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4/4/2016 Death Valley NP: Historic Resource Study (Section III) Death Valley Historic Resource Study A History of Mining SECTION III: INVENTORY OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES THE WEST SIDE A. Southern Panamints and West Side Road (continued) 6. Panamint Mine a) History The Panamint M ine, about one-half mile south o f the mouth o f W arm Spring Canyon, is located a short distance w est among a group o f ridges betw een W arm Spring and Anvil canyons. The m ajority o f the five claims comprising the property w ere h e a te d in 1935 by Ernest Huhn, probably around the same time he and Louise G rantham w ere staking the claims that later becam e the Grantham M ine in W arm Spring Canyon. Southern California M inerals Com pany o f Los Angeles later acquired the property, concentrating m ost o f its sporadic activity in die years betw een 1952 and 1957. Talc output o f the property to 1968 has been around 4,700 tons. [247] It is now ow ned by Pfizer, Inc. https://www.nps.gov/parl4iistoryonline_boote/deva/section3a6.htm 1/3 4/4/2016 Death Valley NP: Historic Resource Study (Section III) Illustration 55. Map o f Warm Spring Canyon mining area. b) Present Status Today the Panamint Talc Group consists o f ten unpatented claims: Panamint #3-5 claim, Panamint MiHsite, Panamint MiDsite N o. 1, Panamint T ab N os. 1-2 lode mining claims, and Panamint Talc N os. 6-8. The mining area is reached via a dirt road jutting o ff to the south at the mouth o f W arm Spring Canyon. (This route continues on south through W ingate W ash) A bout one-quarter mile south on this road are tw o structures o f recent origin. O ne is a large, tw o-room , corrugated-m etal residence building with a poured concrete floor and plyw ood walls covered with graffiti, containing tw o m etal bunks. The other em pty structure is a small w ood and com position-paper shack. The road turns w est from here for about one-halfmile, becom ing a four-wheel-drive route, and leads to an abandoned ore bin and adit. Evidence o f exploratory activity is evident for a half m ib atong the south wall o f the canyon. A t its upper end is a large three-chute ore bin positioned on a truck-loading b v el with the remains o f a single ore chute hanging from the hillside above. O re cars evidently tram m ed the ore to the surface o f the mine and outside, proceeding up an inclined set o f tracks and dumping their load into the singb chute, w hbh em ptied into cars on the second level; these cars then dum ped the ore into the low er three-chute bin, from w hbh it w as guided into trucks for transport. The workings in this area consist o f an inclined shaft about sixty feet long with a tw enty-foot drift extending w est from the bottom o f the shaft. A bove the mine portal on the hillside is a frame equipment shelter. These are the oldest workings on the Panamint property, dating from the early 1950s; they produced only a small amount o f ta b . M ost o f the ta b shipped from this group has come from a deposit about 1,000 feet south-southw est o f this shaft--an area mined by an open cut in the m id-1950s. [248] Illustration 56. Ore bin and workings at Panamint Talc Mine. Photo by Linda W. Greene, 1978. https://www.nps.gov/parl4iistoryonline_boote/deva/section3a6.htm 2/3 4/4/2016 Death Valley NP: Historic Resource Study (Section III) Illustration 57. Modem buildings east o f Panamint Talc Mine. Photo by Linda W. Greene, 1978. cl Evaluation and Recommendations The ore bin, ore chute, and tram w ay ruins o f the Panamint T ab Group are o f recent (1950s) vintage. N either they nor the tw o ruined buildings near the W arm Spring R oad junction are historically significant. < Previous deva/hrs/section3 a6.htm Last Updated: 22-Dec-2003 < Contents > Next > https://vwwv.nps.gov/parkhistoryonline_books/deva/section3a6.htm 3/3