Please remember to exercise caution when exploring Nevada's Ghost Towns & Mining Camps. Open shafts, drifts going into mountainsides, and old buildings, are all DANGEROUS. Be aware of your surroundings, and let someone know where you are, especially if your plans change.

Buckingham Camp

DIRECTIONS: From Copper Basin, continue on for 1.5 miles to Buckingham Camp.

"Buckingham Camp was an active mining district during the 1920s and 1930s. Silver ore was first discovered there in late 1918 by Axel Johnson, who organized the Buckingham Mining Company in March 1919. The company controlled 27 claims in the district. Developments included two mines that followed a vein of ore varying from 2 feet to 15 feet in width. While production was not extensive, it was consistent. A small camp formed, but most of the company's employees lived in Copper Basin. In May 1925 a new company, Buckingham-Mina Consolidated Mines, entered the district and began extensive mining work. In June 1926 construction on a mill was begun, and in December the 50-ton mill was started, employing 15 men. It was equipped with a 320-horsepower Bolinder engine and an electric generator, supplying 450 volts of power to the mine, mill, and camp.

In June 1929 the mining companies of the district consolidated, and the Buckingham Mines Corporation was formed. The mill was enlarged to 120 tons and a 4,000-foot electric tramway was constructed to bring ore directly from the mines to the mill. The corporation also branched outside of the Buckingham District and took an option on the Hilltop gold mine (Lander County) from the Hilltop-Nevada Mining Company. At Buckingham, the corporation controlled 34 claims, covering 600 acres. The main mine, the Buckingham, was a 1,000-foot incline shaft with many extensive drifts. At the 1,000-foot level, more than 1,000 feet of drifting had been dug. All told, the Buckingham had more than 6,000 feet of lateral workings. The ore supply, however, diminished rapidly after only one year. The mill closed in late 1930, and the corporation waited in vain for a rise in silver prices. That rise didn't come soon enough, and the corporation folded in the mid-1930s. The mines were worked off and on during the following years, with the last activity taking place in the early 1970s. Today the Amax Corporation has been conducting molybdenum exploration in the district. Mining remains, including the substantial remains of the mill, are still left at the camp."

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