Whitecap mine

The Lane Prospects were located in Whitecap canyon in early 1895, the canyon about two miles north of the Rosedale mine. Typical to most all Rosedale Mining District claims, traces of gold were found in surface rhyolite outcroppings suggesting subterranean veins. Several

prospects were worked in the canyon, all operating under the name of the Whitecap mine and for a time under the name of the New Mexico Mining Co. This mining operation was likely the 3rd leading gold producer in the region over its history, though exact production numbers are not known.

Initially, the mine consisted of surface work, pits and trenches to recover the gold ore, and exploratory adits to find the vein. The first newspaper mention was October 1895 reporting a carload of ore was shipped out of Magdalena for the Colorado Iron Works in Denver for smelting. This first shipment must have yielded good gold as the new mine was quickly described in the Santa Fe New Mexican:

"The White Cap mine is in the Rosedale district, owned by J.W.

Richardson, the discoverer, James Kellar, Chas. Featherston and

the Harry Gray estate, has been bonded to C.W. Barr & Co. ...

$1,200 will be advanced, the whole of which is to be spent in

development work. At the end of six months, if the company is

satisfied with the outlook, the sum of $16,000 will be paid for the

property. Mining men say that the mine gives promise of being a

valuable property."

By 1898, the Whitecap mine was an expanding enterprise. The initial investors sold their interests with the new owners listed as San Marcial merchants J.E. Nichols and C.H. Featherston, along with a party of Pittsburg capitalists.

Charles H. Featherston was the former supervisor of the Rosedale mine and apparently replaced by a new management team when the mine was purchased by the Martin Co. in 1898. Featherston obviously moved on to become a principal in the Whitecap mine.

Featherston reported to the Santa Fe New Mexicanin December the mine is operating two claims over 20 acres and has $75,000 worth of ore blocked out waiting to be mined and shipped. Considerable machinery is also waiting at the San Marcial freight house and "will be transported to the mine as soon as the snow leaves the ground." He also reports over 800 feet of a shafts, tunnels and drifts following the eight foot wide vein, which is producing $10–$12 per ton peppered with rich pockets. One such rich pocket was sent to the smelter at Kelly which produced an impressive $1,200 per ton return.

The June 30, 1900 Socorro Chieftain had the following glowing report. $9,820 per ton is an astounding yield by any measure.

$90,000 of gold bullion (about $2.7 million today) is a respectable yield and clearly placed the enterprise into profitable gold. By 1902, the Whitecap mine reported the main shaft was down 243 feet with 50 feet of drifting on either side of the shaft along the vein with the ore averaging $14 per ton with the occasional rich pocket enhancing their profits. The mine also began work on a new nearby claim, now giving the Whitecap mines three working claims.

The mine continued to operate as evidenced by periodic newspaper articles of their ongoing operations, although lacking in details with no production figures cited for this period. A report in the New Mexico School of Mines, Bulletin No. 2, a report of all Socorro County active mines, indicated the mine was still active and operating in 1918 with the following brief description:

"The Lane prospect is about 2 miles north of Rosedale in Whitecap

canyon not far east of Whitecap spring. The vein is well defined and

strikes northwest. It is very similar in many respects to the Rosedale

vein. The ore is said to be richer than at Rosedale."

The Last Days. Like most of the mines in the Rosedale region, little news appears in local newspapers after about 1920 as many of the area mines began to close. It is presumed this included the Whitecap mine. In 1927, a party of prospectors did some development work at the Golden Bell and Whitecap mines, though no followup news is found to indicate any ore shipments were made. The last mention of the Whitecap mine was in 1932 – a small attempt to recover some paying ore during the Great Depression, though no shipment or production numbers are known, if indeed any profitable gold was mined. The Whitecap mine appears to have closed in early 1920s with the two brief episodes in 1927 and 1932. The mines have been abandoned since.

In 1900, the Ninety-Nine mine was owned by J. Harry, James Conner, W. Greenwood, I. Rosebrook and Charles Watlington. The vein was followed by a shaft and drifts. In May 1901, the Socorro Chieftain reported that Louis Lockhart was awarded a $500 contract to sink the main shaft another 100 feet showing the rapid pace of expansion.

Like most of the other mines in the region, there is no known documentation on shipments, production, or profits made by the mine. By 1905, the Ninety-Nine mine seemed to be idle as stated in this annual Report of the Governor of New Mexico:

"Thus far the Rosedale has been the only producer, other properties

being the New Golden Bell, White Cap, Bay Horse, Ninety-one,

May Dew, Baking Powder, New Year, New Year No. 1, Rockefeller,

Golden Gate,Gold Cap, Amy B., Greenwood, and Graham."

However, a brief newspaper article indicated the Ninety-Nine mine was again producing gold ore with ongoing developmental work in 1907. The mine operated intermittently into the 1920s. In 1927, a newspaper account reported ore assayed from the Ninety-Nine mine at $12 per ton at the bottom of a recently completed 2-foot winze. This is the last mention of the mine.

The Ninety-Nine mine did seem to have mined some rich ore, at least at times, with periods of impressive profits. Unfortunately there are no known company records to reveal the success of this mine or any details of its history.

$4.70 per ton is hardly worth the effort and far below what is normally considered the break-even point, even for a small mine, though to be expected at the initial stages of working a vein. The explorations continued and by 1902, the Noonday mine reported the shaft was down 110 feet following the vein with ores assayed from $12 to $14 per ton for a measure of profit.

After 1902, there are few mentions of the mine workings, ore shipped, or amount of gold produced due to a lack of known documentation. The next mention is in the 1918 mining report in the New Mexico School of Mines, Bulletin No. 2, which described the operation.

"The Robb Prospect is on the claim that adjoins the Rosedale mine on

the south. The vein at this place is 10 feet wide. Mr. Robb reports ore

valued at $12 a ton at the bottom of a 20-foot winze. Fine-grained

volcanic breccia which carried considerable manganese is visible in

the bottom of this winze. The rhyolite at this prospect and especially

in the ridges between it and Rosedale shows some flowage features

and contains feldspar phenocrysts in addition to the quartz.

The Noonday mine likely ceased operations in the early 1920s when many of the other area mines and prospects failed.

In addition to Rosedale and the Whitecap canyon workings, prospectors also staked claims in Big Rosa canyon. Only the Nine-Nine and Baking Powder mine had any level of production.