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Did Jacob Waltz have a gold mine in the Superstition Mountains?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·4 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: there was no mine; an old man's deathbed talk, perhaps with a small cache, grew into a composite legendAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Four answers have been proposed. There was no mine; an old man's deathbed talk, perhaps with a small cache, grew into a composite legend. leads, with evidence 4 for: partly supported by its tests. Three are still possible. Of the two narrower questions under it, none is answered yet.

Why it matters

The whole legend, and the deaths, rest on this. Waltz is documented; the mine is not; the geology is unfavourable⁠[1]⁠[2].

Answers 4

Evidence: 4 for
Most likely
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Evidence: 2 for, 1 against
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for, 3 against
Disputed

History

  1. Blair puts forward: there was no mine; an old man's deathbed talk, perhaps with a small cache, grew into a composite legend.
  2. Kollenborn: the range is a Miocene caldera complex of tuff and lava; no significant mineralisation has been found and…Against: Waltz worked or knew a rich gold lode inside the Superstition Mountains.
  3. Phoenix New Times: no Waltz ore specimen with a chain of custody is known to exist.Against: Waltz had real gold ore, but from outside the range: the Vulture mine, the Bradshaws or the Goldfield veins.
  4. Phoenix New Times: the Thomas-Petrasch and Holmes accounts contradict each other.For: There was no mine; an old man's deathbed talk, perhaps with a small cache, grew into a composite legend.
  5. Asked on this site
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