers.
As you approach the town of Austin and the last pass before you enter the Big Smoky Valley the Toiyabe mountain range rises from the high desert plane. This photo was taken in March of 2007. The snowcapped peaks melted soon after.
You can see the mine long before you arrive there. The tailings piles extend for over one mile and look to be over a hundred and fifty feet high in some spots. The piles in this photograph consist of only the outer ring at the mine. There is a gap then another ring within this one. You have to be there to truly appreciate the scale of them.
Tailings represent the external cost of mining. As mining techniques and the price of minerals improve, it is not unusual for tailings to be reprocessed with new methods, or more thoroughly with old methods, to recover additional minerals. Yesterdays tails can be tomorrows resource, as seen during the 1990's when the extensive tailings dumps of Kalgoorlie / Boulder in Western Austrlia were re-processed profitably by KalTails Mining.
Work at the mine runs twenty four hours a day-seven days a week. It produces in excess of $1,000,000 worth of gold per day. The mine is run by The Round Mountain Gold Corporation. A Kinross-Barrick joint venture. The mine employs about seven hundred and fifty people. Many of the haul truckes like the ones in this photo are operated by women. Everyone working at the mine is very friendly and welcomed all the dealers who attended the auction very warmly.
The 2006 season was the richest season in the history of the mine for the discovery of bonanza gold. In May of 2006 the Girls Pocket was discovered. Though many other pockets were found during the 2006 season, this was by far the richest. Within a few short hours of discovery the pocket was collected and the look on this womans face says it all!!! It looks like it is taking all shes got to hold the pan up. Unfortunately, due to the policy of the operating company no specimens over 235 grams survives. Many of the specimens from this pocket have a very distinct spinel twin plane in them.
In 2006 the production of bonanza gold was high enough to require an auction to dealers. The number of specimens was to large to be absorbed in the employee sale traditionally held at the end of each season bonanza gold is discovered. During this event The Collector's Edge was able to procure many fine specimens. We will be offering these specimens for sale in the coming months. This is an excellent opportunity to acquier sharply crystallized and lustrous gold specimens from this mine. Inquires are always welcome at richard@collectorsedge.com.
Round Mountain has the reserves to keep the mine operating for at least another decade. Whether or not another find of bonanza gold is found like in 2006 is hard to say. Fate will decide! The Collector's Edge has secured an inventory of many fine crystalline gold specimens for our customers. The quality of the specimens we have acquired is as good as you would hope to find from any locality in the world. We hope to return to Round Mountain to buy more. 2007 has yet to produce any bonanza gold. We are hopeful their luck will change. If you ever find yourself in the area be sure to check out the accommodations at the Jumping Jack Motel. Its the only game in town!!!
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