Mcdermitt Mine

The Mcdermitt Mine is a mercury mine located in Humboldt county, Nevada at an elevation of 4,800 feet.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Mcdermitt Mine
Secondary: Joint Venture

Commodity

Primary: Mercury
Tertiary: Uranium
Tertiary: Lithium

Location

State: Nevada
County: Humboldt
District: Opalite District

Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Placer Amex And Min-Ex Joint Venture
Home Office: Mine Manager, P. O. Box 497, Mcdermitt, Nv. 89421
Years: 1983 -

Production

Year: 1976
Material type: ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^454,603 Tons Of Waste Stripped
Year: 1977
Material type: ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^900,100 Tons Of Waste Stripped
Year: 1970
Time Period: 1970'S
Material type: HG
Description: Cp_Grade: ^10 Lb/Ton (0.5%) Hg
Year: 1975
Material type: ORE
Description: Ap_Grade: ^486,800 Tons Of Waste Stripped

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1975
Discovery Year: 1924
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Basin And Range Province
Physiographic Section: Great Basin
Physiographic Detail: Basin And Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Hot-spring Hg

Orebody

Form: BLANKET, DISCONTINUOUS

Structure

Type: R
Description: Mcdermitt Caldera Collapse Structure

Type: L
Description: Basin-Range Normal Faults

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Argillic, Silicic

Rocks

Name: Rhyolite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Miocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Cinnabar
Gangue: Montmorillonite
Gangue: Calcite
Gangue: Gypsum
Gangue: Alunite
Gangue: Apatite
Gangue: Stibnite
Gangue: Iron
Gangue: Chalcedony

Comments

Comment (Development): LOCATED ON OLD CORDERO MINE PROPERTY, BUT NOT MINED UNTIL 1975-OPEN PIT MINE EMPLOYING 56 WORKERS. 700 TONS ORE PER DAY SUPPLIED TO CONCENTRATOR. OPEN PIT MINE AND FLOTATION DISTILLATION MILL EMPLOYED 65 PERSONS IN 1983 OPEN PIT MINE AND FLOTATION DISTILLATION MILL EMPLOYED 65 PERSONS IN 1983

Comment (Reserve-Resource): 1978, NEW MCDERMITT MINE... P. 442. RYTUBA, 1979.

Comment (Location): 2000 FT. N. OF CORDERO MINE

Comment (Commodity): CINNABAR 50% OF ORE, CORDEROITE 50%. URANIUM AND LITHIUM ENRICHED RHYOLITE SEEN.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): RESERVES AS OF 1977. 1991 RES. EST. 100,000 FLASKS OF HG.

Comment (Deposit): LOCATED ON PART OF THE OLD CORDERO MINE PROPERTY, BUT THIS IS OPEN PIT, WHILE CORDERO WAS UNDERGROUND. EXPLORATION INDICATES RESERVES OF APPROX. 3 MILLION TONS ORE AT 10 LB. HG/TON (0.5%). AN OPEN PIT MINING OPERATION SUPPLIES A CONCENTRATOR WITH 700 TONS ORE PER DAY. IN 1980, THE MINE WAS LISTED AS AN ACTIVE, OPEN PIT MINE WITH FLOTATION AND DISTILLATION MILL, EMPLOYING A TOTAL OF 56 WORKERS. OPERATIONS BEGAN HERE IN 1975. ; INFO.SRC : 2 UNPUB REPT

Comment (Production): RESERVES OF 3 MILLION TONS AT 10 LB. HG/TON (0.5% HG) ESTIMATED

Comment (Deposit): THICKNESS DATA IS FOR INDIVIDUAL ORE HORIZONS . DEPOSIT OCCURS PARALLEL TO BEDDING IN VOLCANIC TUFF DEPOSITED IN AN AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENT. DIPS SLIGHTLY NORTHWARD.

Comment (Workings): OPEN PIT

Comment (Geology): OREBODY IS A DISCONTINUOUS GENTLY-DIPPING BLANKET. ORE MINERALS ARE DEPOSITED PARALLEL TO BEDDING IN TUFFACEOUS LACUSTRINE SEDIMENTS; MERCURY SULFIDE ORE IS LOCALIZED ABOVE AN APRON-LIKE BODY OF OPALITE BRECCIA 150 FT. THICK. THE EPIGENETIC OREBODY FORMED BY DEPOSITION FROM ALKALINE SOLUTIONS ADVANCING LATERALLY THROUGH POROUS TUFFACEOUS SEDIMENTS. ; GEOL.DESC: IN A MIOCENE CALDERA IN THE BASIN & RANGE PROVINCE

References

Reference (Deposit): RYTUBA, J.J., 1976, GEOLOGY AND ORE DEPOSITS OF THE MCDERMITT CALDERA, NEV-ORE; U.S.G.S. OPEN FILE REPT. 76-535

Reference (Deposit): ROPER, M.W., 1976, HOT SPRINGS MERCURY DEPOSITION AT MCDERMITT MINE, HUMBOLDT CO., NEV.; REPRINT OF PAPER GIVEN AT ANNUAL AIME MEETING IN LAS VEGAS IN 1976.

Reference (Deposit): STATE INSPECTOR OF MINES, 1981, DIRECTORY OF NEVADA MINING OPERATIONS ACTIVE DURING CALENDAR YEAR, 1980.

Reference (Deposit): DIVISION OF MINE INSPECTION, 1983, DIRECTORY OF NEVADA MINE OPERATIONS ACTIVE DURING CALENDAR YEAR 1983.

Reference (Deposit): MCCORMACK, JOHN K., 1986, UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO THESIS (MS): PARAGENESIS AND ORIGIN OF SEDIMENT-HOSTED MERCURY ORE AT THE MCDERMITT MINE, MCDERMITT, NEVADA.

Reference (Production): ROPER, M.W., 1976

Reference (Reserve-Resource): RYTUBA

Nevada Gold

Nevada has a total of 368 distinct gold districts. Of the of those, just 36 are major producers with production and/or reserves of over 1,000,000 ounces, 49 have production and/or reserves of over 100,000 ounces, with the rest having less than 100,000 ounces. Read more: Gold Districts of Nevada.