3/14 Borax Mine near Boron, CA

Boron is a teeny tiny town just north of Edwards Air Force Base in California.  It mostly consists of homes that have seen better days, but is on California 58, the main road from most of California to Las Vegas, so it gets a lot of traffic. I have driven past there at least a dozen times without thinking there is much to see there. There are a couple of restaurants and a high school, with a church or two, not even a gas station that I remember.

However, recently, I read about the borax mine just north of the town.  In fact, it is so large that it really overwhelms the town:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/borax-visitor-center.

So, I did not have an extremely long drive this day, so decided to stop by this free attraction and take a few photos. To get here, you exit CA- 58 just west of Boron. There are several signs, so you cannot miss it. Turn north at the top of the exit, and drive a mile or so into the borax plant area. 

Just follow the signs!   This mine, by the way, was where the company that originally mined borax in Death Valley went when it became too hard to mine borax there.  So, it really is the 20 Mule Team Borax company!

You do have to drive about half a mile on a well-taken-care-of gravel road up to the top of the hill on the right.  It was not horribly steep, so not too difficult. 

The visitor center is covered with gravel so it is partly buried. 

Borax comes in several forms, often in several forms in the same mine, but here is a big chunk showing a crystal form and a white powdery form. 

A photo of the mine taken several years ago.  However, the need for borax has not lessened and this mine is booming.  The young lady at the desk said they have been mining here for over 90 years and believe there is another 80 years of borax still available here.  When they started out, they mined underground, but as technology gave them better equipment, it turned into a gigantic open-pit mine. 

And here is a photo of one of the original 20-Mule Teams. 

Some of the gigantic trucks they use to mine borax. 

Borax is used in a lot of industries, but it is also used in the home.  In fact, I keep borax in a plastic milk bottle in my motorhome to use on ant hills outdoors. And if you look at most even liquid ant killers, the main ingredient is borax!   

Another giant crystal.  

After you leave the visitor center, you walk around the back and up a set of stairs and are on an observation platform on the roof.  This is a view of the crushing plant.  The white hills are piles of crushed borax being stored.  

One of the big trucks is in the parking lot. 

More photos of the plant and the working part of the open pit to the right. 

This is the most currently active part of the mine.  The young lady at the desk said they are hiring truck drivers!  Can you see any giant trucks?  There are some down there but they look very tiny.  

Some equipment from when it was an underground mine. 

And some plastic mules pulling original wagons. 

Heading down the hill.