Gold III – Lost Gold Mines in the Southwest

Tales of the discovery and loss of rich gold mines such as The Lost Dutchman in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona and the El Naranjal lost gold mine in the Sierra Mountains of Mexico, as popularized by folklorist, J. Frank Dobie, in “Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver” have fascinated many of us. An extensive list of both lost gold and silver mines of the Southwest , each with extensive and entertaining descriptions of their histories, can be found in “Lost Treasure Tales” on the GeoZone Site [Ref 1].

Perhaps the lost mine tale that most of us are aware of, is that of the Lost Dutchman Mine [Ref 2]. One, of 62, hand drawn maps of its supposed location, made available in Reference 3, is shown in Figure 1 and orients it with respect to the prominent geological landmark, Weavers Needle, shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1. Map of the location of the Lot Dutchman Gold Mine [Ref 3]

Figure 2. Weavers Needle, the landmark for the location of the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine *[Ref 2].*

Two roots for the of name of the lost El Naranjal Mine have been attributed to its location near a grove of trees with oranges (naranjas) or to the orange color of the gold in its ore [Ref 3]. It is supposedly located at the bottom of canyon (Barranca) beside a river and near an abandoned hacienda.

Among many of the discussions about this mine, Treasurenet suggests that proof of the its existence lies in an old road sign naming the road to the mine in Sinaloa and in records found in Guadalajara, which were found by a British consul, describing production in the millions in the 17^thCentury [Ref 4]. In another posting,

TreasureNet, [Ref 5], suggests its location fits that of an 1800’s lost, and very rich gold mine, in the region of the lost Tayopa silver mine [Ref 6], and in another post [Ref 7] that its location lies in the state of Durango.

Ref 1. http://www.thegeozone.com/treasure/arizona/index.jsp

Ref 2. http://treasure-hunting-information.com/?page_id=2641

Ref 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naranjal_mine

Ref 4. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tayopa/36414-el-naranjal.html

Ref 5. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tayopa/273860-can-el-naranjal-possibly-found-tayopa-complex.html

Ref 6. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tayopa/36414-el-naranjal.html

Ref 7. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/treasure-legends/487274-update-mine-el-naranjal.html