The Bullfrog Mine has been an extremely rare and productive venture over the years. According to a Nevada Bureau of Mines report:
The Bullfrog Mine produced 2.4 million ounces of gold from a 10-Ma low-sulfidation vein deposit in highly extended 11- to 15-Ma volcanic rocks. Although modestly sized for Nevada, the deposit is interesting because it generally has very low base and toxic metal contents, gold and silver correlates well with beryllium, and some veins contain bitumen. The low salinity hydrothermal system produced at least ten vein types ranging from early chlorite-pyrite-bitumen to late comb quartz. (Source)
At $1,200 per ounce, that would mean that this Nevada gold mine produced over 3 billion dollars in gold. People lie, steal,cheat and even kill for far less. Which makes the Bullfrog Mine story that much more intriguing. The most productive mine in the United States, the Homestake mine in South Dakota, has produced 39.8 million ounces of gold, and has an equally sordid history.
Owning a gold mine can be a dangerous occupation. The Homestead mine, for example, was the source of the Hearst family fortune. George Hearst, the father of William Randolph Hearst, was one of the partners that discovered and worked the Homestake mine:
"Hearst consolidated and enlarged the Homestake property by fair and foul means. He bought out some adjacent claims, and secured others in the courts. A Hearst employee killed a man who refused to sell his claim, but was acquitted in court after all the witnesses disappeared. Hearst purchased newspapers in Deadwood to influence public opinion, and an opposing newspaper editor was beaten up on a Deadwood street. Hearst himself realized that he might be on the receiving end of violence, and wrote a letter to his partners asking them to provide for his family should he be murdered. In the end, however, Hearst was the one who walked out alive, and very rich." (Source)
Back to the Bullfrog:
"Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located in the Bullfrog Hills, about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern edge of Death Valley. The town began in early 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. During an ensuing gold rush, thousands of gold-seekers, developers, miners, and service providers flocked to the Bullfrog Mining District. Many settled in Rhyolite, which lay in a sheltered desert basin near the region's biggest producer, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine.
Industrialist Charles M. Schwab bought the Montgomery Shoshone Mine in 1906 and invested heavily in infrastructure including piped water, electric lines, and railroad transportation that served the town as well as the mine. By 1907, Rhyolite had electric lights, water mains, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, and a stock exchange. Published estimates of the town's peak population vary widely, but scholarly sources generally place it in a range between 3,500 and 5,000 in 1907–08." (Source)
As it turns out, the town went bust and became the ghost town favorite for many a Hollywood movie.
"Bullfrog" was the name Frank "Shorty" Harris and Ernest "Ed" Cross, the prospectors who started the Bullfrog gold rush, gave to their mine. As quoted by Robert D. McCracken in A History of Beatty, Nevada, Harris said during a 1930 interview for Westways magazine, "The rock was green, almost like turquoise, spotted with big chunks of yellow metal, and looked a lot like the back of a frog." The Bullfrog Mining District, the Bullfrog Hills, the town of Bullfrog, and other geographical entities in the region took their name from the Bullfrog Mine. (Source)
The Bullfrog mine was abandoned and lay dormant until it was rediscovered by one H. Clyde Davis:
"In 1966, Clyde began working at BYU in the Development Office, and teaching Religion and Engineering in Geology. In 1979, he was asked by the US Department of Interior to serve as a member of the Exploration Peer Review Panel. He traveled to Europe, Cancun, Guatemala, and throughout the US, plus Mexico, New Zealand, Managua, Nicaragua, and Canada while looking at properties for his work." (Source)
Clyde was the LDS Church geologist. According to his son Steve, he also worked for the Rothschilds. In essence, Clyde and his son ended up "staking claims" to the Bullfrog mine. The claims went unchallenged, and Steve, Clyde's son, bought the mine outright from his father.
Stephen then brought the mine into production. After bringing up a significant amount of gold and silver, he founded Kanco Corporation and proceeded to take the company public by selling stock. The interest was extremely high and investment money flowed in like water. Things looked very good indeed.
Then, through a bizarre turn of events and through a forged power of attorney, Steve claims that the banks of Utah stole his mine. He blames one bank in particular, Zion's Bank, for this theft. At the time, Zion's Bank was an asset of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with the General Authorities of the Church, sitting on its Board of Directors.
Steve claims that he appealed to these Church leaders for a return of his mine, but was harassed, jailed, intimidated and persecuted instead. In his own words:
"The Bank of Nova Scotia (through Harris Savings Bank & Trust/a CIA laundering bank) issued a $187 Million Future Gold Loan to Alan Bond, secured by the first 450,000 ounces of gold produced at the Bullfrog mine.
This transaction (involved) a very detailed and written Agreement with N. M Rothschild & Sons LTD (Sir Evelyn Rothschild Jr, Chairman), Bank of New York and Bank of Montreal (the three signing the agreement in 1989). This signed document enabled Zions First National Bank to purchase a share in Gold Futures from the Bullfrog Mine, using Tithing funds.
There is a clause in the document which states that if a bank knows that title is not with the entity in the transaction, they that bank is liable.
This document was used by me and startled the whole banking entities. I gave this document to Paul J. Young (Attorney)....which caused him to write ...bold letters to Zions First National Bank Board Member, Gordon B Hinckley.
This document is the weak link of no security for Zions Bank.......because I got my cousin, Richard Valgardson and Chairman of the Kanco Board to sue Zions Bancorporation in September, 1999 and that lawsuit and evidence stopped the merger....proving cooked books by Zions Bank (double book with the Colorado Division) shown to the IRS and FBI in Las Vegas..."
More Tomorrow...
