Total Pageviews

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Rob Roy Mine



Jim had to haul a generator out to the Rob Roy mine on the Kofa Wildlife Refuge.  The maintenance guys from Imperial Wildlife Refuge were out at the mine working on reroofing an old building on the Rob Roy property and the generator they had brought out didn't work.  The Rob Roy mine was recently purchased by the refuge.  They like to keep at least one building in useable condition so that hunters and other guests have a shelter to spend the night in if needed.   The Rob Roy was an old gold mine and has all kinds of old artifacts from busier mining days.  While Jim was there the caretaker took some rock and crushed it and then panned it out and lo and behold there was gold in the pan.   Of course, once the refuge takes full possession no one will be able to do any more mining.  
The former owner of the Rob Roy is 93 years old and still owns the King of Arizona mine which is an active gold mine.   

There is a small cemetary close to the mines that dates from the late 1800's.  Back then there were quite a few miners working these mines and they had their families with them.  There are mounds of rocks defining the graves but only one gravestone that can be read.  The rest of the graves probably had wood markers that are long gone. 

No comments: