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The Old Dutch Cleanser Mine

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The Old Dutch Cleanser Mine By Dr. Ralph E. Pray The naturally-occurring white scouring powder called Old Dutch Cleanser, originally from Kern County, California, is a house-hold helper known throughout the U.S. As a sink, stove,... See more » The Old Dutch Cleanser Mine By Dr. Ralph E. Pray The naturally-occurring white scouring powder called Old Dutch Cleanser, originally from Kern County, California, is a house-hold helper known throughout the U.S. As a sink, stove, and tub cleaner, the abrasive pumicite is one of the most popular scrubbing agents on the market. Bon Ami and Comet are names of similar products. The original source of this Old Dutch Cleanser material, a pumicite mine hidden underground in the remote Mojave desert, produced 120,000 tons of cleansing powder. The mine, along the Garlock Fault, closed in 1947. There remains in the property an incalculable tonnage of pumicite identical to that marketed so long ago, a portion of which has recently been mined economically from the surface. Pumicite recovered from many areas of former volcanic activity is now used chiefly as an additive to Portland cement, paint and as a hard, white, flint-like filler. Here in my laboratory a prepared 20-mesh sample of pumicite from the old mine was added to deck paint and applied on porch steps. This provided a non-skid surface, both wet and dry, for years. Location The mine, 130 miles north of Los Angeles, is located on 240 acres of patented land in Township 29 South, Range 38 East, Mount Diablo Meridian, Kern County, California. The property is in the El Paso Mountains which are 30 miles north of the city of Mojave on State Highway 14, then easterly 4.3 miles. The boundary of Red Rock Canyon State Park, a popular tourist attraction since the early 1970's, surrounds the mine property. The Last Chance Canyon dirt road lies far below the pumicite outcropping. Elevations above sea level near the mine workings shift dramatically between 2,800 feet and 3,500 feet along the northeast-southwest trending spine of the 1.5 mile-long land parcel. On a windy day the 700-foot drop-off makes hiking near the edge a risky business. The area is typical of the Mojave Desert. It receives less than five inches of rainfall annually in clear, dry air. Summer daytime temperatures generally exceed 100 degrees; winters are mild to cold, with night-time temperatures falling below freezing. Highway 14, a major east-west route between freeways leading north out of Los Angeles and U.S. Highway 395 going north to Bishop, California and Reno, Nevada, passes within a few miles of the property. History Pumicite production from the property began in 1923 under the auspices of the Cudahy Packing Company. Material was removed from underground workings along wide drifts on a vein height up to 21 feet from floor to ceiling. The large side-by-side portals of these workings on the face of the white outcrop are still completely intact. During the early mining period hand labor was used to remove slabs of the semi-hard, brittle material for placement in 1-1/2-ton side-dumping cars pulled up out of the mine into daylight by burros. Twelve men were employed to produce 100 tons of pumicite per week. While remote western ores were hauled to shipping centers by burro or mule-team, the ore from The Old Dutch Cleanser mine was lowered to loading bins over a 475-foot- long inclined rail tramway. Evidence of this unusual conveyance is easily observed today, most safely from the lower roads. From the base of the rail tramway the mined rock was trucked to a siding on the Southern Pacific Railroad seven miles due south of the mine. The tramway on the western workings was shut down when a road was built to the eastern workings on the same vein. Truck loading was then employed near the working portals. Rail cars delivered the ore to Los Angeles, where it was ground and blended with other material to produce a disinfecting scouring powder. The product was and is widely known throughout the U.S. as Old Dutch Cleanser, a domestic kitchen and bathroom scouring agent. Beginning in 1947 the manufacturers obtained their pumicite from other sources. Geology The mineral deposit containing pumicite is in the El Paso Mountains. It is contained within the sedimentary layers in the lower half of the 7,000 foot-thick Ricardo See less »

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cleaning, cleanser, house

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From the list : Clean House by fueledbycoffee

I buy it at the dollar store. Best for removing food stains and dark marks off of white porcelain.

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The Old Dutch Cleanser Mine

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