Gold Rush: 1848–1860: Mining Techniques
Click image to zoom in.Or view larger version. Entrances to two mine shafts; man with shovel standing at one of the entrances. 1904. Unknown photographer. Glass print. Collection of Oakland Museum of California. Gift of Tom Springer.
This photograph shows a hard rock miner at the mouth of a mine shaft. After most of the placer gold was found during the California Gold Rush, miners had to tunnel into the earth’s surface to reach gold located in quartz veins. Miners blasted and dug their way through the mountains to reach the quartz rock filled with gold.