Blue Gem Turquoise: Field Guide to Battle Mountain's Deep-Vein Mine
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.
Field Notes by Mateo James
Lowry's primary account places Blue Gem alongside Royston in a specific context (~lines 11610–11615): "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.
References
- Lowry, Joe Dan. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone (2010), ~lines 11610–11615. [Primary source — mining history and color character.]
- Chambless, Philip. The History of the American Turquoise Industry (~line 10457). [Surface zone rule cited for depth comparison.]