Blue Gem Turquoise: Field Guide to Battle Mountain's Deep-Vein Mine
Blue Gem turquoise comes from the Bullion District approximately six miles south of Battle Mountain, Nevada. It shares a regional identity with Royston mine — both deposits became known for turquoise that blends blue and green in a way that distinguishes them from the pure-blue stones of Lander Blue or Lone Mountain. Blue Gem adds one documented anomaly to the standard turquoise mining profile: deposits reaching as deep as 800 feet.
From the Library: Branson on Blue Gem (1975)
1975 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1975, not today.
Writing in 1975, Oscar Branson described what set Blue Gem apart, and why that made it a name to check:
“The Blue Gem Mine has been noted for the great variety of colors in the turquoise it produces, especially the intense blue to the deep green combinations of colors in a single stone. This has become such a distinguishing feature of Blue Gem turquoise, that similar stones from other mines are often sold as "Blue Gem" turquoise.”
— Branson (1975), p. 16
According to Branson (1975, p. 16), the mine was also known as the Blue Gem Lease Mine, the Turquoise Tunnel and the Contention Mine.
As of 1975, Branson (1975, p. 17) reported that work at the Blue Gem had started about 1934 and had continued intermittently since.
Branson (1975, p. 17) cautioned that Nevada had several Blue Gem mines, that the one near Battle Mountain had been an important producer of exceptionally good quality turquoise, and that stone sold as "Battle Mountain" turquoise has no mine of that name behind it.
Branson (1975, p. 23) also pictured a Leekya carved necklace and frog in green Blue Gem turquoise, a reminder that the mine's stone runs to true green as well as blue.
According to Branson (1975, p. 2), a single Blue Gem lot of 29 stones from the mine near Battle Mountain ran from deep blue through the light blues to deep green, which he used to show how many colors one mine can yield.
According to Branson (1975, p. 2), those Blue Gem stones were all about the same hardness with very little porosity, so as of 1975 he did not expect them to change color from absorbed oil and grease.
According to Branson (1975, p. 38), the Easter Blue Mine northwest of Tonopah was also known as the Blue Mountain Mine and the Blue Gem Mine. He warned that it was not to be confused with the Blue Gem Mine near Battle Mountain, so a 'Blue Gem' label alone does not identify the source.
From the Library: Lowry, Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone (2010)
2010 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2010, not today.
In his geology chapter, Lowry (2010) gives a different depth for Blue Gem:
“The Bisbee Mine in Arizona (over 1,000 feet) and the Blue Gem Mine in Nevada (900 feet) had some deposits that were documented deeper than the average mine.”
— Lowry (2010), p. 107 [2]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 224), Blue Gem was a prehistoric site rediscovered by Duke Goff in 1934, and it produced turquoise from as deep as 800 feet. [2]
Lowry (2010) on the mine's place in jewelry history:
“This mine's turquoise production was a great influence during the infancy of the Indian jewelry industry in the mid-twentieth century and continued until the early 1980s.”
— Lowry (2010), p. 224 [2]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 224), Blue Gem rough was sold to many lapidaries who cut hundreds of thousands of cabochons, and large quantities of jewelry were set with Blue Gem stones cut into perfect oval, round and square shapes. [2]
According to Lowry (2010, p. 224), the claims were owned by many miners, including Lee Hand, Doc Wilson and Lem Edgar, with the Elquist family the last-known miners, and were known as The Contention, Pedro Lode, Turquoise Tunnel and Battle Mountain. [2]
From the Library: Bassman, The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry (1997)
1997 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1997, not today.
Bassman (1997, p. 11) pictured a three-stone bracelet with Blue Gem turquoise among pieces she dated to the 1940s, artists unknown. [3]
Bassman (1997) pictured a ring:
“Twisted wire border with three-stone Blue Gem turquoise, made by Perry Shorty.”
— Bassman (1997), p. 38 [3]
Bassman (1997, p. 58) pictured two stampwork bola ties set with Blue Gem turquoise made by Carson Blackgoat. [3]
Bassman (1997) pictured a squash blossom by Perry Shorty:
“Squash blossom necklace with 109 Blue Gem turquoise stones with cast corn.”
— Bassman (1997), p. 68 [3]
From the Library: Ryan & Chambless, Turquoise in America Part Two: 1910–1990 (2020)
2020 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2020, not today.
Ryan & Chambless (2020) rank the mine:
“Blue Gem Lease is possibly, second only to Fox, the highest producing turquoise mine ever in the state.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 85 [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 85), the mine lay in Copper Basin, about five miles south of Battle Mountain, on ground whose copper mines were owned by the Copper Canyon Mining Company; H. R. (Duke) Goff first found turquoise there in 1918, but no mining was done until the American Gem Company leased it from the mining company in 1937. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 85), the turquoise first came to Doc Wilson's attention in 1936, and the Bureau of Mines engineer Vanderburg reported 424 pounds produced in 1937, valued at $20 a pound (the era's price), with six men employed by April 1938. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 86), Doc Wilson's son Del Wilson arrived in April 1937 and managed production for several years, joined by his brother Bill in 1940; production halted during World War II, when both were in service. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 86), Morrissey reported a declared output of perhaps $1 million in rough turquoise in these early years; the authors work out that this would mean about 75 pounds a day from six miners and judge the figures probably greatly exaggerated, while agreeing that a great deal of turquoise was mined there from 1937 to 1941. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 87), the mine's success drew others to Copper Basin: L. A. Springer bought turquoise claims there from Duke Goff in 1937, and in December 1938 a new turquoise find was reported near the American Gem Company's lease. [4]
Interview recollections below are the speaker's memory, published by Ryan & Chambless (2020); they describe the 1940s-1970s.
Ryan & Chambless (2020) rank the mine's output:
“Next to the Fox, the Blue Gem Lease Mine at Copper Basin has probably produced the most turquoise.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 128 [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 128), the Blue Gem sat on private land owned by a succession of mining companies that leased out the turquoise rights; before the war the American Gem Company, managed by Doc Wilson's sons Bill and Del, held the lease, and from about 1946 Lee Hand worked it with his partner Alvin Layton on a verbal agreement. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 132), Florence Layton's account ledgers for 1949-1954, the only records of their kind the authors know from the period, show cash revenue of $15,000 in 1949, $25,000 in 1950, $17,000 in 1951, $13,000 in 1952, $10,000 in 1953 and $4,000 in 1954. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 133), C. G. Wallace was by far the largest buyer of Blue Gem in those years, accounting for as much as half of revenue; other ledger customers included Maisel's in Albuquerque, the Fred Harvey Indian Department, J. C. Turpin of Gallup and Dean Kirk of Manuelito. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 134), the ledgers record about 7,500 pounds of rough and over 182,000 carats of cut Blue Gem sold from 1949 to 1954, for total sales of $84,000, not counting trades made directly with Native American customers. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 134), so much Blue Gem appears in jewelry of this period, especially Zuni work, because of C. G. Wallace's buying; the authors argue that makers' choice of stone owed more to price, quantity and quality available than to a fondness for one mine. [4]
Jim Elquist recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 131), that his family held the Blue Gem lease from the early 1960s until 1973, when no turquoise was left; Duval began open-pit mining in 1965 and put the turquoise it hit into dumps, which the Elquists then worked. [4]
Jim Elquist told Ryan & Chambless (2020) how the colours sorted by host rock:
“The blue-green comes out of the brown rock, and the blue came out of the gray rock.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 131 [4]
Bill King recalled, in an interview published by Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 146), that his relatives Wendell and Bert bought the old Blue Gem Mine at Battle Mountain, at the old mining camp of Copper Basin; the Edgars had had it in the early 1940s, Lee Hand lived across the road, and Bill worked there for three or four months as a young man, learning how turquoise lay. [4]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 157), the Layton ledger of Blue Gem Lease sales shows business with Gallup's California Super Market, and shows turquoise sold as rough to lapidaries such as the Kings in Albuquerque and to contract jewelers working for Julius Gans in Santa Fe. [4]
Randall Marchese, who cut stone for Art Lee's Turquoise Nugget in Flagstaff from about 1970 to 1974, told Ryan & Chambless (2020):
“We used mostly Blue Gem and a little Morenci, but the Native Americans loved that Blue Gem in small teardrop shapes and ovals.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 204 [4]
According to the mine glossary in Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 344), the Copper Basin area of Lander County, Nevada takes in the Turquoise King, Myron Clark, Blue Gem Lease, Contention, Pedro Lode, Turquoise Tunnel and Copper Canyon workings, which are often referred to collectively as Battle Mountain. [4]
From the Library: Lowry, Turquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide (2002)
2002 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2002, not today.
Lowry (2002) on Blue Gem's green stone:
“A blue stone with a spiderweb matrix is worth more than a green stone, but a green stone from the Blue Gem mine is worth more than a high grade blue Sleeping Beauty stone.”
— Lowry (2002), p. 34 [5]
Lowry (2002) on which Blue Gem this is:
“Of the several Nevada mines that are named Blue Gem, this is the largest and most famous.”
— Lowry (2002), p. 52 [5]
According to Lowry (2002, p. 52), the mine, no longer active by 2002, produced almost every shade of green and blue turquoise and lay about six miles south of Battle Mountain, within a large copper-mining operation. [5]
From the Library: Stacey, Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest (1975)
1975 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1975, not today.
Preston Monongye, in his own words in the 1975 Turquoise Blue Book, on where his stones came from:
“Most of the turquoise being used comes from the Morenci and Bisbee mines in Arizona; Lone Mountain spider web from Tonopah, Nevada; deep jade green from Battle Mountain, Nevada; and various shades of blue and green from the Blue Gem Mine, also in Nevada. Most of these mines, I might add, are not now in operation.”
— Stacey (1975), p. 75 [6]
From the Library: Jacka, Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone (1995)
1995 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1995, not today.
As of 1995, Gene Waddell of Waddell Trading Company, who also held part of the Lone Mountain Mine, told Jacka (1995, p. 81) that most of the good Nevada mines, Blue Gem among them, were closed. [7]
From the Library: Woodward, A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing (1946)
1946 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 1946, not today.
In his 1938 list of Nevada mines supplying the Indian trade, Woodward (1946) gave this location:
“Blue Gem, forty miles north of Tonopah.”
— Woodward (1946), p. 45 [8]
From the Library: June, Fred Harvey Jewelry 1900–1955 (2013)
2013 primary source. Anything described as current here describes 2013, not today.
As of 2013, June (2013) reported Blue Gem in vintage tourist bracelets:
“It is fairly common to find a Fred Harvey bracelet with a fine specimen of (now highly regarded) Number Eight (#8) spiderweb or Blue Gem turquoise.”
— June (2013), p. 138 [9]
Field Notes by Mateo James
Lowry's primary account places Blue Gem alongside Royston in a specific context: "Blue Gem and Royston mines in Nevada became famous for their turquoise's mixture of blue and green colors." That blue-green character is the stone's identifying signature across the literature.
The mine's history involves several documented operators. Duke Goff rediscovered it in 1934. Previous owners included Lee Hand, Doc Wilson, and Lem Edgar — names that appear across multiple Nevada turquoise operations during the mid-twentieth century. The Elquist family are documented as the last known miners.
The depth anomaly is worth noting for any collector or researcher engaged with turquoise geology. The standard formation rule, as stated in Chambless, is that turquoise is "usually found close to the surface within a zone of 10 to 60 feet, although there are exceptions to this rule." Blue Gem's 800-foot deposits are one of those documented exceptions — unusual enough to be specifically noted in the primary literature.
Collector's Handbook
What to look for: Blue-green stone is the characteristic profile. Blue Gem is not a pure-sky-blue deposit; the green component is intrinsic to its most recognized stones.
Recognition tells: Blue Gem shares district geography with other Battle Mountain area mines. Stone with the documented blue-green mixture from this region is plausible as Blue Gem; monochrome pale blue would be atypical.
Honest mine-status hedge: Current mining status after the Elquist family's documented period is not confirmed in primary sources.
Related claims at the same site include Contention, Pedro Lode, and Turquoise Tunnel.
Related mine guides: Pages for Bisbee, Sleeping Beauty, Number Eight, Cerrillos, Royston, Kingman, Lander Blue, and Morenci mines are coming soon to this field guide.
Lowry gives two depths for Blue Gem's deepest turquoise: 800 feet in his mine profile (p. 224) and 900 feet in his geology chapter (p. 107). Both figures come from the same book, and they do not match, so I have shown both. Either way, Blue Gem sits far below the shallow zone where most turquoise forms.
I notice the two books part ways on the name Battle Mountain. Branson (1975) wrote that no mine of that name stood behind stone sold as Battle Mountain turquoise, while Lowry (2010, p. 224) lists Battle Mountain among the names the Blue Gem claims have been known by. Chambless & Ryan’s Part One (2021) does not cover Blue Gem; their Part Two (2020) does (see the note below), and I have left both on the page.
I notice three dates for the start of Blue Gem. Branson has work starting about 1934 and Lowry has Duke Goff rediscovering the site in 1934, while Ryan & Chambless (2020) have Goff finding turquoise there in 1918 and no mining until the American Gem Company's lease in 1937, backed by a 1937 Bureau of Mines production figure. I tend to side with Ryan & Chambless, but I have kept all three on the page.
I notice two end dates for Blue Gem. Lowry (2010) has production continuing until the early 1980s, while Jim Elquist, whose family held the last lease, told Ryan & Chambless (2020) they worked it until 1973, when no turquoise was left. Elquist speaks from the lease itself and I tend to side with Ryan & Chambless where they cover a point, but I have kept both dates on the page.
This page places the Blue Gem in the Bullion District near Battle Mountain. Woodward's 1938 list of mines supplying the Indian trade puts a Blue Gem forty miles north of Tonopah, much farther south. Branson, quoted on this page, records that a mine near Tonopah was also called the Blue Gem. I show both locations.
We strive for accuracy. This field guide entry is compiled from the published references cited below and is continuously updated with new information from the artists, their families, and the community. See something inaccurate, or hold documentation on this mine? Get in touch — corrections are welcomed and credited.
Back to the Southwest Jewelry Guide.
References
- Lowry, Joe Dan. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone (2010).
- Chambless, Philip. The History of the American Turquoise Industry.
- Branson, Oscar T. Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries. Santa Fe: Treasure Chest Publications, 1975. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1975.
- Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2010. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2010.
- Bassman, Theda. The Beauty of Navajo Jewelry. Photography by Gene Balzer. Walnut, California: Kiva Publishing, 1997. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1997.
- Ryan, Mike, II, and Philip Chambless. Turquoise in America, Part Two: 1910–1990. Callais Press, 2020. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2020.
- Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide. Photography by Mark Nohl. Tucson, AZ: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2002. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2002.
- Stacey, Joseph, ed. Turquoise Blue Book and Indian Jewelry Digest. Arizona Highways Collectors Series. Phoenix: Arizona Highways (Arizona Department of Transportation), 1975. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1975.
- Jacka, Lois Essary. Navajo Jewelry: A Legacy of Silver and Stone. Photographs by Jerry Jacka. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing, 1995. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1995.
- Woodward, Arthur. A Brief History of Navajo Silversmithing. With field notes by Richard Van Valkenburgh. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 14, 2d ed. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona Society of Science and Art, December 1946 (first edition 1938). Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 1946.
- June, Dennis. Fred Harvey Jewelry 1900–1955. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2013. Cited by printed page. Statements describe conditions as of 2013.
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