Mines of El Dorado County: “L”

The  Lady mine was a lode gold mine on 11.97 acres of the Mother Lode one mile south of Kelsey.

The Lady Blanche mine was a lode gold mine three and one-half miles east of Fair Play. The deposit consisted of a 1 to 4-foot wide gold-bearing quartz vein that was developed by two adits, 180 feet and 80 feet in length. The mine was active in 1896.

The Lady Edner mine was a placer gold mine located one-half mile northwest of Omo Ranch.

The Lady Emma (Currie) mine was a lode gold mine one mile east of Kelsey. It was active around 1896 and later prospected in 1942 and 1947. The 4-foot vein of gold-bearing quartz was developed by a 300-foot inclined shaft and a 150-foot vertical shaft with drifts and crosscuts. Once removed, the ore was treated on-site in a 10-stamp mill.

The Lady Jane mine was a placer gold claim just north of Chiquita, three miles southeast of Volcanoville.

The Laicey mine was a chromite mine one and three-quarters miles west of Garden Valley. The deposit consisted of small chromite pods in serpentine and talc. It was developed by open cuts.

The La Moille, Ophir mine was a lode gold mine located on 11.10 acres two and a half miles directly south of the town of El Dorado. It was active prior to 1896 when several gold-bearing quartz seams were prospected.

The Landecker (Hope) mine was a placer gold drift mine one and one-half miles southeast of Placerville. It was active in the early 1900’s and later in 1925 and 1935.

With a similarly spelled name, one of El Dorado County’s several slate mines, this one located near Kelsey, was the Landeker mine. It was active in the 1880s when roofing slate was produced.

One mile east of Diamond Springs on the Mother Lode was the Larkin mine, a lode gold mine that was also mined for copper and other minerals. The deposit consisted of two distinct veins of gold-bearing quartz, the west one being explored by a vertical shaft and the east one reached by crosscut from the 250-foot level. In 1896 the a 250-foot vertical shaft was sunk and the ore treated in a five-stamp mill. By 1900 the shaft had been extended to 600 feet and the mill expanded to ten stamps. In 1903 the shaft was extended to 800 feet and then the mine was shut down. In 1918 it was reopened and some copper ore was produced. The total production for the mine is estimated to be $125,000. The deposit consisted of several gold-bearing quartz veins, the largest ranging in width from 4 to 12 feet. In addition to the gold, some of the veins contained pyrite, chalcopyrite and malachite (both ores of copper) and as much as 10% copper. Dolomite (similar to limestone, but containing more magnesium) was also mined here.

The Last Chance mine was a lode gold mine one mile south of Volcanoville. It was active in 1896 and developed by a 50-foot vertical shaft and a 400-foot crosscut adit. The ore removed from its 5-foot wide gold-bearing quartz vein was treated in a 4-stamp mill.

At Henry’s Diggings, two miles northeast of Omo Ranch, in the southern part of El Dorado County, was another Last Chance mine, this one a placer gold mine. Other than being a 40 acre claim, little more in known about this mine since it has been idle so long nobody could determine when it was actually active.

A third Last Chance mine was a placer gold mine on 54.15 acres one mile south of Smith Flat.

A fourth Last Chance mine was a lode gold mine on 20.66 acres one-half mile north of Coloma near Mt. Murphy.

The Last Hope mine was a placer gold mine located one mile south of Omo Ranch and one mile northwest of Indian Diggings.

The Last Resort mine was a placer gold mine on 20 acres, one mile west of Indian Diggings.

One of several mines with the name Latrobe was a lode gold mine one and one-half miles east of Latrobe.

The Lattimore mine was a lode gold mine three miles northwest of Greenwood, on the west branch of the Mother Lode just south of the Middle Fork of the American River.

The Lava Hill mine was a placer gold mine located about two miles southeast of Camino, near Weber Creek.

The  Leahey and Riley mine was a placer gold mine on 8.88 acres, one mile south of Rescue.

The Le Bouf and England mine was a lode gold mine on 20.67 acres of the east branch of the Mother Lode, one and a half miles north of Georgetown.

During the years 1939-40 the Lemroh Mining Company, based in San Francisco, operated a dragline dredge at various gravel deposits in the county.

The Leslie Hydraulic mine was a placer gold mine on 40.00 acres one mile east of Camino.

The Levenson mine was a hydraulic, placer gold mine, one mile southeast of the town of Fair Play. It was active around 1896 when a 50-foot bank of ancient river gravel was mined. The gravel was then run through 120 feet of sluices to separate out the gold.

The Levi Rosier mine was a placer gold claim on 80.00 acres, two and a half miles northeast of Placerville just south of the South Fork of the American River.

There were two Levitt mines, both of which were lode gold mines on the Mother Lode. One was one  mile south of Kelsey and the other two miles south of Kelsey. Later information shows a Levitt Consolidated lode gold mine on 37.97 acres of the Mother Lode, one and a half miles southeast of Kelsey, which probably includes both of these mines.

The Lilly Placer mine was a placer gold mine on 30.00 acres one mile north of Garden Valley on or very near Empire Creek.

The Lincoln mine was a seam gold mine located one mile northwest of Georgetown that was active in 1896 and again in 1926. The thin seams of gold bearing quartz were located in a belt 300 feet wide what was developed by a 100-foot open cut and three adits, 150, 110 and 60 feet in length. Once the ore was removed and treated, it was run through some 900 feet of sluices.

The Lincoln Placer mine was a placer gold mine on 20.00 acres two and a half miles northeast of Smith Flat on South Canyon Creek.

In 1937 the Lincoln Gold Dredging Company operated a dragline dredge at one or more unidentified gravel deposits in the county.

In Cedar Ravine, one and one-half miles southeast of Placerville, was the Linden mine, a placer gold mine. During the years 1882-94, 40,000 cubic yards of gravel was processed, yielding $130,000 in gold. A portion of the gold-bearing ancient river channel, known as the Deep Blue Lead channel, was developed by a 4000-foot adit with numerous drifts and two shafts. The cemented gravel was treated in a 10-stamp mill.

The Lion mine was a lode gold mine on 12.17 acres of the Mother Lode, one mile northwest of Placerville.

The Little Big Hole mine was a placer gold mine on the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes River, five miles northeast of Fair Play. It was active in 1926 when the river was diverted and a 250-foot adit was driven into the gravel. It was also active in the late 1970s when a mining company attempted to mine gold by removing the gravel from the “Big Hole” in the river.

On Canyon Creek, two miles north of Georgetown was the Little Chief mine. A seam gold mine active in 1894, it was developed by 130-foot and 240-foot adits. The ore was treated in a one-stamp mill. There was also a placer gold mine of the same name on 90 acres at the same location.

Another Little Chief mine, this one a placer mine, was located on a tributary of Otter Creek, four miles north of Georgetown near Bottle Hill.

The Little Giant mine was a lode gold mine on about 20 acres one mile west of the town of El Dorado.

The Live Oak mine was a small lode gold mine one mile east of Diamond Springs. It was active prior to 1896 when it was developed by a 30-foot shaft. There was also a Live Oak placer gold mine with an undetermined location due to printing errors on a map.

Five miles south of Shingle Springs was a lode gold mine known as the Log Cabin (Darrow) mine. Located on 15.205 acres near Mt. Aigare, it was active in 1894-96, when a 2 to 16-foot wide vein of gold-bearing quartz was developed by a 600-foot crosscut adit, numerous drifts and a 30-foot shaft. The ore was treated on-site in a five-stamp mill.

On 11.713 acres of the west branch of the  Mother Lode, one mile northwest of Garden Valley, was a lode gold mine know as the Lone Jack mine. A vein of gold-bearing quartz, up to 24 feet in width, was developed by a 400-foot shaft. The ore, which contained $6 of gold per ton, was treated in a 10-stamp mill.

One mile southeast of Nashville, near the Cosumnes River, was the Lone Star mine, a lode gold mine. Located on 19.68 acres of the Mother Lode, it had a seven-foot wide vein of gold-bearing quartz that was developed by a 100-foot shaft and a 100-foot drift around 1894.

Another Lone Star mine was located two miles (one mile in some descriptions) southeast of Diamond Springs. Also a lode gold mine on the Mother Lode, it was active in 1894-96 and again in 1907-08 when a two to five-foot vein of gold-bearing quartz was developed by a 500-foot crosscut adit.

A third Lone Star mine was also a lode gold mine located on the Mother Lode, three miles south of the town of El Dorado.

The Lone Star Tunnel and Hydraulic mine was a placer gold mine consisting of 100.00 acres three miles east of Smith Flat.

The appropriately named Longshot mine was a small copper mine located one mile west of the Cosumnes copper mine, which was four miles north of Fair Play, near the Cosumnes River. It was developed by a 200-foot adit, but only worked intermittently, more as a prospect than a real mine.

The Lookout mine was a lode gold mine on the Mother Lode, some three miles southwest of El Dorado and one-half mile south of the Union mine. It was intermittently active from 1860 through the 1930s. The gold was found in small, but rich ore shoots that were developed by a 400-foot adit which was later extended to over 600 feet. The mine produced $2,200 in 1912 and $15,000 in 1933 when a strike was made in the roof of the adit, where a raise was started 520 feet from the portal and 270 feet below the surface.

The Lookout and K.K. mine was a lode gold mine in Quartz Canyon, near Volcanoville, northeast of Georgetown. It was active in 1894-96 when a two-foot vein of gold-bearing quartz was developed by a 200-foot crosscut adit, several drifts and a 34-foot inclined shaft.

In 1949 and 1950, a company known as Lord and Bishop operated a three cubic yard dragline dredge on Greenwood and Carson Creeks.

The Lords Consolidated mine was a lode gold mine consisting of a group of four claims totaling 72.47 acres three miles east of Diamond Springs.

The Losh mine was a slate mine located one-half mile north of Chili Bar. During the years 1890, 1921-24 and 1937, dimension slate (blackboards, table tops, paving stones, etc.) was produced from an open pit 50 feet deep and 40 feet wide.

On the South Fork of the American River, at the town of Lotus, was a gravel mining operation known as the Lotus Bar mine. During the 1930s the gravel was mined using power shovels and bulldozers. The placer gold was separated from the rest of the material by sending the gravel through several washing plants.

Three miles south of the town of El Dorado was a lode gold mine known as the Loveless mine. The deposit consisted of a one-foot vein of gold-bearing quartz with pockets of rich ore. It was active in 1914 and developed by a 160-foot crosscut adit, 300-foot drift and a 90-foot shaft.

The Lucero mine was a lode gold mine on the western branch of the Mother Lode one mile southwest of Georgetown.

The Lucinda mine was a lode gold mine three miles west of Grizzly Flat. It was active prior to 1896 when its six-inch to three-foot wide vein of gold-bearing quartz was developed by a 50-foot vertical shaft and a 150-foot crosscut adit.

The Lucky Boy mine was a lode gold claim on the Mother Lode, three miles southeast of the town of El Dorado.

The Lucky Five mine was a lode gold claim on the west branch of the Mother Lode near Spanish Dry Diggings.

Two miles south of the townsite of El Dorado was the Lucky Jack mine, another lode gold mine. The deposit consisted of a series of gold-bearing quartz veins that were developed by several shallow shafts. The ore was treated on-site in a two-stamp mill.

The Lucky Marion (Shepard) mine was a lode gold mine located on 20 acres of the western branch of the Mother Lode one mile northwest of Greenwood. It was first active in 1896-97 and again in 1901, when it produced $3,860 in gold. From 1897 until September 1899 it was shut down on account of litigation. The “high-grade” gold-bearing quartz vein, 18 to 24 inches in width, was developed by a 112-foot inclined shaft with several drifts at the 100-foot level. The ore was treated in a 20-stamp mill.

The Lucky Star Consolidated mine was a group of claims on 14.84 acres of the Mother Lode one-half mile north of Placerville.

The Lucky Strike mine was a lode gold claim two miles southeast of Placerville.

A second Lucky Strike mine was also a lode gold claim just north of Greenwood on the western branch of the Mother Lode.

The Lukens mine was a lode gold mine three miles southwest of the town of Cool. The deposit consisted of a narrow vein of high grade ore that was developed and worked around 1923 through two shafts, one 130 feet and the other 90 feet in depth, connected by a 150-foot drift.

The Lyon mine was a placer gold, drift mine, one mile southeast of Smith’s Flat and two miles east of Placerville. As at the Linden Mine, a portion of the Deep Blue Lead channel was worked, however, here it was by two shafts and drifts. It was active prior to 1900 with a total output of $1,400,000.