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Rio Tinto Borax Mine
open-in-new
<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The <a href="/facts/Borax/IQrXRJ3N">borax</a> deposit here was discovered in 1913, by John K. Suckow,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> who when drilling for water found a deposit of what he believed to be <a href="/facts/Gypsum/MItYU70n">gypsum</a>. Further testing revealed it was the <a href="/facts/Colemanite/mRIqJsKb">colemanite</a> form of <a href="/facts/Borax/IQrXRJ3N">borax</a>. <a href="/facts/Francis_Marion_%22Borax%22_Smith/fT3veVeU">Francis Marion "Borax" Smith</a> bought the claim for his <a href="/facts/Pacific_Coast_Borax_Company/oGH8UCxn">Pacific Coast Borax Company</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> Mining at the site by shafts began in the 1920s. <a href="/facts/Pacific_Coast_Borax/oGH8UCxn">Pacific Coast Borax</a> later became U.S. Borax, which subsequently opened the current <a href="/facts/Open-pit_mine/IvTLjU41">open-pit mine</a> in 1957. U.S. Borax was later acquired by <a href="/facts/Rio_Tinto_Group/CCYJBbUL">Rio Tinto Group</a>, which continues to operate the mine. </p><p>A pilot project to produce <a href="/facts/Lithium/7vXX6BWA">lithium</a> by sifting through <a href="/facts/Mining_waste/g7TtDIJR">mining waste</a> began in 2019.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="borax-visitor-center">Borax Visitor Center</h2> <p>The mine's Borax Visitor Center, which includes a museum, historic mining artifacts, and a mine overlook, is open to the public.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Mindat.org/GDJw5HEW">Mindat.org</a>—<a href="http://www.mindat.org/loc-3484.html">Boron Mine, Kramer Borate Mining District (U.S. Borax open pit)</a> — <i>history, geology, and minerals list/links</i>.</li> <li><a href="http://www.borax.com/visitorcenter/">Borax Visitor Center</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.placesearth.com/usa/california/kern/borax_visitor/borax_visitor_center1.shtml">Placesearth.com: gallery of Borax Visitor Center photos</a></li></ul> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minerals of Boron. <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Borax.com <a href="http://www.borax.com/" target="_blank">http://www.borax.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"The Center for Land Use Interpretation". Archived from the original on January 15, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060115032334/http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CA4982/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060115032334/http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CA4982/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Rio Tinto Archived 2012-09-18 at archive.today <a href="http://www.riotinto.com/ourproducts/218_our_companies_4438.asp" target="_blank">http://www.riotinto.com/ourproducts/218_our_companies_4438.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Suckow Borax History Given". The Los Angeles Times. August 17, 1931. p. 12. Retrieved January 8, 2021. <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67177861/suckow-mine/" target="_blank">https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67177861/suckow-mine/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Smith Said to Have a New Borax Find" San Francisco Chronicle October 24, 1913 <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Hildebrand, GH. (1982) Borax Pioneer: Francis Marion Smith. San Diego: Howell-North Books. pp 89-90. ISBN 0-8310-7148-6 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Stringer, David (October 25, 2019). "Rio Tinto starts producing lithium in California from old mining waste". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 27, 2019. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-25/rio-tinto-producing-lithium-in-california-from-old-mining-waste" target="_blank">https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-10-25/rio-tinto-producing-lithium-in-california-from-old-mining-waste</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Borax Visitor Center, official site <a href="http://www.borax.com/visitorcenter/" target="_blank">http://www.borax.com/visitorcenter/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Borax Visitor Center at Trip Advisor. <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32098-d2578456-Reviews-Borax_Visitor_Center-Boron_California.html" target="_blank">http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32098-d2578456-Reviews-Borax_Visitor_Center-Boron_California.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>