Gray Eagle Mine

Lander County

AKA: Eagle Mine, Grey Eagle Mine,

With so many mine sites in Nevada, I have to depend on USGS almost exclusively for research on many of them. This mine was different. I found a graduate thesis online. It was written by a man named Benjamin Francka from Texas Tech University. Francka wrote his entire Geosciences Thesis on the Gray Eagle Mine. Based on dates, this thesis was written in 1980 or after. My guess is the early 1980's. Francka listed Mrs. Fred Komp of Crescent Valley as the current owner. Fred Komp died in 1976. He listed the property as being currently leased and developed by "Houston interests". Francka thanked the current employees at the mine, to include Elwood Wright, Don Eby and Patrick Primeaux. He stated that the Gray Eagle was worked periodically during the 1870's and 1880's. The first patented claim was made on September 15, 1880 as the "Eagle Lode". Although production records from that time period were not kept, the mine produced 2,224 ounces of gold, 223,613 ounces of silver, 43,368 pounds of copper, 368,139 pounds of lead and 2,092 pounds of zinc between 1906 and 1950. I decided to see how this compared to USGS Reports. They listed silver, gold and copper as primary commodities, with lead and zinc as secondary commodities. USGS also listed 1875 as both the year of discovery and first year of production. USGS also stated that this mine was worked in the 1870's and 1880's before going idle until 1905. USGS gave a production value of $25,000 for the period of 1906-1907. USGS estimated a total production value of "several hundred thousand dollars" up to 1910.

Last Trip/ Road Conditions: July of 2022. I didn't use four-wheel drive until the very last leg up to the cabins. This was based on steepness. I probably would have made it without four-wheel drive, but just in case. While this road didn't really require four-wheel drive, don't let that fool you. I wouldn't travel this road in anything less than a truck. I also wouldn't want to be on this road with street tires, tires with light ply, worn tires, etc. It is extremely bumpy and rocky. These are not the rounded rocks. They are the sharp rocks that chew up and pop tires. If you can get there, it's well worth the trip.

Sources: Geology of the Gray Eagle Mine Area, Lander County, Nevada (By: Benjamin Joseph Francka B.S.)- A Thesis in Geosciences at Texas Tech University; USGS MRDS Reports- 10044887 Eagle Mine; 10103996 Gray Eagle Mine; 10246512 Gray Eagle Mine.