LM 2 SILVER TURQUOISE MINE CLAIM
The LM 2 claim consists of one (1) unpatented lode mining claim, covering 20.66 acres, on federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The claim covers the historical Livesly silver, gold, turquoise mine.
The LM2 claim has one (1) mining shaft, a tailings pile, and a few small pits. There are five washes that run through the claim that could be prospected for placer gold as well.
The Livesly Mine (maybe to the south about 1 mile) is mentioned in the book, “Turquoise Deposits of Nevada” and registered as a historical producing mine in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System.
However, efforts to locate the Livesly mine turquoise ore bodies mentioned in the book have been unsuccessful. Recently, I found this shaft (which was not marked on the topo maps) by seeing a ‘square-like- feature on Google Earth.
When I went out there I found a timbered shaft that is at least 200 feet deep and some nice looking quartz ore with sulphides (probably silver ore). In this part of Esmeralda County the ratios of silver-gold is usually 100-1.
The historical Paymaster Mine – which was high-grade gold and silver is to the north at the top of Paymaster Ridge. This mine could be similar to the Paymaster.
The silver and turquoise mines were often closely associated – or the same mine. I did not find any turquoise – however, this part of Paymaster Ridge was listed as being part of the Livesly Turquoise Mine.
Location and Access: The LM 2 Claim is located 11 miles east of Silver Peak and 13 miles west of Goldfield, NV (as the crow flies). From Goldfield, Nevada drive 4.6 miles north on US Highway 95, take a left on Silver Peak Road and drive 6.9 miles to the Alkali, Nevada. Take a dirt road west from Alkali to Paymaster Ridge and drive north on a turnoff point. The claims are 7 miles on dirt road west of Alkali.
GPS Coordinates (Digital Degrees): Lat: 37.838758°, Long: -117.444766° (Main Shaft)
Mining and Exploration Potential: The LM 2 claim has two primary targets: 1) high grade silver-gold veins, and 2) turquoise in clay-like seams.
Of the two, I believe the silver-gold is more likely – however, due to the proximity of other turquoise mines and the historical labeling of this area as belonging to the ‘Livesly Mine’ – turquoise should not be discounted.
For most small miners, gemstone and semi-precious stone mining is much easier and more profitable than gold or silver. The material takes very little processing and can be sold after digging it up. Because of the relatively easy mining and processing, there is no need for expensive equipment (although heavy equipment can be used to open up new veins).
Locating turquoise is easier than metal ores because it is bright blue-green! Turquoise is prized by jewelers due to its beautiful color and luster. Mineralogically, turquoise is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum. It is often associated with other copper minerals – which are also green and blue.
The best method for discovering new deposits is just walking the ground near historical workings.
The growth of online markets like Ebay and Etsy provide a ready market for any material you mine – even stuff that might not be considered jewelry grade. Small, handful size, bags of non-gem grade rough, sell for about $10 apiece. Single rough nuggets can go for about $5-15. A well-known Arizona Mine sells 1 pound packages of turquoise rough for $275. $200 per pound for good material is a typical price. Large, intact nodules will command a premium price. A bucket of such material could generate a thousand dollars or more. If you discover a modest vein it could produce several tons of material and keep you busy for a long time.
Turquoise has exploded in popularity across the globe. Buyers of Nevada turquoise include Asian and European jewelers and collectors driving prices high for the best material.
Despite the increase in demand there are very few new turquoise discoveries. Constrained supply and increasing demand is a great situation for a miner.
Turquoise mining is one of the best opportunities for small miners in the SW United States! Low capital, easy to mine and process, accessible, high value material with ready online markets.
The Livesly Mine was known for small seams and veins of high-grade turquoise nodules.
The shaft will be challenging for a small miner to explore safely. However, there are professional firms and geologists that will explore this shaft for you.
Also – the shaft was probably sunk on outcropping material and there was some good quartz material on the surface. Also – some clay-like seams where miners may have been mining turquoise.
The LM 2 could be developed by a one or two man team. Any discovery of a significant body of gem grade turquoise would massively enhance the value of this property.
Turquoise can also be a sign of intense mineralization that can be associated with gold, silver and copper deposits. The turquoise in Nevada is often found near high grade metallic deposits that could be larger and more valuable than the gemstone deposit on its own. I assayed one sample of vein material for metallic content and got 1.5 g/t silver and 0.5% copper (see picture of my sample).
The Livesly Mine turquoise bodies were said to be hosted in clay-like seams. There are several heavily weathered rock formations on the claim that are almost clay like. These are a good sign of hydrothermal alteration and may be good prospecting sites for turquoise.
My personal feeling is that this looks like a high-grade gold and silver mine. I didn’t have much time to prospect here, but obviously ‘Silver Peak’ was primarily known for silver. The other nearby districts: Lone Mountain / Alpine and Montezuma – were also primarily silver. Alpine had 100 ounce per ton silver and 1 ounce per ton gold.
I recently sampled a vein in the nearby Montezuma District and got a 94 ounce per ton silver sample from similar rocks. This is an excellent area for finding a large silver mine that would interest a real mining company.
Nearby Districts: The LM 2 Mine is located on Paymaster Ridge, a mini-mining district, in the middle of three larger districts (Montezuma, Weepah, Silver Peak). The Montezuma District lies in southern Esmeralda County, Nevada 7 miles west of Goldfield, Nevada. Silver Peak, Nevada, is 20 miles west of Goldfield and is known for silver, gold and lithium deposits. The Weepah District has the Lone Mountain turquoise mine (currently in operation) along with several gold and silver mines. The LM 2 Mine is situated between the Montezuma District and the Silver Peak District on Paymaster Ridge – just to the south of the Weepah District. The nearby Paymaster Mine is a patented gold mine hosted in Cambrian metasediments. Both Montezuma and Silver Peak are dominated by Paleozoic metasediments such as shales, limestones, cherts, and siltstones. Quartzite veins interbedded in these rocks contain concentrations of metals and some gemstones.
History of Nevada Turquoise: Turquoise has been mined in Nevada for hundreds of years and exported by local tribes to the Aztecs and Mayans. Archeologists have documented evidence of these old trading routes that extend up to Nevada and all across the southwestern United States and extending into Central and South America. Starting around 1915 exploration for turquoise saw a rush with the discovery and development of many new deposits. The Royston District on the border of Nye and Esmeralda Counties was one of the largest districts producing distinctive greenish nodules. The Nevada Bureau of Mines estimated that from the 1930’s to the early 1960’s about $30 million of turquoise was mined in the state. Nevada and Arizona are the two biggest states for turquoise mining. In 2019, a reality TV show about turquoise mining in Nevada, ‘Turquoise Fever’, premiered on the INSP network.
Regional Geology: The majority of turquoise deposits in Nevada occur in a belt that trends north-northeast from Esmeralda County on the south (where our claim is) to Elko County on the north. This belt coincides with a zone of strong tectonic activity that occurred in the Late Devonian . Mississippian geological time period. Host rocks are limestone, shale, chert, and metamorphosed. No deposits are found in Tertiary volcanics which are prevalent in Nevada.
Geology: The LM 2 Mine is located on the southern end of Paymaster Ridge between Clayton Valley and Alkali Flats. The Montezuma Mountain Range is to the south and Weepah Hills is to the north. Paymaster Ridge consists of mostly Precambrian limestone and chert beds, underlain by shale and siltstone. Paymaster has several copper, gold and silver prospects. Similar to the nearby Montezuma District metallic mineralization occurs in quartz and calcite veins that have undergone supergene enrichment. The supergene mineralization near the copper sulphide deposits has created azurite, malachite, turquoise and other high-grade copper mineralization. The LM 2 claim is within a 9 mile by 3 mile north-south trending outcrop of older metasediments. There is extensive faulting and some small, younger intrusives that may be related to the mineralization.
Available Reports: 1) “Turquoise Deposits of Nevada” (Morrissey, 1968) 2) Montezuma District Open File Report from Nevada Bureau of Mines (Tingley 1983); 3) Weepah District Open File Report from Nevada Bureau of Mines (Tingley 1983); 4) Geology and Mineral Resources of Esmeralda County, Nevada; and 5) Geology and Mineral Deposits of the Silver Peak Quadrangle (Spurr 1906).
FAQ
Why Nevada?
Nevada is consistently ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world for being mining-friendly and continuing to produce major discoveries. If Nevada was a country it would be the 5th largest gold producer in the world (after Australia, Canada, China, and Russia). Nevada is home to the Carlin Trend, the Cortez Trend, the Walker Lane Trend, the Getchell Trend and many other prolific gold producing regions. In addition to gold Nevada also has major mines producing silver, copper, lithium, iron ore, magnesium, gems and many other minerals. Nevada is 85% owned by the federal government and most of this land is available for claim staking. This means some of the best mining ground in the world is open to small prospectors – a very unique situation. There are many mining companies active in Nevada and therefore, multiple potential buyers for any discovery you make. Canadian and Australian based junior exploration companies are particularly active in Nevada and always looking for new projects.
Why Buy a Claim?
Buying a claim is a great way to get started in mining and prospecting. Buying a claim that is professionally staked reduces your upfront work and the risk of making a mistake on your paperwork or in the field. Our claims are in areas with historical mining activity and most have numerous pits, shafts, and adits to explore. Finding these claims takes lots of research that is already done for you. The best place to find gold is where people have already found it!
Why Us?
I have been working in mineral exploration in the southwestern United States and Alaska for 22 years. I have co-founded four junior mining companies and managed numerous drilling and exploration projects. I have worked with large and small mining companies and know what types of projects they are looking for that can be advanced by small prospectors. I have also worked on small hardrock production projects. I usually try to find claims that have known high grade veins that can be produced and that also have some exploration upside. We stand by our claims and fix any problems that come up. We can also help you with your annual filings. All our claims have a BLM serial number and can be found on the U.S. BLM MLRS website database. All our maps are professionally drafted.
How is ownership of the claim transferred?
Ownership of mining claims is transferred with a Quitclaim Deed which we prepare. We pay all claim transfer fees and file the claim transfer paperwork with the BLM and Lyon County. The BLM takes about 2-3 weeks to process the claim transfer and register the claim in your name. The Lyon County Recorder usually records the Quitclaim Deed within 24 hours if filed electronically. Once the transfer is complete we will send you all the original documents including the file-stamped Quitclaim Deed, the original location notices, claim maps, direction maps, and selected historical reports.
How Much are the Annual Claim Fees?
The BLM charges a $200 per claim annual maintenance fee which is due on September 1st each year. The BLM fees can be paid online through their claim management portal. Esmeralda County requires that a Notice of Intent to Hold form is filed the first year by Nov 1st along with payment of the recording fee of $12 plus $12 per claim.
If you own less than 10 mining claims you can qualify for a waiver of the annual maintenance fee by filing a Small Miner’s Waiver. However, the Small Miner’s Waiver requires that you perform $100 in labor or improvements on the claim each year.
Claim Fees are next due by September 1, 2025. I can help you pay these if you are unfamiliar with the process.
Can I Learn How to Do This Myself?
Sure! I teach an 8-Week Prospector’s Training Program for New Prospectors. I will teach you everything you need to know to find gold mines, stake your own mines and sell them at a profit. The United States has vast tracts of land available for claim staking. I can only cover a small portion of them myself. And I love teaching new prospectors. Many of the old-timers have retired or gone off to the goldfields in the sky. There are many discoveries waiting to be made and the smaller deposits are mostly ignored by big mining companies. America needs more prospectors. If interested send me a message!
International Buyers
International buyers must either have dual US citizenship and US address or have a US entity or company to own the claim.