In a short distance we reach the Western Talc Mine, one of the largest talc operations in San Bernardino County. Next to borax, some of the biggest bonanzas in the Death Valley vicinity were in ordinary white talc. This humble mineral, in addition to being the basis of baby powder, is used in the manufacture of paint, soaps and detergents, plastic, paper, and pharmaceuticals. There is a huge exposed belt of this mineral in the vicinity of southern Death Valley, stretching 60 miles from the Panamint Mountains on the west to the Silurian Hills on the east. The first big talc strike was the Western, developed in 1912 by Lycurgus Lindsay, the self- proclaimed "Talc King." He was seeking the mineral to use in his two large pottery businesses, which made wall tile and sewer pipe, respectively. He had originally made his fortune in speculation in Mexican copper mines, and was always on the lookout for new sources of talc and clay.
Lindsay bought a group of claims known simply as the Talc Mine in 1909. The deposits had been discovered a year previously by the owner of nearby China Ranch and his two partners. By 1912 he was hauling about a wagonload of talc a day to the T & T for shipment to his pottery works. Shipments that first year amounted to less than 1,000 tons worth approximately $10 a ton, but the output grew steadily, reaching 5,000 tons at $15 a ton in 1915. He vigorously expanded the mine, producing 12,000 tons in 1920, and by the end of that year had taken out roughly $500,000 in talc. The mine boomed, but the Talc King was in deep financial troubles. He had expanded too quickly and overextended his credit, and in 1921 the business went belly up, even though talc shipments continued under a new owner. In 1928 the mine again changed hands, and eventually produced more than 300,000 tons of high-grade talc worth several million dollars. This is an impressive record indeed for a mine of baby powder!