Anita Mine (Magee Mine; Magee & Dougherty Mine; Sage Mine), Red Mountain, Cahuilla Mining District, Riverside County, California, USAi

Regional Level Types
Anita Mine (Magee Mine; Magee & Dougherty Mine; Sage Mine)	Mine
Red Mountain	Mountain
Cahuilla Mining District	Mining District
Riverside County	County
California	State
USA	Country

Setting:
The Anita Mine, which is also referred to as the Magee and Dougherty Mine, is located in the NW¼ Sec. 22, T6S, R1E, SBM, 2.3 km (1.4 miles) WNW of Red Mountain (coordinates of record), on a north-facing slope opposite the northwest ridge of Red Mountain. Panoramic views NW from the mine include the bald peak of Mt San Antonio, located in the extreme NE portion of Los Angeles County. Also visible to the northeast is Mt San Gorgonio, located in San Bernardino County. Dense vegetation consisting of chaparral dominates the property, although seasonal grasses surrounding the immediate mine area have traditionally supported livestock raising activities. MRDS database stated accuracy for this location is 500 meters.

Geology:
The Anita Mine is at the north edge of a mesa underlain by Mesozoic quartz-diorite. A pegmatite dike is as much as 12 feet in thickness is exposed on a north-facing slope. The dike appears to be either a group of parallel and partially coalesced dikes or a single branching body. It strikes about N. 20 E., dips approximately 25 degrees NW., and is exposed over an area 200 feet by 300 feet. Quartz and albite feldspar make up the bulk of the dike. Both form pure crystalline masses but most commonly occur as a graphic intergrowth. The rarer minerals include black, green, pink, and blue tourmaline; lepidolite, biotite mica, and garnet. The tourmaline commonly shows color zonation, some crystals changing from end to end; others are zoned concentric to their axis. The small quantities of gem-quality material appear to be concentrated in lepidolite-rich zones and in pockets. Because of the confused and littered character of the exposure and the large quantities of material removed from the working, the structure of the dike was not determined. It may be significant that the main development is near the hanging wall of the dike. The deposit has also been noted to produce specimens of columbite. Local rocks include Mesozoic granitic rocks, unit 2 (Peninsular Ranges).

Development:
The principal workings radiate from an oval pit about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide. They comprise a stope, which extends about 50 feet up the dip of the dike from the south end of the pit, a drift adit about 100 feet long driven into the west side of the pit, and an inclined shaft of undetermined depth descending from the north end. In addition, several shallow pits and trenches were dug in the outcrop. These workings were later excavated with a small dozer.

History:
According to Mr. Harry Bergman this mine was operated in the early 1900’s. Mr. Bergman helped with the early development of this property when it was known as the Magee Mine (RBS personal communication, Harry Bergman, Aguanga, 1958). Between 1901 and 1914, extensive surface and underground development was made by avid gem prospector - Henry Magee of Pala. As much as 10 pounds of clear gem tourmaline was taken from the deposit and several hundred pounds of fractured, pink tourmaline were shipped to China for carving (Harry Bergman).

The mine workings were disposed of within 2 federal government lots totaling 120 acres of land which was patented on February 14th 1938. The mine was reported to be idle by 1958, although mining had most likely ended prior to issuance of the grant deed.

Little information exists on mineral recovery efforts between 1959 and 1989, although the old workings were undoubtedly visited by the occasional mineral hobbyist, looking for small, easily obtainable tourmaline fragments which weathering had exposed on the mine dumps. At some point in time the old underground workings were excavated by exposing the near surface pegmatite hang wall using a small dozer to strip overburden, whence drilling, blasting, and hand methods were utilized to remove support pillars.

In February 1994, Mechanical Engineer Paul Nolan of Santa Barbara, began to gather information on the exact location of the mine workings relating to the planned subdivision parcel boundaries. Subsequent subdivision of the property was partially completed on April 13th 1995, resulting in the mine being located within an oddly shaped parcel containing 20.08 acres. In January of 1996, the San Diego Mining Company began investigative research into the remaining mineral potential of the Anita mine which determined that subsurface mineral rights attached to the estate were limited to a depth of 500 feet below the existing topography.

In the winter of 1997, local mineral collector Al Ordway of nearby Hesperia began to seriously inspect the pegmatite, scouring the available surface exposure for signs of any potential tourmaline-bearing pocket zone adjacent to the area of underground development. Together with his partner Jon Page of Anza, work began exposing the pegmatite by removing heavily weathered rock near the point where underground workings had nearly breached the surface. Not more than 2 feet down, digging paid off when a seemingly large cavity was discovered. Subsequent excavation revealed an area of decomposed feldspar measuring nearly 4 feet wide. While removing clay near the center of the pocket, a group of interlocking tourmalines were found which remained partially intact. These green and pink elbaite crystals altogether comprised a single massive crystal measuring nearly 38 cm in diameter, and standing just slightly over 8 cm in height. Ordway recalled the experience as the best 4 days in his 40 plus years of digging.

Other Databases

Link to USGS MRDS:	10189128

Mindat Articles

Geology of the Anita (Magee) Tourmaline Mine by Richard B. Saul 1958 by Scott L. Ritchie

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References