New Almaden was the first workable quicksilver mine in North America and the first mine of any kind in California. First worked in 1824 and denounced in November 1845, it produced more metallic wealth than any individual gold mine in California. Its discovery freed all American gold and silver mines from Spanish domination because until 1887 quicksilver was a prerequisite in the reduction of precious metals. Favorable adjudication of its title in 1865 protected all Western mining titles and saved California and Nevada for the Union.
