Overview

Nevada Mica Mine Camp, on Nevada Mica Mine Road off Scanlon Road, is located out at the far southwest end of Gold Butte. Little remains in the area except several junked historic vehicles that lie about rusting in the desert sun. Various kitchen and other debris are scattered about too, but everything of value was removed years ago. This is an historic land with lots of grand scenery.

The mine site, up at the end of Nevada Mica Mine Road, is visible from below as a white outcrop on the ridge above the camp. The mine is an exposure of remarkably abundant mica, but there are no pits or mine openings (one may have collapsed).

The lower portion of Nevada Mica Mine Road is fairly smooth and without too many rocks and is passable in a 2WD high-clearance vehicle, but the upper portion requires 4WD because the road is steep, narrow, and quite rocky.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about being in the desert, ... there are no unusual hazards here. However, this is a wild and remote area without services of any kind (no restrooms, no water, no gas, no food). Bring what you need to survive. Be prepared and be self-reliant. It is a big place, but someone will eventually find you if you stay on a main road, but be prepared to survive alone for a day or two, or even longer on side roads, such as in this area. Consider signaling the tourist helicopters that traverse the area coming and going from the Grand Canyon.

While out, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, this is a remote area, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials.

I don't know if it's enough to matter or not, but radioactivity was measured at the mine site and found to range from about 0.03 mR/hr (background) to 0.1 mR/hr (highest reading; US Atomic Energy Comm. Prelim. Reconn. 3333. Longwell et al., 1965).

Getting to Nevada Mica Mine Camp

Nevada Mica Mine Camp is located out in Gold Butte at the northeast end of Lake Mead, about 4.5 hours northeast of Las Vegas.

From Las Vegas, drive out Interstate 15 to about five miles before Mesquite (Exit 112). Turn right towards Riverside. Just across the Virgin River bridge, turn right and drive southwest on the paved Gold Butte Road to Whitney Pocket, then continue south on the unpaved Gold Butte Road to Gold Butte Townsite. In total, it is 44.9 miles from Interstate-15 to Gold Butte Townsite.

From the townsite, continue southwest on what is now Scanlon Road. A 4WD vehicle is required farther out. Drive south on Scanlon Road for 11.3 miles to Nevada Mica Mine Road, which is on the hillside across the wash from the main road. Turn left onto Nevada Mica Mine Road and drive east then south about 0.6 miles to Nevada Mica Mine Camp (Table 1, Site 1730).

Nevada Mica Mine Camp

From Nevada Mica Mine Road, the old camp (Site 1730) is recognized by the plethora of old vehicles and historic junk scattered about on the desert hillside. The area burned in 2005, and most of the old equipment and debris lie plainly visible on the surface. This is historic junk, so leave it for future explorers to see.

Below the road, the most obvious artifact is the burned out trailer, but here is also an old refrigerator, a stove, parts of a tractor, and the old Keno car.

At the bend in the road, an old pickup truck sits on the shoulder, and farther up the road, another old flatbed truck and an ore sled adorn the hillside.

Up at the end of the road, the mine site appears to be just a surface outcrop, but the mica is extraordinary. Consider hiking up to the mine and taking a look, but the old road is quite steep.