This is another one of my favorite places to go to! I usually get good gold here and it’s fairly easy to dig (the gold is not too deep) It’s all claimed up though. (GPAA, VALLEY PROSPECTORS, OC 49 er;s, PCSC, etc) This district is not easy to find initially, because a person can get confused with all of the different dirt trails, but when I finally found my way in here some years ago I came upon the Valley Prospectors drywashing - and when I seen the good gold they got at the end of the day, they allowed me to drywash that day and I got good gold also. I became a member after that and have not regretted it, I have good memories in here. Later I found out that some GPPA members were getting some good gold also, so I tried those spots also. It’s really hard NOT to find gold in the area! There have been small nuggets found here but there’s not a history of really large (and abundant) nuggets. It’s mostly fines, flakes and pickers, but plentiful - you shouldn’t have problems finding at least SOME gold here! It’s awesome and serene being in the desert digging for gold (when it’s not too hot of course) - Its been said that the gold deposits got there by an ancient river, blah blah (don’t believe everything you hear - people just ‘parrot’ what other pinheads think)- but I don’t believe this to be true - First of all, much of the gold is chunky (hasn’t traveled very far), I also have found host material on a few of the pickers I got (that match the surrounding rock) - Secondly, once you’ve been there a few times and looked at GOOGLE EARTH, etc., it’s obvious the gold came from Mud Hills above and other worn down mountains around that location. People I know about have metal detected and found larger nuggets in Mud Hills. It’s not rocket science people - Bigger pieces in mountains (closer to the source) smaller pieces down the slopes (alluvial fans) -

I usually like to prospect in warm places when it’s cooler and prospect in cool areas (rivers and streams) in the summer time when it’s hot.

COOLGARDIE - History/Background:

Gold was first discovered in easily obtainable deposits in the Mojave Desert around 1900, and a small settlement of several hundred miners soon sprang up. Coolgardie was named after the rich western Australian mining town that became large and famous both for its wealth and rough nature. Mexican miners coming from the Gold Rush up north worked this area for a while and then it was worked again during the Great Depression. California’s Coolgardie never reached the same status, although it was one of the few placer mining districts in the desert. When the gold ran out after just a few short years, there was nothing in this desolate place to entice its residents to stay. Gradually the wooden structures crumbled, and today little remains except some rusted cans and piles of lumber where buildings used to stand. Coolgardie is 19 miles north of Barstow, and it is necessary to drive along a narrow dirt road to reach it. Visitors should exercise extreme caution because many mining shafts have not been filled in and a fall would leave a victim stranded in the middle of the desert.

GPS COORDINATES: N35degrees06.03’ W117 degrees03.12’ (approximately)

NEAREST TRAIL: Desert #21: Black Canyon Road

The road will lead you through an area known as Coolgardie Camp, which is a mining area that was actually started by Chinese laborers from nearby Calico, who weren't allowed to prospect for themselves in that silver rich area. Instead of just accepting a life of cooking and doing laundry for the predominantly white miners, many of the Chinese set up camp on this area in the late 1800's and began to dig for their own riches.

One of the most interesting things about Coolgardie Camp is that it is still being prospected to this day. As you enter the prospecting zone, you will find claim markers, signs and rocks defining a large number of claims. You may also find several groups in the area prospecting for rare and valuable minerals. Most of these claims are now controlled by a prospecting organization whose members are allowed to work these claims by virtue of their membership.  The Grave of Donald D. Kenney, the last full-time resident of Coolgardie Camp is still there (died in 1995).

There are also a couple of recently abandoned miner's cabins, the larger of which also contains a well maintained grave that is of a miner who spent his final years eking out an existence in this area. To my knowledge he was the last permanent resident of Coolgardie Camp. His name was Donald D. Kenney and he died here in 1995. Explore this area carefully, respect the Private Property and Keep Out signs, and keep a close eye out for mineshafts. The entire area of Coolgardie Camp is full of mine shafts and holes.

The road through Coolgardie Camp is cris-crossed by other short roads leading off to mining claims and a couple of longer roads that lead off to the Northwest. To get to Black Mountain you will need to stay on the main road, or the road most traveled. This road will eventually lead you into a sandy wash that curves towards the Southwest.

Eventually you will intersect with a wider road that is very straight and heads back towards Hinkley. Stay on this road until you come to a major crossroads. This crossroads is Fossil Bed Road, which leads back to Fort Irwin Road to the east. To get to Black Mountain, you will want to go west on Fossil Bed Road.

GOLD DEPOSITS:

This is a dry-placer mining district in western San Bernardino County about 19 miles north (more like Nortnwest) of Barstow. The area was mined intermittently from around 1900 to 1915, with a total output valued at about $100,000. The principal operator was the Cool Gardie Mining Company, which operated a battery of gasoline-powered dry washers. Several two-man operations employed single dry washers or rockers. Minor prospecting was done in the district during the 1920s and 1930s. The deposits are in a broad valley; the gold apparently was derived from veins in granitic rocks that are to the east and northeast.