Other Names: Virgin Mountain chrysoberyl Mine , Mica Notch deposits and Leavitt claims
Commodities: mica and beryllium
Location: Township 15 S, Range 71 East, Section 17,18
History: Earliest work was done for mica in about 1900; some
beryllium ore was produced in 1935.
Geology: Muscovite mica occurs in pegmatite dikes associated
with chrysoberyl, beryle, garnet, magnetite, and tourmaline. The dikes cut Precambrian
garnet-mica schist; gneiss foliation trends northeast and dips southeast. The mica
occurs in books up to several inches thick and g to 8 inches square. Specks of
foreign material are present and it is not cleavable in large sheets.
I found the picture below in a mining journal in the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. I tried to take the next picture from the same spot but I should have gone down the road a little farther. However you can see the change over the years:
This is what remains of the old mining shack of the Mica Notch Mine. You can can still see some of the old shingles from the roof:
My son and I looking over the remnants of the Mica Notch Mine in Nevada's backcountry:
Some of this information came from Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 45. Mineral Resources of the Overton 30' x 60' Quadrangle: http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/r45.pdf
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