THE NATIONAL MINE OF THE OLD DIGGINGS MINING DISTRICT

Above: the main haulage tunnel of the historic National mine. Photo taken by Jeremy Tuggle on August 13, 2020.

Miners struck the lucrative quartz vein of the National mine in 1869, at Rich Gulch, and the vein became a heavy producer of gold in the Old Diggings mining district. This caused additional probing and exploratory operations which led to miners sinking winze's and driving tunnels, drifts and raises on the property which were also dug out by miners using picks and shovels. They also blasted through the rock using dynamite towards the face of the mine. Among the holdings of the National mine were the Forbes and Veteran mining claims located on the same property. 

At first, a ten-pound stamp mill was erected on the property to crush the rock they extracted from the mine. Then in 1906, the National mine was owned and operated by a group of people consisting of eastern capital who named themselves after the gulch which the National mine was located in. They employed Redding resident H.P. Walker as their general manager of operations.  

In March of that year, the Rich Gulch Mining Company completed the installation of their brand-new 25-ton cyanide plant, which allowed them to treat the tailing's of the National mine and the nearby Lyons Consolidated mine which they also owned and operated. The company also constructed a 1,500 feet tramway from the Lyons Consolidated mine to the National mine with a gravity system of 460 feet to ship the ore from the Lyons Consolidated mine to the National mine's stamp mill.

Above: a portion of a 1901 topography map of Shasta County marking the historic site of the National mine.

The Rich Gulch Mining Company also re-timbered the National mine and brand-new ore cart tracks and rail were laid in the main haulage tunnel and drifts. Eventually, new owners came in to purchase the National mine and it passed into the hands of Joseph Gretz, who in December of 1908, made arrangements for this ten-pound stamp mill to be dismantled and shipped to Schaffer, near Goldfield, in Nye County, Nevada. It would be rebuilt to resume operations for its new mining company in Nye County, Nevada. After this, the ore from the National mine was shipped to the nearest smelter to be crushed and treated.

The National mine operated until 1910, and then it laid idled until it was reopened in 1932, and it stayed an active producer of gold until 1934. It has been idled since that time period. The National mine produced a total output of $200,000 in gold. 

The National mine is located off Shasta Dam Boulevard. I have been informed that there is another caved-in adit on the property which is located at N 40° 41.568 W 122° 25.360 on a very steep and difficult terrain level which is covered in brush, manzanita and tons of poison oak. It would be to difficult for me to get to, which is why I only filmed this portion of the National mine as shown below in the YouTube video:

Above: this video was filmed on location at the historic National mine by Jeremy Tuggle on August 13, 2020.

RESOURCES:

The Daily Free Press newspaper of Redding, November 13, 1896

The Daily Free Press newspaper of Redding, December 3, 1896

New Cyanide Plant In Rich Gulch - Mineral Wealth Magazine - March 15, 1906 edition, page 3.

The Shasta Courier newspaper of Shasta, December 4, 1908

Mines and Mineral Resources of Shasta County, California – County Report 6 – by Philip A. Lydon and J.C. O’ Brien ©1974 by California Division of Mines and Geology

Old Diggings mining district - Western Mining History