Sunflower Mine
02/26/2007
02/26/2007
02/26/2007
The old Sunflower Mine once turned cinnabar into mercury for use in the gold mines around the valley.
Getting there requires 4WD, and preferably more clearance than our truck had.
We actually parked it about 4 miles down the road from the site and hiked to it. Why?
Well we figured exercise was preferable to taking out the oil pan or transmission on one of the rather large rocks in the middle of the washed out, steep road up the mountain.
Silly us.
This is what is left of the processing site
A good side shot of the condensor pipes and the processor
What's left of the old ore sluice
These are the pipes for the condensor. Basically it's a big still
I'm just there for size perspective
This is the tumbler that broke up the cinnebar. Again, I'm there to give some size per
The place is just huge underneath
Why someone pushed this truck down the hill is beyond me, but it's lying upside down by
I'm in one of the mine entrances that are all over the mountain
The red stuff is cinnabar