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I've been to Jail Canyon twice before and never made it to the mine. The first time I just didn't know where the mine was. The second time my transfer case almost fell out on the way up so I had to turn around. The third time was the charm and I finally made it to the Corona Mine, previously called The Gem.
The trail, if you want to call it that, runs through the Surprise Wilderness in Panamint Valley and takes you up a very rocky alluvial fan to the mouth of Jail Canyon were you now enter a rocky wash. There are no real hard obstacles but the place still requires care when traversing. Good driving skills will get you far in this place. Bad ones will get you stuck.
Ray and Nancy, Doug (Desert4wd) and some newcomers Rod and Patty in their wrangler joined me and Tabby for a day at one of the most interesting mill sites I've ever seen. With some of the major drive belts intact this place almost looks like it could be fired up again. Oh it's beat to crap but the place is shaded from wind and sun so the elements have been kind over the years.
After spending a long time getting there we had a great time exploring the mine and the camp. We also stopped at a good size can dump along the way. It was a good run and no one suffered any damage and no one got stuck.
Mostly this report will deal with just the mine as I have been to the cabin on a previous trip.
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| Fragments of china ware found at the can dump. | Seperator mill that lies along the way just as we enter the canyon. | We arrive at the mine and mill site just a small hike from the cabin. | The haulage tracks are in fairly good shape. |
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| An ore bin. There was another mill site at the cabin for further reduction of the ore. Notice the water pipe under the bin. | Track and water pipe leading up the canyon towards the mill and mine. A work shop graces the other side of the little canyon. | The contraption comes into view. It seems to have been powered by a one cylinder diesel engine. | Let's see here. Stuff goes in here and comes out there and um... OK let's start again. |
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| The base of the power plant. Fairbanks Morse must have been the builder of the machine. | Parts of the power plant. | Headframe for loading the main bin. Comonly known as a gozinta... | The two main drive belts are still intact! |
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| It doesn't slice and it doesn't dice. It just beats the crap outta stuff.... | Screw crushers. Sounds painful. | A Ball Mill. Sounds even more painful. | If this thing didn't have it, they didn't invent it. |
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| Yet another seperator. Or the stairway to heaven. | I can see Daffy Duck going through this thing in a cartoon in my head now. Can you hear the mechanical music in your mind? | Another view of the gozinta. | A view from one of the adits. |
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| A stoped adit. | Adit wall. | Heading back along the haulage tracks. | Another view of the mill and power plant. |
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| Once back at PSR it's time for dinner. What a nice evening! | Sunrise the next morning with Telescope Peak in the background. It's the start of another beautiful day in Panamint Valley. | ||
