North Star and Gold Coin Mines

Dan and I visited these mines in the autumn of 2008. I couldn’t find much history on either of these two small mines. They both look to have minor production and are seldom visited. We found an oven or furnace at the end of our trip. Its origins and purpose remain a mystery. If you have any insights, please let me know.

North Star and Gold Coin Mines

46 photos

Dan on the trail.

Hidden from view from above, we find a short adit. Out front there is an anvil stump. Must have been a crude workshop.

Pipe runs down to the mine.

Anvil stump and adit. Doesn't look well used. Note the claim papers in the bottle. They date to only a few years ago.

We peek in. The entrance isn't easy.

We find another blacksmith stump across the canyon in the pines.

Diggings and dump.

Stacked rock work table.

Broken remains of bellows and stacked rock walls. Must have been a crude forge.

Looking over the edge of a cliff we see the mine down below.

Closer view of the mine portal.

Dan at the edge of the cliff with the tramway and our vehicles behind him.

We spot another mine portal down there.

There is a small and simple tram that pulled the ore up from the mines.

Cross cable stabilizer for the tram.

Some wooden ruins in a tree near camp.

Another view of the tram.

This is the scene when we pull into the fairly seldom visited North Star mine.

Remains of a cabin and camp here.

Pieces of a stove.

They had a grand view.

The nearly hidden trail down to the mine.

Broken serving plate. It says ___ Laughlin Hotel China.

The mine camp.

Yet another shot of the tram A-frame.

View of the valley below.

Mine portal.

Whatever was on that wooden sign is long gone.

Zoom lens shot of a cabin down in the valley. We meant to go check this one out later in the day, but we ran out of time. Looks like a line cabin.

Zoom shot of an unmarked mine. You can't make it out in this photo, but there is something there. Could be a piece of equipment. There is no road we could see going to it either. Have to hike to that one some time.

While we are out looking for a cabin, we take a rough and very unused road and I decide I'm going to rearrange some boulders in the desert. My skidplates aren't happy.

Finally, our destination comes into view, a cabin!

It has a nice view.

It is a small place. Just enough for a miner.

It needs a little work, ok....

Inside, we find cardboard lining the walls. And a sign tells us we are in the main office of the Gold Coin mine.

The last work on the mine was done in the early 1980s.

But we also find some much older dates. This is from 1932.

Door and roof need some work.

Ok, so the place needs alot of help.

We checked the mine, but it was very small. So we head on our way home.

Out in the middle of the flat, we spy a pile of rocks. Curious, we go over to investigate.

We are puzzled. It looks like a roasting oven.

There a few old tin cans and canvas tent posts here.

A closer view.

But what would an oven be doing in the middle of an empty flat? There was nothing else around this lonely spot. If you have an idea, please let me know.

Last Updated on August 2, 2020 by Guy Starbuck