Commodity:	Tungsten, Gold, Silver
Span of Operation:	1930's - 1950's
County:	Alpine
Property Ownership:	Toiyabe N.F.
Location:	Sec. 11 T. 10 N. R. 18 E.

Show Mine on Map (Experimental)

Clark, William B., 1977
Mines and Mineral Resources of Alpine County, California; p. 40

The Alhambra mine is located in W 1/2 sec. 11, T. 10 N., R. 18 E., M.D.M., half a mile south of the Alpine tungsten mine and about half a mile north of Crater Lake.

This property was first worked for gold many years ago. It was active in the early 1930s (Logan, 1931, p. 488-489) and again in the early 1950s when it was prospected for tungsten. This and the adjoining Alpine mine are located in a contact zone between metamorphosed sediments on the west and granitic rocks on the east. The metamorphic rocks consist predominantly of mica schist and quartzite while the granitic rocks are principally coarse-grained granodiorite.

The zone of mineralization contains quartz stringers with abundant pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite and small bodies of fine-grained tactite with disseminated scheelite. The ore zone strikes north-northeast. The mine is developed by two open southwest-trending adits about 100 feet long and about 100 feet apart vertically. The workings were accessible in 1969.



Logan, C. A., 1931
Alpine County: California Division of Mines Report 27; p. 488-489

Alhambra Mining Corporation. Hope Valley Mining District. Colonel J. W. Hopkins, manager. Mine address, Gardnerville, Nevada. A Nevada corporation with an office at 210 Byington Building, Reno. R. Nenzel, secretary.

This company has 15 unpatented quartz locations 13 miles west of Woodfords, on and near Red Lake Peak, elevation 7500-9500 feet. The upper slope of this mountain is covered by ancient schists, derived originally from sedimentary rock, which has been invaded by basie igneous dikes and metamorphosed by contact with the underlying granite and by pressure and folding. On the surface the rock of Red Lake Peak is stained by iron oxide. At the depth reached in the shallow workings, it proves to be a hard quartzitic mica-schist in places nearly all quartz, carrying stringers and seams of pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, zincblende, chalcopyrite and possibly other sulfides. Many assays of samples indicate gold in quantities varying from $1.80 to $88 a ton, the gold being probably all in the sulphides. Varying amounts of silver are also indicated.

An adit which is a crosscut for about 115 feet connects with a shaft 35 feet deep, then follows a seam of quartz carrying sulphides for 30 feet. It is being advanced in the belief that it may lead to a larger body of good ore when a north-striking plane is encountered, [] being the general strike of schistosity of the metamorphic rock. No mill tests have been made yet to determine the general tenor of [] but it would be interesting to run small lots from the numerous [] on the four large outcrops found.

Natural conditions favor cheap mining on a good-sized scale if development proves up a sufficient tonnage. The slope of the mountain will permit mining through adits. Crater Lake, elevation 8325 feet and 145 feet above the present workings, furnishes water used to run a compressor and one drill and usually has sufficient water for milling and electric power. Timber is plentiful, but has not been required so far. Three men were employed in July, but work was stopped in August, because of a shortage of water. There is a good road to the mine from Minden, Nevada, the nearest railroad point, 30 miles distant. There are two small buildings at the camp, a mile from the site of prospecting.