Gold Placers Located in California

There is one county in California, Placer County, that is distinguished mainly for its placer mines, and it has produced a significant amount of lode gold for the most part from the Ophir district. Gold was revealed in 1848 in Auburn Ravine. In the 1850's, bars in the American River and the tributaries in this area were worked, and quartz mining in addition began as well. In the Foresthill Divide area, the Tertiary channels were mined by drifts, and in the Dutch Flat Gold Run, Iowa Hill, and Yankee Jim districts, gold was dug up from gravels by hydraulic techniques. The Michigan Bluff placers have additionally been productive.

The heart of lode mining in Placer County is in the Ophir district. Gold quartz mines used to be active in the Canada Hill district nevertheless production from this region could not be determined. Logan (1936) illustrated the gold deposits of this county and was the principal resource of information for the production and explanation of the districts. Total production for the county from 1880 throughout 1959 was close to 2,000,000 ounces.

Dutch Flat Gold Run District
The Dutch Flat Gold Run district is alongside the north border of Placer County on the structure of Tertiary channel deposits that goes south from Nevada County. Placer mining in this area started up in 1849, and by 1857 hydraulic and drift mines were generating quite well on a large scale. Even though there are not any early records, it was projected that the district produced close to 479,000 ounces of gold to 1935. In the current years, due to the high costs and restraining legislation, the production is not what it used to be and has gone down to under less than 1,000 ounces for every year. The total amount of production through 1959 was close to 492,000 ounces.

Foresthill District
The Foresthill district is located in the south central Placer County. This area stands out because it is a complex system of Tertiary channels that have been covered by lavas. The gravels in this area have been very worked by drift mines in the past and it reached its peak of production in the 1860's. Before 1868 the Independence, New Jersey, and Jenny Lind mines produced $2,400,000 in gold. It has been said that the production of the individual mines in this area reached to a level of around 338,000 ounces of gold. In the latest years, the district has been practically inactive though. The total production of gold during 1959 was around 344,000 ounces.

Iowa Hill District
The Iowa Hill district is close to five miles east of the town of Colfax. Thick Tertiary gravels were worked in the past by hydraulic and drift mines in this area. The Morning Star mine, which had a production that had the value of $1,750,000 to 1901, was the biggest of the drift mines. Total production of this district to 1910 was around $10 million. There has not been any sort of activity reported in this area since before 1932, except in 1958 when about 300 ounces was produced.