Burcham trampled over that stereotype, serving as a doctor in San Bernardino, a bank trustee, resort owner, and, most importantly, overseer of one of the Mojave Desert’s most successful gold mines.

It's a brisk day in Johannesburg, a tiny mining town tucked among the Rand Mountains in the Mojave ... prospectors — both professional and amateur — are journeying back into these high desert ...

MOJAVE, CA (October 13 ... Due to the extent of injuries sustained, responding officials declared one person dead at the scene. The Kern County Coroner’s office later identified the deceased ...