Spruce Mountain- Standard Mine & Mill

Elko County

Note: The Spruce Mountain area was a collection of different mines, camps, towns, etc. which were spread out over a very large area of Spruce Mountain. This specific page will mainly talk about the activity surrounding the Standard Mine and Mill. For further narrative, see the other pages on the Spruce Mountain area.

This is the site of the Standard Mine and Mill. While I've seen this mill called the Standard Mill, I believe that this is the same smelter/ mill that was built in 1872 by the Ingot Company, under the supervision of J.J. Crawford. The cost of the mill was $80,000.00. It was unsuccessful and didn't even last a year before closing down. USGS only lists the discovery date of the Standard Mine as pre-1900. Here is an excerpt from their report: "OVER $100,000 WORTH OF PRODUCTION IN EARLY DAYS. IN 1926, THE PARAMOUNT CONSOLIDATED MINING CO. SHIPPED SEVERAL HUNDRED TONS OF OXIDIZED LEAD-SILVER ORE AND 100 TONS OF OLD SLAG FROM THE MINE DUMP. IN 1928, THE MINE WAS OPERATED BY THE SPRUCEMONT STANDARD MINING CO, WHO RECONDITIONED THE MINE, AND DID CONSIDERABLE DEVELOPMENT WORK."

If you look at the photographs in the middle, you will see a couple with distance views. If you look out into the distance, you can see the last building that still stands in the town of Sprucemont.

Last Trip/ Road Conditions: July 2017. We had a plan to cover the entire Spruce Mountain area. However, my brand- new truck broke down with about 1,400 miles on it and ended up in the shop for a month and a half. The lemon law involved here is a different story. The dealer gave us a four-wheel drive rental, but I was responsible for scratches, etc. This limited what we were able to do. We tried going beyond these points on the northern loop, but it started getting rough and overgrown. I wasn't comfortable going any farther in a rental that would cost me money if I brought it back with Nevada pinstriping. Therefore, we only saw Sprucemont, the Ada H Mine and the Standard Mine/ Mill before going home. Beyond these points, I would highly consider having the proper, four-wheel drive vehicle.