Standard Hill

Five hills or mountains lie within the Mojave District, four of which contain a quantity of mineral wealth. The first of these is Standard Hill, where George Bowers made the first discovery of rich gold float in 1894, developing his find into the Yellow Rover Mine. He shipped two carloads of ore worth $1,600 in gold and silver, triggering a rush into the area. Soon the Exposed Treasure and Desert Queen mines were located and developed near the Yellow Rover. 55

In 1900 the Yellow Rover and Exposed Treasure were consolidated into the Exposed Treasure Gold Mining Company and a year later a twenty-stamp mill and sixty-ton cyanide plant were constructed. In 1921, the mines became known as the Standard group and were mined by the Standard Mining and Milling Company. Various owners worked the mine until 1942, when it was shut down by L-208. It was intermittently mined after the war. Estimated total production is $3,500,000. The Whitmore Mine, a mile west of the Standard group, was being operated in 1912 and perhaps earlier by the St. Mary Mining Company. Its most productive period, however, was from 1936 to 1942 when 4,500 tons of ore were shipped, worth a little under $100,000. The Yellow Dog Mine, north of the Whitmore, originally was located around 1902, but no real development was undertaken until 1922 when Percy Wegman discovered high grade ore. That year the Yellow Dog Mining Company was organized to develop the claim, and it was worked until the early 1930s. Total production from the Yellow Dog amounts to approximately a quarter of a million dollars. 56