ditlihi
Full Member
Not sure where to post this so I'm just gonna jump in and go for it.
For the past couple of months a partner and I have been on a lost treasure trail in the desert southwest, in and around the mountains bordering Mexico. While on this search we stumbled across something very interesting by sheer accident.
There is a little known story of an old Spanish silver mine in this area that was re-discovered in the mid to late 1800's, but had to be abandoned due to Indian raids ongoing at the time. It was rumored to have been relocated in the late 20's, and showed some good assays, but was lost again due to earthquake activity which caused a landslide and covered the opening. There are records of this in some old mining journals.
In our search for a different cache, we stumbled upon what I believe to be the site of those old workings, now covered, and found several relics that could be from that time period, left behind by the last persons to work it. The site is very remote, in the desert foothills on the US side of the border, and is not a place one would normally be spending any time in. (Unless they were nuts like we are, lol). So the likelihood of these relics being found in this spot is pretty remarkable.
Granted, the pieces we found don't amount to much, a toothed metal belt hook connector plate for a wide motor driven belt with a patent date from the late 1800's, an old tool, a tobacco tin from the 20's, and of all things....a spark plug dating from about the same period. The belt hook connector plate more than likely came from a belt driven drilling rig (nicknamed Spudders) like the one in the video posted below.
Cable tool drilling machines, also called Percussion or Spudder rigs, operated by repeatedly lifting and dropping a heavy string of drilling tools into the borehole. The drill bit breaks or crushes consolidated rock into small fragments, whereas the bit primarily loosens the material when drilling unconsolidated formations. In both instances, the reciprocating action of the tools mixes the crushed or loosened particles with water to form a slurry or sludge at the bottom of the borehole. If little or no water is present in the formation, water is added to form a slurry. Slurry accumulation increases as drilling proceeds and eventually it reduces the impact of the tools. When the penetration rate becomes unacceptable, slurry is removed at intervals from the borehole by a sand pump or bailer.
The site is proving interesting and we plan to do some preliminary clearing/digging this fall when it cools down a bit, and hope to confirm my suspicions.
Meanwhile, I'm still on the trail to lost treasure in the dusty Southwest. Hope to add more on my adventures here as I progress.
Thanks for looking!
For the past couple of months a partner and I have been on a lost treasure trail in the desert southwest, in and around the mountains bordering Mexico. While on this search we stumbled across something very interesting by sheer accident.
There is a little known story of an old Spanish silver mine in this area that was re-discovered in the mid to late 1800's, but had to be abandoned due to Indian raids ongoing at the time. It was rumored to have been relocated in the late 20's, and showed some good assays, but was lost again due to earthquake activity which caused a landslide and covered the opening. There are records of this in some old mining journals.
In our search for a different cache, we stumbled upon what I believe to be the site of those old workings, now covered, and found several relics that could be from that time period, left behind by the last persons to work it. The site is very remote, in the desert foothills on the US side of the border, and is not a place one would normally be spending any time in. (Unless they were nuts like we are, lol). So the likelihood of these relics being found in this spot is pretty remarkable.
Granted, the pieces we found don't amount to much, a toothed metal belt hook connector plate for a wide motor driven belt with a patent date from the late 1800's, an old tool, a tobacco tin from the 20's, and of all things....a spark plug dating from about the same period. The belt hook connector plate more than likely came from a belt driven drilling rig (nicknamed Spudders) like the one in the video posted below.
Cable tool drilling machines, also called Percussion or Spudder rigs, operated by repeatedly lifting and dropping a heavy string of drilling tools into the borehole. The drill bit breaks or crushes consolidated rock into small fragments, whereas the bit primarily loosens the material when drilling unconsolidated formations. In both instances, the reciprocating action of the tools mixes the crushed or loosened particles with water to form a slurry or sludge at the bottom of the borehole. If little or no water is present in the formation, water is added to form a slurry. Slurry accumulation increases as drilling proceeds and eventually it reduces the impact of the tools. When the penetration rate becomes unacceptable, slurry is removed at intervals from the borehole by a sand pump or bailer.
The site is proving interesting and we plan to do some preliminary clearing/digging this fall when it cools down a bit, and hope to confirm my suspicions.
Meanwhile, I'm still on the trail to lost treasure in the dusty Southwest. Hope to add more on my adventures here as I progress.
Thanks for looking!
Attachments
Last edited:
But as for the items you found: You have to realize that vast parts of the deserts of NV, AZ, NM and So. CA were mined from the mid 1800s to the present. So ... when you drive around through all the remote desert pars of the SW USA, there is no shortage of tailing piles, rusty objects, pits, etc.... In other words: Items like what you found, are practically everywhere there (well ... in the mining regions anyhow, which dot the landscape of various regions of the SW).
