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More photos of the Talc Mine! MORE Talc Mine!
Ibex Springs was right below the mine! Ibex Springs!
The name of Ibex carries a lot persistence in the south end of Death Valley, a mountain, a peak, some hills, two passes and a spring just 9 miles north of Saratoga Springs. Frank Denning and Stanley Miller first used the name for their Silver-copper mine in 1881 on the east slopes of Black Mountain. They soon learned their lesson so in May of 1882 they sold the mine to Reverend Calvin A. Poage, the publisher of the San Francisco Occindent, "The Presbyterian Weekly of the Pacific".
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They form the Ibex Mining Company, a corporation with $1 Million in capital. After driving an 80 feet shaft with ore that assayed $300 a ton, they set up a little five-stamp mill down below at Ibex Springs. The mill was up and running in May of 1883, but the rebellious ores cause a need for a roasting furnace which came the following year. Problems arose with the strain on wood and water, and the Death Valley record heat cause them to shut down in the summer. But whenever they got enough ore, wood and water, the little mill could turn out $60,000 in bullion a month.
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With their persistent seasonal runs for the next seven years, they may or may not have got their money back before they finally quit in 1889. The buildings now left here at Ibex Springs are the result of Talc mines operated in the area from the 1930's until the mid 1960's.
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The buildings now left here at Ibex Springs are the result of Talc mines operated in the area from the 1930's until the mid 1960's.
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