• Colorado River Historical Society Museum •

"Preserving the history of the Tri-state area"

Mining History - Moss Mine

Moss Mine Headframe

Where is the Moss Mine?

Reactivated by Golden Vertex Corp. in 2013 the mine is located off Silver Creek Road seven miles east from where you are standing. It is epithermal, low sulphidation quartz -calcite vein and stockwork system which extends over a strike length of 1,400 meters and drilled to depths of 200 meters.

Golden Vertex Vision
The Golden Vertex Corporation donated the headframe to the City of Bullhead City. It was dedicated on August 20, 2013. Golden Vertex’s vision is to recognize the rich mining history in the Bullhead City/Mohave County area, and to be a catalyst for the development of a Cultural and Historical Park.

John Moss

John Thomas Moss was born on March 4, 1823 in Utica, Iowa. He was an adventurer, prospector, and promoter who was known to be a colorful character. Mr. Moss was part of the early history of Mohave County in Arizona. In his early twenties he started prospecting for gold in Eldorado Canyon, Nevada. When that area became too crowded he crossed over the Colorado River into Arizona and began prospecting in Mohave County. He was the one responsible for opening up t he Moss Mine and this area of Arizona for mining. John Moss filed the first mining claim in the San Francisco Mining District on the Moss Lode on April 1, 1863. Moss sold his claim in increments of 100 feet for an estimated total of $90,000 cash. John Moss was known to have gained great wealth over his lifetime, and when he passed away in April 1880, he was penniless.

Moss Mine Headframe

In its original location, is the headframe now standing by the Colorado River Museum in Bullhead City’s Community Park. This picture was taken some time in the 1990’s.

Original Moss Lode Site

Pictured above is the old wooden headframe that once sat at the site of the Moss Mine. The hole behind the old wooden headframe is the original discovery of the Moss Lode. Nearly a quarter of a million dollars in gold came out of that hole in the 1860’s. Later, a shaft was opened where the headframe stands, and gold continued to be mined, but not in such a rich quantity as when it first came out of the mine.