Comments on: Sulfur mine creek

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:36:30 +0000

Thanks for that! (I’m out of town for a few days, but I have a great new post coming when I return)

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:16:21 +0000

Alma Mine Information, from “Report XVII of the State Mineralogist, April 1920″.
This property, opened in 1892, is operated by the Stauffer Chemical Company, 624 California street, San Francisco. The ore body lies 1 mile north of the Leona Mine and strikes northwest and southeast, varying in width from 12 to 18 feet. It has been developed by over 5000 feet of tunnels and drifts. The old workings caught fire and were abandoned, and a new adit was driven to cut the ore body at a lower level. Gravity trams are used for hauling ore to a small crushing plant and bunkers alongside of the railroad. The ore is used by the Stauffer Chemical Company, in their plant at Stege, Contra Costa County, for the manufacture of sulphuric acid.

Before the houses were built above the gas station at Lincoln square, I remember one of the entrances to the mine shaft. It still produces a nasty runoff when the hills get saturated by rain as no house could be build on that site. One of the shafts was right at the corner of Redwood Rd and Terrabella way. BTW – McDonnell Ave is named after President and General Manager D.A. McDonnell of the Leona Chemical Company.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:56:02 +0000

Thanks, Caz. That all looks very ambitious.

By: Caz

Caz — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:27:11 +0000

The residents received a copy of the amended Cleanup and Abatement Order (CAO) issued by the Water Board which includes a time table for the cleanup (complete during dry season 2013) and cleanup requirements. I found a copy of it here:
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/board_info/agendas/2013/May/LHSM/CAO.pdf

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:57:28 +0000

Stacy, what does the notice say?

By: Stacy Yglesia

Stacy Yglesia — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:26:45 +0000

The residents on Mcdonnel have received legal notice of mine clean up. They have till 4/15/13 to respond. Curious as to whether this a new housing development?

By: Russell Yee

Russell Yee — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 05:54:57 +0000

Here’s a fantastic map by Steve Mix.
https://picasaweb.google.com/106313661130472975881/OaklandHistory#5652732157676157330

And this great list of historic quarries:
http://quarriesandbeyond.org/states/ca/quarry_photo/ca-alameda_photos.html

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 05:12:40 +0000

Douglas, what sort of tailings were they?

By: Douglas Hawes

Douglas Hawes — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:52:03 +0000

So where was the Alma Mine actually? My theory is that it was in the hillside located directly behind the gas station near the bottom of Redwood Road, across from the current Ethiopian Church. I think the old entrance was obliterated long ago – - but the tailings were still visible up until the 1980′s. Any theories out there?

By: Douglas Hawes

Douglas Hawes — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:50:09 +0000

I think the big concrete block with bolts alluded to above, directly adjacent to Mountain Boulevard, is an old support structure for the tramway system that brought down buckets of crushed rock from the Devil’s Punchbowl quarry. This quarry was located high above – - where the large Merritt College parking lot is currently located on the north side of the campus. The tramway brought down the crushed rock to waiting hopper cars lined up at the end of the Leona Branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This five mile spur was torn up sometime in the 1930′s.