Shoshone Turquoise Mine (Sotang Lode, Austin, Nevada): Field Guide
Part of the Turquoise Mines field guides and The Southwest Jewelry Guide.
Mike Ryan II and Philip Chambless’s 2020 history gives the story of the mine whose turquoise was sold as Shoshone: the Sotang Lode claim west of Austin, Nevada. Every statement below is quoted or paraphrased from their book, with page numbers, so you can check each one. Their book was published in 2020; anything described as current describes 2020.
The claim and its discovery
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 191), the mine was the Sotang Lode claim of prospector Leroy Brady, about 10 miles west of Austin in the New Pass Mining District. [1]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 191), the first location was on September 7, 1969, and its name was a misspelling of Sontag, the name used by Jerry Jackson, a Shoshone mustanger who made the original discovery in the summer of 1919; artifacts at the site showed prehistoric digging. [1]
The Lombardo years
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 191), Allan E. Lombardo founded the Lombardo Turquoise Milling and Mining Company in April 1972, and early in 1973 he and investor William Hickey, a New Mexico jewelry manufacturer, bought out Brady for $70,000, leaving Lombardo with 75% and Hickey 25%. [1]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 191), the claim had been worked from an underground shaft, but the steep terrain called for an open pit, which began in 1975. [1]
Ryan & Chambless (2020) on the trade name:
“The jewelry and turquoise sold, both cut and rough, was marketed as Shoshone.”
— Ryan & Chambless (2020), p. 191 [1]
According to Ryan & Chambless (2020, p. 191), Lombardo's 1984 report to the Nevada Bureau of Mines claimed more than two million carats and over $2 million in revenue across 11 years, but the authors judged high-grade light-blue spider-web Shoshone very rare and the figures inflated. [1]
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How this page is sourced. We strive for accuracy: every factual statement above is quoted from or credited to the printed work listed below, with page numbers, and this page is continuously updated with new information as we read more of our library. See something we should correct? Contact us.
Sources
- 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.