Three miles southeast of Placerville, at Texas Hill, was a placer gold, drift mine known as the Rising Hope mine. Located on a claim somewhere between 100 and 228 acres in size, depending upon the date of the report, it was active from 1910 to 1920 and again in 1929. Here an ancient river channel of the South Fork of the American River two to seven feet thick and up to 700 feet wide, near the junction of the Newton (Newtown?) and Smith’s Flat channels, was developed by two drifts 3000 feet and 3500 feet in length. The gold was released from the cemented gravel using a 50-ton barrel mill.
The Rising Sun (Potter) mine was a 20 acre lode gold mine one mile northwest of Kelsey on the Mother Lode. It has been idle for a long time.
The River Hill group of mines, which included the Bell, Gentle Annie, Ball Consolidated, Lucky Star, Lyon and New Era, was located on 178 acres of the Mother Lode, one and one-half miles northwest of Placerville (in the area of the historic Gold Bug Mine). Originally worked around 1865 and then from 1890 to 1906, these mines were very rich, and produced quite a large amount of gold. Five parallel veins, with ore shoots up to thirty feet in width and 150 feet in length, were developed by 1550-foot and 600-foot inclined shafts, a 2400-foot adit and much drifting. The ore was originally treated in a ten-stamp mill, which was replaced with a twenty-stamp mill in 1901. They apparently also operated lode gold mines one mile south of Diamond Springs, also on the Mother Lode.
The River Pine Mining Company, Ltd., of San Francisco, operated a dragline dredge near Nashville in 1941-42, near Plymouth in 1946 and near Diamond Springs in 1949-50.
Another placer gold, drift mine at Texas Hill, two miles southeast of Placerville, was the Rivera (Revera?) mine, which was located on 63 acres. Prior to 1900 and then around 1905 a portion of a channel of the ancient South Fork of the American River was developed by a 900-foot adit, raises and drifts. An extensive amount of information on this mine appears in the California State Mineralogists’ Report for 1900. A copy of it is in the rare book case at the main library in Placerville.
There is also a Rivera and Deep Channel Consolidated placer gold mine shown to be located on 40 acres one mile south of Smith Flat. This and the previous mine may be the same mine reported at two different times, years apart.
The Robert B. Henderson mine was a placer mine consisting of 21.14 acres two miles north of cool on the Middle Fork of the American River.
The Robert H. Redd mine was a placer gold claim on 80 acres one-half mile east of Smith Flat.
The Robert Lee mine was an unknown type of gold mine six and one-half miles east of Grizzly Flat.
The Robert Nelson mine was a placer gold claim on 80 acres half way between Diamond Springs and El Dorado just north of Highway 49.
The Robert Veerkamp Prospect was a series of small holes on agriculture land about six miles north of Kelsey by road. It was located on the western side of the Mother Lode, about one mile west of the main lode. Little more is known about mining on this property.
The Rock Tunnel mine was a placer gold mine on 80 acres two miles north of Smith Flat.
One-half mile east of Greenwood was a lode gold mine known as the Rocky Bar mine. It was active prior to 1894 when a one-foot wide vein of gold-bearing quartz was developed by open cuts and shallow shafts.
A second Rocky Bar mine was a placer gold mine consisting of 40 acres on the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes River, near the Cosumnes Copper Mine and limestone deposit. It was active in the early 1920s when potholes in the limestone lying under the river were worked for placer gold with pumps and derricks.
A third Rocky Bar mine was a placer gold mine two miles northeast of Fair Play near Slug Gulch. This mine may be the same as the one listed above.
The Rocky Bend mine was a lode gold mine two miles south of Garden Valley on the Mother Lode. There is also a report of a Rock Bend mine about one-half mile south of it, also on the Mother Lode.
The Rocky Point mine was a placer gold mine located on 43 acres, two miles north of Cool on the Middle Fork of the American River.
The Roosevelt mine was a placer gold mine on 20 acres one mile south of Garden Valley.
There is a second Roosevelt mine on 8.402 acres of the Mother Lode about one-half mile north of the first one. These may be two different reports, several years apart, on the same mine.
The Roscoe mine was a lode gold mine located three miles northeast of Latrobe. Some prospecting of a twelve-foot wide vein of gold-bearing quartz was done in 1896. There is no record of any real production of ore.
The Rose mine was a lode gold mine one-half mile south of Placerville on 7.89 acres of the Mother Lode. It was at one time operated by the Placerville Gold Mining Co.
A second Rose mine was a lode gold mine on 14 acres just east of Pilot Hill.
The Rose Anita and Deutcherbund mine was a lode gold mine on 33.167 acres of the Mother Lode one mile north of Placerville.
The Rosecranz (Rosecrans, Rosencranz) mine was a lode gold mine on 20 acres of the Mother Lode, one and one-half miles northwest of Garden Valley. Prior to 1888 the deposit was worked to a depth of 200 feet through an inclined shaft and the ore then treated in a ten-stamp mill. In 1888 alone, more than $21,000 worth of gold was produced from a vein of gold-bearing quartz that yielded a rich $11 in gold per ton. Additional work was done on the mine between 1916 and 1918 and, from 1936 until the mine closed in 1939, the Lode Development Company of Auburn operated it. An irregular vein of gold-bearing quartz, containing 80 percent native gold and averaging three and one-half feet in width, was developed by deepening the original shaft to 350 feet and creating working levels at 100, 130, 200, 250 and 350 feet. Ore shoots up to 150 feet in length were worked both north and south and, on the 100-foot level, a 165-foot crosscut was extended east to the adjoining, equally rich, Taylor vein. The Lode Development Company treated the ore in a 100-ton mill with a Bendelari jig and a bank of five flotation cells. The mine and mill employed thirty men.
The Rose Kimberly mine was a lode gold mine two miles northwest of the town of Rescue on 150 acres. Two lens shaped (lensoid) quartz veins, containing not only gold but other ores, were developed by a 220-foot inclined shaft with levels at 60, 120 and 220 feet.
The Roundout (Round Out, Danaher) mine was a placer gold mine one and one-half miles northwest of Smith Flat. Around 1919 a 400-foot inclined shaft and 600-foot drift east were driven in an attempt to find an ancient river channel. There is no record of their success and in some documents only the name, and no location, is mentioned.
The Rowe and Co. mine was a placer gold mine on 40 acres two miles north of Georgetown.
The Rowland mine was a placer gold mine just south of the southern boundary of Placerville. Tons and tons of rock left from hydraulic mining in this area was used to construct today’s Highway 50.
Two and one-half miles east of Volcanoville on 35 acres was a placer gold, drift and hydraulic mine known as the Rubicon mine. The deposit of ancient river gravel four feet thick and twenty-seven feet wide was worked in the 1880s and 1890s, first by hydraulicking and later by a 110-foot drift. This mine would later be consolidated with the nearby Alhambra placer mine as the Rubicon and Alhambra mine, consisting of a total of 90.10 acres.
A second Rubicon mine was one of El Dorado County’s few tungsten mines, and was located just east of the junction of the Middle Fork of the American River and the Rubicon River at the northern county line. This deposit of scheelite (tungsten ore) was large and mined in both El Dorado and Placer counties.
The Ruby Consolidated mine was a chromite and lode gold mine located one mile south of Volcanoville. During World War I, three carloads of 46 percent chromite ore was mined. Intermittently, during the years 1928-1940, gold was also mined through a 900-foot adit and 180-foot vertical shaft. The gold ore was treated in a two-stamp mill.
The Rudolph and Schleicher mine was a lodge gold mine on 20.65 acres two miles east of Rescue.
The Russian American mine was a lode gold mine two miles south of Garden Valley on the Mother Lode.
The Ruxford (Rixford, Welsh) mine was a lode gold mine on the west branch of the Mother Lode one-half mile north of Greenwood.
One mile south of Kelsey was a lode gold mine known as the Ryan mine. Located on 20 acres of the Mother Lode, It has been idle for a long time.
A second Ryan mine was a lode gold mine two miles south of Shingle Springs.
The Rymal mine was a lode gold mine one-half mile north of Garden Valley on the east branch of the Mother Lode.
