Pilot Mountains — Copper Minerals

A mining range east of Mina

The Pilot Mountains are a range in eastern Mineral County. A 1985 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) open-file report by Nash, Siems, and Budge gives elevations from 2,799 m at Pilot Peak down to 1,386 m in Soda Spring Valley at Mina. Wikipedia lists the highest point as 2,708 m, so the two sources disagree on the summit height.

The range is best known for mercury. A 1952 USGS bulletin by Phoenix and Cathcart places the Pilot Mountains quicksilver district about 12 miles southeast by east of Mina. Cinnabar was first found there in June 1913, at what became the Lost Steers mine. Production through 1949 came to about 5,000 flasks of quicksilver. The 1985 report adds that tungsten skarns were found in 1916 and produced about $670,000 worth of tungsten from 1952 to 1956, mostly from the Gunmetal mine. Copper was prospected near granitic stocks on the east side of the range, at the Good Hope, Copper Chief, and Clay Peters mines, among others.

What the sources say about copper minerals

The minerals on this entry do occur in the range, though agency sources describe them as minor. Phoenix and Cathcart report azurite and malachite mixed with cinnabar at the Drew mine and found with cuprite at a prospect near the Reward mine. They describe the copper minerals at the Drew as powdery cavity fillings. The 1985 USGS report says turquoise and copper-molybdenum deposits “have also been mined on a small scale.” It describes many prospect pits and small mines within about 2 km of Troy Springs, in the southeast foothills, that produced “turquoise” (the authors note the mineralogy was not defined).

The turquoise mines go by several names. Nevadagem says William Miller of Tonopah discovered the Montezuma, also called the Troy Springs mine, in 1905. It also says the mine “is still being worked two or three times a year.” The Turquoise Skies guide cites Ryan and Chambless, who say Sam Simmons located the Moqui-Aztec mine in 1905. That guide puts the deposits about thirty miles east of Mina, which does not match the USGS distance to the mercury district. No fetched source describes collecting copper minerals on public mine dumps at this entry’s location.

Claims and land status

Much of the range is under claim. The Turquoise Skies guide quotes Lowry (2010): “These claims are currently active and are owned by multiple people.” Mining Technology reported in October 2026 that Guardian Metal Resources holds 287 unpatented claims on the east side of the range for its Pilot Mountain tungsten project, plus four mill sites on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. Check BLM mining claim records and look for claim markers before collecting anything.

Collecting rules and safety

On BLM land you may collect reasonable amounts of rocks and minerals for personal use only, not for sale or barter. Hand tools are allowed if they cause no more than minor surface disturbance. Collecting on a mining claim is prohibited without the claimholder’s permission. The Archaeological Resources Protection Act makes it illegal to remove or dig up artifacts, including the remains of historic structures, so leave them where they are.

Old workings are a real hazard here. The Nevada Division of Minerals warns that shafts, adits, open pits, and stopes “are very unstable due to their age and can be difficult to see.” Its abandoned mine program uses the motto “Stay Out and Stay Alive.” Phoenix and Cathcart found most mines at 7,000 to 8,000 feet, on gravel roads that can close after heavy snow, with only small springs for water. Carry water, confirm road conditions, and stay out of every opening.