Nov 28 2013
Last month the Jewelry Exchange completed the acquisition of a gold mine in Southern California. Called "Gold-Stone," the mine is a quartz mine that is made up of 3 parcels of land spanning approximately 60 acres.
The mine is located in the Twentynine Palms area of San Bernardino County, just northeast of the Joshua Tree National Park. The original deed to the land, signed by President F.D. Roosevelt grants the owner mining rights over the 60 acres and spans vertically down indefinitely.
California has a long and prosperous history with gold mining, dating back to the mid-1800s. In 1855 there were only 32 mines in the state, by 1857 that number was over 150 and by 1936 there were an estimated 3200 mines. The first mine claimed in the Twentynine Palms region was the "Blue Jay Mine" found by Dave Gowen and Joseph Voshay in 1873. After that, several new mines would be found in what is called the Pinto Mountains region.
Originally opened in early 1942, the Gold-Stone quartz mine used an arrastra to extract the gold from the hard rock. The arrastra is a technique that was brought to the US from Mexico. A stone circle is made and the ore placed inside, a heavy stone or boulder is pulled over the ore by a donkey or mule. The miners would add quicksilver and water into the circle. Once the ore is ground out, the water is drained and the miners were left with quicksilver-gold amalgam.
The Gold-Stone mine was shut down, along with all other gold mines across the country, in 1942 by the War Production Board after only 3 loads of ore were mined. The ore on these loads averaged 1.5oz. per ton, 0.25oz is considered profitable. The ban on gold mines was lifted in 1945, but due to equipment loss, cave-ins, flooding, and general disrepair the mining operation stayed closed. The Jewelry Exchange is excited with this new venture, and is considering an expansion of their gold mining endeavor with the purchase of the Storm King and Supply mines, 2 of the region's most profitable mines.
The Jewelry Exchange has been in the business of selling quality diamond jewelry for over 35 years. In addition to being a direct diamond importer and site-holder, they also manufacture their own jewelry which allows them to offer consumers fine diamond jewelry at prices significantly less than most other jewelry retailers.
The Jewelry Exchange is owned by Goldenwest Diamond Corporation who also owns and operates the Jewelry Factory and the Jewelry Source.
Source: http://www.jewelryexchange.com/