University of California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Western Mining in the Twentieth Century Series John Sealy Livermore PROSPECTOR, GEOLOGIST, PUBLIC RESOURCE ADVOCATE: CARLIN MINE DISCOVERY, 1961; NEVADA GOLD RUSH, 1970S With Introductions by Arthur A. Brant and Andy B. Wallace Interviews conducted by Eleanor Swent in 1992, 1997, and 2000 and by Maurice Fuerstenau in 1997 Copyright 2000 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and John S. Livermore dated June 7, 1992. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with John S. Livermore requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: John Sealy Livermore, "Prospector, Geologist, Public Resource Advocate: Carlin Mine Discovery, 1961; Nevada Gold Rush, 1970s," an oral history conducted in 1992, 1997, and 2000 by Eleanor Swent and Maurice Fuerstenau, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Copy no. John Sealy Livermore at Rio Conde camp, Colombia, 1986. Cataloging information Livermore, John Sealy (b. 1918) Geologist Prospector, Geologist, Public Resource Advocate: Carlin Mine Discovery, 1961; Nevada Gold Rush, 1970s, 2000, xxiii, 241 pp. Livermore family in California from 1850, Montesol Ranch, Redington, Oat Hill quicksilver mines; education: Miss Paul s School, San Francisco, Thacher School, Ojai, CA, Stanford and early training in Alaska; WWII experiences: USGS Strategic Minerals Program, Navy Civil Engineering Corps; geologist, 1946-52: El Paso Mines, CO, Humphreys Gold Corp., FL, Standard mine, NV; Newmont Mining Co., 1952-70: Resurrection, Iowa Gulch mines, CO; Cuajone, Peru; exploration in Turkey, Iran, Chile, Ireland, Spain; Ambrosia Lake, NM; Zellidja, Morocco; Algeria; Eureka, NV; Similkameen, BC; Carlin, NV, discovery, 1961; partner, Cordex Syndicate, from 1970: Pinson, Preble, Dee, Florida Canyon mines, NV; exploration, Colombia, Honduras, China; public service activities in Nevada: mining law mediation, Walker Lake conservation, Mackay School of Mines; developing water resources at Montesol Ranch; Corona mine, CA, reclamation; visit to Cuba, 1999-2000. Introductions by Arthur A. Brant, Director of Research (retired), Newmont Exploration Co., and Andy B. Wallace, Exploration Manager, Cordex Exploration Co. Interviewed in 1992, 1997, and 1999 by Eleanor Swent and in 1997 by Maurice Fuerstenau for the Western Mining in the Twentieth Century series. The Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. TABLE OF CONTENTS --John Livermore PREFACE i INTRODUCTION by Andy B. Wallace xiii INTRODUCTION by Arthur Brant xvi INTERVIEW HISTORY by Eleanor Swent xx BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION xxiii I FAMILY BACKGROUND 1 Great-Grandfather Horatio Gates Livermore, 1850 1 Grandfather Horatio Putnam Livermore 2 The Redington Mercury Mine 2 Great-Uncle Charles Livermore; The Livermore Furnace 3 Father Norman B. Livermore, Sr. 7 II EDUCATION AND EARLY TRAINING 9 Thacher School, Ojai, California, 1932 to 1935 9 Stanford University, 1936 to 1940 9 Professor of Geology Aaron Waters 9 Professor of History Wallace Sterling 10 Oil Reconnaissance in Alaska, 1938 11 Ventura Oilfields, 1939 11 Summer Geology with Professor Mike Kildale, 1940 12 The Getchell Deposit, Nevada 13 III WORLD WAR II, IN AND OUT OF UNIFORM 14 U.S. Geological Survey Strategic Minerals Program, 1940 14 Basic Magnesium Plant, Henderson, Nevada, 1941 15 Duplicating a Plant Near Manchester, England, 1942 15 Serving in the Navy Civil Engineering Corps, 1943 to 1946 17 IV BEGINNING A CAREER IN FIELD GEOLOGY, 1946 TO 1952 21 Mapping in Ouray and Cripple Creek, Colorado 21 Contract Miner at El Paso Mine, 1947 22 Humphreys Gold Corporation; Mining Beach Sands in Florida, 1948 22 Getting a Commercial Pilot s License 24 The Standard Mine 28 Prospecting 30 V GEOLOGIST FOR NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION, 1952 TO 1960 34 The Resurrection Mine, Leadville, Colorado; Underground Mapping 34 Cuajone, Peru 37 Iowa Gulch, Colorado, 1955 41 Exploration in Turkey, 1955 42 Iran and Hepatitis 46 Working Out Of the New York Office, 1956-1957 47 Ambrosia Lake Uranium District, New Mexico 48 Exploration Philosophy 50 Chilean Exploration 51 Zellidja, Morocco, and Algeria, 1958 to 1960 52 Eureka, Nevada; Adapting Oilfield Drilling Techniques 58 VI DISSEMINATED GOLD AND THE CARLIN DISCOVERY, 1961 64 O.W. Vanderburg Report, 1939 64 Ralph Roberts of the U.S. Geological Survey 65 Prospecting the Roberts Mountain Thrust 68 The Blue Star Mine 68 Harry Treweek, Assayer 70 Fred Searls Says to Stake the Claim 72 Exposing the Bedrock; Finding the Carlin Ore Body 74 VII MANAGER OF EXPLORATION IN CANADA, 1962 TO 1970 77 The Icon Syndicate; A Good Copper Mine 77 Similkameen, British Columbia 79 Exploration in Ireland 81 Exploration in Spain 82 The Newmont Organization: Few, But Outstanding, People 83 VIII CORDEX SYNDICATE 87 Forming the Cordilleran Explorations Partnership with Pete Galli in 1970 87 The Pinson Mine 89 Whit DeLaMare and the Preble Mine 90 The Sterling Deposit 91 A Defense of Prospectors 93 Incentive Bonuses 94 Cordex Exploration Company, 1973 to 1984 96 Florida Canyon Mine 99 Dee Mine 99 IX EXPLORATION ABROAD, AFTER 1984 105 In Columbia, Small Operations Not Worth the Risks 105 In Honduras, an Underground Gold Mine with Sulfide Ore 109 Looking for Carlin-type Deposits in China 111 Milling on a Small Scale 112 X PUBLIC SERVICE ACTIVITIES 113 Public Resource Associates and Mining Law Reform 113 Public Policy Issues in Nevada 115 Walker Lake, a Crisis Situation 115 The Rural Alliance for Military Accountability 117 The Foundation for American Communications 118 Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada-Reno 121 The Arthur Brant Chair of Geophysics 121 The DeLaMare Library and Whit DeLaMare 122 XI DEVELOPING THE RESOURCES AT MONTESOL 125 Volcanic Terrain Favorable for Water Storage 125 Other Ranch Activities 127 The Oat Hill Mine 127 The Corona Mine 129 Geothermal Resources 131 More About Marketing the Spring Water 132 Tours to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and South Africa 134 The San Luis Mine, Mexico 136 The Hasbrouck and Sterling Mines, Nevada, Brought up to Date 138 Colombian Horses 142 El Transito Project in Honduras 144 XII MORE RECOLLECTIONS OF SCHOOL AND COLLEGE 150 Miss Paul s School, San Francisco 150 Thacher School, Ojai, California, in the Depression Years 153 A Trip to Europe, 1936 154 Motorcycle Riding 157 Sports at School and College 159 Alpha Delta Fraternity Stanford 160 Scout Camp and Impetigo 162 Letters from Parents 163 XIII "POST-RETIREMENT" ACTIVITIES 165 The California Academy of Sciences and Dr. G Dallas Hanna 165 A Trip to Armenia in 1995 167 The House at Montesol 172 Trying to Develop Public Support for Walker Lake, Nevada 173 Turning the Corona Mine into an Archaeological Site 174 XIV UPDATE, 2000 180 A Few Years out of Exploration in Nevada and the United States 180 Cordilleran Exploration Company Formed with Andy Wallace 181 Building up Files and an Exploration Library 182 "You Still Have to Get out on the Ground and Do Geology" 184 Nevada, Still the Best Place to Work 184 Working for Change in the Mining Law 185 Reclamation Research Project at the Corona Mine 186 Coping with Frivolous Lawsuits 187 The Future for Gold and Silver 188 Good Work at the Ralph Roberts Research Institute 190 Mary Beth Gentry, Tommy Thompson, Jim Taranik at Mackay School of Mines 191 Hugh Ingle, Independent Mine Operator, Last of a Breed? 192 Difficulties in Foreign Exploration 193 Trip to Cuba, 1999-2000 194 John Livermore s Office 202 Developing a Historic Mine Park in Tonopah 203 TAPE GUIDE 205 APPENDIX "How to break the impasse over mining reform," by John Livermore and Glenn Miller, High Country News. October 4, 1993 206 Resume, John S. Livermore 209 Livermore Brothers Biographies, by Putnam Livermore 210 Selected pages from "Carlin Trend Exploration History: Discovery of the Carlin Deposit," Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Special Publication 13, by J. Alan Coope, 1991 212 "Carlin-Type Gold Exploration in Nevada Since the Newmont Discovery in 1961," 1996 Jackling Lecture by John S.