RonnieAdventure #0055 - Moorehouse Mine, San Bernardino County, California

There are numerous abandoned talc mines in the area of Ibex Springs, with the Moorehouse Mine being the most impressive. The Mine is the largest in the area and located about two miles northwest of Ibex Springs.

In the 1930s John Moorehouse filed 16 claims that yielded about 62,000 tons of talc, before the talc market completely disappeared in the 1960s. It turns out that talc contains asbestos, which isn’t the best thing to be breathing in as you pamper your body with talcum powder.

Because of its remoteness and more recent mining activity at Moorehouse Mine, the ruins are some of the most impressive in Death Valley. Metal oar cart tracks can still be found in their original positions and the metal lined chutes are some of the longest and best preserved in the State of Nevada. At most abandoned mines, any metal that had been used in the mining activity was salvaged years ago and sold for its scrap value.

The Moorehouse Mine is located toward the top of a mountain, so the views of southern Death Valley are spectacular when standing at the top of the loading chutes. However, you have to be very careful where you walk and stand because the old timbers are loose and deteriorating, One wrong step could lead to a long fall down the mountain and it is a long way to any medical services.

For safety reasons, the original mine shafts have been sealed by dynamiting the entrances or by installing metal gates in the main entrance shafts. As it turns out, there are a large number of bats that still reside in the mine tunnels, so metal gates are the preferred method for mine closures within the National Park.

Although not as extensive as Moorehouse Mine, located to the northeast of Ibex Springs are the abandoned talc ruins of the Pleasanton, Monarch, and Rob Roy claims. Various loading chutes and other mining paraphernalia are still scattered about the area and provide an insight to early mining activity in the area. 

This is an interesting area and worth a visit (when the weather is cooler) if you have a 4WD vehicle with “at least 15-inch heavy duty tires, good tread, 12 inches of ground clearance and a low gear transfer case, with a driver experienced with 4WD techniques."