Ore was discovered in the area in 1904 and the Bellehelen camp was formed. After receiving a population of about 500 miners, it was deemed worthy of a post office but it wasn't until 1909 that things really got going- for a while. Around 1917 that larger operators moved in and in 1922 a spectacularly unsuccessful cyanide mill was built, which eventually shut down for good in 1927.
BELLEHELEN LOOKS PROMISING
New Camp South of Eureka Carries Gold and Silver Values.
The Bellehelen camp is so quickly proving its great merit that it is probable that it will be organized as a mining district very soon, says the Tonopah Miner of Aug. 19. The camp is in Nye County 45 miles east of Tonopah, on the western slope of the Kawich range, near its northern end where it almost touches the Hot Springs range, and about 6 miles east of the old Gila mill. Eden is 6 miles east, on the other side of the Kawich range, and Silver Bow is about 12 miles south. There are now about 75 men in that section, doing location work on their claims, and many of them are mining high-grade ore. Bellehelen has a splendid supply of spring water and wood for fuel and its population of prospectors and practical miners are confident that it will attract capital by force of actual merit.
-Eureka Sentinel, August 26, 1905
We're a real camp-- we got us a newspaper now!
Ever hear of Bellehelen? No?. We thought so. It is a thriving mining camp at the north end of the Kawich mountains, and about forty miles mill of Tonopah. The camp has hitherto had one great. unfulfilled, unsatisfied want—a means of telling the outside people and all the balance of the earth besides about Bellehelen. This want is now filled for M. A. Bley has started the Recorder [sic], an extremely handsome, well printed and well edited six-column, six page paper. May Bellehelen grow and prosper and the Record share in both.
-The Citrograph, April 20, 1907
The paper must have worked-- they even know about us in Los Angeles now!
Bellehelen Camp.
Forty-eight miles east of Tonopah, and sixty miles northeast of Goldfield at the north end of the Kawich range lies the mining camp of Bellehelen. Crossing the range at nearly right angles and traversed by irregular and broken hills the mineral belt has an extreme length of seven miles from two to three in width, at an elevation of 6000 to 8000 feet. The formation consists of .a series of ribs or dykes, of intrusive rhyolites, porphyries, andesites and sister rock. Most of the pay veins have a northeasterly and south-westerly trend, and often when coming in contact with or intersecting the dykes show good ore chutes and some-times large bodies of ore. The veins, irregular and broken, and carry gold and silver in the amounts in different parts of the district. The Bellehelen mines, better known as the Cornforths, were located in March, 1905, and when proven, were sold to Colorado parties. A forty-horse-power engine and compressor was installed in June and a 600-foot crosscut and 200 along the vein were driven. The company will explore the ore body at a depth of 250 feet during the next few months. A mile from Cornforths in the extreme east end of the district is the Neversweat group staked in February, 1907. This was sold to the Tomahawk-Mining Company at the completion of a fifty-foot exploration shaft. This company ran a 200-toot crosscut cutting the ore at a depth of 130 feet. The company is now preparing to install machinery and work on a large scale. The ore averages fifty to 120 ounces silver and some gold. The Lawrence, controlled by Gold-field people, has sunk a perpendicular shaft with a 175-foot crosscut, and is drifting on the 100-foot level. On the first level it has encountered a five-foot vein that sampled $50 to the ton. with values almost entirely in silver. A mill will be erected in the near future. Three months ago Clifford was a camp of less than a dozen people, now it boasts of more than 100. With railroads Bellehelen and Clifford ore expected to have a good future, says' one who has been there.
-Los Angeles Times, December 22, 1908
A mill has been ordered!
New Stamp Ordered for Bellehelen District
TONOPAH, May 18- A steam hoist and a ten-stamp mill have been ordered for Bellehelen district. A tentative order was given for this equipment several weeks ago but, awaiting an examination of the camp by the men most heartily interested, the order was held up until today, when word was sent to ship the plants. The hoist will be placed on one the shafts of the Celoto-Nevada and the mill will be placed in the gulch, where It will be easily reached also from the Columbus-Nevada and other properties in the camp.
-Reno Evening Gazette, May 21, 1909
World War I made it difficult to procure trucks large enough to haul ore to a mill, but we still wanna build our own!
Then there is the Cornforth mine at Bellehelen which is prepared to ship 50 tons a day if the transportation could be had. Manager Joe Cornforth has been trying to buy or hire motor trucks for some time but has succeeded only to a partial degree in securing any form of trucks owing to the fact that the United States has contracted for the full capacity of most of the manufacturers of motor equipment and deliveries for regular business must wait until after the army has been supplied. For several weeks the Corn forth mine has been sending to the West End mill eight. tons daily of high-grade ore and today the White truck will be commissioned to haul from the mine to Tonopah. This will raise the output to 15 tons daily with a valuation of $80 a ton. The company proposes to erect a concentrating mill at the mine as soon as materials for construction can be delivered. The mine is situated 50 miles due east of Tonopah on the east side of the Kawich range with a good road leading direct to the collar of the shaft. Mr. Cornforth, who is operating the mine individually, has more ore in sight than he can handle and therefore is sending out only high grade.—Bonanza.
-Goldfield News and Weekly Tribune, September 15, 1917
A description of the mine
The Bellehelen Mine of the Kawich Mining and Milling Company is located at the north end of the Kawich Range, about 52 miles east of Tonopah, and five or six miles beyond the old camp of Bellehelen. A good wagon road leads directly to the mine. There is abundant supply of wood on the property ad water is obtained from a spring at Bellehelen. It is claimed that enough water to run a small mill bay be obtained from a spring about 1 1.2 miles distant, by installing a pumping plant and pipeline. The property is thoroughly equipped for mining on a small scale. The power plant consists of a compressor capable of running three hammer-drills, or two drills and a small hoist, the power being furnished by a gasoline engine. A blacksmith shop, two comfortable bunk houses and a mess house, all in good condition, are also located at the mouth of the tunnel. The Company owns two 12-1/2 ton and one 3-ton trucks, which are used for hauling ore to Tonopah and supplies to the mine.
-Preliminary Report of Kawich Mining and Milling Company's Mine At Bellehelen, Nevada - 1919
Well, we finally got our mill!
BELLEHELEN MILL COMMISSIONED
At Bellehelen the new mill of the Bellehelen Merger Company has been placed in commission and is crushing about fifty tons daily.
-Sacramento Bee, June 6, 1923
Plagued with problems, the mill only operated sporadically.
BELLHELEN MILL IS TO RESUME, REPORT
Negotiations Under Way to Handle Clifford Ore With Bellehelen
According to advices from W. F. Gray it is quite possible that the Bellehelen mill will be put into commission at an early date. The Clifford mine which is distant about 11 miles has a very large tonnage of good grade milling ore on the dump and in addition is mining a considerable amount of ore that is said to run between $18 and $20 per ton. Negotiations are now in progress as shown by the following wire to W. F. Gray, manager of the Bellehelen property from James W. Oldham, president of the company. The wire reads, "We are working out a plan which will be satisfactory both to Clifford and Bellehelen. Just as soon as we have decided on a plan will submit I same to you. In the meantime the Clifford people are foolish to haul ore to Tonopah as I am sure that any plan we agree upon will make them more money than they are now getting." It is said that ore may be hauled from the Clifford mine to the Bellehelen mill at a cost for truckage of only $2.50 per ton. 'The ore from the dump may be loaded into the trucks at very low cost by steam shovel. It is estimated that between the ore on the dump and the mine output about 25 tons a day can be delivered to the Bellehelen mill for the Clifford. The capacity of the Bellehelen mill is about 60 tons daily. A considerable tonnage is already blocked out in the Bellehelen and between the two mines, the Bellehelen and the Clifford, the mill may be run at full capacity. The mill was built under the supervision of W. F. Gray at a cost of $250,000. The Bellehelen mine and mill were shut down at the time of the slump in price of silver following the ending of the Pittmann act. It is estimated that there is about $380,000 of ore blocked out in the Bellehelen mine. The Clifford mine has started underground work at three faces. The main or working shaft of the Clifford is equipped with compressor. At other points the work is being done by whim at one point and by windlass at another.
-Nevada State Journal, July 10, 1925
NEW GOLD STAMPEDE STARTS AT
In addition to rehabilitating the mill, the water supply was improved.
Soon after the taking over of the Bellehelen mill by the Clifford Gold Mines company it was discovered that a former management had made no provision for protection of the water line from freezing. At many points the wooden pipes followed the hill side at exposed contour of the places and furthermore no provision was made to stabilize the flow. Immediately 20,000 feet of 2-inch seamless tubing was ordered and shipped at once from the coast. This has been laid and water turned on. To make double protection against freezing this tubing has been encased in a five inch redwood conduit.
To Fill Tanks First
The first performance will be to fill the 20,000 gallon tank located on the top of the hill and used as a reservoir for the other tanks. As the tanks are dry it will take some little time for them to soak to water tightness. Meantime Tom Basanko, mine superintendent, has filled the 250-ton ore bins to over-flowing. He estimates that there are 20,000 tons of ore ready for milling. This ore is in part at the Clifford mine and a large tonnage of lower grade at the Bellehelen mine. The Clifford has a large tonnage blocked out and on the dump of ore that is rich enough to serve as a sweetener for lower grade ore from the Bellehelen. This the Clifford can mill and extract the values from a grade of Bellehelen ore that might show unprofitable if milled by itself. It is estimated that the two mines have already a two-years supply on the dumps and blocked out.
-Nevada State Journal, March 7, 1927
Finally, the mill was started, to much fanfare.
THE 60-TON BELLEHELEN MILL
of the Clifford Gold Mines Company which started operations last Sunday in the presence of a large gathering of persons from New York City, Madison, Wis., Los Angeles, Cal., Tonopah, and other sections. The Mill has been remodeled at an expense of about $35,000 [$634,612 2024 dollars] under the direction of Albert Clifford, consulting engineer of the Clifford Gold Mines company.
-Nevada State Journal, March 28, 1927
There is always another rush, it seems.
TONOPAH
Tonopah has a brand new gold rush that had its inception when Gus Peterson, who has been developing some claims near his ranch at Bellehelen, opened a considerable body of rich gold ore in a tunnel extended 75 feet into the hill. When samples of the ore consisting of several hundred pounds were displayed in Tonopah, it did not take mineral scouts long to get into action and all day yesterday the road to Bellehelen has been lined with automobiles. A few were able to strike secure claims near the strike, but most of them had to plant their stakes some distance away, as Bellehelen is a very old district and most of the ground was located years ago and is tightly held. Prominent engineers representing big interests went to Bellehelen to examine the property. Peterson refuses to give an option on his property but says, "If I were not a sick man I would not sell at any price. As it is, it's for sale to the highest bidder."
-The Oakland Post Explorer, April 5, 1927
This may have been the most successful mill ever erected in the Bellehelen area.
LEASERS WORK PARTNERSHIP
Small Mill Producing Gold, and Silver at Bellehelen Mine
Effect of the high price of gold on small mine operations is thoroughly exemplified at Bellehelen. where C. A. Anderson, Craig brothers and R. H. Murphy are running a small gold mill, constructed by themselves. and which has, within the last 30 days, running one shift i daily produced a gross of $1500 in 1 gold and silver— chiefly gold, says the Tonopah Times. The small plant, built at a total cost of $500, handles but three tons of ore in an eight hour shift—but it handles it, so thoroughly that recovery is well over 90 per cent. The four men are not partners in the sense of an organized partnership. They own and operate the little mill jointly, but each mines his own ore, trucks it to the plant, which is located on the creek at the Peterson ranch, and mills it— one, two, five or more tons at a time. As soon as one partner completes a run, the plant is "washed up" and another partner takes it over for a run. A crusher is used first; the ore then goes to a pulverizer and values are caught in a contrivance known as an "Australian concentrator," which does the work so thoroughly that the concentrates average about $5 a pound. Frequently shipments are made through the Tonopah express office to Selby and Salt Lake smelters. Anderson is taking his ore out of what is known as the Ben Hur property; Craig brothers are working the Sweet property, and Murphy is leasing on the old Peterson property. Monday of this week Murphy milled two tons of $190 gold ore, and cleaned up a "gold pan fun of raw gold," which has since been shipped out of the country.
-Nevada State Journal, November 13, 1933
No more mill at Bellehelen.
BELLEHELEN MILL BOUGHT BY CHIQUITA
The operators of the Chiquita mine in the Goodsprings district of Clark county have purchased the Bellehelen mill and equipment and truckmen have been moving the material south for some time, the Tonopah Times says.
-Reno Evening Gazette, October 21, 1933
October 15, 1909 - November 15, 1911