Who knows? Could be. I think it's still best to wait for more details. This article states that the items were found east of Minaret Mine: http://www.ksrw.sierrawave.net/site/content/view/1355/48/

Minaret Mine is at point "A" on this map: http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.67479,-119...t%20Ritter%20CA For those of you who have been out there before, I've marked a couple of well known landmarks, the Minarets (Point "B") and Mt. Ritter (Point "C"). If I recall correctly, the Minaret Mine hasn't been worked recently (they were active in the 30's).