Lone Mountain Turquoise: Field Guide to One of Nevada's Best

Lone Mountain turquoise comes from the Tonopah area of Nevada and is one of the few American deposits repeatedly singled out by the specialist literature. Oscar Branson calls it plainly "one of the leading producers of fine turquoise in Nevada."¹ Its documented history runs from a 1920 claim through a mid-century stretch when it was the only American turquoise production anyone reported at all.

Field Notes by Mateo James

The mine's origin is well documented and consistent across two independent sources. Branson records that it was discovered by Lee Hand in 1920 and filed under the name Blue Jay Mining Lode — at first called the Blue Jay Mine on Lone Mountain, later just Lone Mountain.¹ Nancy Schiffer gives the same year and the same origin: in 1920, the Blue Jay mine on Lone Mountain.² Two sources, written thirty-three years apart, agreeing on a date is worth more than either one alone.

Branson also records the shift in method that shaped the deposit's output: "as with most mines it was at first a tunnel and shaft project, but when Menless Winfield bought the mine it was made an open pit operation."¹

The single most striking datum sits in Chambless and Ryan's production history. Discussing the collapse of the American turquoise industry, they write that production in 1940 was reported at $20,000, and that "by 1955, the only amount reported, $20,000, was from the Lone Mountain mine in Nevada, owned by Doc Wilson."³

Read that carefully, because it is easy to inflate. It says the Lone Mountain figure was the only amount reported in 1955 — a statement about what was reported to the survey, not a measurement of everything mined in the United States that year. That is still remarkable. It is not the same claim as "Lone Mountain was the entire American turquoise industry," and the source does not support the stronger version.

A grid of twelve turquoise close-ups: a top row of green stones veined with brown and black including a dense black spider web, a middle row of bright blue stones with dark and metallic-flecked matrix, and a bottom row of pale blue stones with almost no matrix — Matrix types across turquoise generally. Branson grades Lone Mountain's output into three categories — golden matrix, black matrix, and spider web.¹ **These are general reference stones, not photographs of Lone Mountain material**; they are shown to make the vocabulary concrete.

Fossil turquoise: the mine's genuine oddity

Branson describes an unusual occurrence at this mine that is worth knowing about, because it is specific rather than promotional. Turquoise formed in the moulds left when parts of fossil plants were dissolved out of a harder rock; the result is called "fossil turquoise."¹ That is a formation story, not a grade — but it is the kind of detail that distinguishes a documented deposit from a marketing name.

On the ordinary output, Branson notes it is mostly good to high grade, usually in the form of nuggets, though there is a quantity of vein material as well.¹ Schiffer's summary is compatible: good to high quality turquoise of light to medium colour.²

A horizontal strip of six turquoise close-ups progressing from an almost clean pale stone through increasingly dense brown webbing to a dark, tightly packed nodular cluster — A spider-web progression, from nearly matrix-free at the left to dense webbing at the right. Spider web is one of the three grades Branson assigns to this mine's material.¹ General reference stones, not Lone Mountain material.

A much older link

Lone Mountain also appears in the archaeological record by way of isotope provenancing. Chambless and Ryan discuss turquoise recovered from Chaco Canyon sites including Pueblo Bonito, where analysis linked artifacts to a small number of source deposits — Lone Mountain and Crescent Peak among them.⁴ That places the deposit in use long before any 1920 filing.

Close-up of a teardrop-shaped bright blue turquoise cabochon set in a silver ring with a serrated bezel and twisted rope border, the stone carrying dark grey matrix flecks with metallic pyrite glints — Matrix reading in a finished piece: the dark inclusions and metallic flecks sit in the stone, not on it. Judging matrix is how most of the grading vocabulary above is applied in practice. General reference piece; the stone is not attributed to a named mine.

Collector's Handbook

What the sources actually support: a 1920 origin as the Blue Jay Mining Lode under Lee Hand, corroborated independently by Branson and Schiffer;¹² a shift from tunnel-and-shaft to open pit under Menless Winfield;¹ and grading into golden matrix, black matrix and spider web.¹

Ownership timeline, as documented: Doc Wilson at the 1955 report;³ Menless Winfield at the change to open-pit working;¹ Joe Dan Lowry and Joe P. Lowry name Chris Lott as owner at the time of their 2010 writing.⁵ Test any provenance story against that sequence.

Be careful with the 1955 statistic. It is the only production figure reported that year, which is a statement about reporting, not a census of American mining. Sellers who round it up to "the only turquoise mined in America" are overstating the source.³

Honest status hedge: current production status is not established by the sources cited here. The most recent ownership statement we hold is from 2010.⁵

Related mine guides: pages for Bisbee, Sleeping Beauty, Number Eight, Cerrillos, Royston, Kingman, Lander Blue and Morenci are in progress for this field guide.

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's ownership history? Get in touch — corrections are welcomed and credited.

Sources

Branson, Oscar T. Turquoise: The Gem of the Centuries. Treasure Chest Publications, Santa Fe, 1975. Printed pp. 46–47 (Lone Mountain entry: Lee Hand's 1920 discovery and the Blue Jay Mining Lode filing; tunnel-and-shaft to open pit under Menless Winfield; "one of the leading producers of fine turquoise in Nevada"; grading into golden matrix, black matrix and spider web; nugget and vein material; "fossil turquoise" formed in the moulds of dissolved plant fossils). Page span confirmed from the book's own illustrated mine map, which indexes this entry as "LONE MT. PP, 46-47."
Schiffer, Nancy N. Turquoise Jewelry, revised 4th edition, 2008. Printed pp. 11–12 (the Blue Jay mine on Lone Mountain, 1920; quality and colour range). This passage falls between the printed folios 11 and 12 in our scan, so it is cited as a span rather than pinned to one page.
Chambless, Philip, and Mike Ryan II. Turquoise in America, Part One: The Great American Turquoise Rush 1890–1910. Callais Press. Printed p. 176 (1940 production reported at $20,000; "by 1955, the only amount reported, $20,000, was from the Lone Mountain mine in Nevada, owned by Doc Wilson").
Chambless, Philip, and Mike Ryan II. Turquoise in America, Part One. Printed p. 29 (isotope provenancing of Chaco Canyon material, including Pueblo Bonito, linking artifacts to Lone Mountain and Crescent Peak among other sources).
Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. Gibbs Smith, 2010. Cited without a page: the printed folios in our scan of this title are not legible enough to pin a page honestly, so this reference is given at the book level only (ownership at time of writing; the Moser brothers among the earliest miners).