Mellan Mountain Nevada
Mellan Mountain Nevada Overview
Mellan Mountain was a mining district in Nye County, Nevada.
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Year Established/Founded
1930
Mellan Mountain Nevada History
The following are from various mining reports found in the NBMG Digital Library:
The district was reportedly discovered by Jess and Hazel Mellan in 1930. No claims were patented in the district??, and unpatented claims staked in the 1930s cover most of Mellan Mountain (Turner, 1934).
Claim names from that time include: Golden Leo, Charlotte, Vista, Forked Willow, Jackson, Colorado, and Viola (Turner, 1934). Mellan Gold Mines, Inc. and at least two other groups held claims in the district during that time, and three sets of leasers were reported to be working in 1933 (Goldfield News and Weekly Tribune, Aug. 25, 1933).
Production has been estimated at about $1,000, prior to World War II (Kral, 1951, p. 131). Records of the U.S. Bureau of Mines indicate that 33 tons of ore yielding 11 ounces of gold and 50 ounces of silver were mined in 1936 and 1937.
Apparently the major development effort was in the mid-1930s. Newspaper accounts report that some vein material from the district could be crushed and panned to obtain up to $100 per ton (gold was valued at $20.67 per oz at that time, so this is about 4.8 oz); select samples were said to carry up to $500 per ton (about 24 oz) (Goldfield News and Weekly Tribune, Aug. 25, 1933).
Unpublished data at NBMG indicates that sacked ore from this period had a grade of 0.33 oz per ton gold and 2(?) oz per ton silver, in general agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Mines grades. Also, it is reported that some ore was sent to the McGill (Nevada) smelter that graded 1 oz per ton gold. There is no record of operations in the district after World war II.
Timeline
We are working on finding out more details and will update the timeline as soon as we find good information to share.
- 1930 – Mining district organized
- October 1931 – Mr. and Mrs. Jess Mellan were in yesterday from their gold camp at Ned’s cache where they have completed installing several buildings. [Reno Gazette-Journal – Friday, October 30, 1931 – Page 5]
Mines
Gold and silver.
- Mellan Gold Mines Group – gold: The property was located in 1930 and was operated prior to World War II.
Railroads
Unknown at this time.
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Post Office
None
View the list and history of Nevada Post Offices and Nye County, Nevada Postmasters.
Newspaper
None
Learn more about Nevada Newspapers
The Population of Mellan Mountain Nevada
Unknown at this time.
Elevation
5,791′
Location
The site is now part of the Nellis Air Force Base Bombing and Gunnery Range, see below map.
From Tingley:
This district is located in the vicinity of Mellan Mountain, an area of two joined hills near the old townsite of Mellan in Cactus Flat, about 13 miles east of the Cactus Range.
From a mining report on Mellan Moutain:
The Mellan mining district is located in the immediate vicinity of Mellan Mountain, an area of two joined hi ls near the old townsite of Mellan in southern cactus Flat that is isolated from nearby mountains. The entire area of bedrock outcrop is slightly less than 1 km2 entirely within section 3 (protracted), T3S, R48E. Mellan Mountain is at the northern end of a ridge of low hills that join with the Cactus range south of Cactus Flat.
GPS Coordinates
37° 42′ 34.78″ N, 116° 35′ 18.21″ W
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Photos and Videos
Reno Gazette-Journal Reno, Nevada 22 Sep 1931, Tue • Page 8
MELLAN STARTING PERMANENT CAMP
TONOPAH, Nev., Sept. 22. (Special). Jess Mellan has what he believes to be the makings of a gold mine In the vicinity of Ned’s Cache or Cedar Corral in the southeastern end of Nye county. He has sunk a shaft fifty feet on a vein that pans well from a prospector’s viewpoint.
Mellan is reticent in discussing the prospect of his discovery, but the fact that he is establishing a permanent camp is accepted as proof that he believes he will make good with development.
Two frame houses, one of four and the other of three rooms, will be moved out this week, a contract having been signed with C. F. Wittenberg to move the houses from Tonopah to their destination over a county road that is reported to have suffered from the recent storms. The experiment will be watched with interest.
Wittenberg holds the long distance record for moving, having delivered three houses to ranches near Las j Vegas involving a haul of over two hundred miles In each case.
References Used
Click here to view our list of History of the Southwest – Books and Online Resources to learn more about our amazing area!
- NBMG Digital Library
- Newspapers.com
- Tingley, Joseph V., Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 47 – Mining Districts of Nevada
- United States Geological Survey – Mellan Mountain District Nevada