Great history Olympic mine.10 Jun 2020 16:22
OLYMPIC GOLD MINE
The Bell district, Mineral County, also known as the Cedar
Mountains district, is located in the Cedar Mountains in eastern
Mineral County near the Nye County border. The central part of
the district is about 18 miles east of Mina on U.S. Highway 95
and is accessible via gravel and dirt roads that lead east across
a low pass in the Pilot Mountains to Stewart Valley and the Cedar
Mountains. Mines in the eastern part of the district are
accessible via gravel and dirt roads extending from Gabbs, 18
miles to the north in Nye County. Mines in Nye County, in the
eastern foothills of the Cedar Mountains are sometimes included
in the Bell district; we place these mines in the Athens district
of Nye County and do not cover them in this report.
HISTORY
The Simon mine, in the central part of the district, was
discovered in 1879 and small quantities of lead ore were mined
from the gossan outcrop and shipped. In 1919, silver-bearing
lead-zinc ores were discovered in the sulphide zone beneath the
gossan outcrop. A 100-ton flotation mill, later enlarged to 250-
tons, was erected and, between 1921 and 1927, $741,278 in silver,
lead, and zinc was produced (Vanderburg, 1937, p. 72).
The Olympic (Omco) mine, at the north end of the Cedar
Mountains, was located in 1915 and a 70-ton cyanide mill was
erected on the site in 1917; this mill burned in 1919, another
was built in 1920 but closed in 1921. The mine was then operated
by various lessees until 1929 when it was sold at a tax sale. In
1932, the mine workings were caved by a severe earthquake
(Vanderburg, 1937, p. 72-73). Total production from the Omco
mine, through 1940, is about $800,000, mainly in gold .
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