In my last post I talked about one of my favorite ghost towns near where I grew up in the 70’s. I thought I had driven up and down the many canyons and explored most of the old mining roads that existed throughout the county. For as much time I spent “seeing country”, I thought I had a good understanding of what layed over the next ridge. But that all changed five years ago, when I learned a few miles to the west of Hamilton was an almost intact mining operation consisting of a mill, a 9,200-foot aerial tramway and a mine high up on a mountain slope.
Belmont Mill, White Pine County Nevada
In 1923, the Tonopah Belmont Development Company (TBDC) closed their mills located near Tonopah Nevada. In 1926 TBDC purchased the Cornell Mine in White Pine County, which was later renamed the Belmont mine. After purchase of the mine, components from the Tonopah operation made their way north to White Pine County.
This mine was only a few miles due west of the Hamilton silver strike, it’s surprising to find out this mine produced relatively high-grade lead ore.
Ore was mined high on the mountain, loaded on a tramway, then processed at a mill located at the bottom of the mountain. From there, concentrate was trucked to a railhead at Kimberly, NV, where it was railed to Utah and smelted at Kennecott Copper.
The Belmont mill processed @100 tons of lead ore each day and was in full operation until 1929 when it shut down. It reopened again in 1931 but closed shortly after due to the Great Depression. Operations were off and on from 1949 to 1967 when it closed for the last time. The mill was finally abandoned in the early 1970’s.
To Visit the Belmont Mill
To reach the Belmont mill from Ely Nevada, travel an hour west on US Highway 50. Eventually you will see a highway marker indicating an exit to the South. Follow the signs and after a 10 mile trek over relatively smooth and partially maintained roads, you will reach the mouth of the canyon leading to the mill. As you get closer, you will begin to see various pipes along the roadway. Many of these pipes were used to pump water from sources near Hamilton a few miles to the east.
The Belmont Mill Today
When you reach the mill, you will see a group of buildings. The wooden structures are relatively intact but showing decay from years of exposure to the elements. This aerial picture gives a good idea of what to expect when you first see the mill.
After some research, I was able to find the original drawings used to build the mill. From the “Process Section” you can see the flow of ore as it was unloaded from the tramway and made its way down to the thickeners. You also see a flow chart of the process of how this ore began from top of a mountain and made its way to Salt Lake City where it was smelted down to metal.
A diesel generator supplied power for the tramway and mill. As you can see from this interior image, operations depended on overhead shafts and pulleys for much of the machinery. It’s hard to imagine the activity and danger which took place at the mill. The sounds of rotating shafts, clanking of metal on metal and men yelling over the thunderous drone of a diesel engine surely made work very unpleasant by todays standards.
As you walk around the exterior you can appreciate the structural integrity of the engineering. Especially when you see the suspended counterweight which is still applying tension to the 9,200’ cable. To me, this is amazing to see something almost 100 years old still basically intact.
The cable is supported by tram towers. As you can see from the original plan sheets, they ranged in height from 15’ to 20’ in height.
To reach the mine, you head south from the mill following a narrow road that will lead you up through a series of switchbacks to the mine site. Be aware this road is usually overgrown with choke cherry bushes, and you can expect to pick up some “pin-stripping” on your vehicle. A jeep or UTV is highly recommended due to the overgrowth and tight switchbacks on the road.
Near the top of the mountain, you will eventually see the mine and its support structures. There is a wooden structure which was most likely an administration building of some type, a power building which may have housed a diesel generator and/or steam boiler. Further back is the building that houses the rear tail pulley and where ore was loaded onto the tramway buckets for transport to the mine.
Inside the tail pulley building, you can see the sheaves and the cable, but no buckets as they were removed some time ago. The ore was loaded from the rear then trammed down the mountain slope. The wood in the building appears to be hardwood, I speculate it was brought in from back east and hauled to the site. All the pieces were numbered, or letter matched for assembly.
A while ago, I mentioned there may have been a steam boiler at the power building. I say this as there’s a large steam condenser just outside the mine opening. Most likely this steam supplied the energy to drive the drills, muckers and other mining equipment. When the ore exited the mine, it was dumped in a tipple, where it was chuted into small ore carts, then moved to the tramway.
The mine entrance has been blasted shut. But if there was access, I’m sure you would find a maze of tunnels and forgotten pieces of mining history. I certainly don’t recommend going into a mine unless you are trained and have folks with you who can deal with an emergency. I attached this video to give you some idea of what may be inside beyond the blasted entrance.
To me exploring these sites are exciting and intriguing. I try to imagine all the engineering and logistics which had to be overcome to make this operation happen high in the Nevada mountains. Were men and women “tougher” back in the day, more determined or simply just have stronger wills? All I know is they overcame mother nature and made it bend to their will. But in the long run, it was mother nature who would be the final victor.
If you haven’t seen this site or others like it, I highly recommend a visit before they are forever lost in history. These sites are made of wood and a single forest fire can wipe them away.
Keep checking back, as next posting we will explore the “Outlaw trail” from Rock Springs, WY to northern Utah.
