Albertino Barite Mine, near Camalu (guide scans and maps added)
Reading the older Auto Club guides from 1951 to 1966 editions, there was a 3.5 mile side trip to 'Albertino' an abandoned barite mine. The 1968 and
newer guides no longer mentioned it.
I remember seeing it as a younger person in the guide.
Barite is a rock that is very heavy relative to most other rocks of the same size. It is used in the drilling for petroleum. We discussed barite when
some of us Nomads went to the La Olvidada barite mine east from El Mármol and El Volcán (after our Los Mission search of 2011).
The original road to the mine is at today's Km. 150.4. However, a visually more-used/ newer road is opposite of the road going west to Punta San
Jacinto (that passes the Grandpa's place a mile west) at Km. 149.8.
Both new and original routes merge shortly after the climb into the hills begins, 2.0 miles on the new route or 1.8 miles on the original route.
There is a fork at Mile 3.2 (new route) or 3.0 (old route), keep right now going south.
Rancho Las Minitas (appears abandoned in 2021 satellite view) is at Mile 3.5 (new route) or 3.3 (old route) where you fork right and head back west
0.2 mi. in a little ravine to the mining area.
The guide said it was 3.5 miles to the mine, and if using the original route, that was spot-on. Las Minitas and mine symbol appears on the Benchmark
Baja Atlas/ Baja Almanac/ and INEGI Topos. Of interest, an older topo labels this as a copper mine.
Another mine (copper on older INEGI) symbol appears near the Mile 3.2 fork but there is no obvious indications on satellite imagery. Maybe Harald can
spot it?
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