After visiting the Victorine Mine on a trip to Nevada years ago, our next big stop was the old camp of Prospect and the Diamond Tunnel. Like other mines in the Eureka district, this mine was discovered in the 1860s, but the camp wasn’t settled until around 1885. It served as a base of operations for a few of the local mines and had a saloon, boardinghouse, and school. The mine went into production in 1868 and was worked until 1930. A post office opened in 1893. Down below the mine are the remains of a furnace.
There are a few buildings still remaining in the camp. All of them are empty and vandalized, with the exception of the large diesel generator in one of the workshops. The Diamond Tunnel was caved when I visited. The most interesting things remaining here are the snow sheds and trammers.
The snowshed was one of the largest I’ve ever seen and went out to a huge steel ore bin. Once inside the snowshed, I found two electric trammers, which were used to pull ore cars in and out of the mine. Seeing trammers still out in the field (remaining on-site at the mine) is very rare these days.
Rich silver ore ran out in 1918, and the mine closed down. The post office and camp were abandoned shortly after.
I’ve recently heard that some of these buildings have been razed. Please respect this place and enjoy my photos.
