Copyright © 2004 by Ana Minerva Bonilla September 26, 2005 15:24
The Weekend Miner
(http://theweekendminer.com)
California
Kern County
Mines Identified in the District:
Friday Gold
Jackpot Gold
Joe Walker Gold $600,000+ production
Porter Gold
Rand Group Gold $125,000+ production
Rochfort Gold
Southern Cross Gold
Washington Gold
Description(s) of the District:
Bulletin 193, California Division of Mines and Geology, 1998, 37 : The Clear Creek or Havilah mining district is in east-central Kern County, about 26 miles east-northeast of Bakersfield and five miles south of Bodfish. It is an extensive region that includes Red Mountain and Walker Basin areas. It is also a Tungsten district.
Gold was discovered in Clear Creek in 1863 or 1864 by Claude de la Borde, George McKay, Benjamin Mitchell and Hugh McKeadney. The town of Havilah was established in 1865 and soon became an important center with a population of at least 3,000. It was the seat of Kearn County from 1867 until 1874. The Area declined in the 1880's, but was intermittently active for many years afterward. Some work has been done in recent years at the Joe Walker and Rand mines.
The area is underlain by quartz diorite with roof pendants of metasedimentary rocks in the north and south portions of the district. A body of gabbro lies to the northeast. The Gold deposits are mostly confined to the quartz diorite west of Havilah and in the Walker Basin. They consist of quartz veins up to six feet thick, which contain free gold and varying amounts of sulfides.