The initial claims of the Ubehebe Mining District were discovered in 1875 by W. I. and J. B. Hunter, Thomas McDonough, and J. L. Porter. The Ubehebe mineral district, about thirty-five miles northeast of Keeler, includes an area about eighteen miles long by thirteen miles wide, bounded on the west by Saline Valley, on the south by spurs of the Nelson Range extending east to Hunter Mountain, on the east by the Cottonwood Mountains, and on the north by the southern end of the Last Chance Range. Two smaller mountain systems span the area north to south, the Ubehebe Range on the west being separated from the Dutton Range on the east by a two-mile wide valley containing the dried-up lake bed known as the Racetrack. The exact derivation of the name “Ubehebe” is unknown, although it is thought to. be Shoshonean, meaning “big basket.”
Map of the Ubehebe Mining District, from Mindat.org, 2025.
Newspaper accounts of the Ubehebe District were first mentioned in the Los Angeles Herald of July 21, 1875. The name, “Ubehebe” was said to have been derived from Shoshone language for “Indian princess.” The discovery by W. L. and J. B. Hunter, Thomas McDonough and J. L. Porter, was described as an enormous copper ledge, eighty feet in width, assaying from 15 to 67 percent copper, with some lesser concentration of silver. However, the remoteness of the strike made the transportation costs uneconomical to develop the discovery as a profitable venture. Lack of water in the vicinity didn’t help matters. Nevertheless, W. L. Hunter held on to his claim up to his death in 1902.
It was the Greenwater frenzy that breathed life into the Ubehebe District in 1907. It was not just copper, but the discovery of a four-foot solid ledge of lead, as the mineral galena (lead carbonate) that really got Ubehebe going.
Ubehebe Copper Mines and Smelter Company
Certificate No. 174, Six Hundred Shares to Aminta E. Hitchens, March 10, [year not stated.] J. J. Griffith, Secretary; John Salsberry, President.
The Montana – Tonopah Mines Company
Certificate No. 2167. One Hundred Shares to Biotech & Co., June 4, 1912. W. B. Alexander, Treasurer; Chas. E. Knox, President.
The Montana – Tonopah Mines Company was associated with two mines in the Ubehebe District: The Ubehebe Lead Mine and the Lost Burro Mine, both located east of the Racetrack playa.
Basic Resources Corporation
Certificate No. U2564, One Hundred Shares to Jay W. Kaufmann & Company, April 20, 1960. Einar C. Erickson, President; Harry C. Russell, Secretary.
Basic Resources was a successor operator of the Ubehebe Lead Mines. In 1966, a lease-purchase agreement between the Ubehebe Lead Mines, Inc. and Basic Resources was initiated. However, production was disappointing and in 1968, Basic Resources interests were quitclaimed back to Ubehebe Lead Mines. Records estimated that the total amount of ore produced at the Ubehebe Mine during that period was about 3,500 tons, averaging 38% lead, 7% zinc, 12 ounces silver, and 0.02 ounces gold.
Death Valley Mining History - Thru Scripophily 